- Discover our Top 10 Picks of Fan-Made Video Game OST Covers!
- Can you make money from covering video game music?
- Is it easy to get into scoring original music for video games?
- Also, check out our post on how to compose music for film!
If you’re an avid gamer, you’ll probably know your video game music pretty well, too.
Hey – even if you don’t live and breathe video games but just play them every now and again, the chances are you’ve absorbed a lot of music from them that you’d instantly recognize if you heard them again.
Music for official video game titles is called an ‘OST’ (for Original Soundtrack).
Many of the best-known video game OSTs are composed by music industry giants from Japan, the USA, and Europe, with some notable examples being Koji Kondo (The Legend Of Zelda franchise), Matt Uelmen (Diablo II) and Robin Beanland (Donkey Kong Country).
Because of the popularity, accessibility, and ‘replay value’ of some of these video games, their accompanying OST soundtracks have become canonical and legendary for gamers and normies alike.
I surfed the web for the best picks of some of these OSTs, covered/reworked by die-hard fans – and boy, I came across some truly excellent content!
As you read on, I will lay out our 7 favorite picks of fan-made video game OST covers for you, as well as answer a couple of super-key questions about video game music.
Let’s-a go!
7 Awesome Fan Covers/Reworks Of Video Game OSTs: Reviews
1. Dr. Pez – Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time OST (Prog Rock Concept Album)
These two guys smash it out of the ballpark with their 30-minute Progressive Rock concept album version of the Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time OST.
It’s not just a cover of a single piece from the soundtrack, but the entire OST set as a medley. The YouTube video comes complete with easy-access chapter buttons, so you can easily move between each OST piece.
Inventiveness
Inventiveness is displayed to the max here, with an instrumental army at Dr. Pez’s disposal. This extended band setup tackles every OST piece from the original game, moving seamlessly between different musical genres while keeping the core Progressive Rock vibe whirring away throughout the medley.
Musicianship
There’s topically relevant ocarina, soaring trumpets, crazy pitched-percussion, wobbling synths, wicked electric & acoustic guitar playing, thumping bass playing, and versatile Rock/Metal drums.
It’s a display of awesome orchestration from the original (computer-generated) soundtrack, translated into more than a dozen pieces that link together musically and create a narrative running all the way through the ‘album’… What’s not to like?!
Everything’s played incredibly well – to the level of a professional Prog Rock/Metal band like Dream Theatre. It’s all arranged with vibrant originality and couldn’t be made by just anyone. Highly impressive.
Entertainment Value
The music is fantastic, and it comes with a half-hour-long video showing parts of the original game’s scenes along with each part of the medley – interwoven with footage of the two musical YouTubers playing the pants off their instruments.
It’s constantly engaging, both with what you’re hearing and seeing.
2. Lacey Johnson – Sonic Adventure 2 – Live & Learn (Female Cover)
We’re giving this cover of ‘Live & Learn’ from Sonic Adventure 2 second place in the running because it’s simply played and sung so well by Lacey Johnson.
At times, it sounds like an actual recording by Evanescence. Lacey’s voice is brilliant, as soothing as it is expressive and full of conviction.
Inventiveness
It’s not a groundbreaking rework regarding inventiveness, but there ARE moments where Lacey’s arrangement skills come to the forefront, and I think this could have been made into more of a principal feature!
Each instrument part and vocal line is pretty much the same as Crush 40’s original recording for the game (apart from an excellent keytar solo at 02:40 and the half-time ‘rock out’ sections scattered around the song structure in the second half of the track).
However, I love the utter integrity, musicianship, and passion for the game and its OST on display here.
The ending section breaks into a half-time thrash metal groove with double-kick blast beats in the drums, which is an awesome deviation from the original track.
Musicianship
Everything’s played and sung like a professional musician while retaining enough of Crush 40’s original sound and material to sound like it still belongs in the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack. It’s fantastic.
Entertainment Value
This cover also comes with a pretty stylish video, not only showing off Lacey’s candyfloss-pink anime hairstyle but moving between footage of her play-throughs on different instruments between the main ‘lead singer’ feature.
She changes her outfit into some 1970s glam-rock leather dress for the keytar solo at 02:40, giving me throwback vibes to the music video for ‘Freight Train’ by Nitro or any song by Joan Jett.
With all its atmospheric lighting and camera cuts, the visual ‘music video’ aspect is definitely a superb touch on top of an already excellent fan cover.
