Jet Set Radio Review - IGN (original) (raw)

Having just reviewed the HD re-release of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and previewed a new Dead or Alive title, revisiting Jet Set Radio has been nothing short of surreal. Had you told me back in 2000 -- when these three games were spinning in my Dreamcast -- that I'd be writing about them 12 years down the line, I'd probably have thought that was awesome (and it is!). But I'd also wonder why. Why would anyone still care about these games over a decade later? For JoJo's, I'd say the reason is novelty, and for Dead or Alive, it's iteration. But the reason people still care about Jet Set Radio is entirely different.It's because Jet Set Radio matters.

I love video games with my entire heart, but few of them truly matter. They are ultimately, just like most pieces of film and music, created for our amusement. And in its own way, amusement matters… but that's a whole other stack of words. The part of Jet Set Radio that exists for the players’ amusement – the levels, the mechanics – haven't necessarily aged gracefully. But the rest of it -- its music, its message, and its soul -- have never felt fresher.

For those of you who aren't old and wrinkled enough to have a clue as to what I'm going on about, Jet Set Radio is a 3D platformer developed by Smilebit and released on the SEGA Dreamcast in 2000. You play as one of several members of a Shibuya-based graffiti gang called the GG's who rollerblade around a fictional version of Tokyo while besting rival gangs and, more importantly, rebelling against the fascist police regime that dominates the streets. The core gameplay consists mostly of traversing open urban environments via jumping and rail-grinding while dodging the cops and tagging key areas with your graffiti. While it sounds like a recipe for good times, a few sour ingredients dampen the fun a bit.

There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just blurt it out. The overall gameplay in Jet Set Radio is merely passable. I remember feeling that way back when it was first released. No one element of the game's design is bad enough on its own to condemn it, but when the pieces start coming together they don't fit quite right, making many levels less fun than they could be. The controls are just sluggish enough, and the collision detection just vague enough that you never quite feel in complete control of your character. This becomes a somewhat larger problem when you're scrambling aimlessly around a map looking for the one graffiti target you missed as time is running down, or trying to complete a series of jumps and grinds that ask for just a little more precision than the controls really lend you. While it's possible to work around these shortcomings, it can feel like just that: work.

But the game didn't enslave a throng of loyal fans because of its gameplay, odd as that might sound. It was its style and spirit that made it worth experiencing, and I'm elated to say that age has only helped in this regard. HD resolutions have done great things for Jet Set Radio, allowing its one-of-a-kind neo-punk visuals to truly pop while showing how age-proof brilliant art direction truly is. Aside from a blocky texture here and there, it looks like it was made today rather than 12 years ago. In an age when the term “art game” has become synonymous with pretension and minimalism, JSR shows that art can be in your face and full of attitude, too.

And make no bones about it: this game is art. The fact that it makes no visible attempt to convince you as much only legitimizes its claim to that title. From the get go, it pulses with a youthful, rebellious verve that few games can match. This gang of skating street artists become accidental heroes simply by the merit of what they do: run free and make art wherever they go, a notion whose beauty was mostly lost on my younger self. When I first watched lines of police in riot gear firing tear gas at my unarmed avatar back in 2000, I only saw another exaggerated video game enemy. As a grown man, though, I see it for what it is: a statement that any group that uses its power so readily and excessively is unfit to wield it, and that self-expression and non-violent dissent can overcome it.

JSR doesn't achieve this sense of defiant freedom through elaborate pre-rendered cutscenes or A-list Hollywood voice talent, either. Its characters’ designs and actions speak for themselves, and the music does all the rest. I'm not sure if I can say definitively that this is the best soundtrack in video game history, but it certainly belongs in the discussion. Composer Hideki Naganuma took chunks of indie rock, trip-hop, and acid jazz and melted them down into a punchy, psychedelic soundscape that never stops smiling. Working in concert with the visuals and the indomitable hype-meister that is DJ Professor K, the music helps JSR embody the very spirit of rebellion and self-expression.

The Vita Version

Those who feel like grinding on the go will be pleased to hear that the PlayStation Vita version of Jet Set Radio replicates the console experience in every way, both good and bad. This means that you still get the same inimitable style and infectious tunes, as well as the moody controls and hit-or-miss level designs. You get all the modes, features and songs from the console re-release ordered to go, but it's tough to imagine breaking the game out in the subway or on the bus. In this regard, it suffers in the same way any console developed title does when it gets ported directly to handhelds. They're designed to be fun over the course of 30 minutes or even several hours, not in five minute bursts.

Still, Jet Set Radio is all about the aesthetic and the attitude, both of which shine through regardless. I might even say that Vita's sharp little OLED screen is even more generous to Jet Set's graphics than the HD remake on consoles, which already sparkled. The colors almost seem to glow, and it runs perfectly, as it should given the age of the game and the power of the system. This is what truly makes the game what it is, and the Vita version is as visually evocative as any you can buy.

There’s no cross-buy or cross-save functionality. The PS3 and Vita versions do not talk to each other.

Verdict

As I like to say, there are two words in the term “video game,” and you have to execute both well in order to be considered great. In this case, the “game“ portion can be trying almost as often as it is fun, and can be completed in one or two sittings with minimal replay value. But the “video” or “music video” portion of Jet Set Radio amounts to something so special that I think anyone who truly believes in the artistic potential of the medium should experience it. Players looking for a game with finely tuned mechanics and thrill-a-minute gameplay will want to look elsewhere. But fans of the original, or those wanting to engage in some funk-fueled civil disobedience should definitely take the ride.