Nobou Uematsu is often credited as one of the top video game composers of all time. In a recent interview, he says going forward he will only take on projects that interest him, saying he only has 20 years left in him.
In an interview with 4gamer (translation via @granblue_en), Uematsu sasaid that he has about 20 years left in him and that he plans on no longer taking up assignments that are simply “requests for battle themes.” Going forward, he will be taking projects that excite him, realizing that he was only doing remixes and riffing on his older body of RPG compositions that make people happy rather than projects that interest him.
The interview took place following a January 5 concert, one of the first since he announced back in September that that he was taking a break from current projects for the rest of the year due to his health issues, feeling fatigue that was affecting both his physical and mental health. On top of composing, he also regularly tours, which likely added to the stress.
In a post in his blog from last month, he said that while his health will likely keep him from composing for a while, he planned to do a little touring starting in the new year.
Uematsu has been composing music for video games dating back to 1986. His most famous work is from the Final Fantasy series, where he composed music for the first 12 entries in the series as well as Final Fantasy 14. He also composed soundtracks for other games, including Chrono Trigger and Romancing SaGa, and has done the title themes for games such as Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Uematsu was also announced as composer for the upcoming Final Fantasy 7 Remake, but it is currently unknown if his recent health issues affected his status with the project.
