Legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu says that modern video game soundtracks becoming more movielike is unfavorable for the industry in general.
In a new interview on the NewsPicks YouTube channel, Uematsu – known for composing the highly acclaimed soundtracks of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X and many others – says that game music nowadays isn’t as interesting as it used to be.
According to the seasoned composer, modern composers become “satisfied” when their soundtracks sound like that of a Hollywood movie, leading to stifled innovation and stagnation within the field.
Why isn’t interesting game music being born? That’s always been a question, you know? It’s not just the composers, I think there’s a problem with the directors and producers too. When they do things like satisfy themselves with what’s known as movie music. No matter what you listen to, there’s a lot of stuff that seems like a rehash of Hollywood movie music, isn’t there? If they keep doing that kind of thing, game music won’t evolve, will it?
Uematsu goes on to say that modern video game soundtracks will pick up in quality once again when composers stop mimicking Hollywood film scores and start carving out their own niches – things they may be particularity good at that no one else is.
It’s not about just doing what someone else has done well. It’s about finding out what I can do that no one else can. So, I think game music will be more interesting if we do that.
Last month, Uematsu told German publication Zeit Online that he’d no longer be composing for the Final Fantasy franchise on a full-time basis and would only be contributing to specific songs.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, the highly anticipated sequel to 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake with a soundtrack that Nobuo Uematsu contributed to, came out in late February, under a year after the release of Final Fantasy XVI.
Earlier this week, the legendary composer opened up about his role in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth in an interview with Sony, elaborating on how and why he chose singer Loren Allred to be the in-game singing voice of Aerith.