3. InsaneInTheRainMusic – Xenoblade Chronicles – You Will Know Your Names (Jazz Fusion Arrangement)
This is about as refreshingly awesome as a fan-made rework of a video game OST gets!
InsaneInTheRain has turned ‘You Will Know Our Names’ from Xenoblade Chronicles entirely upside down, playing multiple instruments to create a fantastic Jazz Fusion arrangement. Major points going his way for the awesome saxophone playing, too.
Inventiveness
The style change from the original is stark. The original OST piece from Xenoblade Chronicles followed a kind of Anime Rock style, with soaring electric guitar and chugging riffs.
This rework, however, takes the material into the realms of such Jazz Fusion giants as Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, and Aaron Parks.
InsaneInTheRain makes a real statement here that carries a lot of value – not only in the video game music canon but in the timeline of well-arranged and brilliantly played modern Jazz music.
Musicianship
This cover gets tremendous creative merit from the combination of instruments and how they’re all being played and woven together – and InsaneInTheRain is playing every single instrument himself! Better than I can play any ONE of them. I mean, come on…
Entertainment Value
Not only does this song have a lot of entertainment value in its uplifting, cheerful Jazz Fusion take on a rock piece, but it also comes with a pretty engaging video.
There are some funny reference moments to the original game in the footage, and you get to see InsaneInTheRain absolutely jamming out on his various instruments.
He creates a kind of ‘band gig’ atmosphere in some places, where he pretends to interact with the other off-screen players – even though the other players are just different takes of himself. It’s pretty amusing.
4. TheFamilyJules – Final Fantasy VII – One Winged Angel (Guitar Cover/Metal Rework)
Equipped with trusty electric guitar, TheFamilyJules comes out stomping with his rocking rendition of ‘One Winged Angel’ from the Final Fantasy VII OST!
It’s a fantastic take on the original, even preserving some of its meaty orchestral elements while Jules shreds the living daylight out of his 6-stringer.
Drums and bass play along in the background, which would have been cool to see being played on screen alongside the guitar work – but that’s not enough to detract from the excellent content on display here.
Inventiveness
Here, Jules has embarked on the task of reiterating ‘One Winged Angel’ with multiple layers of real-life electric guitar playing, which he makes seem effortless.
The original ‘One Winged Angel’ wasn’t written for real guitar or instruments. Like the Donkey Kong Country OST, it was written using a digital MIDI sequencer, meaning all the sounds were computer-generated. Considering this, it’s a really impressive rework.
Musicianship
TheFamilyJules has demonstrated a lot of skill – not only in electric guitar shredding but in arranging – which is like orchestration but a bit more creatively inclined.
Rather than simply translating the music of ‘One Winged Angel’ into guitar format (as in orchestration), Jules has arranged new textures like chugging and left-to-right panned lead guitar playing into the music.
He decorates the musical palette with the various capabilities of electric guitar, which gives the piece a whole new perspective.
Entertainment Value
It’s a really inventive thing to blend computerized orchestral layers together with the recorded guitar playing, as well – not to mention the awesome headbanging invoked by the accompaniment of pounding drums and bass guitar. I love this rework and regard it highly.
5. Serious Damage – Donkey Kong Country OST – Aquatic Ambience (Bass and Guitar Rework)
These guys have reworked the ‘Aquatic Ambience’ OST from the old-time 1994 SNES classic Donkey Kong Country into a grooving feature for some tasty bass and guitar playing.
Sometimes, it sounds like a Dream Theatre prog rock album – but there’s nothing wrong with that! This is a really refreshing rework of an already legendary soundtrack in the canon of video game music.
Inventiveness
Bear in mind that the original soundtrack to the game was created with a digital MIDI sequencer – meaning that the music wasn’t written with live instruments in mind or played by live instruments.
Every sound in the 1994 Donkey Kong Country game was computer-generated, and composer Robin Beanland probably wrote its music without a care for its playability on live instruments.
Despite this, Serious Damage has managed to translate everything and play it on bass and electric guitar without a single flaw. It’s a real testament to the musical inventiveness and devotion of some video game fans out there.
Musicianship
The contrast between the funky, tapped bass guitar playing and the ambient, echoing electric guitar slides is impressive. It gives you a natural feeling of being underwater, which is highly suited to the original level this OST piece accompanied in the game.
Entertainment Value
This rework could be a little too technical for those who just want to enjoy fun fan-made content. Still, I think it carries integrity and originality while respecting the ins and outs of the original soundtrack.
