Being a huge Jet Set Radio fan, I had been looking forward to this ever since it was announced. Upon completing it, I can say in good faith that it was pretty good overall. Although I enjoyed my time with it, I believe it fell short of its potential and ended up being more of an approximation than a triumphant evolution of this type of game.

I have a lot to say explaining why I feel this way. I will say that the majority of this will involve nitpicking, surely. Though I feel like these add up in a way that brings the game down for me. Overall, it just bums me out a bit that it couldn't have been more.

I'd like to emphasize that, despite my mixed feelings, I genuinely enjoyed my time with the game. So let me start off with what I really did enjoy about the game.

The opening to the game all around is pretty good. It's pretty straight to the point with its tutorials, starts you in an interesting environment, and has an intriguing setup to the story. I'd argue that the chosen setup is quite bold. If you knew anything about this game going in, you'd know about the robot head. So setting this up in an interesting way is key to this story working.

I very much enjoy the environment art. It nails the JSRF look while also not feeling super derivative with its graffiti and billboard art as good examples. I'd say this also shines the brightest when it comes to the "dream" levels. Which are honestly the best part of the game all around really.

Most of the soundtrack is enjoyable. Naganuma honestly never misses, and I've adored his style for nearly two decades. It really wouldn't be the same without him. Getting that out of the way, the other music included is enjoyable and varied overall. There are two tracks, however, I did not enjoy very much, but that is simply my taste and I don't think it's an issue.

As for the gameplay, there is a lot to like about it. A game like this has never felt so good to control. Platforming feels fantastic and is the most enjoyable aspect of the game. The air dash and boost offer the player freedom in a way that helps platforming but does not completely trivialize the platforming challenge.

The "dream" sequences I mentioned earlier are my favorite. They take full advantage of all the tools in your kit in a very fun and engaging way. I was immediately looking forward to these every time as the level design was at its peak here. Really helps that it has its own vibe and unique visuals.

The mailroom challenges stand out as one of my favorite aspects of the game. I find these to be very fun and rewarding. I also enjoy the design of the mascot you have to high-five. This also ties into how they design the platforming challenges. While I consider these challenges generally easier than certain tag missions, they still demand a strong grasp of the game's mechanics and the ability to maintain combos.

On the topic of tagging, it's also a standout aspect of the game. A significant portion of the platforming revolves around discovering these spots. This part of the game has you eager to explore how to get up or into an area. Something I feel the game does better than JSR for sure. It definitely makes you think spatially in a way that's interesting. I even had a few that I was unable to figure out.

The same principle applies to the hidden unlockables scattered throughout the game. Though I'd say that these reward exploration more so and make looking for every nook and cranny worth it.

One of the game's strengths is its open nature. Regardless of the situation, you have the freedom to engage in side activities. Whether you're in the midst of a challenge or even facing a boss, you can still partake in tagging or other side content. It's worth mentioning that bosses can restrict you to a specific area. This was more about not being locked out from content that is available in said area. This is also one of the only examples I can think that limits where you are able to go.

I'd like to specifically point out Pyramid Island as an area that I really enjoyed. The towering structures and distinctive design really make it stand out compared to the other levels. Not that I have really any issues with any of them, period. I enjoyed how most levels were designed. Plenty of fun exploration and engaging platforming all around.

These next things I will address are mostly good, but I have some things to say that are not strictly positive.

The trick system lends to the classic gameplay of getting a high combo, which is always fun and satisfying. However, only having three tricks to spam with no directional inputs makes it less engaging overall. Though way better than JSR ever did it, I wish they went further in a Tony Hawk direction.

The vehicle variety is a fun touch. Although I find a few things odd about them. Vehicles are often used as a means to access collectibles rather than providing gameplay variety. I also find it unnecessary that you can switch between vehicles beyond simply using your favorite character with your preferred ride.

The concept of having a phone that you can use without pausing the gameplay is a very neat addition. The phone works well as a map and has a fun early 2000s design. I think that a few small tweaks would have made it even better. A few more things should have been marked on the map like mailrooms and taxi signs. Lastly, I wish that when selecting music, it would start me where I left off last. Having to scroll down through the top again is tiresome when you have so many tracks.

The Oldheads serve as gatekeepers to different areas, and the quality of these areas varies significantly. While some of the areas they unlock are genuinely compelling, others feel rather lackluster. I'm glad they exist due to some of the fun challenges and interesting areas they unlock. It doesn't change the fact that some of them feel very empty and confusing.

