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.
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.