unquestionably one of my favorite games ever, and it will likely always be given how its outlasted my other adolescent favorites. I still love to pop this on at least once a year and just let it wash over me. I'll roll around the free roam levels a bit, play a couple levels at wherever I'm at in the main story, or even clean up 100% on an old file if I've really got time to kill. this is probably the most fortuitous ps+ freebie I've ever been exposed to (on vita originally of all platforms) and one I'll continue playing as long as I continue to game.
at the same time, this game is a jagged, snarling representation of the sea change in technology moving from the fifth gen to the sixth. 3D action games on playstation and saturn were heavily constrained by low draw distances, blocky characters, and sparse level geometry, all of which limited developers looking to make truly immersive 3D spaces and mechanics. with the dreamcast this all changed: sonic adventure exploded with color and variety and speed beyond what competitors could hope to achieve, and a year later shenmue brought a fleshed-out look at suburban japan that emphasized the physicality of the area with a depth that had simply not been achieved up until that point. sega's games charted a course for what true 3D gaming could be in the 21st century with typical fearlessness, and with this fearlessness arose a lot of jank. sega's design chops lie first and foremost in arcade-style experiences that provide rewarding yet highly-challenging gameplay, and they often stumbled when translating these experiences to the home console market. the often bizarre mechanics that resulted from this transition created some of the most enduring early japanese jank, and jet set radio may be the absolute peak of this set; an unbelievably unique and frictional experience that interleaves many disparate gameplay elements with a loving recreation of tokyo.
jet set radio is a platformer.... sort of? where many fall afoul of the controls is with the slippery momentum-based movement that scans as imprecise to a crowd raised on pro skater (remember that this game came out before pro skater 2!). the player character can grind on rails, jump, wall-slide on specific surfaces, and perform context-sensitive tricks; no other real "skating" mechanics exist. with precise handling the player can flip around and begin skating backwards (including out of a mid-air trick), but the practicality of this maneuver is debatable. players also have access to a boost that both gives additional speed as well as rendering the player immune to hazards. using this boost effectively is not explained very well, and given that it is limited and the base speed is not very fast it can feel sluggish. my usual tactic: boost for four strides and then jump, as you'll retain much of your speed in the air and upon landing your boost will be replenished. maintaining the momentum on rails is a different story altogether, as once attached to an edge the player is likely to lose speed if they cannot find a downward slope. jumping is also an option here to retain speed, though its arc can be hard to manage given that past a certain speed threshold a trick is performed in mid-air, drastically increasing the air time. jumping is overall used differently in this game than in a traditional platformer, as while it's a movement technique on its own, it also needs to be strategically used with elements in the environment and the boost in order to smoothly navigate the world. few other games present such an deliberate and weighty toolkit that at the same time can produce such speed and grace when pulled off correctly. the only thing I can't forgive the game for is automatic rail attachment. while it's coyly explained in the lore as "magnetic skates" (which I guess makes more sense than sonic's soap shoes), this game really could've used a grind button; attaching onto rails is far too touchy.
the gameplay loop is unorthodox as well, combining collectathon elements in a constrained area with arcade-style scoring and timing. players must find targets in an open level and spray paint over them, which involves a quick QTE minigame involving analog stick rotation. while skating from spot to spot, a wide variety of ludicrously militaristic police forces (and later privately-hired assassins) assail players, generally with no way to fight back beyond a select group of enemies that can be sprayed - causing a chopper to spiral out by spraying the cockpit is easily the biggest flex you can pull off in this game. successively more difficult waves of enemies arrive at preset times based on how many targets have been graffiti'd, with pre-defined spawn points as well. with this in mind, players are encouraged to plan optimal routes from target to target to frontload areas that will be under heavy surveillance later on in the level. spray paint cans themselves are a limited resource, and the largest graffiti points can take up to 14 cans to finish, which must be factored into the route as well. all of this must be completed under a generally-forgiving time limit that pushes the player towards more precise play.
