Massive Interview With Nobuo Uematsu
 

OSV has finally been able to sit down with Nobuo Uematsu, and the results are pretty staggering. The first part of the interview has been posted here:

Of Mustaches and Men: A Circus of an Interview with Nobuo Uematsu

Topics include 10 Stories, FFXIV, many of his other upcoming releases, past releases, Final Fantasy IV, his mustache, his long hair, his piano key socks, and various other things. Enjoy, and watch for more in the coming weeks.

Wow. I was somewhat hoping Uematsu would return to the Final Fantasy-series but I really didn't expected that after his absence in the last few games. And now he's doing the full thing (FFXIV) alone? I sure can't wait. :D

Interesting! I wonder if it will actually work out that way, or if Uematsu will wind up summoning some help.

Isn't XIV going to be another worthless MMORPG like XI? If so, I'd be more apt to think that at some point the additional music will be handed over to somebody like Mizuta.

I'd hope there was something else besides jokes and [Laughs] in that interview. That one "philosophical" question was on the right track, but pretty worthless stuff otherwise.

It's actually a common problem with vgm composer interviews. No real content. I know, since I've been a part of meeting and doing an interview with Yamaoka and it was pretty boring.

I thought it was a good, lengthy interview even though there were a few awkward moments (Jayson, dude, stop mentioning "Troian Beauty").

Kishin, what were you expecting? I don't mean this sarcastically; I am actually curious. To me, it seems like there have been so many interviews with Uematsu-san, that there's really nothing left but the little things.

I'm looking forward to another solo album from Uematsu, but why do it for what is essentially Final Fantasy XI-2?

Well, he kind of put me on the spot by asking which tracks I thought should be performed. So it's not like I had intended to talk about "Troian Beauty" so much (I actually had only "one" question specifically about the track on my question sheets). I told him I wish I had thought about possible recommendations earlier, because his catalog is so huge that I didn't know what to say.

On the topic of substance, I dunno. Everyone generally asks him, "How do you go about writing a song? Who are your influences? What was it like working on Final Fantasy for so long? What's your favorite Final Fantasy?"

He said he had fun with these questions, and enjoyed that they weren't the standard things he hears during every interview that he does. A lot of it was pretty impromptu. He's known for his sense of humor, so I thought I'd capitalize on that. Oh, and Uematsu laughs after EVERYTHING he says. He's just a very happy person.

We have another hour-long interview from the same day coming in the next couple weeks, so watch for it.

sometimes i wonder if he still puts his heart into his work, when he doesn't even remember any of the songs he composed for chrono trigger to help out matsuda, or how long was that ago? maybe it's just routine, though, i bet he has still given his best and he can't remember each piece he ever did.

Well he said that he didn't actually compose any, only that he was just arranging and working Mitsuda's work. Also, I mean the guy wrote so many damn FFs and his perception of favorites and good songs is probably drastically different than ours because he MADE the standards that we compare all other VGM music too. I don't think that interview in any way hints that he doesn't, he's just busy.