I'm not sure what's more insane, the fact that this was pretty much Naganuma's first soundtrack or the fact that he hasn't really done much after this came out. But everyone already knows how much of a stylistic gem Jet Set Radio is, so instead I'll go into some of the lesser appreciated details that makes it a great game and try to keep my humming the bassline to a minimum. It's a game that sucks until you're good at it, which is probably the best kind of game there is. It's a real shame that the definition of "intuitive" has switched to "stuff that I get instantly" from "stuff I can pick up on easily," because I much prefer the latter. I really don't want to know everything right off that bat- the act of learning how to do things is what I'm interested in, and is one of the biggest reasons why I like video games as a medium in the first place. Jet Set Radio's rival encounters aren't only an engaging way to make you feel like you're expanding the size of your gang but also a clever method of cluing you in to shortcuts and tricks that you might not have figured out yourself. It's really fulfilling to observe them in a contained setting and then try them out in a real mission, and it's also exactly how watching someone else skate would play out in real life. The maps are initially given to you in bits and pieces, making it satisfying to use your full mastery of the physics and controls during the final few missions which each contain a full map instead of just a section. DJ Professor K is also a particularly genius inclusion. He's great at establishing and then perpetuating the level of energy that the game requires, but more importantly narrates in an aggressively present tense, propping up the setting and your active role in the story in a way you really don't see that often. I like this game too much to do anything but gloss over its pretty glaring problems. The enemies and health system are underdeveloped (they're hazards more than enemies and most of the time your best option is just tanking damage), there's a decent amount of technical problems (there's zero difference between walls you can and can't wall run on), and one really misplaced flashback section (not to mention the lamest final boss ever conceived). By all accounts, it meets my definition of a flawed masterpiece. But who cares? ROCK THAT SHIT, HOMIE!

TheCriticalThinker: "Why Precision Platformer "Wall Jumper" (game built around its controls that are designed in a way to be perfectly matched for the level design) Has The Best Game Feel" (video review, 40 minutes)

TheCriticalThinker: "Why Jet Set Radio (game built around its controls that are designed in a way to be perfectly matched for the level design with the goal of feeling like rollerskating) Just Hasn't Aged Well And Shouldn't Ever Be Replicated Without Fixing The Dogshit Jank Outdated Controls" (video critique, 4+ hours)

TheCriticalThinker: Why Do Modern Games All Feel Samey? (video analysis, 5 minutes)

Un-self-aware pretentious jab at un-self-aware pretentious videos aside, I have some thoughts to give for new players to maybe help with what doesn't click at first, or just to offer perspective. Context is a defining factor of enjoying almost anything; you wouldn't want to go in for what will be called a buffet only to find out it's actually a buffet of assorted rocks, dirt and shit; cause while it's not like you're being told there isn't rocks, dirt and shit in the buffet, it's not exactly what you're expecting by default, and Jet Set Radio's context in the modern era might do it a disservice; it's a clear-cut cult classic with a smooth and funky perception, and you're gonna head in and feel like you're controlling the least reliable guy ever brought into the medium. These controls are not hindering your ability to be smooth and bring out your sense of style, but they are designed to be an initial obstacle to your ability to immediately achieve satisfaction, and this is because Jet Set Radio isn't a game about vigorously showing off your delirious biznasty funky skills in a vacuum but rather a pretty intense time-attack game where the smoothness comes from the act of "not losing" instead of "winning".

So here's my advice: skip the tutorial, it's not helping you, it shows techniques you'll never need and makes out the game to be more complicated than it is. Instead of immediately thinking of doing tricks (assuming you're still able to get down with the time attack gameplay) try to think about the context of what this is; it's an arcade-y skating game, it's simulating an (exxaggerated) set of physics tied to skating, there is weight and momentum; you cannot jump and get anywhere without build-up and walls are a death sentence for your speed, but there's actually a significant degree of leeway given the "floaty jumps" are pretty much a life-saver in terms of pulling off long trick sequences. Try to enjoy the learning process, fuck around and try to naturally discover the techniques you can pull off. Jet Set Radio, at it's core, is a time-attack game where you're trying to gain territory while skating, and it's fundamentally faithful to all these ideas, and with this context you can better know if it'll appeal to you. Sloppy physics are there not to be forever be sloppy, but to make you feel the growth of your ability (hell, fucking around to learn will even help you find collectibles most likely) and the quick-time event graffiti? Notice how the timer beats down on you while you do it, and notice how cops come in to punish and hunt you as you're actively spraying; it is meant to put the heat on you. You're a punk, not a hippie!

You know, on a raw gameplay level, Jet Set Radio is a fucking disaster. The movement is stiff and nauseating - building momentum is a goofy trial-and-error experience, boosting barely makes a difference unless you're going downhill, going uphill is virtually impossible, and the strict timing on the jumps + grind rails does not mesh with the claustrophobic map design whatsoever. Jet Set Radio's cities are sprawling and surprisingly huge (shoutout to that one city that has an entire sewer underside just waiting for you to explore), but they're so cluttered with tight corridors, uneven terrains, and vehicles that can fucking hurt you that you won't be spending any time admiring the surface-level depth of the map design because you'll be too busy feeling frustrated with the millions of tiny problems that pockmark these stages like a bad case of zits.