what is unappealing to many about this game is that you must learn the ins-and-outs of each level to complete a first playthrough. this will likely require plenty of retries; I know I sure went through a few on my first time around. this is not to say jsr is a masochistic game - far from it - but this is not simply a "vibes machine" to muddle through and then discard after enjoying the tremendous audiovisual elements. careful attention to enemy patterns yields fruitful results: even once deployed enemies often won't leave certain zones, leaving some targets completely open no matter how far the mission has progressed. knowing where caches of spray paint cans and health pickups exist eases the difficulty as well. all of this results in a game with a surprisingly nuanced macro and micro strategy. on a macro level, the player must consider their primary path from target to target, along with backup diversions if the enemy AI doesn't play nice and side jaunts to refuel on resources when necessary. on a micro level, players must know the terrain well enough to build up speed and take advantage of rails when possible while also navigating around or away from enemies. there's a lot of flexibility built in as well - the game isn't that demanding - but at the same time the game mechanics intersect in such a way that you're penalized for not considering the totality of your actions. incorrect planning could result in unwanted excursions into dangerous territory to restock health and paint, while indecision and overly-cautious play will cost valuable time. it's undeniably jank at points, but at the same time this is one of the few "platformers" that manages to incorporate arcade elements in a way that isn't totally alienating.
much of this is helped by the level design, which for the most part I think is rather strong. the first chapter of the game focuses on up-and-coming gang the GG's engaging in a tagging turf war with idiosyncratically-themed rival groups in the various areas of tokyo-to. each area retains a unique mood with a surprising amount of detail thrown into the levels. shibuya-cho features the daytime bustle of the scramble and a busy bus terminal, benten-cho switches to a smooth nighttime atmosphere punctuated by blinding neon lights and throbbing kicks and claps, and kogane-cho highlights the yawning twilight of a fishing hub under renovation, with homely shacks put into juxtaposition with looming highways and the daunting concrete of the massive sewer system. these early levels are certainly not small, but they corral the player into an area with enough restrictions that they (hopefully) can learn the intricacies without being overwhelmed. there is a brief middle section with two unique American-inspired stages; personally I can stomach the Roosevelt Avenue-inspired bantam street stage but I have to agree with the consensus that grind square (based off of Times Square) long overstays its welcome with the staggering verticality and frustrating electrified rails. in the final chapter, each subarea within each region combines into large maps now swarmed with flamboyant private corp assassins, leaving the player to tackle each area in one fell swoop. each subarea organically bleeds into the others, and discovering links between areas is rather exciting, especially when the player stumbles into an area not present in the first chapter. for example, kogane-cho has a rooftop run section sandwiched between the construction area and the sea-level village with its own power lines to grind on and tight corridors at street level. thankfully each of these full areas can be roamed freely and safely via persistently available side missions meant for score attack. there are many spots you may never come across in the main campaign without poking around, and often these areas feature collectables that unlock new graffiti designs.
the score attack isn't just a side activity either, as there are scoring mechanics baked into the main campaign as well. pulling off tricks, taking down enemies (when possible), succeeding at the graffiti QTEs, maintaining high health, and finishing quickly all contribute to a stage-end score and rank. out of all of these graffiti will generally make up the biggest chunk, especially for final strokes on the larger graffiti spots. interrupting a graffiti QTE chain by failing a QTE, running out of paint cans, or taking a hit from an enemy will force you to start over again, keeping you from accessing the highest scoring QTEs, making proper enemy avoidance and paint can routing even more essential when aiming for top ranks on a level (known as "jet rank"). this is made more complicated by the fact that there are actually multiple different types of graffiti with varying difficulties that correspond to how much score they offer. accessing the highest-scoring graffiti requires using a graffiti-type character... and now we dig into a criticism I often see of the game: the character selection system.
