As clunky as the gameplay may be, at least it delivers on what it sets out to be: being a fantastic fanservice game. Even if it isn't canon, many of the interactions between characters from different parts are still priceless.

The campaign should've ended at like chapter 9 but then all progress in the story was reset and the rest unfortunately felt filler af. Nothing that JJBA is known for. (0% filler)

I guess that because Jotaro is the most known Jojo character he kinda automatically was chosen to be the main protagonist, which I myself find a bit boring. The epilogue was interesting though and I like how it plays around with time (much like how every Jojo-part is heavily influenced by time/fate/gravity).

Q: Should a Jojo fan play this?
A: Most definitely!

Q: Should a non-Jojo fan play this?
A: Most definitely not.

When it comes to these indie games directly inspired by dead franchises, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk almost feels like it's in a league of it's own. This game feels like some long lost sequel to Jet Set Radio Future that came out three years after it. It satisfied all of my expectations as a JSR fan.

BRC ditches a lot of what made Jet Set Radio tedious; you have infinite spray paint, health regen, selectable music, levels are big and open, and there's no jank platforming. It doesn't have some of the small and narrow levels that JSRF had, instead the larger levels all feel well designed (which I can't say about some other JSR inspired indie games >.>).

The gameplay has a greater combo focus, giving you the option to manual on the ground to extend them. You get three gameplay styles, BMX, inline skates, and skateboards, but they all pretty much feel the same save for some minor differences in grind speed and manuals.

BRC's soundtrack is fantastic. Of course the three tracks contributed by Hideki Naganuma are bangers, but all of the others are great too. Some of them did get kinda grating, but thankfully you can pick a song whenever from the phone menu.

It's not perfect, I think it could really use some quality of life features. Being able to track how many collectables you have, and turning off heat level, just to name a few. The map in this is just as bad as JSR and they really should give you a way to actually look at it and mark taxi poles and toilets. The phone menu is kinda clunky. But overall an amazing experience, I hope this team gets to make another at some point

EDIT: Thanks to a recent update on 10-19, they have now added map markers for toilets and taxi signs along with the option to shuffle music and see how many collectables you have left in an area meaning they've fixed the biggest problems I had with the game

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is everything I thought it was going to be, from its great aspects to its flaws.
The way it looks and the way it controls are perfect and exactly what anyone could have expected going into this. The soundtrack was put together by people with very good taste and is extremely danceable - what you want in a game where you can make your character dance whenever you want. The missions are a little formulaic but they don't keep you in the same area for too long which I think staves off the tedium. Everything is also pretty easy aside from some post-game content, but I think that plays into BRC's favour since it's another element that ensures that the game doesn't get tedious.
The only element I think could definitely have been improved is the writing department. I did enjoy the broader plot and its tendency to get weird, but despite some distinct and memorable character designs, the characters don't feel particularly distinct or well characterised. They have attitude (good!), but no depth (not so good!).
Ultimately, BRC is a game with lots of style, is a little thin in the gameplay department while still giving you enough to have plenty of fun, and a little thin in the writing department while still keeping you interested. That's a great game, right? I'm describing a great game. It's an instant favourite for me.

Jet Set Radio but if the camera wasn't fucking garbage.

I am so happy this game exists even if it is literally exactly what it says on the tin and not much more than that. It is just a modern JSR game in the style of Future but with modern improvements and an actual STORY. They didn't really do much to piss on the older formula, but if you already REALLY don't like JSR then I don't expect anything here will convert you.

The one area where they didn't drastically improve over the originals was the graphical quality and, visual bugs aside, that's perfectly fine considering that
1. It's clearly part of the art style and charm of the game and
2. I've given worse looking games a 9/10 before.

So yeah, JSR is back. Whether from its parent company or not.

I have exactly one problem with BRC:

In an attempt to mix tony hawk combo with Jet Set gameplay, the devs hit a wall and made the 3 modes play the same. BMX, Skate and Rollerblades play exactly the same, its only an aesthetical difference.

Besides that issue, this is everything i wanted it to be.

Bully is a game that really surprised me. I really admire how Rockstar was able to create a pretty unique spin on a formula quickly gaining traction in early 2000s gaming, rather than just slapping a school uniform on top of it and calling it a day.

There are so many aspects of this game that are so well thought out:
- The varied minigame aspect with classes, and the in game rewards that going to class gives you, while not completely stunting you if you decide to skip.
- Small school things implemented into the gameplay like how you use the controller to open lockers, bikes/skateboards/buses in exchange for cars in quick travel, and forced stealth aspects (being able to be bad as a kid involves A LOT more sneaking than for adults lol).
- Popularly stereotyped high-school cliques, with unique challenges based on their individual aspects: having to get a video game high score for access to the nerd base, beating the preps in their country club sports for their respect, etc.

The humor is very 2000s Rockstar, with many of the jokes still able to stick the land, while others are just straight up uncomfortable. I think the biggest thing I couldn't stand was all the vomit and piss in the game, but again, it's a 2000's Rockstar game, I knew what I was walking into. The greasers were the only clique in the game that had me scratching my head on why the hell they added them, but the game itself even pokes fun at the choice with comments like, "Do those guys know it's not the 50's anymore," towards it. I personally think a group like "The Emos" would have been more fun to have, but that might have been just a bit too underground for Rockstar to pick up on yet.

The ending for Bully was really fun, with all the cliques in complete chaos. My only nitpicky complaint would be not seeing Gary for a fairly long time (think he's last seen with the greasers at the half-way mark), only for him to reappear as the ultimate villain, because I mean, did you expect the kid that dressed as a Nazi for Halloween to NOT be? His final boss battle is great though, building up the suspense and drama of FINALLY being able to beat up the kid that acts like all the worst people on online forums, and man, it feels fucking AMAZING when you finally do beat the snot out of him.

I had a lot of fun with Bully, and could see it being a game I try and 100% at some point! Some of the humor and relatability is a bit of a miss for me, but that's just something to expect not being the target audience for the game. Even then, I really enjoyed it, and think it works great as an example of some of the PS2's best of the bests.

4/5