Final Fantasy composer Uematsu says "game music cannot develop further" by copying films

SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered is going to take a little longer.

In July 2022, Play-Asia listed Square Enix’s SaGa Frontier 2 for an August release on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Many assumed it was a re-release or remaster that went live by mistake before the official announcement, but the latter never happened.

If you've ever caught yourself jamming out to a Latin-filled song in a Final Fantasy game, or any other game in which Nobuo Uematsu was credited as a composer, you might've been wondering just what the heck the singers are saying so elegantly, yet powerfully.

Xbox is paying homage to manga and video game artist Akira Toriyama by bringing a new dynamic dashboard background to Xbox consoles. The new dynamic background features art from Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon, which featured artwork by Toriyama.

Square Enix has released a four-party documentary series for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth titled “Inside Final Fantasy VII Rebirth,” which uncovers the stories behind the making of the RPG through the eyes of the development team.

Square Enix has released new information, footage, and screenshots for Visions of Mana introducing the game’s story, characters, elemental vessels, and pikuls. Additionally, producer Masaru Oyamada confirmed in an interview with Famitsu that the game is developed by Ouka Studios.

Final Fantasy XVI downloadable content “The Rising Tide” will launch on April 18 for $19.99 / 2,420 yen alongside the free version 1.30 update, Square Enix announced. It is also available via the Final Fantasy XVI Expansion Pass, which includes both “The Rising Tide” and the previously released “Echoes of the Fallen” for $24.99 / 3,080 yen.

Soon, Final Fantasy 14 will test Cross-region Data Center Travel in a limited fashion. Starting on March 24 and ending just before server maintenance for the Dawntrail expansion, Final Fantasy 14 players in Japan, Europe, and North America will be able to travel to and from the Materia Data Center in the Oceanic region as part of a limited global test to see how viable cross-region travel will be in the future.

Developers happy to mimic the style of Hollywood blockbusters in their video game soundtracks are stopping video game music from advancing, one of the best to ever do it - Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu - has said.

We’ll say this up front for those of you still exploring Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s vast world: there are no late-game story spoilers here. As seen in its pre-release debut via a new trailer late last year, the action RPG’s theme song “No Promises to Keep” is performed in-game by Aerith. Behind the scenes though, the track was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, the legendary composer behind the iconic soundtracks for much of the Final Fantasy series, including Final Fantasy VII Remake. The song’s vocals were performed by American singer Loren Allred, who brought her spellbinding singing voice to the track, augmenting the beautiful—yet tragic—world of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and the epic story told within it.

In the world of video game soundtracks, you can’t get much more iconic than Nobuo Uematsu. Most well-known for composing soundtracks for the first nine Final Fantasy games, the musician has gone on to write tracks for many subsequent entries to the franchise, most recently penning the tearjerking theme song for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, No Promises to Keep.

Zanarkand is, arguably, one of the most haunting pieces of music ever composed for a Final Fantasy game. However, in a recent interview with Japanese outlet Weekly Ochiai, accomplished Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu revealed that the legendary theme from Final Fantasy 10 had an unlikely origin.