the selection of characters on offer is relatively vast even without unlocking those hidden behind ranking requirements, and I have seen repeated complaints about how unbalanced the characters are. graffiti-type characters such as gum yield many more points when spraying but actually have a lower paint can carrying capacity, and they often have either poor handling or low health to further compensate. power-type characters have high health but generally poor handling or graffiti skills, and technique-type characters tend to have comfortable handling and can carry many paint cans, making them the characters of choice for new fans. with this in mind, I encourage thinking of character selection as a difficulty system. technique characters should be chosen by new players to acclimate themselves to the game's unique physics and make paint can collecting less of a chore. however, expect low ranks, as the graffiti QTEs will be easier and will thus score less. if the player is interested in unlocking secret characters and achieving jet ranks on each stage, they can then choose a character with a higher graffiti skill while sacrificing talent in one of the other areas. with the quantity of characters, it should be easy to find one that matches the player's preference - I won't lie though, I don't think I've ever had a reason to choose a power-type character. I still play technique characters all the time though, mainly mew... I used to use her as a pfp on forums when I was younger.
of course, you can obtain jet rank without using a graffiti-type character, but you may have a much more difficult time doing it. there are loops in each region where you can grind infinitely and rack up tricks, which requires practice and a good eye but can come in handy. the full-region levels at the end of the game are the perfect playground for these, as their time limit is relatively lax (once you already know the graffiti layout anyway) and each of them has an accessible loop. I find it easier to use this strategy to jet rank these final chapter stages personally, though I'm not sure I enjoy going in a loop for three minutes straight and then bumrushing the rest of the level quite as much the more thoughtful gameplay required for the earlier levels. I also wanted to bring up a major sin this game commits for stage rankings: you can't free-play missions that you've previously played. the campaign loops perpetually, forcing the player to beat and replay the game whenever they want to retry early levels. while in context this choice makes sense (the order in which you do missions slightly changes the story + is used for the final unlockable character), it's not remotely elegant even though the modern versions have a retry option upon finishing a stage. playing the original version where there isn't even a retry is criminal; have fun power cycling your dreamcast to keep it from saving non-jet ranks when going for 100% completion.
while the above content comprises the majority of the game, there's also a variety of other missions to tackle both within and adjacent to the campaign missions. periodically rivals will approach your hideout, prompting you to either take on certain skating challenges or race them. chump astutely noted in their review that these encounters reveal shortcuts, secrets, and techniques that the player may not have considered otherwise. it serves as a nice barometer on the player's abilities, and sets the bar for where the sophistication of their technique should lie in order to succeed against upcoming obstacles. the races can be a bit fiddly however until routes and AI quirks are learned, though thankfully the most frustrating ones are completely optional. there are also chase missions that occur periodically throughout the campaign, in which the player must tag members of an opposing gang in order to knock them out. keeping pace with your rivals here is not difficult, but carefully sliding behind someone, getting close enough to tag them, mashing the tag button, and then sliding out without bumping into their overly generous hitbox simply does not function well in this engine. this is especially obvious given that the tag button also jarringly snaps the camera behind the player, a limitation imposed by the dreamcast's unfortunate lack of a right analog stick. these missions generally won't set back the player too much time, but still are frustrating. there's also a final boss encounter that is not particularly taxing and ends the game on a suitably visually exciting note. very few other games allow you to spin around on a giant turntable dodging beams of fire...
for a sega game in this era, jet set radio is remarkably content-rich. the main campaign lasts seven to eight hours on a relaxed playthrough when characters are still being unlocked, and less than two hours on replays for jet ranks (not counting retrying stages of course). each region has multiple side missions covering graffiti, tricks, and races, and beyond the structured content there are the aforementioned "soul" colletables that unlock hidden graffiti. many of these souls lie in novel places that require ingenuity in order to reach, and some have their own little sections that are never touched in the mission requirements. all of the graffiti in the game was designed by authentic street artists with a wide range of styles and sizes, all of which are cool to scroll through from time to time. you can even design your own tags via a limited editor, which is novel to tool around with a couple of times. between all of these, achieving full completion is a satisfying task for those invested in the mechanics the game has to offer, and the final unlockable characters more than make up for the significant effort required to unlock them.
