JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future

"Innovative, original, stylish, funky and executed brilliantly."

It’s a real shame that the Dreamcast was a relative flop in terms of overall sales because it means that so, so many gamers the world over missed out on what were some of the most innovative, funky, cool and just plain out damn great games of our time.

Due to the Dreamcast hardware failing, Sega found themselves in some financial trouble and had the make the tough decision to become a 3rd party games developer for once rivals Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.

This is where a positive light can be shed on the situation. The way I see it, all your unfortunate saps that missed out on the fabulous Jet Set/Grind Radio on the Dreamcast now have the chance to experience it’s sequel in all it’s Cel-Shaded, J-Poppy glory on the beast known as the Xbox.

If you’re unaware, Jet Set Radio was indeed the first game to incorporate Cel Shading, and did so extremely well, adding a real ‘arty’ aspect to the game, giving it some real personality and suiting the graffiti themes perfectly. This technique of graphical presentation spawned countless cel shaded games over a very short period of time, becoming somewhat of a serious fad within the games development industry. Many of these games were using the technique of cel shading with money in mind, rather than creating new, innovative and worthwhile games… but that’s enough of that.

Jet Set Radio Future follows the story that unfolded Jet Set Radio fairly closely. Tokyo is being overrun by numerous rollerblading gangs, with very..uh… interesting dress sense who exist with the sole intent of doing nothing but cause trouble. It’s your job to tag their turf and show them who’s boss, all the while recruiting new members of your gang and having a blast doing so!

Yes, that’s right. The goal of the game is to spray graffiti all over the place. Sega executed this idea to perfection in JSR and have done nothing but further improve things for the second time round with JSRF.

The first thing you will notice about JSRF is the outstanding graphics. If you’re after an example of how to do cel shading right, this is it. Characters are modelled with so much style, and funk. Environments are a visual delight of well-crafted cities, buildings, people, and elements. The game runs smooth without fail and overall is one of the sexier games you’ll witness on the Xbox (not so much technically as it is in terms of artistic style).

The game is split up into a bunch of levels, each with set places for you to tag with your trusty spray can (which can be replenished by collecting various cans throughout levels).

Backing up the stylish, funky and unique graphics of the game is the awesome soundtrack, comprised of 30 grade-A J-Rock and J-Pop tracks. This is definitely a game you’ll want to pump up the volume on and start dancing to…. or maybe I’m just special.. In all seriousness though the soundtrack is fantastic and is perfectly suited to such a unique game. Sega are masters and couldn’t possibly be flawed for such a cool soundtrack, even if it’s a little weird at times.

Apart from fighting off rival gangs in the game, you will come across some trouble from the law, most often times giving you a good laugh as you proceed to kick some serious ass. There’s never really too much of a challenge to be had however, even in the later stages of the game.

The Tokyo police of 2024 are a little on the mentally disturbed side it would seem, and tend to enjoy flexing their muscular force, often employing tanks and choppers to help take you out of action.

Through the course of the game you will be challenged to races against rival gang members, often success in these will lead to your rival joining your gang and thus becoming a playable character. All characters have different stats such as speed and power. Over the course of the game you’ll surely come across one or two favourite characters that you will want to use as often as possible.

Sega’s level designers should be commended for their work in Jet Set Radio Future. Levels are very large, very well designed, multi-layered, full of life and objects and most of all style. There are walls to ride, multiple levels are areas to explore and endless amounts of rails littering the place. The game moves very fast through the levels and at times it’s worthwhile just to sit back and take a moment to appreciate how well-crafted the environments actually are.

After beating levels there are plenty of reasons to come back for more. These include the collection of various Graffiti souls (which will open up new designs for you to paint the town with), unlocking characters, challenges, rearranges tag spots and more.

Another cool feature of the game is the ability to create your own custom tag designs (these cover all sizes, from extra small to extra large). It may take some time but it’s worth it when in the end you’ve come up with a very purdy custom tag for you to splatter about the place while going through the game.

JSRF also features a very competent multiplayer mode, but it’s nothing to write home about. Thumbs up to Sega for including it though as it’s a very worthwhile inclusion none-the-less.

The masters at Sega have once again proven themselves as innovative, creative designers more than capable of producing a fantastically original franchise and delivering a great sequel worth both the time and money you’ll be looking at investing to enjoy it.

Jet Set Radio Future is a very original game that looks a treat, sounds fantastic and plays just as well. Overall it’s a great package that I highly suggest checking out! By this stage in the game’s life I’m sure you’ll be able to find it for a more than reasonable price.

If you get the chance, why no check out Jet Set Radio on the Dreamcast while you’re at it? With such innovative games it’s hard to understand how the Dreamcast sold so poorly..

9.2/10 - Fantastic
(Rounded to 9/10 for GameFAQs)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/03, Updated 12/07/03