I’ve always loved bands that cover VGM. I got started with the Minibosses 20 years ago, getting my mind blown seeing them play at The Smell in LA while getting smacked around in the mosh pit during Castlevania. Since then I’ve found so many more I’ve come to really enjoy. Here are my top 5 - what else can you recommend and why?

1. MES (Mariachi Entertainment System) - my favorite of the past few years. It may not be for everyone but they put a lot of love into great mariachi renditions of 8-bit and 16-bit era hits as well as a lot of newer tunes.

2. The Protomen - they really don’t fit in this category, but one of my favorite bands of all time and do incorporate a few MM themes into their music. They’ve been working on a Megaman rock opera for over a decade that is really incredible. Just check out Act I, or this high production value narrative music video from Act II.

3. 8-Bit Big Band - very active for the last few years, highly ambitious big band covers.

4. Orchestral Fantasy - one crazy multi-instrumentalist that does some of the most uncannily accurate covers of mainly 16-bit era RPGs, but a lot of other stuff as well.

5. The Minibosses - one of the first and greatest. They really captured the prog rock sound that you could tell was influencing a lot of the 8-bit era composers.