Renowned for his work on the Final Fantasy series and Chrono Trigger, Nobuo Uematsu has certainly made his mark in the gaming industry. He has composed brilliant soundtracks time and time again. In recent years though, he has not been doing as much. It looks like we may be seeing the last of his full career, as health issues are getting in the way.
Backstory
Back in September of 2018, Uematsu announced that he would be taking the rest of 2018 off for health reasons. He never announced what specific health issues he had. Since then, he has worked on smaller projects like the main theme for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Uematsu has been working alongside Hironobu Sakaguchi to create a 60-piece orchestral soundtrack. This soundtrack is for the upcoming Apple Arcade exclusive game, Fantasian.
Hironobu Sakaguchi is also a well-known name within the Final Fantasy series and other JRPGs as well. He created the original concept for the first Final Fantasy game and worked on many afterwards. He left Square in 2004 to found his own studio, Mistwalker.
Fantasian Collaboration
In an interview with Mobile Syrup Sakaguchi mentioned that Uematsu hinted this could be his last full soundtrack. When Sakaguchi approached him to work on the soundtrack for Fantasian, he was still having some health issues. However, he managed to pull through and complete the entire 60-piece soundtrack.
Sakaguchi also mentioned that although this could be Uematsu last full soundtrack, it is still very possible for him to work on individual pieces like he did with Final Fantasy VII Remake. He goes on to say that Uematsu poured his heart and soul into this project. He described the experience as an important moment in both of their careers.
The two have been collaborating with each other for over 35 years. They have mostly worked on the Final Fantasy games together. Fantasian is, without a doubt, a passion project for the both of them. Sakaguchi said that if this ends up being their last collaboration, he’d be okay with it as it turned out so well.
Details on Fantasian
Fantasian will be released on Apple Arcade very soon. It is heavily inspired by Final Fantasy VI, and the like. The game will feature turn-based battles and random encounters.
Much like Final Fantasy VI, the game will be divided into two parts. The first part will be mostly linear, while the second part will be much more open. Depending on what you focus on as you play, it’ll take anywhere from 20 to 60 hours to complete.
Fantasian will feature 8 party members. You’ll be able to have 3 out in battle at one time. Once the second half of the game comes, you’ll be able to switch characters out during battles.
This game looks fantastic, although it is unfortunate to only be on Apple Arcade. Hopefully it will receive a release on other platforms at some point in the future. Until then, we will just have to see how will it does on Apple Arcade and hope for the best.
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