6. Tsuko G. – SSBM Menu 1 – KAZOO’d (Kazoo Rework)
The iconic Main Menu music from Super Smash Bros. Brawl is challenging to rework without great intrigue and critiquing from die-hard fans. However, using only a kazoo as weaponry, Tsuko G. has managed to blow most – if not all – of the snobbery completely out of the picture.
This rework smacks you in the face with its (borderline-distressing) kazoo playing as soon as you press ‘play.’ It’s a fantastically weird take on the original OST piece, and I think it works! …For the first five listens. It has the potential to get tiresome after that.
Inventiveness
Seeing as the original OST piece was written for orchestra, including a whole choir section, Tsuko G. has taken the material on with an army of kazoos, which shows off a lot of inventive prowess.
Musicianship
Tsuko G. showcases their skill in reworking a piece for a different set of instruments (in this case, a kazoo orchestra), known as orchestration. This is a whole subset of the creative music industry.
Quite often, budding film composers will orchestrate scores for known composers to rack up their list of working credits. Being at the beginning of my film scoring career, I often orchestrate for established composers where I can.
Tsuko G has demonstrated the ability to translate a complex multi-layer composition written for full orchestra and choir into an appreciable rework played by an army of kazoos. That’s a tall order to pull off with a solid degree of success, even for working musicians.
Entertainment
This rework definitely entertains! Not only does a kazoo sound funny and silly by nature, but the sheer amount of kazoos on parade here (with no other instruments for company) is overwhelmingly absurd. I think it’s charming and hilarious, but I’ve only listened to it a handful of times. Maybe I’d go insane if I listened to it anymore.
7. Jetdarc – Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe – Mystical Area (Inspired Fan Music)
Jetdarc draws inspiration from the sounds, styles, and atmospheres of classic Kirby levels from the 2011 platform game Kirby’s Return To Dreamland to form their own refreshing take on the soundtrack.
Fans of the original game can appreciate the wintery synth flavors and breezy percussion, which reference the OST accompanying levels from the fourth world in the storyline, ‘White Wafers.’
This isn’t a direct cover of the original soundtrack, but a fan-made original that nods to the game’s compositions – so that’s some points from me for innovation!
Inventiveness
Jetdarc could have simply mashed two or three existing pieces from the soundtrack of Kirby’s Return To Dreamland together.
However, this is a piece that a fan has made entirely from scratch, using nothing but indirect referencing and creativity – along with their own sounds and themes. So, we think this is a highly inventive fan effort!
Musicianship
Although a simple electronic composition in its own right, without any obvious feature of actual instrument playing by Jetdarc, the memorability and ease of looping this piece carries is awesome.
It gets stuck in your head as if you’re playing a Kirby level but doesn’t get annoying. In fact, I think it would have made a brilliant backdrop for the original game.
Entertainment Value
‘That’s really cool!’ or ‘That’s lovely!’ is perhaps the extent to which this piece entertains – but that’s no bad. Jetdarc’s intention probably wasn’t to overly entertain but share his inspired work with Kirby fans and music buffs.
It’s just a shame there are no sound effects or direct references to the gameplay in the track, which would have made things more immersive.
FAQs
Can You Make Money From Covering Video Game Music?
Only if you can set up an agreement with the distribution platform you’re using, which will usually act as the go-between for you and the original composer’s team.
You might get a copyright disclaimer on a platform like YouTube, preventing you from making direct money from streaming royalties but still allowing you to collect ad revenue from your uploaded content.
Audio platforms like Spotify, however, might request you provide them with official documentation (before your cover content reaches the platform publically).
The documentation usually states that the original composer is happy with your upload and that you’ve both agreed on royalties being split between both of you in some percentages.
Is It Easy To Get Into Scoring Original Music For Video Games?
As with any creative career, it’s a product of hard graft, absorbing freelance know-how, networking, and remaining resilient in the face of challenges.
Sure – you have to be good at composing music – but the most valuable things a composer can learn are actually related more to interpersonal skills and overcoming adversity.
The legendary
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Wrapping Up
Hopefully, you enjoyed diving into our top picks of video game OST fan covers/reworks. We’re always looking for great music-related content that is refreshing, inventive, and original.
If you believe you can re-work a film, TV series, or video game OST with style, provide a link to your content and post it in the comments section. Who knows – you might feature in a sequel article!
Keep making and listening to great music!
