Jet Set Radio is a game that I feel many have heard and have praised for countless reasons, but few have actually played/ beaten. After just beating it for the first time, Jet Set Radio definitely was a blast to play, but did leave me a bit confused.
For those who don’t know, Jet Set Radio is about a group of graffiti artists called the GGs. They compete with other gangs across Tokyo-to to see who reigns supreme in all of Shibuya-cho, Benten-cho, and Kogane-cho. Now while each of the ares have their own graffiti gang, and are all rivals with each other, they all listen to one radio station that covers the events in the game: JET SET RADIOOOOO. Now that is a very dry story, and there are more characters and gangs as you progress, but Jet Set Radio isn’t about the story, but even so, it is one that is enjoyable until the very end.
Let me start by noting the most iconic part of Jet Set Radio: its music. With music from Richard Jacques and Hideki Naganuma, the soundtrack of Jet Set Radio stands out from any other game I’ve played. The hip-hop/ rock genres being very ageless, each song can be played today on the radio, and nobody would notice that it was produced in the year 2000. In fact, I can even say that I don’t dislike a single track in this game; the soundtrack is just that catchy!
The other defining feature Jet Set Radio is known for are its visuals. JSR was one of, if not the first game to do cel-shading correctly, and set a standard for any other game onward. I played the HD port of JSR and everything just POPS. Because of the cel-shading, there are very few outdated textures that show the game’s age. In addition, the bold outlines of the characters and environments help with the main artistic choice of the game: the graffiti. With the cel-shading and graffiti look, that is what makes JSR so timeless, and hides the fact that it’s a 20-year-old game.
One other thing that makes this game stand out is the personality. The settings are very lively, with NPCs all over the place, and each level being a giant sandbox helps it flow with character. Speaking of characters, that is what mainly gives the game its personality. With many different playable characters, each one being very different from the other, you can easily connect and stick with one or two characters, and fall in love with them so quickly. Also, the grunts who chase you around help with this too, as each of them do the generic “HUP HUP HUP HUP.” It may sound lazy, but trust me, they are super entertaining and are fun to run away from too.
Now while the music and the graphics still hold up today, one thing that can be a challenge, and could possibly take away from the experience, are the controls. Jet Set Radio’s controls go off of momentum, so if you’re going very fast down a hill and jump, you will go flying. But if you get stuck in a tight corner (which happened a lot in my playthrough) and try to jump out, it will take some time because you barely move an inch with each jump. At first, I was hoping to get better as the game went on, since I would be more accustomed to it, but the controls were a problem throughout my whole playthrough. Also, the camera was an issue too, but I won’t knock on it too hard, since the Dreamcast did not have dual analog sticks, so that problem is simply a generational problem.
Overall, even though the controls may be frustrating at times, Jet Set Radio is still a blast. The visuals and music blending beautifully together, the quirky story having its funny moments, the game’s outstanding cool and stylish personality, and it being super repayable as well, since the game and levels can be done very quickly for better high scores.