Nobuo Uematsu is one of the more famous video game composers in the industry. Beginning with his score for the original Final Fantasy, he has provided musical compositions for every subsequent canonical installment of the Final Fantasy series. With composers like Yasunori Mitsuda, Masashi Hamauzu, and Kumi Tanioka, he has directed the audio design for many classic titles of the 8-, 16-, and 32-bit eras.
Uematsu began playing the piano when he was twelve years old, though he was never formally trained. He maintains his greatest role model early in life was Elton John. After graduating from Kanagawa University, with no music degree to speak of, he wrote music for television commercials before joining Square in 1986.
In 2003 he formed The Black Mages, performing rock arrangements of Final Fantasy tracks on the electric keyboard. Since the band's inception, it has published several albums and staged multiple live concerts.
Uematsu remained exclusively with Square for over a decade. In 2004 he formed his own company, Smile Please, and became a freelance composer with greater control over his projects. He also works with Hironobu Sakaguchi on several Mistwalker-developed projects, including Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.1
