After completing both Jet Set Radio games to get a feel on what this game would be like, I can confidently say overall this is the best game in this little “trilogy”. You have way more control of your character and you being able to just walk and run normally is such a smart addition I’m surprised it wasn’t in either JSRs. The graffiti system changes are also really smart, I never got tired flicking my stick everywhere as fast as possible. The levels are also extremely fun to explore, but I think the theming of said levels was a little of the weaker side, idk maybe because I’m fresh off the heels of JSFR but are the environments in that game feel super unique, while BCR’s levels don’t really go past anything you haven’t seen in another fictional urban setting. The music chosen and made for this game is actually insane, if you plan on playing this game, good headphones are damn near mandatory.

I will say the only thing I think is a straight up downgrade in comparison to the JSR games is its narrative presentation. I think the story itself is pretty good for what it’s going for, but damn this game needed either full-voice acting or a Professor K style character to narrate the events of the game in-between chapters, and I get that it might not work or fit with BCR considering the fact that Jet Set Radio is an actual Radio Station in-game that all the characters listen to, so Professor K’s existence makes a lot more sense for those games, but I still feel like you lose a lot of charm that made the original 2 JSRs special.

That gripe aside, this is still the strongest entry in this “series” so far, and if I had to recommend a newcomer to any of these games it would definitely be this one, however you should probably buy it at a discount. This game is relatively short and if you don’t plan to 100% the game you may feel you wasted some bread. Hopefully the reboot that SEGA has in development can live up to these games or the ones prior. But if Hideki Naganuma isn’t composing, the project was doomed from the start, mark my words.