I also wanted to briefly rave about the soundtrack for this game, and the way it's incorporated into the story. songs in-game play via the fictional jet set radio pirate station, and thus they are properly mixed as if an actual DJ were working the deck. each stage has a unique playlist with prerecorded cuts between tracks, seamlessly blending multiple songs together as if playing to an actual crowd. there are even radio stingers with their own jingle and bellowing title drop, and in-between levels the host professor k will update the player with current news, jovial side storylines, and commentary. it's simply not the same to hear the songs standalone; the game offers an unparalleled and authentic aural link into its world. everyone who contributed did an outstanding job, from sega's in-house team (including lead composer hideki naganuma) to the wide array of off-beat licensed choices. even the american choices put a smile on my face, from rob zombie's deranged classic dragula to the awkward post-grunge of cold and professional murder music to the surprisingly chill hip-hop from mix master mike. there's a lot of bizarre and lovely vocal performances throughout the game, whether quickly laid down by little-known talent or sliced and served via inventive sample use. cruising through a level and hearing a song I forgot about come on will often stop me in place so I can hear a bit before moving on, and there are so few games that grab me as such.
it is unquestionable that this game is singular both in its artistic vision and in its game mechanics. rarely does a game release that so clearly articulates its own form of play; such an unorthodox design palette with radically deemphasized combat, elements of both platformers and extreme sports, nuanced and intersecting elements to track with meaningful tradeoffs and strategizing, and anti-establishment aesthetic and rhetoric has possibly never come into fruition beyond this. it has no true follow-up in terms of design, as jet set radio future opts to compartmentalize its gameplay components and move away from rapid arcade-style scenarios to a grander adventure structure. many formative adolescent gaming memories lie wrapped up in tokyo-to's streets, with not only the same frustrations I see many others post about but also perseverence through the game's steep learning curve, awe at the many sights and spectacles, and satisfaction at mastery. like all japanese jank, it's an acquired taste, but given that much of this team would later explore a different avenue in tokyo's underground in the beloved yakuza series, this origin point sets the context for a lineage of truly stellar and experimental gaming.
at the same time, this game is a jagged, snarling representation of the sea change in technology moving from the fifth gen to the sixth. 3D action games on playstation and saturn were heavily constrained by low draw distances, blocky characters, and sparse level geometry, all of which limited developers looking to make truly immersive 3D spaces and mechanics. with the dreamcast this all changed: sonic adventure exploded with color and variety and speed beyond what competitors could hope to achieve, and a year later shenmue brought a fleshed-out look at suburban japan that emphasized the physicality of the area with a depth that had simply not been achieved up until that point. sega's games charted a course for what true 3D gaming could be in the 21st century with typical fearlessness, and with this fearlessness arose a lot of jank. sega's design chops lie first and foremost in arcade-style experiences that provide rewarding yet highly-challenging gameplay, and they often stumbled when translating these experiences to the home console market. the often bizarre mechanics that resulted from this transition created some of the most enduring early japanese jank, and jet set radio may be the absolute peak of this set; an unbelievably unique and frictional experience that interleaves many disparate gameplay elements with a loving recreation of tokyo.
jet set radio is a platformer.... sort of? where many fall afoul of the controls is with the slippery momentum-based movement that scans as imprecise to a crowd raised on pro skater (remember that this game came out before pro skater 2!). the player character can grind on rails, jump, wall-slide on specific surfaces, and perform context-sensitive tricks; no other real "skating" mechanics exist. with precise handling the player can flip around and begin skating backwards (including out of a mid-air trick), but the practicality of this maneuver is debatable. players also have access to a boost that both gives additional speed as well as rendering the player immune to hazards. using this boost effectively is not explained very well, and given that it is limited and the base speed is not very fast it can feel sluggish. my usual tactic: boost for four strides and then jump, as you'll retain much of your speed in the air and upon landing your boost will be replenished. maintaining the momentum on rails is a different story altogether, as once attached to an edge the player is likely to lose speed if they cannot find a downward slope. jumping is also an option here to retain speed, though its arc can be hard to manage given that past a certain speed threshold a trick is performed in mid-air, drastically increasing the air time. jumping is overall used differently in this game than in a traditional platformer, as while it's a movement technique on its own, it also needs to be strategically used with elements in the environment and the boost in order to smoothly navigate the world. few other games present such an deliberate and weighty toolkit that at the same time can produce such speed and grace when pulled off correctly. the only thing I can't forgive the game for is automatic rail attachment. while it's coyly explained in the lore as "magnetic skates" (which I guess makes more sense than sonic's soap shoes), this game really could've used a grind button; attaching onto rails is far too touchy.