There's also the fact that combat fucking sucks, races against characters fucking suck, and rival battles against other teams you're supposed to spray with graffiti REALLY suck because it's nigh-impossible to predict their skate path and even more impossible to finally catch up with them and finally spray the bastard before the timer runs out. Jet Set Radio - sorry, Jet Grind Radio - is a nightmare of game design and open-world movement...

...and yet, Jet Set Radio is so stylish that you almost manage to stop caring after all. The strong, spiky, distinctive character designs, the sick-ass graffiti tags, the immaculately-aged cel-shaded style that defined and pioneered an entire subgenre of game visuals, and the fucking MUSIC, the most badass OST in gaming HISTORY bar fucking none - this is what keeps you playing. Jet Set Radio wins you over with style and presentation alone, and for that, it deserves some serious kudos.

I UNDERSTAND! UNDERSTAND! I UNDERSTAND! UNDERSTAND! I UNDERSTAND! UNDERSTAND! THE CONCEPT OF SOUL...

Wait, that's in the sequel. Whoops.

Gameplay-wise, yeah it's a bit rough with level exits not being that distinguish enough till you're up close and facing them, pretty much everyone is out to mess your day up and good luck trying to do the bigger graffiti pieces in one go when everyone is circling them. But damn it, the art style and music and identity this game has is pure rebellion "Rage Against The Machine" delight just makes it super hard to get angry with. Even getting hit by cars and riding on top of them as you recover makes me laugh. It's a game that knows what it is, and that is a fun time riding around on skates and spray painting graffiti while getting the other gangs and forces angry at you.

I want to start this review out that the second I started playing this game, I got so obsessed that I finished it in about 2 days. I played it so much on the TV in the bedroom that my wife started mumbling "Jet Grind Radiooooooooo" in her sleep (okay, it was only once but it was funny as fuck).

There's a lot to say about Jet Set Radio, or well, Jet Grind Radio, as that's what I played. Overall, I would say that I really enjoyed it, but thinking it through I understand the complaints people have with it. I will say though that many things people complain about are just aspects of older games that kind of aged out of what we see in modern gaming. The Dreamcast is not the most old-school gaming console, but it's definitely at that awkward stage of having more retro gameplay mixed with more modern graphics, resulting in attracting a lot more modern gamers who in turn get turned off by the gameplay.

Jet Set's gameplay focuses on being difficult, much like retro games. In order to ensure the player doesn't finish the game in 2 hours (or need to rent it for longer than one weekend from the store), they make sure the game has a certain difficulty you need to practice to achieve. While annoying for some, I find it incredibly satisfying how retro games always start with you being terrible at the game until you essentially are forced to "get good". Seeing something that used to be a struggle for you turning to a total walk in the park is so deliciously satisfying, especially with the how cool the grinding and spray-painting combo result looks in Jet Set Radio. But anyways, lets get down to business on rating this game.

Control/Gameplay: 2/5
Yeah, it's not great, but it's not as horrible as people make it out to be. The biggest issue is that the Dreamcast controller only has one analog stick, resulting in the camera control AND the spray paint mechanic being on the same left back trigger. I didn't have too many issues with this except for Tag & Die, which for some reason LOVED to just change my camera angle instead of spraying the wall murals when I rail grinded past. While I eventually got used to the controls and actually got pretty good at them, it still never felt good. I would be doing what I was supposed to with little to no issue, but it still didn't feel good, always like I was fighting against the analog stick, never the smooth gliding sensation you wish for. The boost from the back right trigger also never made me feel like I was going much faster, mostly needing to rely on jumping to gain speed. Overall, controls aren't terrible, but they're definitely something to get used to, and in the end when you do have the controls mastered, it still doesn't feel that great.

Story: 3/5
Jet Set tells it story through comic book panel cutscenes in between its three chapters. There's also a radio show host narrator who fills stuff in between missions too. Both are fun, and help keep up the energy that the game wants to have throughout the game. But what even is the story? I don't really remember it that well. To be fair, who plays Jet Set Radio because of that amazing story everyone talks about? Yeah, that's what I thought. It's a rebels vs cops story, that turns into a rebels vs "the man" story. I think there's something involving a record being stolen, too? Fairly basic, kind of what you expect from looking at the cover of the game. Though the final boss was so insane and out of nowhere, I couldn't help but fall in love with it.

I would argue that the game gives you WAY too many playable characters to choose from, but the fact that each character is so uniquely cool in their own style (minus Mew just being a blue Gum) makes it worth it. The fact they all play pretty differently is nice too. In the end, who cares about a large cast when every character they give me is even cooler than the last. The only character design I dislike is believe it or not the protagonist, Beat. He looks cool enough on the cover, but holy shit he looks like SUCH a nerd in the game, I couldn't take him seriously. His redesign for Future is way better looking. More variety on the female characters would have been cool, but whatever, not that big of a complaint from me.

