JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future

"Technically a better game than its predecessor, but unfortunately much more frustrating"

Jet Grind Radio was released on Sega Dreamcast and was home to many "firsts." It was one of the first cel shaded games, and it used the animation to create a stunning world that felt exactly like a cartoon. It also involved spraying graffiti, which is something that wasn't seen in any other games. Not only that, but it was one of the first games to be released featuring the Aggressive Inline sport. This game was made at the height of Sega's arguably most innovative time; during the Dreamcast era, they were willing to try anything, and what resulted were some great, innovative, and memorable games.

Jet Set Radio Future is proof that Sega hasn't lost their ability to deliver stylistic, innovative, and very unique games. The game also brings the series to the next generation, and a host of new gameplay features are represented here, as are huge new gameplay flaws.

Graphics; JSRF uses cel shading again to a great effect. The city and its inhabitants are all very cool-looking and stylish. The slowdown that existed in the DC predecessor is practically gone, and the environments are much bigger. Character polygons have also gone up. The color scheme's been switched up a bit, with the harsh whites from the first game replaced by somewhat more saturated browns, always giving the city the feeling of being in the late-afternoon. In a way it makes the game look slightly less vibrant than its younger brother but in other ways the detail has vastly increased and whether or not you like this style or the original better, you can't deny that this game looks great. The levels are very large and without the sometimes annoying load times from JGR.

Gameplay; Both games feature characters on inline skates traveling through the city and spraying graffiti, as well as dealing with rival gangs. But that's pretty much where the gameplay similarities end. Jet Grind Radio propelled you through the levels with a time limit and relatively small area that you had to rush through to hit all the "tag spots," (as cops pursued you, their methods becoming more and more extreme,) and sent you from level-to-level via a map in the Garage, the gang's hideout. Jet Set Radio Future instead eliminates the time limit and cops' pursuit throughout the levels entirely, and also the level select system; you now skate through the city to get to the street that you're looking for. There are save points scattered throughout the level and you can spend as much time as you need on them. The cops still do pursue you, but not in the same way. You'll go through most of the levels with minimal resistance, but at certain places the cops will trap you in areas and try to stop you. You then must fight them (usually defeating them by spraying their backs or helicopters, etc.) and defeat them. Doing this will allow you to proceed through the levels. You also no longer have to follow directional prompts onscreen to spray paint, just simply tap the trigger and you'll start tagging.

First thing's first; Smilebit (the developers) need to be complimented on the fact that they did not simply release a lazy sequel; they completely went in and re-imagined the entire game to bring a completely brand new experience to the gamer. While not all their changes worked, there are several huge improvements here. First of all, the Garage (Where the GG's, your gang, all hang out, and where you can change your character, and create your own graffiti) has been completely overhauled from a small room to a skate park, complete with access to many streets (or levels) in Tokyo-to, the game's city. You can also change the music that plays here, which is also very cool. The fact that the world's now explorable (And characters now have to be found throughout the levels) gives off the feeling of being in a real city. The game's controls have also been vastly improved, with movement being much quicker and tighter. The new spray paint system's also quicker, since with no more enemy pursuit throughout the levels, there's no need to force you to spend more time with the actual tagging. (The only problem with this is the fact that when you do spray a REALLY BIG tag, it just doesn't give off the sense of accomplishment that I think it should. But that's a minor complaint.) The game world's also much bigger, and this is not a game that can be beaten in a few hours unlike the original Jet Grind Radio, this is a 12-15 hour experience, which can be made even longer if you go looking for all the unlockable graffiti and characters. Also made much more fun are the races, (when you must race against certain characters) and the map's a huge improvement over the first game's for this type of gameplay. There are also a couple clever boss fights sprinkled throughout, which are a nice touch.