the gameplay loop is unorthodox as well, combining collectathon elements in a constrained area with arcade-style scoring and timing. players must find targets in an open level and spray paint over them, which involves a quick QTE minigame involving analog stick rotation. while skating from spot to spot, a wide variety of ludicrously militaristic police forces (and later privately-hired assassins) assail players, generally with no way to fight back beyond a select group of enemies that can be sprayed - causing a chopper to spiral out by spraying the cockpit is easily the biggest flex you can pull off in this game. successively more difficult waves of enemies arrive at preset times based on how many targets have been graffiti'd, with pre-defined spawn points as well. with this in mind, players are encouraged to plan optimal routes from target to target to frontload areas that will be under heavy surveillance later on in the level. spray paint cans themselves are a limited resource, and the largest graffiti points can take up to 14 cans to finish, which must be factored into the route as well. all of this must be completed under a generally-forgiving time limit that pushes the player towards more precise play.
what is unappealing to many about this game is that you must learn the ins-and-outs of each level to complete a first playthrough. this will likely require plenty of retries; I know I sure went through a few on my first time around. this is not to say jsr is a masochistic game - far from it - but this is not simply a "vibes machine" to muddle through and then discard after enjoying the tremendous audiovisual elements. careful attention to enemy patterns yields fruitful results: even once deployed enemies often won't leave certain zones, leaving some targets completely open no matter how far the mission has progressed. knowing where caches of spray paint cans and health pickups exist eases the difficulty as well. all of this results in a game with a surprisingly nuanced macro and micro strategy. on a macro level, the player must consider their primary path from target to target, along with backup diversions if the enemy AI doesn't play nice and side jaunts to refuel on resources when necessary. on a micro level, players must know the terrain well enough to build up speed and take advantage of rails when possible while also navigating around or away from enemies. there's a lot of flexibility built in as well - the game isn't that demanding - but at the same time the game mechanics intersect in such a way that you're penalized for not considering the totality of your actions. incorrect planning could result in unwanted excursions into dangerous territory to restock health and paint, while indecision and overly-cautious play will cost valuable time. it's undeniably jank at points, but at the same time this is one of the few "platformers" that manages to incorporate arcade elements in a way that isn't totally alienating.
much of this is helped by the level design, which for the most part I think is rather strong. the first chapter of the game focuses on up-and-coming gang the GG's engaging in a tagging turf war with idiosyncratically-themed rival groups in the various areas of tokyo-to. each area retains a unique mood with a surprising amount of detail thrown into the levels. shibuya-cho features the daytime bustle of the scramble and a busy bus terminal, benten-cho switches to a smooth nighttime atmosphere punctuated by blinding neon lights and throbbing kicks and claps, and kogane-cho highlights the yawning twilight of a fishing hub under renovation, with homely shacks put into juxtaposition with looming highways and the daunting concrete of the massive sewer system. these early levels are certainly not small, but they corral the player into an area with enough restrictions that they (hopefully) can learn the intricacies without being overwhelmed. there is a brief middle section with two unique American-inspired stages; personally I can stomach the Roosevelt Avenue-inspired bantam street stage but I have to agree with the consensus that grind square (based off of Times Square) long overstays its welcome with the staggering verticality and frustrating electrified rails. in the final chapter, each subarea within each region combines into large maps now swarmed with flamboyant private corp assassins, leaving the player to tackle each area in one fell swoop. each subarea organically bleeds into the others, and discovering links between areas is rather exciting, especially when the player stumbles into an area not present in the first chapter. for example, kogane-cho has a rooftop run section sandwiched between the construction area and the sea-level village with its own power lines to grind on and tight corridors at street level. thankfully each of these full areas can be roamed freely and safely via persistently available side missions meant for score attack. there are many spots you may never come across in the main campaign without poking around, and often these areas feature collectables that unlock new graffiti designs.