Before delving into my criticisms, I want to emphasize that I genuinely enjoyed playing this game enough to unlock most of its content and tag all but four spots. I really did have a good time, but some decisions really confused me. Granted, I'd like to reiterate that many of these issues, when considered individually, may not seem significant. However, I'll be diving into nitpicking to address them, as I believe these details are worth discussing and contemplating. I would also like to mention that I will be comparing this to Jet Set Radio more frequently here.

First impressions are quite important. So why, in this bombastic funky game, is there absolutely no audio or flair on the title screen? I think it's very confusing tonally. Not only that, but I immediately assumed something was wrong with my setup as pressing start also had no sound. I think this is a legit issue I hope they address, but I'm also surprised by how boring it is even without audio. Compare this to both JSR title screens, and it's night and day. Luckily, I think the main menu is completely fine, but how much better would that even be if the title screen was full of energy of any kind.

Another thing regarding first impressions is the name of the game itself. I find it to be too long and confusing. It took me a while to even remember what it's called, and I've had friends on many occasions not able to recall the name. I think they should have shortened it down or called it something simple. It feels like they just wanted three words similar to the naming scheme of Jet Set Radio. I don't think it really works when it's such a mouthful, and people can't recall it easily.

Something else I feel I have to address is the price point. Normally I would never even bring this up in a review as I find it has nothing to do with the artistic merit of the game. Though it seems people find the price to be too high. I think the price is totally fair. However, they have some day one DLC I do not completely agree with. I feel like there was no reason to do this other than to capitalize off their previous work. Overall though, I'm not too offended by it. I just think if you were to unlock it in the endgame, it would be a fun, charming surprise instead of feeling "greedy."

When it comes to the story, I think it starts strong, as I mentioned earlier, but beyond that, I think it starts to flounder. There is nothing that interesting save for a few moments such as Red cracking his robot head. I find the dialogue to be uninteresting and semi-awkward at times. An example I made note of was Red saying "So you are like, my dad?" to the Flesh Prince. Found it to be an odd choice of words for that moment, but at least I remember it. The same could not be said about the majority of the writing. I was often paying attention to the writing but impatiently waiting for when I could play the game again.

As for the characters in this game, I can't say I care for them very much. I don't dislike their designs, but I don't find them to really work for me. Especially compared to JSR characters, which I love the majority of. I think it's a shame because I also enjoy most of the Lethal League characters. I will say that I find Red's design pretty decent, which is important. Though I feel his head is a bit too close to Unit-02 from Evangelion.

They really needed a character like DJ Professor K. He does wonders for JSR, which without him, the playable characters are cool looking but fairly shallow. Not to mention the games also have an interesting police chief so it isn't just the DJ. I feel like JSR does a lot more with less.

It doesn't help either that the story does not do a ton to flesh out these characters in any way that makes me care about them very much. I will say that Solace is at least memorable all around. He has some quirks and his design is unique, although I can't say I really like him either.

The characters, unfortunately, lack depth. Given the storytelling approach compared to JSR, there was potential to develop them further. However, they come across as uninspiring and not written in an interesting way. As someone who places a high value on character design, it can significantly influence my perception of a character. While I genuinely hope that others find some attachment to these characters, I personally didn't find them compelling.

The voice acting in Lethal League played a crucial role in making me appreciate the characters, going beyond just their designs. Something JSR doesn't even really have going for it. The same could not be said here. In fact, I feel like I can hardly hear what they are saying in their lines, especially with the default SFX to music balancing. Beyond that even, I feel like most voices aren't memorable and are even inconsistent in quality. A good example lies in the NPCs, while not as critical to the overall experience, they showcase inconsistencies in quality, including issues like low-quality sounding clips and outright microphone clipping.

The sound design can be described as adequate; however, I believe it lacks the charming little jingles and impactful sounds that really worked for JSR. I suspect the issue again lies in the sound mixing. Fortunately, the game provides options to adjust the music volume, as it should, but it doesn't completely resolve this issue.

Now I will finally go into direct comparison with JSRF overall. I don't think this game does enough to separate itself from Future. It's pretty derivative all around. Luckily for them, Future is not an accessible video game in the slightest. Team Reptile clearly ended up wanting to make a better JSRF. I'd say they were mostly successful overall. Though I feel like most players have never played the original let alone Future, which puts them in a very fortunate position. I can't even feel bad for Sega; they clearly messed up badly by never re-releasing the game.

