If there's one truth about pop culture trends, it's that they don't age well. It takes something incredibly special to actually last, and I was surprised to see that Jet Set Radio somehow pulled it off. Even though it's steeped in the extreme sports and bright colors of the early 2000’s, it remains timeless by weaving their basic appeal into a holistic game design. The developers knew that a sense of speed and flow was something that could appeal to anyone, so they designed the maps to wordlessly facilitate such an experience, with networks of corridors smoothly feeding into each other. If players can recognize how different paths link, momentum can be transferred gracefully as they navigate to each objective. With the goal being to recognize optimal paths, having small maps that the Dreamcast could handle didn’t feel like a limitation at all, and instead a smart choice to facilitate a smooth skating experience. The bright cel-shaded art style also let the developers squeeze a lot of power out of the hardware, so going fast and spinning the camera around wouldn’t be a problem at all. With it being so well-engineered, the only gripe I can think of is how the game can feel pretty bad before you get to the starting point of that design: moving at high speed. Getting moving from a dead stop takes a long time, and the imprecise nature of moving on wheels means the smallest momentum-killing mistakes feel like a slap in the face. For the first hour of gameplay, you may be wondering if I just made up everything I’ve said about speed and momentum, but after some practice, the game’s qualities will click into place.

Also, this game was a bitch to get working on PC with a controller. I’ll save you the trouble and just tell you to download x360ce and map your controller with it, then you’re good to go.

Where to begin... This game is vastly interesting. It is a peculiar companion to American films such as The Matrix, Fight Club, and Office Space (all released the year prior) that exhibit the post Cold War, pre 9/11 existential, anti-authoritarianism angst most common in the states. Amazingly, I can say this game is dated not so much because of the literal technology but because of the themes and the way it is stylized. Like it’s other cel shaded brethren, playing on the original hardware it has aged incredibly well, the gameplay leaves something to be desired through. It suffers from the same thing that plagues many Dreamcast games: a poor camera. That the OEM controller lacks a second analog stick is a detriment to the console (IMO it’s the only one). The game would also benefit from a map while playing instead of having to toggle back and forth from the pause screen. For me, those are minor issues that don’t completely hinder the whole experience. Okami is purported to be an example of “video games as art” but THIS is more deserving of that title. The stylization is light years more interesting than Okami.

This might produce a flood of negative feedback, but I have to be honest: this game is the Comix Zone of the Dreamcast. To interpolate somebody else's Comix Zone review, this game gets an A for aesthetics, an A+ for concept, a A for its soundtrack, a C for general execution, and a big fat F for controls - which is unfortunately the most important part of this kind of game. I don't think it's a coincidence that JSRF is essentially just a remake of this game in a slightly different setting: they knew they could do it better, and they did. Definitely worth checking out for the historical value, but if you want to play a good video game, JSRF is the way to go.