the score attack isn't just a side activity either, as there are scoring mechanics baked into the main campaign as well. pulling off tricks, taking down enemies (when possible), succeeding at the graffiti QTEs, maintaining high health, and finishing quickly all contribute to a stage-end score and rank. out of all of these graffiti will generally make up the biggest chunk, especially for final strokes on the larger graffiti spots. interrupting a graffiti QTE chain by failing a QTE, running out of paint cans, or taking a hit from an enemy will force you to start over again, keeping you from accessing the highest scoring QTEs, making proper enemy avoidance and paint can routing even more essential when aiming for top ranks on a level (known as "jet rank"). this is made more complicated by the fact that there are actually multiple different types of graffiti with varying difficulties that correspond to how much score they offer. accessing the highest-scoring graffiti requires using a graffiti-type character... and now we dig into a criticism I often see of the game: the character selection system.
the selection of characters on offer is relatively vast even without unlocking those hidden behind ranking requirements, and I have seen repeated complaints about how unbalanced the characters are. graffiti-type characters such as gum yield many more points when spraying but actually have a lower paint can carrying capacity, and they often have either poor handling or low health to further compensate. power-type characters have high health but generally poor handling or graffiti skills, and technique-type characters tend to have comfortable handling and can carry many paint cans, making them the characters of choice for new fans. with this in mind, I encourage thinking of character selection as a difficulty system. technique characters should be chosen by new players to acclimate themselves to the game's unique physics and make paint can collecting less of a chore. however, expect low ranks, as the graffiti QTEs will be easier and will thus score less. if the player is interested in unlocking secret characters and achieving jet ranks on each stage, they can then choose a character with a higher graffiti skill while sacrificing talent in one of the other areas. with the quantity of characters, it should be easy to find one that matches the player's preference - I won't lie though, I don't think I've ever had a reason to choose a power-type character. I still play technique characters all the time though, mainly mew... I used to use her as a pfp on forums when I was younger.
of course, you can obtain jet rank without using a graffiti-type character, but you may have a much more difficult time doing it. there are loops in each region where you can grind infinitely and rack up tricks, which requires practice and a good eye but can come in handy. the full-region levels at the end of the game are the perfect playground for these, as their time limit is relatively lax (once you already know the graffiti layout anyway) and each of them has an accessible loop. I find it easier to use this strategy to jet rank these final chapter stages personally, though I'm not sure I enjoy going in a loop for three minutes straight and then bumrushing the rest of the level quite as much the more thoughtful gameplay required for the earlier levels. I also wanted to bring up a major sin this game commits for stage rankings: you can't free-play missions that you've previously played. the campaign loops perpetually, forcing the player to beat and replay the game whenever they want to retry early levels. while in context this choice makes sense (the order in which you do missions slightly changes the story + is used for the final unlockable character), it's not remotely elegant even though the modern versions have a retry option upon finishing a stage. playing the original version where there isn't even a retry is criminal; have fun power cycling your dreamcast to keep it from saving non-jet ranks when going for 100% completion.
