I want to start this review out that the second I started playing this game, I got so obsessed that I finished it in about 2 days. I played it so much on the TV in the bedroom that my wife started mumbling "Jet Grind Radiooooooooo" in her sleep (okay, it was only once but it was funny as fuck).

There's a lot to say about Jet Set Radio, or well, Jet Grind Radio, as that's what I played. Overall, I would say that I really enjoyed it, but thinking it through I understand the complaints people have with it. I will say though that many things people complain about are just aspects of older games that kind of aged out of what we see in modern gaming. The Dreamcast is not the most old-school gaming console, but it's definitely at that awkward stage of having more retro gameplay mixed with more modern graphics, resulting in attracting a lot more modern gamers who in turn get turned off by the gameplay.

Jet Set's gameplay focuses on being difficult, much like retro games. In order to ensure the player doesn't finish the game in 2 hours (or need to rent it for longer than one weekend from the store), they make sure the game has a certain difficulty you need to practice to achieve. While annoying for some, I find it incredibly satisfying how retro games always start with you being terrible at the game until you essentially are forced to "get good". Seeing something that used to be a struggle for you turning to a total walk in the park is so deliciously satisfying, especially with the how cool the grinding and spray-painting combo result looks in Jet Set Radio. But anyways, lets get down to business on rating this game.

Control/Gameplay: 2/5
Yeah, it's not great, but it's not as horrible as people make it out to be. The biggest issue is that the Dreamcast controller only has one analog stick, resulting in the camera control AND the spray paint mechanic being on the same left back trigger. I didn't have too many issues with this except for Tag & Die, which for some reason LOVED to just change my camera angle instead of spraying the wall murals when I rail grinded past. While I eventually got used to the controls and actually got pretty good at them, it still never felt good. I would be doing what I was supposed to with little to no issue, but it still didn't feel good, always like I was fighting against the analog stick, never the smooth gliding sensation you wish for. The boost from the back right trigger also never made me feel like I was going much faster, mostly needing to rely on jumping to gain speed. Overall, controls aren't terrible, but they're definitely something to get used to, and in the end when you do have the controls mastered, it still doesn't feel that great.

Story: 3/5
Jet Set tells it story through comic book panel cutscenes in between its three chapters. There's also a radio show host narrator who fills stuff in between missions too. Both are fun, and help keep up the energy that the game wants to have throughout the game. But what even is the story? I don't really remember it that well. To be fair, who plays Jet Set Radio because of that amazing story everyone talks about? Yeah, that's what I thought. It's a rebels vs cops story, that turns into a rebels vs "the man" story. I think there's something involving a record being stolen, too? Fairly basic, kind of what you expect from looking at the cover of the game. Though the final boss was so insane and out of nowhere, I couldn't help but fall in love with it.

I would argue that the game gives you WAY too many playable characters to choose from, but the fact that each character is so uniquely cool in their own style (minus Mew just being a blue Gum) makes it worth it. The fact they all play pretty differently is nice too. In the end, who cares about a large cast when every character they give me is even cooler than the last. The only character design I dislike is believe it or not the protagonist, Beat. He looks cool enough on the cover, but holy shit he looks like SUCH a nerd in the game, I couldn't take him seriously. His redesign for Future is way better looking. More variety on the female characters would have been cool, but whatever, not that big of a complaint from me.

Graphics/Visuals: 5/5
Easy 5/5 - everyone knows that stylized games are the sexiest games, and holy shit Jet Set did not disappoint. I'm sure it's the reason why anyone gives a shit about the game today (cause its definitely not the gameplay lol) because not only is the game insanely cool, colorful, and attention grabbing, but it's unlike anything we've really seen before with video games, mixing it's art design with comic books and graffiti art. It's fucking awesome, with each stage never boring me and not one character coming off as uninspired and bland. I want to take this game and shove it into every modern AAA game to show them that you CAN have color and still make your game cool as fuck.

There's also this "make your own graffiti" section that's super fun to fuck around with. Of course, I made mine hot pink with the Japanese word for dyke smack in the center, which worked best with the gold rhino statues, giving them little lesbian shirts.

Soundtrack: 5/5
Another banger, and another reason for why Jet Set got its cool reputation. The music is hip, and INSANELY good, especially for a sort of arcade style game like this. You need good music to keep people motivated, at the risk that unfitting music can get people to stop playing the game entirely. I can make a joke here that I hope the music creator isn't being annoying on twitter right now, but that's so overdone I'm just going to post some of my favorite songs from the game instead: 1 2 3

Overall, I give Jet Grind Radio on the Sega Dreamcast a 4/5, based on the stuff I talked about above (well, it rounded out to 3.75/5, but I'll round up). I got to give credit when credit is due, and that's the fact that the most impressive thing about the game somehow took the geekiest most uncool sport ever (rollerblading) and convinced people it is actually super awesome and rebellious.

Thanks for the play, Sega.

Reviewed on Jan 29, 2023


2 Comments


1 year ago

Great review Dalaam!! ✨

1 year ago

Thanks red!