Unfortunately, while Jet Set Radio Future's a bigger and better game than its predecessor, it's not nearly as fun to play, and that ends up being a big reason that I ended up liking the first Jet Grind a bit better. The biggest dent in Jet Set Radio Future's armor is some downright TERRIBLE level design...way too often you'll be put into levels that are either destroyed and run-down cities (with buildings literally stacked on top of each other,) or on top of a huge collection of skyscrapers with many different ways to get to each, or even on a series of rooftops where you must find the correct grind rail to proceed and falling in the water sets you WAY back...levels like these are unbelievably frustrating, and on these levels you might as well forget the map, which is downright unhelpful. You can use it to find the DIRECTION of the next tag, but that's about it, as actually using the map to locate tags on these multi-story and VERY convoluted and confusing levels is nearly impossible. The Skyscraper District is by far the worst offender in this category but there are many others. The bad level design just makes the minute-to-minute play experience a lot more tedious than it needs to be, and as a result the game's just not nearly as fun to play. Of course, there's no time limit in the levels here, so you don't have to worry about that, but spending all this time on 1 level (while the same few songs that were selected for this level keep looping over and over again) just isn't the same rush that Jet Grind Radio presented.

The game's also much more repetitive. You simply do the same thing every level, tagging spots and then being trapped in areas to defeat the mindless troops pursuing you...again, and again. At least the first Jet Grind Radio gave some variety with the enemies chasing you through the levels in many different ways, (and it also featured much more basic and easy-to-navigate levels) and of course the levels were designed to be completed quickly. Jet Set Radio Future just gets BORING at times (Despite the very fun atmosphere being brought to the table and inherently fun gameplay present here,) due to the repetition. And unlike the first game, which featured speeches from the DJ Professor K (who created the underground pirate radio station Jet Set Radio) after every level, JSRF instead often makes you complete 3 or so levels between these story-progressing cutscenes, which, again, makes the game seem somewhat slow. It's a very fun game and at times just as fun (if not more so) than the first game, but unfortunately, at many other times the game's "throw-your-controller" frustrating and also ends up feeling repetitive, with pacing all over the map.

Plot; The plot presented here's a pretty good one, although it certainly takes its time getting off the ground. It features cool rival gang encounters, as well as some great comic relief, but the pacing's just a bit off, mostly related to the developers' decision to increase the time between Professor K's plot-advancing cutscenes. The villain here's very whiny and not nearly as cool as Onishima from the last game, and even though this was a series reboot, I just wasn't a fan of the fact that this game brought back the characters from the 1st game only to place them in completely different roles and basically act like the first game didn't even happen. Another change I didn't particularly care for was the fact that Professor K, who in the last game spoke generally about all the gangs and offered his input on a station that was likely heard by all them, this time he seems to be speaking directly (and only to) the GG's, basically giving us advice during the game and even laughing at our characters as they fall off the map. Not a change for the better, I thought. That said, he's as cool as ever, and it's always fun to listen to him talk. It's a good plot and it does move the game forward, although a big boost to the game's pacing would really have helped.

Sound; The music here is pretty much Jet Grind Radio but cranked up to 11. This game features much faster songs and yet also a great variety of futuristic tunes in there as well. It's overall a very good mix and pretty much blows away the track list of the first game. It's crazy, it's bizarre, it's loaded with variety, and most importantly, it's FUN. A great soundtrack, a true highlight of the game. Again, though, the game design faults lead to much longer time spent in levels, which leads to the same small group of songs at a time repeating again and again, which almost depletes their "cool" factor. Almost. It'd be impossible to happen, these songs are incredible.

Once again Professor K's scenes are fully voiced, and his voice actor from the first game returns. He again manages to bring this DJ to life, although this time around he sounds a lot more subdued. Sound effects don't come across as strong this time around as they did in the first game.

Overall, JSRF is a bigger and better game than its predecessor, but unfortunately, it brings with it a huge amount of new frustrations. It does feature some great new exploration elements, a much bigger world, many more boss encounters and a much longer adventure, however, it ends up suffering from some terrible level design and a horrible map. These end up taking a big toll on the fun factor. The game's also much more repetitive than the first game and missions that try to do something new and different fall victim to the same level design issues that the rest of the game does. It's definitely a worthwile game to add to your collection if you're a fan of Sega, or unique and quirky games in general, as the atmosphere here's top notch and the gameplay, story, visuals, and music all combine to create (like the 1st game) a totally new and surreal experience. But this time around it's just so much more tedious than it needed to be.

My score for this game is a 7. If you've never played JGR, feel free to add another point to this score. It's a very cool game and new people to this series will likely be just as amazed by this game as we were by its predecessor. They'll love it. Those who played the first game, though, will definitely see these flaws, loud and clear. It's a good game but a very flawed one. Still very much worth playing and one of Sega's highlights on the Xbox.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/04, Updated 09/01/08

Game Release: JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future (US, 02/25/02)