while the above content comprises the majority of the game, there's also a variety of other missions to tackle both within and adjacent to the campaign missions. periodically rivals will approach your hideout, prompting you to either take on certain skating challenges or race them. chump astutely noted in their review that these encounters reveal shortcuts, secrets, and techniques that the player may not have considered otherwise. it serves as a nice barometer on the player's abilities, and sets the bar for where the sophistication of their technique should lie in order to succeed against upcoming obstacles. the races can be a bit fiddly however until routes and AI quirks are learned, though thankfully the most frustrating ones are completely optional. there are also chase missions that occur periodically throughout the campaign, in which the player must tag members of an opposing gang in order to knock them out. keeping pace with your rivals here is not difficult, but carefully sliding behind someone, getting close enough to tag them, mashing the tag button, and then sliding out without bumping into their overly generous hitbox simply does not function well in this engine. this is especially obvious given that the tag button also jarringly snaps the camera behind the player, a limitation imposed by the dreamcast's unfortunate lack of a right analog stick. these missions generally won't set back the player too much time, but still are frustrating. there's also a final boss encounter that is not particularly taxing and ends the game on a suitably visually exciting note. very few other games allow you to spin around on a giant turntable dodging beams of fire...
for a sega game in this era, jet set radio is remarkably content-rich. the main campaign lasts seven to eight hours on a relaxed playthrough when characters are still being unlocked, and less than two hours on replays for jet ranks (not counting retrying stages of course). each region has multiple side missions covering graffiti, tricks, and races, and beyond the structured content there are the aforementioned "soul" colletables that unlock hidden graffiti. many of these souls lie in novel places that require ingenuity in order to reach, and some have their own little sections that are never touched in the mission requirements. all of the graffiti in the game was designed by authentic street artists with a wide range of styles and sizes, all of which are cool to scroll through from time to time. you can even design your own tags via a limited editor, which is novel to tool around with a couple of times. between all of these, achieving full completion is a satisfying task for those invested in the mechanics the game has to offer, and the final unlockable characters more than make up for the significant effort required to unlock them.
I also wanted to briefly rave about the soundtrack for this game, and the way it's incorporated into the story. songs in-game play via the fictional jet set radio pirate station, and thus they are properly mixed as if an actual DJ were working the deck. each stage has a unique playlist with prerecorded cuts between tracks, seamlessly blending multiple songs together as if playing to an actual crowd. there are even radio stingers with their own jingle and bellowing title drop, and in-between levels the host professor k will update the player with current news, jovial side storylines, and commentary. it's simply not the same to hear the songs standalone; the game offers an unparalleled and authentic aural link into its world. everyone who contributed did an outstanding job, from sega's in-house team (including lead composer hideki naganuma) to the wide array of off-beat licensed choices. even the american choices put a smile on my face, from rob zombie's deranged classic dragula to the awkward post-grunge of cold and professional murder music to the surprisingly chill hip-hop from mix master mike. there's a lot of bizarre and lovely vocal performances throughout the game, whether quickly laid down by little-known talent or sliced and served via inventive sample use. cruising through a level and hearing a song I forgot about come on will often stop me in place so I can hear a bit before moving on, and there are so few games that grab me as such.
it is unquestionable that this game is singular both in its artistic vision and in its game mechanics. rarely does a game release that so clearly articulates its own form of play; such an unorthodox design palette with radically deemphasized combat, elements of both platformers and extreme sports, nuanced and intersecting elements to track with meaningful tradeoffs and strategizing, and anti-establishment aesthetic and rhetoric has possibly never come into fruition beyond this. it has no true follow-up in terms of design, as jet set radio future opts to compartmentalize its gameplay components and move away from rapid arcade-style scenarios to a grander adventure structure. many formative adolescent gaming memories lie wrapped up in tokyo-to's streets, with not only the same frustrations I see many others post about but also perseverence through the game's steep learning curve, awe at the many sights and spectacles, and satisfaction at mastery. like all japanese jank, it's an acquired taste, but given that much of this team would later explore a different avenue in tokyo's underground in the beloved yakuza series, this origin point sets the context for a lineage of truly stellar and experimental gaming.
3 Comments
wanted to go ahead and append this lovely mechanical overview of the game that expands upon my synopsis above. I've never heard of Goomba Stomp before today but the quality of their coverage seems rather high
DJSCheddar
2 years ago