Born on 21 March 1959 in  Kochi, Japan

Living currently in: Tokyo, Japon

Studies : he got his degree from Kanagawa University

Admission in Square : 1985 (left it in 2004)

Main works : Final Fantasy Series

Musical Preferences: Orchestral, electronic, rock, symphonic rock, neo-classical metal

Instruments played : Keyboard, organ, piano, violin, banjo

Web site: ” DOGEARRECORDS”

Sir Nobuo Uematsu was never formally taught how to play the piano. He started playing it at the age of 12. Lead by his passion for music and his admiration for Elton John, he became a famous figure in the video games music field. After graduating from the Kanagawa University, he joined many amateur bands as a keyboard player and he composed for television commercials. A friend of his was a Square employee and asked if he would be interested in creating music for some of the titles they were working on. Sir Uematsu gladly accepted and made his first game score for “Genesis”. In 1985, he met Hironobu Sakaguchi (director of Squaresoft) who approached him with a full-time job offer as music composer for some of his games. Sir Uematsu agreed and started composing small pieces for video games, but they passed unnoticed.
In 1987, as Squaresoft was on the brink of bankruptcy, Uematsu and Sakaguchi worked together on the first Final Fantasy, which was meant to be the last game that the firm was supposed to develop. Unlike what they had expected, Final Fantasy was a huge success, giving birth to an ongoing game saga and starting a world wide success story in RPG history. The game’s popularity was strongly attached to Sir Uematsu’s compositions, with his distinguished style and the memorable melodies that accompanied the game scenes.

Throughout all of the game sequels, Sir Uematsu never stopped fascinating us with his sublime contributions. Sir Nobuo Uematsu has also worked on other video games like Chrono Trigger (1995), Romancing Saga 2 (1993), and Final Fantasy Legends (1990) featuring other talented composers like Yasunori Mitsuda, and Kenji Itō. He even brilliantly composed for animated movies like Oh My Goddess (2000) and various animated series like Guin Saga (2009) and Final Fantasy Unlimited (2001).
Uematsu also worked with Sakaguchi’s development studio, Mistwalker, and was assigned to write music for two famous Xbox360 RPG: Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey (2007). Uematsu also created the main theme for the multi-composer game Super Smash Bros Brawl in 2008.
In February 2003, Uematsu’s rock band, The Black Mages, was founded and had expanded to six members since its conception : Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui,Tsuyoshi Sekitoand,Keiji Kawamori, Michio Okamiya, and Arata Hanyuda. They interpreted rock arrangements for Final Fantasy music, released three studio albums, and performed at several concerts.
His works on the Final Fantasy main themes turned out to be huge hits too. One of the most romantic titles, his theme song to Final Fantasy 8, “Eyes on me”, even won “Song of the Year (Western Music)” at the 14th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1999.

His main works on the Final Fantasy series were the source of inspiration for many arrangements that followed later. From orchestral to rock, Sir Uematsu’s compositions were played during various concerts like the outstanding “Dear Friends” or “Distant Worlds” concerts. They were even played during non game related events, for example: “Liberi Fatali” was played in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens during the women’s synchronized swimming event.

He was given the title of “the John Williams of the video game world”, Sir Uematsu is the most well-regarded composer in the video game community, and is recognized as a major contributor in the video game music field. He made his captivating music a widely appreciated work, expanding beyond the video game industry.