Good video game songs tend to stick with us. While appreciating these songs as they were originally created is all well and good, cover songs often show a new interpretation of something familiar, shifting the genre or adding something new that wasn't there before.

Not all covers of video game songs are good, as some stray too far into new territory and lose sight of the original while others just lack artistry. While covers of video game songs aren't everyone's cup of tea—some people prefer to preserve the original song's integrity—there are some truly great covers out there for those willing to look.

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Lindsey Stirling and Peter Hollens Sing The Song of the Dragonborn 

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Violinist Lindsey Stirling is no stranger to video game covers. While she has albums of her own music, her most-viewed videos are the ones of her cosplaying, dancing, and playing reimagined violin versions of some of our favorite video game songs. Her Zelda medley and Dragon Age: Inquisition videos (in which she fights a dragon with her violin) are amazing, but her Skyrim cover with a cappella artist Peter Hollens is truly something special.

Like her other videos, Stirling's cover of "The Song of the Dragonborn" features both her and Peter Hollen in costume, frolicking through a very Skyrim-esque landscape while absolutely slaying Skyrim's theme song. What makes the cover so great is that it's only the two of them performing—by layering the vocals and violin, they create an incredibly rich sound out of one voice and one violin.

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Fantasy 7 Reimagines Final Fantasy X's "To Zanarkand"

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Not everyone loves Final Fantasy X, but it's hard to resist Nobuo Uematsu's fantastic soundtrack, especially the game's heartbreaking theme, "To Zanarkand." With such a wonderful history of music, the Final Fantasy series has its own unique sound, even as it varies from game to game.

That's what makes Soundcloud user Fantasy 7's covers of video game songs so unique—they cover a variety of music as if it were included on Final Fantasy 7's soundtrack. When combining the game's sound with other music from the series, such as their cover of "To Zanarkand," it becomes an entirely new sound that manages to evoke both games at the same time, inspiring nostalgia on two different levels.

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Page 2: More Video Game Song Covers

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A Cappella Master Smooth McGroove Defeats the "One Winged Angel" 

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With a soundtrack as good as the Final Fantasy series, it's hard not to include more than one of the series' classic video game songs. But where Smooth McGroove's cover of Final Fantasy 7's "One Winged Angel" differs is that it's done all in layered a cappella without significantly changing the sound of the song.

Like magic, this a cappella artist can replicate the synthesizers and instruments that make up the original song. This version manages to retain the power and emotion of the original version while also making it new again, a pretty impressive feat for just one man and a microphone.

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Mree's "Simple and Clean" Is a Gorgeous, Ethereal take on Kingdom Hearts' Theme  

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The opening song to Kingdom Hearts might be a little odd (singer and writer Utada Hikaru reportedly found writing for the game to be very difficult), but it's strangely haunting, perfectly in tune with the game's upbeat attitude and melancholy themes. It's a beautiful song, catchy and memorable even to fans of the singer who might not be into video games.

And then there's Mree's version, which ramps the haunting melody up to eleven and mixes Mree's ethereal voice with low, soothing music. Though it might be a little more somber and slow, this version of the song feels like a more adult version, the sort of thing that might close out a beloved childhood series.

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Impromptu Halo Cover Perfectly Captures the Song's Haunting Sound 

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The Halo series is known for excelling in its storytelling, multiplayer, and its gorgeous music. The series' theme is a haunting blend of the ancient and modern, which is why it leaves such a lasting impression. It sounds big and important, and even if you're not familiar with the music style you're bound to sense that it's something special.

Even more impressive is Max Newman's impromptu cover of the theme in an empty Swiss church. It's as minimal as minimal can be—just Newman's voice and the church's natural reverb—but it's incredibly beautiful, a testament to not only Newman's voice, but the natural simplicity and beauty of the Halo theme.

What are your favorite covers of video game songs?