Graphics/Visuals: 5/5
Easy 5/5 - everyone knows that stylized games are the sexiest games, and holy shit Jet Set did not disappoint. I'm sure it's the reason why anyone gives a shit about the game today (cause its definitely not the gameplay lol) because not only is the game insanely cool, colorful, and attention grabbing, but it's unlike anything we've really seen before with video games, mixing it's art design with comic books and graffiti art. It's fucking awesome, with each stage never boring me and not one character coming off as uninspired and bland. I want to take this game and shove it into every modern AAA game to show them that you CAN have color and still make your game cool as fuck.

There's also this "make your own graffiti" section that's super fun to fuck around with. Of course, I made mine hot pink with the Japanese word for dyke smack in the center, which worked best with the gold rhino statues, giving them little lesbian shirts.

Soundtrack: 5/5
Another banger, and another reason for why Jet Set got its cool reputation. The music is hip, and INSANELY good, especially for a sort of arcade style game like this. You need good music to keep people motivated, at the risk that unfitting music can get people to stop playing the game entirely. I can make a joke here that I hope the music creator isn't being annoying on twitter right now, but that's so overdone I'm just going to post some of my favorite songs from the game instead: 1 2 3

Overall, I give Jet Grind Radio on the Sega Dreamcast a 4/5, based on the stuff I talked about above (well, it rounded out to 3.75/5, but I'll round up). I got to give credit when credit is due, and that's the fact that the most impressive thing about the game somehow took the geekiest most uncool sport ever (rollerblading) and convinced people it is actually super awesome and rebellious.

Thanks for the play, Sega.

awesome game. simply filled to the brim with energy, movement and style - the game feels alive. there's rarely a moment on screen where something isn't moving: characters bouncing around in their idle animations in the garage, enemies getting pissed off when you escape them, hell, professor k's entire body is jamming along to the beat. the game controls wonderfully as well, i've heard a lot of complaints in regards to the game's control speed but i actually think some of the most fun i had in the game was figuring out how to work around the game's limited perspective and...interesting level design. devising strategies, routes and ways to complete the levels within the time limit will never not be entertaining, and simply becoming one with the overall atmosphere and vibe of the game is an experience of its own, god i love the soundtrack. so much of the game is just full of creativity, you can really tell how much love was put into this game. easily one of the most fun experiences ive had with a game ever and another reminder as to why i love the medium so much.

on to the FUTURE

JET SET RADIOOOOO
Quando foi anunciado pela Sega um novo jogo de Jet Set Radio (juntamente à outras franquias) eu voltei a ter interesse na franquia (de 2 jogos) e me apaixonei por ela.
Uma das coisas que mais se destacam no jogo é a trilha sonora, principalmente as músicas feitas por Hideki Naganuma que são (praticamente) a identidade visual do jogo (músicas como: Let Mom Sleep, Sweet Soul Brother, Sneakman etc.)
Os gráficos envelheceram muito bem pelo uso do Cell Shading (também um dos fatores que influenciaram na indetidade do jogo) e por serem estilizados nos visuais dos cenários e personagens (que são muito carismáticos).
A única coisa que me incomodou no jogo foram as corridas (talvez pq eu não seja tão experiente com os controles), que as vezes parecem muito """injustas"""
Para alguém que ODIAVA graffite (e pichações), esse jogo mudou a forma de como eu enxergo esse estilo de arte (agora só odeio pichação).

quite possibly the worst game ive ever played. pure AGONY

we all love jet set radio, the style and soul motivates me to go outside and be the coolest person of the week, but playing it is some horrible tortue technique id imagine used in guantanamo bay. the levels absolutely do not compliment the character movement and vice versa. you know the grunts AVGN makes? ive finally felt that now. holy shit this game is bad

edit: so i came around to beating it and it finally clicked with me, will have another review coming but im leaving this up cuz this was my first impressions

With Bomb Rush Cyberfunk around the corner, I figured I owed both JSR games a replay. I've played through this one twice before, once on PS3 and once on PC, but since I own a Dreamcast I figured I'd play it on my CRT this time.

I think the "bad controls" that I'm seeing in other reviews and hearing elsewhere online are a little overstated. It's probably been a decade since I last played JSR, and this replay made me realize the game is certainly rough around the edges and takes some getting used to. Your momentum can often work against you and the camera controls are downright terrible (in the Dreamcast version; the PC/PS3/360 ports let you use the other analog stick to control the camera). That being said, it didn't take long for me to get the hang of things and start having a blast with the game. The music, art style, and general aesthetics are just as good as everyone says. In some ways I'd say they're better than Jet Set Radio Future, despite Future being an overall improvement and better game. The arcadey gameplay loop is fun and very replayable. I can see myself starting a NG+ in the near future to go back and collect all the graffiti souls and secret characters while I wait to replace my dead Xbox in order to replay Future. JSR is everything I love about 90s Sega arcade games, despite it technically not being one. If you stumbled upon this review and haven't played it, definitely give it a shot. I'd just recommend playing it on PC if you're not someone like me who's willing to deal with the flaws of the original for the sake of actually playing on the Dreamcast. The few missing music tracks from the port really aren't worth the tradeoff of the original's camera controls.