There’s a short list of Japanese names that have proliferated American gaming culture due to their huge influence. Shigeru Miyamoto, Yu Suzuki, Hideo Kojima and others have made a lasting impact. Another well-known name is Nobuo Uematsu, sole composer for the first nine games in the Final Fantasy series, and lead / contributing composer to almost all the others (he did the theme song for XII and sat out completely on XIII).
Game music fans are also likely to know that Uematsu continued to work with his old friend Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the Final Fantasy series, when Sakaguchi went on to form Mistwalker. Hence, the soundtracks for Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and The Last Story were all composed by Uematsu as well.
Those are most of Uematsu’s “notable” works. But what about the rest? Are there any hidden gems among Uematsu’s lesser-known works? Let’s find out together by exploring five of Uematsu’s lesser-known projects, ranging from 1986 to the present. (more…)