JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
I tried getting into this years ago but bounced off pretty quickly due to the controls. At the time, I reasoned that my issue was trying to play it with keyboard/mouse, which might sound like a fair assessment until I admit I logged 40 hours into Sonic Generations with keyboard/mouse. It sounds like the controls can be a bit of a stumbling point for folks, and initially bouncing off isn't that strange.
It's worth figuring it out, though. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jet Set has a GREAT sense of style and flow, leaning into a lot of the characteristic simplicity that made SEGA's mega-hits of this era what they were. Tony Hawk feels like an easy point of comparison, but mostly in the kinetic flow state; I actually find the comparison unfavorable to Jet Set, since tricks are so de-emphasized in this game. Yeah, they're there, but outside of high score modes, that's not really what you're here for. Tony Hawk emphasizes codifying gaps and building combos, while Jet Set emphasizes spine transfers and fluidly moving from tag spot to tag spot, all while managing the opposition.
I think the game sometimes overdoes it, though. Like, I generally got nothing against the ridiculous number of enemies the game showers on the player, since half the fun is figuring out how to manage (for example) racing down rooftops on Kogane-cho while avoiding freaking tactical helicopter missile strikes (to say nothing about Onimisha's eff-off revolver and disproportionate response to a bunch of punk kids being a public nuisance). There are a couple points where it got to be a bit much for me - trying to figure out how to get to that central statue in Grind Square (oh, I get it, "Grind" is a slant-rhyme with "Times", was trying to figure that one) with the electro-shock assassins was a bit sensory overload - but even then most of those were just me struggling to solve the puzzle. But I do think that cutscene you get sometimes after you evade a ground-bound enemy on top of a roof, where you see the militia troopers or whatever stomping their feet in irritation, didn't need to play EVERY time. Hard to keep a maneuver in mind if you have to watch an unrelated cutscene in the middle of it.
The chapter system is a little janky, too. Not a big deal, since it basically serves as an aesthetic buffer around the stuff in NYC versus the stuff in Tokyo. But it does feel like the game suddenly decides it wants to have a narrative and chapter structure about two thirds of the way through.
Also - I'm really not fond of how finicky the spray button can be during rival fights! It's weird to me that you have to be so precise with when you hit the button, since there's an input delay and it's easy to miss your window. I would've much rather been able to hold the button, with Beat or whoever contextually knowing when to start spraying.
I'm mostly criticizing, but I feel like a lot of the game's appeal is pretty self-evident. The cel-shaded graphics are fun to look at, being able to customize your sprays is fun, having the sprays down to a mini-game is a good way to have it not distract too much from flow but also present a commitment with the larger sprays, the music is GREAT, the cast is light-weight but fairly fun...
Actually, I gotta say, the game's weirdly poignant by the end there. Thematic depth isn't generally this game's bag, but I feel like Combo adds a great deal to proceedings, with his introspection on his friend's fate, the machinations of the Golden Rhinos, and the plight of all the street gangs. That bit at the end about how everyone's the same, just trying to make sense of their own lives - adds a bit of gravitas to things, not gonna lie. Good stuff.
I tried getting into this years ago but bounced off pretty quickly due to the controls. At the time, I reasoned that my issue was trying to play it with keyboard/mouse, which might sound like a fair assessment until I admit I logged 40 hours into Sonic Generations with keyboard/mouse. It sounds like the controls can be a bit of a stumbling point for folks, and initially bouncing off isn't that strange.
It's worth figuring it out, though. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jet Set has a GREAT sense of style and flow, leaning into a lot of the characteristic simplicity that made SEGA's mega-hits of this era what they were. Tony Hawk feels like an easy point of comparison, but mostly in the kinetic flow state; I actually find the comparison unfavorable to Jet Set, since tricks are so de-emphasized in this game. Yeah, they're there, but outside of high score modes, that's not really what you're here for. Tony Hawk emphasizes codifying gaps and building combos, while Jet Set emphasizes spine transfers and fluidly moving from tag spot to tag spot, all while managing the opposition.
I think the game sometimes overdoes it, though. Like, I generally got nothing against the ridiculous number of enemies the game showers on the player, since half the fun is figuring out how to manage (for example) racing down rooftops on Kogane-cho while avoiding freaking tactical helicopter missile strikes (to say nothing about Onimisha's eff-off revolver and disproportionate response to a bunch of punk kids being a public nuisance). There are a couple points where it got to be a bit much for me - trying to figure out how to get to that central statue in Grind Square (oh, I get it, "Grind" is a slant-rhyme with "Times", was trying to figure that one) with the electro-shock assassins was a bit sensory overload - but even then most of those were just me struggling to solve the puzzle. But I do think that cutscene you get sometimes after you evade a ground-bound enemy on top of a roof, where you see the militia troopers or whatever stomping their feet in irritation, didn't need to play EVERY time. Hard to keep a maneuver in mind if you have to watch an unrelated cutscene in the middle of it.
The chapter system is a little janky, too. Not a big deal, since it basically serves as an aesthetic buffer around the stuff in NYC versus the stuff in Tokyo. But it does feel like the game suddenly decides it wants to have a narrative and chapter structure about two thirds of the way through.
Also - I'm really not fond of how finicky the spray button can be during rival fights! It's weird to me that you have to be so precise with when you hit the button, since there's an input delay and it's easy to miss your window. I would've much rather been able to hold the button, with Beat or whoever contextually knowing when to start spraying.
I'm mostly criticizing, but I feel like a lot of the game's appeal is pretty self-evident. The cel-shaded graphics are fun to look at, being able to customize your sprays is fun, having the sprays down to a mini-game is a good way to have it not distract too much from flow but also present a commitment with the larger sprays, the music is GREAT, the cast is light-weight but fairly fun...
Actually, I gotta say, the game's weirdly poignant by the end there. Thematic depth isn't generally this game's bag, but I feel like Combo adds a great deal to proceedings, with his introspection on his friend's fate, the machinations of the Golden Rhinos, and the plight of all the street gangs. That bit at the end about how everyone's the same, just trying to make sense of their own lives - adds a bit of gravitas to things, not gonna lie. Good stuff.