The definition of style over substance, Jet Set Radio has an attitude seldom seen in titles from major publishers, especially today as companies move away from grunge and into clean, minamalistic designs. We've seen this shift in the Mario Strikers series and, I'd argue, even the Sonic series, with Frontiers lacking some of the rebellious flair the blue hedgehog has become known for. All of this is to say, while this game appealed to me aesthetically, I don't think it's actually very good.
To start with my most sacreligious take, I really don't think the music is all that. Naganuma's later work on Jet Set Radio Future, Sonic Rush and Lethal League Blaze easily trumps this game's soundtrack, with very few songs getting me to tap my feet. I even found certain songs grating, with the likes of Super Brothers making me want to mute the game and listen to a YouTube video or even my own music instead.
Where this game suffers greatest is in its gameplay. The movement is incredibly unrefined, with even the most basic actions feeling sluggish to pull off. Turning feels stiff, jumping is often awkward and the movement rarely flows together well. There are brief moments where everything clicks, but I mean really do mean brief. To exasperate it all, spray painting kills the pace every few seconds so you can do multiple quick time events in order to make your mark on the levels.
The pacing issues are then compounded with the people who chase you down, which range from standard police officers to guns to trained assassins with jetpacks. The former didn't pose too much of an issue, but I would still find myself in situations where I got caught up to in the middle of spray painting something huge, leading to an clunky exchange as I tried to continue painting as they kept pinning me down. The later into the game you get, the more these enemies become pests rather than threats. In Fight or Flight, it felt as if I couldn't move a few feet without coming under a barrage of gunfire, making the level feel like sludge to move through.
My final issue is with the level design. For some reason, there's a heavy emphasis on verticality. This is fun when you're grinding rails above the street, chaining them together with jumps to maximise efficiency by reaching targets in a well planned order. One slip up, though, and you're on the ground level. The way you reach these heights is usually through a single, incredibly slow, staircase. In one level, staircases are substituted out for elevators, which take a good few seconds to reach the top. My experience was made up of getting shot down by enemies and then slooooowly making my way up an elevator only to repeat the issue ad nauseum. Skill issue? Probably, but some levels had multiple routes up to high places using grind rails, so I don't know why this philosphy couldn't be extended to the whole game.
I can't stay mad at this game too long, though. I had bouts of fun here and there, and the visuals popped throughout. I quite enjoyed the final boss even if it had some jank of its own, and some of the rival chases were pretty solid. Jet Set Radio is a product of its time, but established a unique style and I'm excited to see how it's built upon in Future and especially Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.
To start with my most sacreligious take, I really don't think the music is all that. Naganuma's later work on Jet Set Radio Future, Sonic Rush and Lethal League Blaze easily trumps this game's soundtrack, with very few songs getting me to tap my feet. I even found certain songs grating, with the likes of Super Brothers making me want to mute the game and listen to a YouTube video or even my own music instead.
Where this game suffers greatest is in its gameplay. The movement is incredibly unrefined, with even the most basic actions feeling sluggish to pull off. Turning feels stiff, jumping is often awkward and the movement rarely flows together well. There are brief moments where everything clicks, but I mean really do mean brief. To exasperate it all, spray painting kills the pace every few seconds so you can do multiple quick time events in order to make your mark on the levels.
The pacing issues are then compounded with the people who chase you down, which range from standard police officers to guns to trained assassins with jetpacks. The former didn't pose too much of an issue, but I would still find myself in situations where I got caught up to in the middle of spray painting something huge, leading to an clunky exchange as I tried to continue painting as they kept pinning me down. The later into the game you get, the more these enemies become pests rather than threats. In Fight or Flight, it felt as if I couldn't move a few feet without coming under a barrage of gunfire, making the level feel like sludge to move through.
My final issue is with the level design. For some reason, there's a heavy emphasis on verticality. This is fun when you're grinding rails above the street, chaining them together with jumps to maximise efficiency by reaching targets in a well planned order. One slip up, though, and you're on the ground level. The way you reach these heights is usually through a single, incredibly slow, staircase. In one level, staircases are substituted out for elevators, which take a good few seconds to reach the top. My experience was made up of getting shot down by enemies and then slooooowly making my way up an elevator only to repeat the issue ad nauseum. Skill issue? Probably, but some levels had multiple routes up to high places using grind rails, so I don't know why this philosphy couldn't be extended to the whole game.
I can't stay mad at this game too long, though. I had bouts of fun here and there, and the visuals popped throughout. I quite enjoyed the final boss even if it had some jank of its own, and some of the rival chases were pretty solid. Jet Set Radio is a product of its time, but established a unique style and I'm excited to see how it's built upon in Future and especially Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.