Hello everyone! I’m Nobuo Uematsu, the composer of Fantasian Neo Dimension.
When Producer Hironobu Sakaguchi first contacted me about Fantasian, I had decided that this would be the last video game title which I’d produce the full soundtrack for, solely on my own.
Because this was going to be my final full soundtrack project, I wanted to give it everything I had. I rearranged my office—cluttered with non-work-related things that were there for fun—into something I call the “Fantasian mode,” so that I could corner myself creatively. In the end, I spent several months dedicating myself to composing, and I have no regrets. Please enjoy Fantasian Neo Dimension, the culminating work that tops off my 30-plus years long career of composing full video game soundtracks!
Today, I’ll be introducing five of my favorite tracks from Fantasian Neo Dimension’s soundtrack.
1. Main Theme of Fantasian
Composing the main theme for a game is always a headache. I try to approach it with the mindset of “creating a track that’s better than anything I’ve ever made,” but progress tends to be slow when I take things too seriously. Sometimes, my creativity flows once I let go and realize “this is what I know how to do best.” This was the case for the Main Theme of Fantasian.
2. Prickle and Clicker’s Theme
A clumsy, outdated robot that’s certainly not the latest model – an incomplete being with fragmented speech, but is endearing precisely because of these qualities. These were the kind of things I thought about while I was making this track. It has an awkward, bumpy feel to the tune, right?
3. Shangri-La
This one is a track that I personally really like. This track features scat vocalization which goes like “lan lan~♪,” but it would be nice to do a live performance of a version that includes lyrics someday.
4. God Realm
Is music considered “proper” only when it has a beautiful melody on top of beautiful chords, played with a beautiful tone? If so, is it an “improper” piece of music when it has a graceless melody layered on top of eerily sounding chords, performed haphazardly? Being in this field for so long, there are times when I question myself about what exactly defines “proper music.”
5. Kina (Destiny) [featuring Yuria Miyazono]
The time Sakaguchi needs to write song lyrics is astonishingly short. In the past, whenever I’d send over a completed melody his way, usually his first draft would be ready by the next day, or the day after that. I wish I could say that this track followed suit, but in this particular case, I believe his lyrics were written first, and I created a melody to go along with them. Regardless, I recall that I was able to complete this track very quickly and smoothly, with no bumps on the road. Speaking of which, Yuria Miyazono’s vocals are so beautiful…
Discover these tracks for yourself in-game when Fantasian Neo Dimension launches on PlayStation Store December 5, 2024.
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Author: Nobuo Uematsu
