JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future

"Jet To the Stores and Get this Game!"

Introduction
This game is made by Sega and Smile bit. This game is made for the Microsoft X-BOX and not any other of the next generation consoles. The first game of this series was also made by Sega and Smile Bit but was first introduced on the Sega Dream Cast . The first game of the series was called Jet Grind Radio and Jet Set Radio in Japan . When Sega quit from selling the Dream Cast and games they became a third party and released the next installment of the Jet Set Radio game.

They released it about 3 months after the X-BOX launch ,Sega called it Jet Set Radio Future , the game is not a sequel because the characters of this game meet for the first time and some of the characters names are different. However it is not a Remake of the game because it is a totally different game considering the game play and new characters.

This game is so ground breaking not because of the game play but rather for the graphics. Yes I said graphics usually games are considered ground breaking because of its game play but this game is unique. It uses graphics called Cel shading a cartoony style graphics which is a new trend in games. Jet Grind Radio was the first game ever to use to use the Cel shaded graphics and executed it well making it one of the best games on Dream Cast and became an instant classic.
Read the rest of this review for more information..........

Game Play 10 out of 10

You start of as a gang and to claim your territory you have to fight bitter gang rivals with graffiti.
The basic game play of this game is to ride on your roller skates collect spray cans around the city of Tokyo , and spray things like walls , buildings , roofs, the ground and everything else you see. Each level has graffiti marks to spray over from around thirty marks to over seventy graffiti marks all in different areas of course. You skate around meeting different gangs to claim territory’s and regain them and get characters to join you also.

There are also things called street challenges , in every level of the game there is a yellow which if you find it and pick it up it unlocks street challenges . There is always a total of five streets challenges in a level. They are a 1. Points challenge 2. Air Tricks challenge 3. Trick Challenge 4. Grind combo Challenge
5. A special challenge specifically suited for that level and there’s also the basic graffiti challenge . To advance in the main story you only have to do the graffiti spraying everything else is sort of a side quest.

If you complete a street challenge you unlock a graffiti soul. There are 150 graffiti souls in the game. They are a silver-ish Alien looking things that have antennas sticking out of their heads. If you collect every graffiti soul in a level and beat the rest of the game you unlock a feature called the test run. In the test run option you spray graffiti as fast as you can , get as much points as you can in five minutes , collect flags as fast as you can and race around a track . If you are good you will get a jet ranking , if you are not good you will get pedal. There are a total of five different rankings jet being the best and pedal being the worst the others are motor , engine and turbo . They follow in this order Jet , Turbo , Engine , Motor ,Pedal. If get jet on a level you unlock characters.

All and all this game has a high value of game play making it a ten out of ten in my book ......... now onto the Cel shaded graphics..................

Graphics / Audio Ten Out of Ten!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is why Jet Set Radio Future is so revolutionary and ground breaking because of the graphics that are called Cel shaded graphics. Now Sega and Smile bit has made a new graphics engine which makes game less realistic and more cartoon looking. This game was made to be in Cel shaded graphics it works and blends into the game so good that you just can’t imagine a game like this beginning in realistic fashion. This is one of the most popular graphics in the game today and more and more games are using it.

Sega and Smile Bit execute this in such a great way. When you grind on rails and start doing some grind combo tricks you can see the sparks flying from under the skates and looks like your actually grinding and creating sparks. Other things that the graphics show case well with the Cel shaded graphics are when you beat a machine you will see huge pillows of smoke , it will be huge not seeing what is in front of you but in about five seconds you will see it clear away making it show realistic physics in an un realistic graphics game. The graphics in this game make it a true gem and master piece.

The audio in this game is superb you can select through over 25 songs to play while your jamming in the streets. This music is not your basic music it comes from all type of genres like , house , techno , rock , rap , reggae and other genres of music. You can select the music at your garage you will be able to select five different songs to play while your grinding and beating your rival gangs. This music will get you pumped up in the game which will help you beat the police , spray graffiti , race as fast as you can and other things in the game. If you were to buy this game just for the sound track I guarantee you that you would not be disappointed.

<B/>Story ten out of ten (what do you know)

Who would ever think that a cartoony skating game with teenagers skating around would have a story line or even a good one for that matter? I’ll tell you who expected know one every body thought the strong point was going to be the graphics and game play but the story mode is what keeps this game from being a classic , instant hit , masterpiece or what ever you want to call it. It is very well executed with the originality that the story mode is. Read on to know what the story is about.........

You start in the future of Tokyo where you are a gang of misfits in the regular world . So they join together to help Tokyo get out of its oppression by the Rokkaku police and Rokkaku’s organizations. The Rokkaku company is a mega-enterprise headed by a guy named Gouji who wants to ruin Tokyo and everything in his way which includes the GG ’s so you better watch out. He is using his money to influence and bring down everything industry , culture and even has his eyes on city hall.

Gouji is buying out the Government departments , and the police don’t have one word to say because they are powerless against Gouji. Everyday Gouji steps closer and closer to beat Tokyo to where it can not escape. All Gouji cares about is getting money and profits. Even in all this mess the GG ’s are riding around while everybody else is in a frenzy.

In the past months there have been countless attacks on Tokyo like the robber and attack on the record store in Chuo Street, prowlers in Dogenzaka Hill , low life gangs and people spreading vicious rumors in the streets of Tokyo , the mysterious black out on the most lighted and popular place in
Tokyo , 99th Street . Hopefully you and the GG ‘s will stop this madness in the streets of Tokyo and stop Gouji!!!!!!! Are you ready to take over to destroy Gouji and do you have the fight in you to do so? You will soon fine out.

Replay ten out of ten

This game tends to amaze. You do not think you would just play this game only once. No I don’t think so this game executes every aspects of the game so perfectly . The sound in this game you could here for days and days and not get tried of it. When you start over you can play the whole game as different characters and see how they play different from the original person you played with. You can see what their weaknesses are and strengths or you could switch between a character every save to see what you like the best. You can also see how fast you can get all the graffiti souls , beat the main story , beat the whole game , Unlock certain characters and other things.

If you beat the game twice or more than why not try and find some cool stuff , search through the game and imagine your the skater and try and pull off some cool tricks that you wouldn’t of been able to do in real life. There’s also the VS mode option which you can choose different mini games to play with your friends and family it is very fun and your friends will love coming over your house to battle with you. There is also a graffiti maker option . This option lets you edit cool stuff that you can spray around , you get to choose what size you want form XL to XS it’s up to you. You get to also choose from different icons to put on your graffiti sign like skulls , control sticks and other cool icons. You can save your graffiti signs at the garage and up to twenty other ones .

One last thing that adds to the replay value most is the test run option . There are four different things in a test run , spray graffiti in the lowest amount of time , race around a track , Get as many points as you can in five minutes ad collect five flags as soon as you can. Try and beat your high scores in each category , play with your friends to see if they can beat your times or talk to people online and see if you have a better time than them .

Conclusion
Game Play 10 / 10
Audio / Video 10 / 10
Replay Value 10 / 10

To Buy Or Rent?
Well if you read all of the above you would know what my answer is to this silly question . But for those who haven’t I will give you a brief review . The graphics , audio , game play and replay value are superb and this is one of Microsoft’s X - Box ‘ s best game to date. It will definitely seek to amaze you and any one who plays this game and I highly recommend that you buy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/02, Updated 08/04/02