Nobuo Uematsu

For those following me on socials, you may have seen me mention Nobuo Uematsu a few times.

He's a Japanese composer best known for his work on the video game franchise "Final Fantasy."

There's literally hundreds of hours of quality content floating around the Internet. The original soundtracks (especially for the early Final Fantasy games) were midi, but oh my goodness, even in that synthesized format they sounded good! The video game and the composer both amassed a cult following and eventually, the soundtracks were orchestrated. There were also a number of piano versions recorded.

I could go on for quite a while about how ridiculously good these soundtracks are because it was video game and movie soundtracks I listened to the most before Celtic Woman, but here are a few clips to give you a taste.

Rebel March (from Final Fantasy II, part of a medley)
https://youtu.be/NQojmY1AD5A?si=A-jqGkRbppCmwpcy&t=356

Rebel Army ... it's a gorgeous melody ... and just wait for the ending!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siP0syXBde4

Final Fantasy VII - Bombing Mission (this one is high energy and catchy)
https://youtu.be/-DRp_XME44o?si=KRCEuXbzNgLgdxMo&t=138

Final Fantasy X Ending (To Zanarkand):
https://youtu.be/OYhsp-0vT18?si=uGwlkGR8Mv2kfM-d&t=97

Final Fantasy VIII Ending and Main Theme:
https://youtu.be/v0siOyhtUMo?si=4dxz21Sk3ZakUMzJ&t=205

If anyone's interested, I have plenty more favourites I can direct you to.

Uematsu is one of the greatest composers in video game history (IMO.)

I grew up with Final Fantasy (My first one was number 8 and I was very young) and have been playing it ever since.

Final Fantasy XVI is one of the best ones in the series if we're also talking gameplay, but to warn you, the Mature rating it was given is very much justified.

Uematsu is one of the greatest composers in video game history (IMO.)

I grew up with Final Fantasy (My first one was number 8 and I was very young) and have been playing it ever since.

Final Fantasy XVI is one of the best ones in the series if we're also talking gameplay, but to warn you, the Mature rating it was given is very much justified.

Yep. He's amazing!

Here's an orchestration of Rufus' Welcome Ceremony I like. I love this arrangement! It starts and ends so cheerfully!
https://youtu.be/r-VCkeATwZU?si=IY1n0lNT5zcpaeFn