Meh. I like Uematsu, but it's the song. Not the composer, that I like.

The ONE song that I will always remember from any FF game, was the one in the final battle of FFX. I think they should add some of The Black Mages (I know Nobuo Uematsu music, but in Heavy Metal versions) for bossfights

Nobuo Uematsu was really able to hit the right keys for me. Sometimes I'm not sure I like a song because it's associated to something I enjoy a lot (a memory), or because it's really a good piece of music.

I think when it came to FF music, it was both. Even today I have my ff6 ost on my ipod, and when I just play it from the beginning, it makes me happy. It can re-imagine every scene as the tracks play. It's as if I'm turning on the game, listening to the opening tune, in Narsh, Locke comes to the rescue, etc. The music was very memorable, and so catchy.
I think he had a good touch. I really think his music was a great part of the series.

Also, is it just me, or do some of you also get really nostalgic whenever they listen to the classic FF main theme? The one they'd play on the title screen.

Uematsu has obviously done something right, half of the FF fanbase are essentially his loyal followers now. But I won't particularly miss him. Some of his soundtracks have been bad. Just, bad. And some of his supposed great works have about 10 - 20 good tracks and a whole bunch of filler in there to make up the rest of the soundtrack. That said, I felt that 8, 9 and 10 were his best works, they were starting to become more consistently good than his previous scores for the games.

But his compositions for Blue Dragon then put my mind to rest about the matter, Sakimoto's XII soundtrack wiped the floor with it. I more disappointed at the thought that he's unlikely to be involved in many SE games from now on, although he's unlikely to be short of work in general.

I miss him BIG time. FFXII just didn't have the same atmosphere without him. Coincidentally I was just talking about him to somebody else. Only other game series to have a great composer like him was Metal Gear Solid.
He will always be missed and always on my mind when I hear a FF track for generations to come.

Speaking of Nobuo, pardon the ignorance but why did he leave Square Enix?

His music for Final Fantasy X is one of the best I've heard in a console game in a long time... Its hard to find other game series with such excellent and powerful music, those that can give that real connection with the characters...

Heck, I'm not even a FF gamer (yet) but I've grown to love Yuna so much that my entire online presence revolves around her... The music i listen such as "Eolmana Johuelgga" (Korean version of Suteki Da Ne) and even the "To Zanarkand" piano / orchestra piece all make me think of the game and even my beloved Yuna...

I'll miss u for sure, Sir Nobuo!

Less emotionally expressive? The Battle for Freedom (Vayne's Final Form theme) has to be one of the best pieces of music not only in FF history but in the history of recent gaming. I can name many, many songs from the FFXII OST that are memorable (to me at least): Ashe's Theme, Ozmone Plains, Rabanastre, the Imperial theme, etc. Although I must admit some of it was used many times which could detract from the appeal, and it also seemed that some of the music while good was relegated to the background, something that didn't happen with Uematsu. Do I miss Uematsu? In a sense yeah. He's a great composer and it would be unfair to compare him to Sakimoto, as they have vastly different styles and Nobuo helped create some of the best music in gaming, but if they give a chance to another composer like Sakimoto in this case, I'm not gonna get upset about it. Just my opinion, though.