Fantasian Neo Dimension composer discusses his score for the soundtrack – PlayStation.Blog
Hello everyone! I am Nobuo Uematsu, author of Fantasia Neo dimensions.
When Producer Hironobu Sakaguchi first contacted me about Fantasian, I decided that this would be the last video game title for which I would produce the full soundtrack myself.
Since this will be my last full-length soundtrack project, I want to give it my all. I rearranged my office—cluttered with non-work-related things there for fun—into something I call “Imagination Mode,” so I can pour myself into creativity. In the end, I spent several months dedicating myself to songwriting and I have no regrets. Enjoy Fantasian Neo Dimension, the culmination of my 30-plus year career composing full-length video game soundtracks!
Today, I’m going to introduce five of my favorite tracks from the Fantasian Neo Dimension soundtrack.
1. Main theme of Fantasian
Composing theme music for a game is always a headache. I try to approach it with the mindset of “make a song better than anything I’ve ever done,” but progress tends to slow down when I take things too seriously. Sometimes my creativity flows when I let go and realize “this is what I know how to do best.” This is the case with Fantasian’s Main Theme.
2. Prickle and Clicker Theme
A clumsy, outdated robot that is certainly not the latest model – an imperfect creature with the ability to speak sporadically, but beloved precisely for these qualities. These are the things I thought about when making this song. It has an awkward, bumpy feel to the melody, doesn’t it?
3. Shangri-La
This is a song that I personally like. This song has vocals that sound like “lan lan~♪,” but it would be great to one day perform a version with the lyrics live.
4. Divine world
Is music only considered “proper” when it has a beautiful melody with beautiful chords, played with a beautiful melody? If so, is it an “inappropriate” piece of music when it has an ungainly melody mixed with strange chords, performed haphazardly? Having worked in this field for so long, there are times when I question myself about the exact definition of “appropriate music”.
5. Kin (Fate) [featuring Yuria Miyazono]
The time Sakaguchi needed to write lyrics was surprisingly short. In the past, whenever I sent a finished tune to him, usually his first draft would be ready the next day or the day after. I wish I could say that this song is similar, but in this particular case, I believe his lyrics were written first and I created a melody to go with them. Regardless, I recall that I was able to complete this race very quickly and smoothly, without any bumps in the road. Speaking of which, Yuria Miyazono’s voice is amazing…
Check out these in-game tracks for yourself when Fantasian Neo Dimension launches on PlayStation Store on December 5, 2024.