That being said, they borrow a lot from Future. So much so that it's practically the same game in many ways.

The whole idea of the open connected world is straight from Future. They even have a way better map, more places to go, and better location variety than Bomb Rush. Bomb Rush even copies areas too closely for me. Brink Terminal resembles Shibuya Terminal and the Hideout does the Garage. Both areas you will see within five minutes of playing Future. Some other areas resemble things from Future as well, but I think they did a better job typically of making it different enough.

I could make many more comparisons, but I'd rather focus on a few more than list everything I can think of. The point I'm more so trying to make is how derivative it all is. The style JSR oozes I don't even think Sega could authentically replicate again. Trying to emulate such a high bar is incredibly difficult and causes the game to fall flat a little bit. I think the closest anything ever got to it is Splatoon, which also manages to be completely unique. Lethal League also manages to do a better job than Bomb Rush.

Even with improvements being made to Future's formula I can't say it's a straight upgrade. Future has things going for it over its spiritual successor.
Bomb Rush doesn't quite capture all the intricate details and nuances that make Jet Set Radio as a whole so exceptional. I've mentioned some already even. The biggest thing though is JSR has its own identity, which is really important. I can only imagine I'd love to replay JSRF in time, but who knows if I would as easily do so with Bomb Rush.

While Bomb Rush trims some fat and tedium, I feel the pacing of Future is far more captivating. Utilizing smaller areas with distinct challenges and requiring return visits to previous locations proves to be a more engaging approach. In comparison, Bomb Rush adopts six major areas with smaller sub-areas, which works reasonably well but doesn't quite match the diversity found in Future's numerous distinct locations.

I genuinely appreciate the way they handle unlockables in this game, especially when compared to Jet Set Radio. Unlocking everything in those games was quite a hassle. The approach here, which is easier overall and incorporates some puzzle elements, is a definite improvement.

Let's get into the gameplay overall. I already talked about how I wish the trick system was a little bit more complex. I think it works well enough especially when the endgame challenges you to achieve a high score within a time limit. Beyond that though, I find it to be quite easy to keep a combo going. The primary reason for this I'd say is how forgiving the manual is. It goes on for way too long and is quite mobile. This in turn practically trivializes any time you need to do a crew battle. I never lost once even if I screwed up badly.

I just wish doing combos was more engaging. Seems to become a chore faster than it should. Luckily the rail leaning system adds a bit to the gameplay. The speed it gives you plus adding to the multiplier makes it pretty satisfying. Unfortunately, the novelty wears off when it becomes one of only two methods to raise the multiplier. If they even added a small variety of tricks you wouldn't be mindlessly mashing the three buttons for the majority of the combo.

Another criticism of this system is how they don't have much to break your combo. The only thing that comes to mind is stairs, which are not commonly an obstacle so they are easy to stay away from. I think you should also be able to beef it in some capacity, which is currently impossible. You don't even take fall damage when landing from incredible heights.

Getting off your vehicle is a nice touch in theory, but I find it does little to add to the game. I think a way they could have fixed this was if the vehicles were more unruly. As it stands, it's more of an annoyance when you are swapped into this mode by things like stairs. I'd say that it still has a purpose, but its limited use here compared to its potential in Tony Hawk Underground is disappointing. I think my biggest gripe regarding it is when you need to slide. I would often forget I need to be off my vehicle, which would slow the game down to a crawl. The only reason this was an issue is because there is hardly ever a reason to get off of your vehicle.

Regardless of all these remarks, it does manage to make all of this more engaging than JSR ever did. It's just a tease when they were clearly inspired by Tony Hawk that they didn't go even a little further.

While I've praised the overall experience of tagging, it's worth discussing the tagging input system. I always missed doing inputs in Future, and I think the original game is a little long-winded. Bomb Rush strikes a balance between the styles of JSR and Future, although I find it to be a little shallow honestly. I feel like I shouldn't be able to just spin the stick with my eyes closed. If not, I think I should at least be vulnerable while doing it. I think it's good enough overall and I enjoy that it's lenient positioning-wise.

I enjoy the art that they included in the game. Having the freedom to choose which you'd like to use is a fun idea. Though I feel like it's a huge missed opportunity to not allow players to customize graffiti when both JSR games allowed this. I feel like you should just be able to upload a picture from your PC if you'd like. This would encourage players to memorize the inputs for graffiti tenfold instead of spamming the stick always like I did.

