Fantasian is an Apple Arcade title being developed by the creator of the Final Fantasy series and his Mistwalker corporation game studio, Hironobu Sakaguchi. There is a lot of excitement around the title, as its real-life diorama aesthetic alone is a major talking point. As unique as that aspect of the game is, however, Sakaguchi decided to bring some nostalgia into the mix by bringing back the composer of some of his old Final Fantasy titles, Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu has been at the composing game for quite some time, and according to a recent interview, he may be looking to put this chapter of his life to a close sometime soon.
Nobuo Uematsu has teamed up with Sakaguchi outside of the Final Fantasy days multiple times with games such as Lost Odyssey, The Last Story, and Terra Battle. But many fans will know his composition work in every mainline Final Fantasy game from the original up through Final Fantasy 11. He left Square Enix in 2004 but continued to work on Final Fantasy from time to time in a freelancing role including on Final Fantasy 12 and the beloved Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
Uematsu's list of works is very long, as he was composed music on some of the Final Fantasy spin-offs and even created the main theme for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In 2018 Uematsu revealed that he needed to take time off due to health concerns, and now it seems as if he may be re-evaluating in another way. Uematsu may no longer work on full game compositions.
Recently Sakaguchi interviewed with MobileSyrup to discuss his hand-crafted RPG Fantasian. In the interview, Sakaguchi revealed that Fantasian may be the last game that Uematsu composes from start to finish. He said that it was an especially important collaboration for the two of them, thanks to the 35-years of teamwork they had established.
Sakaguchi says that there were concerns with approaching Uematsu thanks to his health concerns, as he was unsure of whether or not he would be able to pull off an entire video game composition. However, Uematsu pulled through and was able to compose Fantasian's entire 60-piece orchestrated soundtrack. According to Sakaguchi, this may have been the last time in which Uematsu will be able to do this. The legendary composer may be able to compose singular pieces from here on out for projects, but Fantasian may be the last time players will be able to enjoy the work of Nobuo Uematsu from start to finish.
Fantasian is in development for Apple Arcade.
Source: MobileSyrup