Top Picks - FamilyJules
For this article, FamilyJules picked a few of his favorite video game covers for me to share. These five covers represent the evolution of his sound and the video game music community as a whole, and I’m honored to share my thoughts on each of these videos.
Final Fantasy X - "Otherworld" feat. ToxicxEternity
Surprisingly, this was the only cover on the list that I had not seen before, but after hearing it, it was easy to understand why Jules included it. This video is a dream team of VGM and anime cover artists (ToxicxEternity, RichaadEB, and Jonathan Parecki), and it features some adorable inflatable pool animals. Did I mention how hard that groove goes?
Super Mario Bros. Theme ft. John Petrucci
My jaw dropped when I saw this cover release in 2018. I’ve longed for the day when VGM could start mingling with other music communities, and this pairing was the stuff of dreams. The performances were nothing short of brilliant, and the heart-warming moment at the end of video was the cherry on top of this delicious cover.
Super Mario Super Medley
Medleys and collaborations are common in the VGM community, but only FamilyJules could pull something like this off. I can’t imagine the Herculean effort that must have gone into coordinating, mixing, and mastering 70 other artists, but the end result is VGM magic. This remains one of the largest VGM collaborations to date, and it’s one of my personal favorites as well.
Banjo-Kazooie “Final Battle” Ft. Grant Kirkhope
This was a seminal moment for VGM because it legitimized covers and arrangements in a way that had not been done before. By featuring the original composer (Grant Kirkhope), Jules bridged the gap between fans and creators and showed the world that Grant Kirkhope is actually pretty good at guitar. Now, if we could just get David Wise on an “Aquatic Ambiance” collab…
Replay (2019): A Metal Tribute to the History of Video Games
This medley is particularly special to me because I first witnessed it at MAGFest 2020. Despite being on a side stage, Jules looked the part of a rock god, playing this 20-minute medley in front of a giant projector screen. It didn’t matter that it was 1 in the morning. I had never felt so alive or so in love with VGM as when I watched Jules perform this medley live.