Yeah, I know, only one hour recorded, meaning you shouldn't take this as a legitimate review. But when a game causes you to rage quit, I think that serves as more than a recommendation as to why you should not play it. Jet Set Radio boasts a gorgeous cell-shaded art style that has aged surprisingly well thanks to the HD boost and an intermixing of primary colors that blend well together. It reminded me a lot of the Dick Tracy film, which had a similar color palette, albeit here it's much more vibrant.
However, all that artistry is wasted on a motion game with poor motion. Jet Set Radio came out in a time when slippery grounds were so common we let them slide (no pun intended)- the idea of translating this natural gameplay flaw into the skating genre was honestly genius given the inherent gliding nature of the sport.
The problem is very simple- the directional control is either sloppy or outright absent. Sure, when you're just cruising straight-ahead the joystick works fine. However, the second you try to combine the speed boost with anything other than a straight jump, you get into a tangled web of poor response inputs. Trying to angle your jump fails; trying to turn backwards falters; trying to hop between rail lines is impossible; trying to use a leap to boost you onto a rail line is impossible.
Essentially what the game wants you to do is come at everything from a straight point with enough built-up velocity, which completely limits the kind of freedom and makes movement a pain. Adding salt to the wounds are the presence of policemen, who seek to stop you as part of JSR's discount-Cyberpunk story of youth rebelling against authority via graffiti. Any gunshot or tear gas hit kills your momentum instantly. Combine this with a camera that is hovers close behind and limits your field-of-view and you have a system where you honestly have no choice but to backtrack and go back at an obstacle again and again. And if all that wasn't bad enough, sometimes your character won't even attach onto a railing despite you landing on it!
Honestly, there were two quick fixes here: one, provide a manual lock-on for players to easily move or jump between objects, and two, provide an insta-boost for players to go from 0-100 (i.e., go from a static position to a kinetic one). Both would've gone a long way towards alleviating the turning and speed problems.
The OST was good from the few levels I played- it's a hip hop groove that leans heavily into the genre's pre-gangsta roots. I also liked how the NPCs bopped with whatever beat was playing in the background. Voice acting is limited, but I wasn't a fan of Billy Brown's performance as DJ Professor K- it honestly seemed like he was trying to imitate Sam Jackson from Do the Right Thing, but without the same passion, and ended up coming off as a light-sounding Keith David.
But overall, the problems with motility caused me to rage quit. Will I come back to it? It's possible- it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've returned to at title that pissed me off. But then again, life is short, and I have a huge backlog to get through.
I probably should've foreseen that things would've been difficult given how poorly-designed and drawn-out the tutorial was. Seriously, when see people looking up how to beat a tutorial, you know you're in for a treat....
However, all that artistry is wasted on a motion game with poor motion. Jet Set Radio came out in a time when slippery grounds were so common we let them slide (no pun intended)- the idea of translating this natural gameplay flaw into the skating genre was honestly genius given the inherent gliding nature of the sport.
The problem is very simple- the directional control is either sloppy or outright absent. Sure, when you're just cruising straight-ahead the joystick works fine. However, the second you try to combine the speed boost with anything other than a straight jump, you get into a tangled web of poor response inputs. Trying to angle your jump fails; trying to turn backwards falters; trying to hop between rail lines is impossible; trying to use a leap to boost you onto a rail line is impossible.
Essentially what the game wants you to do is come at everything from a straight point with enough built-up velocity, which completely limits the kind of freedom and makes movement a pain. Adding salt to the wounds are the presence of policemen, who seek to stop you as part of JSR's discount-Cyberpunk story of youth rebelling against authority via graffiti. Any gunshot or tear gas hit kills your momentum instantly. Combine this with a camera that is hovers close behind and limits your field-of-view and you have a system where you honestly have no choice but to backtrack and go back at an obstacle again and again. And if all that wasn't bad enough, sometimes your character won't even attach onto a railing despite you landing on it!
Honestly, there were two quick fixes here: one, provide a manual lock-on for players to easily move or jump between objects, and two, provide an insta-boost for players to go from 0-100 (i.e., go from a static position to a kinetic one). Both would've gone a long way towards alleviating the turning and speed problems.
The OST was good from the few levels I played- it's a hip hop groove that leans heavily into the genre's pre-gangsta roots. I also liked how the NPCs bopped with whatever beat was playing in the background. Voice acting is limited, but I wasn't a fan of Billy Brown's performance as DJ Professor K- it honestly seemed like he was trying to imitate Sam Jackson from Do the Right Thing, but without the same passion, and ended up coming off as a light-sounding Keith David.
But overall, the problems with motility caused me to rage quit. Will I come back to it? It's possible- it certainly wouldn't be the first time I've returned to at title that pissed me off. But then again, life is short, and I have a huge backlog to get through.
I probably should've foreseen that things would've been difficult given how poorly-designed and drawn-out the tutorial was. Seriously, when see people looking up how to beat a tutorial, you know you're in for a treat....