RETRO: JET SET RADIO
Nearly 10 years ago, Sega released one of their last great original franchises. Along with Crazy Taxi and Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio was one of the games on which Sega had pinned their hopes, only to see them crushed like thick pile carpet at a Weight Watchers meeting.
The premise of the game was you were part of a gang of hip kids who roller blade around a stylised version of Tokyoto (that’s what its called in the game) and paint tags on the walls in certain spots. You have two enemies to deal with- a timer and the Law!
With its colourful graphics and early cel shaded models, JSR was hipper than than a well-dressed hippopotamus at the Hippodrome. But it also had one of the coolest soundtracks ever unleashed on the videogaming publish. The late 90′s Japanese electronica perfectly compliments the overall sense of style the game exudes. Its still one of the best game soundtracks of all time.
The game itself, to me, was really a platformer in a set of funky threads. When you found a wall marked to be taggable, the onscreen prompts would direct you to rotate the analogue sticks to mimic the motion (though vastly simplified) of spray painting. The whole thing comes together in a way missing from so many modern cool, hip games
For some reason this game was retitled Jet Grind Radio for its US release but there were also a few extra levels added and Rod Zombie music (why?). The sequel was an original Xbox launch title and removed the timer at the same time as enlarging the levels markedly and tagging was reduced to just pressing a button in the right place. It’s not as good as the original so the DC game is the one to play. A sequel has been rumoured as has an iPhone port but either way you need this game in your collection if you have a Dreamcast.