The combat in the game is definitely lacking. It lacks weight and focus, but the biggest issue, I'd say, is how impactless it feels. They do use a small particle effect, which is nice, but I don't think it's apparent enough. I believe they could've enhanced it with some audio cues and screenshake, perhaps. It stands out as the least satisfying aspect of the game.

Speaking of combat, I noticed a narrow opportunity to spray the police when they were knocked away. The window of opportunity was so brief that it felt unintended, although I managed to pull it off a couple of times. It wasn't until I found myself in a dire situation at the mall, repeatedly getting gunned down by the police, that I stumbled upon the solution. If you jump after attacking once you will get this prompt. It's a neat feature, but it makes combat trivial. Why would you not do this every time when it works so effectively?

The larger enemies and bosses, with a few exceptions, are defeated too easily. Nothing really feels like a threat in this game. Especially when your health regenerates crazy fast. The police, even when on high alert, usually aren't a problem, except for the occasional snipers. Especially when you can just get rid of them with a change of clothes. DJ Cyber is probably the best boss in the game though lacking a little polish. It should be more apparent you need to reflect his records when it's the only time in the game you can even do such a thing.

I've mentioned a few times earlier that I believe the game is somewhat forgiving. Let me be clear: I think the game is too easy. However, I don't consider this a major issue. While I would have preferred more significant consequences for mistakes and a bit more challenging opposition, it's not a deal-breaker by any means.

I find it rather baffling that switching characters or using fast travel is such a lengthy process. I might have been more understanding of it if it didn't come with such strict limitations when it involves the police. I think I can understand restricting fast travel, but the fact that they refuse your ability to switch characters with any police activity is annoying and an odd choice. Especially when graffiti is so low risk in these situations. JSR was all about avoiding the police while tagging and that took like five times longer to do so. I will admit that I do like being able to choose dances and that they have some utility for the game however.

Another strange choice relates to how they handle skipping cutscenes. You'll find yourself watching the police cutscenes repeatedly, especially when backtracking. While skipping might seem useful, I'd argue that it takes too long. In some instances, you're practically forced to watch the entire cutscene. Moreover, there's hardly any feedback for this, which is a standard feature in most modern games. Adding to the frustration, some cutscenes are unskippable for no apparent reason.

A good example of this is after beating a single crew member in an area you have to watch this long drawn out cutscene. This gets repetitive quickly, and you almost always know exactly where the collectible is located anyway. I'd be slightly more lenient if the mailroom cutscene didn't have the opposite problem. It often appears very briefly, leaving you to sometimes wonder where it even is.

A good idea this game has is introducing gates based on what you are riding. It's practically the only thing that differentiates them at all. They are not implemented perfectly however. The bike gates are about as clear as they could be no issue here. The problem though is that the skateboard gates are not nearly as clear though at least stick out. To be honest, I never actually found out what the skates gate even is. I did notice some clear glass floors, which might be related, but I could never figure out what to do with them. This, I believe, further supports my point...

I found the final boss to be an entertaining spectacle and acceptable overall though I had at least one big issue with it. The issue is if you handstand on one of the polls you will never get hit. Other than that, I don't have much to say. It did its job fine enough I think. Especially compared to the other bosses of the game.

I don't really have anything to say regarding how the story wraps up or the post-game content. It's about what you'd expect. My feelings of apathy toward the story were not changed by the ending.

That's pretty much it. I'd like to talk about Lethal League a little more before I wrap up because I think it's important. I'd like to stress that those games are way better representations of a JSR-inspired game. I think the games have their own identity and are something new and unique. It feels like they were not nearly as passionate about Bomb Rush. They could have done so much more with it. Though I can't really blame them. It was a way more ambitious game scope-wise by far.

At the end of the day, I'm grateful that a game like this exists. Sega sure as hell hasn't been doing anything thus far, so having a game heavily inspired by an original Xbox exclusive is quite unique today. Game development is a tough process, and I don't want to come off as entitled. Difficult decisions and cuts are necessary when creating something like this. Overall, I believe the development team did a decent job, and it seems that many people enjoy it. I hope the team is satisfied with the outcome. While I understand this is an indie project compared to a big corporation like Sega, it's hard not to draw comparisons to what it's trying to emulate. I simply wanted to share my thoughts as a passionate fan of JSR. If you've read this far, I appreciate your time and would love to hear your thoughts too.