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Staff review by Rhody Tobin
September 18, 2012 It’s really a shame that so many early Dreamcast games have aged so poorly.It’s especially tragic in this case because Jet Set Radio is so great and so unique in so many ways. Jet Set Radio (formerly Jet Grind Radio in North America) takes place in the city of Tokyo-To. “Rudies” are teenagers who like to skate around the city and spray graffiti as a means of expressing themselves. You play as one of these rudies, leaving your mark on the city while covering the work of rival rudie gangs. Naturally, all of this is against the law, and the police force isn’t going to let you vandalize the city without putting up a fight. The more you paint, the more cops show up. It’s more of a platformer than an extreme sports game, which separates it from other skating games from the era like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.
Graphically, Jet Set Radio still looks great. As a member of the cel shading old guard, the game has aged very well, visually. Animations are a little odd sometimes and the character models could probably use a few more polygons, but otherwise Jet Set Radio still looks fabulous. The words “bright and colourful” take on a whole new meaning here. Everything pops as nicely as it did way back in Dreamcast days. Levels have lots of little details and, with the notable exception of DJ Professor K, characters have tons of charm. It’s simply a beautiful game to look at.
It’s a great game to listen to, as well. The soundtrack remains one of the highlights of the game, with infectious jpop, funk, hip-hop, electronica, and a host of other genres represented. With a mix of original and licensed songs, there was some concern that Jet Set Radio’s soundtrack would be as butchered as that of the HD port of Crazy Taxi. Thankfully, that’s not the case, and only one or two songs are missing. I wouldn’t blame anyone for playing Jet Set Radio for the soundtrack alone.
Jet Set Radio is an incredibly pleasant game to watch. It’s a shame it’s actually kind of frustrating to play.
For starters, characters don’t control very naturally. (The horrible tutorial mode doesn’t help with this. Seriously, ignore the tutorial option on the main menu and just read the instructions.) Character movement feels stiff, as though you never have the appropriate amount of control for the situation. Jumping from rail to rail is infuriating thanks to the game’s refusal to assist you. (There’s no such thing as “close enough.”) Skating games have come a long way, and Jet Set Radio felt awkward even at launch. Time has done it no favours in this regard. Combine this with the waves of police officers that show up in every level and you have a recipe for frustration. Sometimes it feels like the game would be more fun if there was a cheat code to disable the cops entirely. The controls are enough of an obstacle even before teargas is thrown into the mix.
This new version comes with an added “bonus” of occasional hanging, which appears to have something to do with loading radio messages and spawning cops. This is one annoying quirk that is unforgivable. It’s one thing to have awkward controls. It’s another thing to occasionally interrupt the flow of the game thanks to random moments of lag. These moments will completely screw you over multiple times per level. If they happen during a jump, prepare to completely miss your target. If they happen while you’re spraying graffiti, you will drop your combo and there’s nothing you can do about it.
The lag desperately needs a patch, and it’s sad, because Jet Set Radio HD is a pretty good port otherwise. The camera has always been kind of a problem in this game, but the addition of a second stick makes a difference. (It still has a tendency to point at walls for no reason, but it’s not as bad as it was.) The new support for widescreen helps the game look even better. There’s even a little bit of new content in the form of user created graffiti patterns (which were entries in a contest) and a short documentary about the development of the original game.
Jet Set Radio is a game of high highs and low lows. If you appreciate style enough to forgive the accompanying clunkiness, Jet Set Radio (at least the Dreamcast version) is worth experiencing just for that. It has tons of personality and a great aesthetic, and it’s a pleasant experience even when you’re missing jumps and being beaten with nightsticks. Some of the flaws (like the controls) are somewhat forgivable as a product of their time. However, the newly added problem of the game randomly hanging is too much. Hopefully this issue will be fixed, and if it is, Jet Set Radio will be a worthwhile purchase for anyone who loves style and can forgive the questionable gameplay enough to appreciate it. In its current state, I can’t recommend this version of the game. Give the Dreamcast version a try instead.
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