Nobuo Uematsu Admits He Was Once ‘Intimidated’ By Another Legendary JRPG Musician

Nobuo Uematsu might be one of the most recognizable names in game music, thanks to all of his legendary contributions to the world-renowned Final Fantasy series. However, even such a veteran composer, too, has felt intimidated by another musician’s talents. Surprisingly, that person was none other than Hitoshi Sakimoto, the founder of the Basiscape music production studio and the composer behind Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII. This was revealed in an interview published in Famitsu Issue 1969 for the upcoming JRPG Eternal Anima, on which both Sakimoto and Uematsu are contributing. There, Uematsu reflected on his long history with fellow composer Sakimoto and game director Katsuhisa Higuchi.

Uematsu noted that he has known Katsuhisa Higuchi for 40 years, since his twenties back in the Square days. “[Sakimoto] joined while I was making music for Final Fantasy VIII, and he worked on the music for Final Fantasy Tactics,” he continued. “Even back when he was still young, he was able to create such amazing music, and honestly, I was a bit intimidated.”

It doesn’t help that at the time, the game industry was starting to heavily favor Hollywood-style orchestration. As such, composers who could write ‘film-style’ music were being sought after by many developers, including Square. Coming from a rock music background, Uematsu admitted that orchestral composition wasn’t exactly his specialty. Sakimoto, meanwhile, seemed perfectly geared for the industry’s new direction. “That period is right when Sakimoto-san joined,” recalled Uematsu. “But when I heard Sakimoto-san’s music, which sounds just like movie music, I immediately thought, ‘Damn, someone dangerous just waltzed in!'”

Meanwhile, Sakimoto’s own impression of Uematsu was pretty different. Rather than seeing him as a rival, he remembered receiving a surprisingly practical piece of advice. “When we’re making small talk, he gives off an impression like someone who has an air of mystery to them, but on the rare chance we talk about music, he told me, ‘Leave some work unfinished that can be easy to pick up the next morning.'” Sakimoto admitted he would end up dragging his feet if he were to do that, but Uematsu’s pro-tip seems to have shown him a gentler side of his senior. “I remember being really glad to learn that from a senior composer who had a longer working experience in the industry.”

Uematsu explained that it came from personal experience. Even after decades of working in the grueling industry, getting started in the morning remains one of his biggest challenges. “I guess it depends on the person, but at least for me, it’s pretty hard to get my engine running when I wake up in the morning and get ready to work. I just want to slack off! (laughs).” To get around that temptation, Uematsu deliberately leaves a simple task unfinished so he can ease into the next day. “For example, if I’ve finished the drum pattern up to the 18th measure the previous night, the ideas for measures 19 and 20 will come quite easily, so I’ll just leave those for the next morning,” he continued. “If I don’t prepare anything to work on in the morning, I’ll end up never getting anything done! (laughs).”

Beyond his work habits, Sakimoto also had plenty of praise for Uematsu’s talents, “When I was working on Final Fantasy XII, I had the chance to arrange some of Uematsu-san’s music. I was always impressed by how wonderful the melodies you write.” Uematsu immediately deflected it with a joke. “…How much [money] do you want? (laughs).”

Higuchi also recalled feeling somewhat nervous when he first met Uematsu at Square, although for entirely different reasons. “Uematsu is a master of his craft, but he’s very easygoing. […] That said, when I went to introduce myself on my first day at the company, he just kept saying ‘Uh-huh, uh-huh,’ so my first impression was that he’s a rather scary person.” Uematsu followed with a laugh, saying that he was probably thinking of something funny to break the ice. “I also thought he was one of those artistic types, but that wasn’t the case, and he’s more like a friendly older brother. That hasn’t changed even today,” added Higuchi.

Eternal Anima itself is planned to be released on March 3, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam. For more gaming news and interviews, don’t forget to keep an eye on GameObserver.