REINSTALL OLD GAMES, NEW PERSPECTIVES
A vibrant Tokyo-like city with an anti-establishment attitude.
Jet Set Radioooooooo!” yells DJ Profesor K, as the title screen burstes into life with a remix worthy of Fatboy Slim himself. The celshaded action skater game with a Y2K aesthetic and a cool electronic, funk and hip-hop soundtrack – that is still dynamite to this day, might I add – is undergoing a bit of a resurgence as of late. This has all stemmed from the lead-up and launch of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, a spiritual successor that looks to build upon everything that made the original so damn engrossing.
Not that Jet Set Radio needs a renaissance. The fanbase and ever-lasting admiration for Beat, Gum and the ever-growing GGs gang has prevailed for more than two decades now, something pretty special considering only two mainline console games were released in the early 2000s.
My own personal history actually begins with Jet Set Radio Future, the 2002 sequel that somehow is still exclusive to the original Xbox. Seriously! It’s never been made available anywhere else, with licensing issues surrounding the music being the prevailing theory about why.
I’ll always remember when my father brought home a second-hand Xbox that was once owned by my cousins, and with it came the double game disc of Sega GT 2002 and Jet Set Radio Future. Being as immersed as I was by the poppy visuals, anti-establishment empowerment and Tony Hawk-like soundtrack, it’s sort of amazing I’ve never experienced the original release until now.
For those not in the know, the action arcade skate game is all about spraying graffiti across the three districts that make up the city of Tokyo-to. For the most part, you need to tag around 20 or so marks within a time limit to progress, all while avoiding local law enforcement, rival gangs and, sometimes, deadly assassins. There are other levels where you need to spray paint a rival’s back, alongside frequent opportunities to unlock new characters by racing to tag a graffiti spot first or by following in their slipstream perfectly. It’s all wonderfully simple.
FAN LONGEVITY
I think that simplicity has contributed to Jet Set Radio’s longevity with fans. Within minutes, you know exactly what the rest of the game entails – and it never loses its charm, and never outstays its welcome, either. Eighteen missions to complete across three chapters, ranging between six to eight hours in gameplay, hits the sweet spot of what Jet Set Radio needs to be with enough replayability in pursuing the top rating (I’ll get there one day) to keep you coming back for more. My playthrough was made possible via the 2012 HD port of Jet Set Radio, which was included as pa
