Genre: Action
Developer: Smilebit
Publisher: Sega
# of Players: 1-4
ERSB: Teen
Released On: February 28th 2002
Also On: None
Features: Progressive Scan, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Introduction:
On the Sega Dreamcast there existed a game by the name of Jet Grind Radio. Jet Grind Radio is the game that started the Cel Shading craze. Sure, the Cel Shading technique had been used slightly here and there before, but it wasn’t until Smilebit’s Jet Grind Radio that developers realized what new and unique artistic styles you could create using Cel Shading. Along with its unique style, Jet Grind Radio featured a funky soundtrack and unique gameplay that just fit together perfectly. Who could have ever imagined that a game about spraying graffiti could be some damn fun?

Now, with the Xbox, Smilebit has unleashed to the world the sequel to the Dreamcast’s Jet Grind Radio with the Xbox exclusive title Jet Set Radio Future. Jet Set Radio Future puts gamers in the skates of a group of young “artists” called the GGs. The GGs find themselves involved in a massive “tag” war against many other rival gangs, but on top of this their beloved city is being overrun by a mad man by the name of Rokkaku Gouji. Rokkakou Gouji is a man who is on one bad power trip and is using his money to take over anything and everything in Future Tokyo, corrupting everything from Tokyo’s culture to even the Police.

Presentation:

Only the Japanese could come up with something this odd and funky. The music, the visuals, the whole style and presentation of the game helps deliver one of the most unique gaming experiences possible. Unfortunately, many will be turned away from it because they’re too afraid to try something this odd, or worried that they might just like it. I personally loved everything about this game, well not right away. When I first saw this game I couldn’t help but say to myself “What the f**k?”, I mean you character does some break dancing every time you select them, but everything grows on you after a short amount of time. From a technical standpoint the game has short load times, and easy navigable menus… Enjoy!

Gameplay:

Jet Set Radio Future is a very unique little title; actually it’s not little. The areas you explore in this game are huge, and they’re all intertwined, thus adding a real nice element of exploration and adventure to the title. While exploring each area you come across a numerous amount of obstacles, which can be tagging over enemy graffiti, fighting off the Rokkaku Police, or even racing around town to prove that you’re the best and above all the rest. When it comes to the point to where you have to race around town it is usually to prove to another punk out there on the street that you’re the top dog, if you beat them they will reluctantly offer to join the GGs, but that is not always the case. Sometimes you may have to race against another member(s) of a rival gang. For instance, early on in the game you will have to compete in a capture the flag competition against the dominatrix-looking type chicks of the rival gang Rapid 99. Cool stuff, and there’s enough variation to keep you busy throughout the entire gameplay experience.

Aside from the game’s main goals there are secrets in the game, well they’re not really secrets but items that aren’t needed to complete the game, but which add to the overall experience. These items are graffiti Souls and Tape decks, collecting these add to the amount of designs that are available in the game and sometimes even add more songs to the game’s playlist too. Collecting them is an accomplishment that you will be proud of when you’ve collected them all, there’s no big reward along the lines of a super secret ending or anything of the sort but the feeling of accomplishment is good enough.

When cruising around one of the game’s huge and beautiful areas you come across things like rails, wires, neon billboards, ramps, etc… They aren’t just there for you to gawk at but for you to grind on, jump off of and wall ride upon. Doing so, in most instances, progress you to newer areas of a level helping you reach places that you didn’t even know existed. The levels are just so multi tiered that there just some many places to go and so many ways to get there, luckily you have a detailed 3D map ready on the Start Menu but that still doesn’t help you from getting completely lost.

If there’s one thing I would have to complain about in Jet Set Radio Future it would have to be the camera. For the most part the camera stays behind you, but when you lock on to an enemy or wall so you can spray graffiti on it, the camera starts getting all wacky. This results in you becoming completing lost for a second or two or if you were on a high platform it could even result in you plummeting to you doom. The camera can become very irritating at times so don’t be surprised if you find yourself tossing the controller.

Visuals:

Cel Shading is different way to express a unique art style in a video game, so I guess you could say that Jet Set Radio Future has a certain uniqueness to it. It is a very vibrant and colorful game that just attacks your senses from the moment you view the title screen. The neon lights of certain areas excellently establish an atmosphere that you know only some crazy Japanese guy on “shrooms” could come up with. Unfortunately, JSRF does not always keep a steady framerate in many situations, this is mostly due to the fact that in the more populated areas there is just so many NPCs running around and tons of other stuff that cause the game to stutter for a second or two. It isn’t that this framerate problem hinders the experience too much but it’s just a bitch to witness.

Audio:

Personally, I believe Jet Set Radio Future has the most diverse soundtrack I’ve ever heard in any video game. Most songs are hip hop and pop oriented, it’s more funky (not quite sure if that word describes it well enough) than anything else though. At first I honestly hated the soundtrack but after time I grew to really like it; unfortunately, that caused me to question my sanity. Voice acting in the game, especially from DJ Professor K, is way over the top and I like it! It fits the whole appeal of the game perfectly and gets an excellent job done of further presenting a unique atmosphere. Sound effects, like the sound grinding your blades on a metal surface sounds adequate enough but you will most likely be too busy listening to the game’s soundtrack to care for those trivial features.

Lasting Appeal:

Your first run through Jet Set Radio Future may take you somewhere between 12 and 15 hours too complete, not too bad is you ask me. If you’re looking for some Tony Hawk-like multiplayer modes to spend some more time with, then you’ve got that too. These multiplayer modes allow you to race against up to 3 human opponents around selected courses, play capture the flag, Tag or Graffiti Wars where the object of the game is to spray as many Graffiti tags as possible within a certain time limit. Another cool little feature in the game that might keep you busy for a short time is the ability to create your own graffiti, this basically depends on your artistic skill but personally I couldn’t come up with too many cool looking tags other than a bunch of ones that said “nWo” (2 Sweet!).

Final Thoughts:

Jet Set Radio Future is a game that can only be described as unique. It’s not everyone that’s for sure, but if you’re a fan of those funky Japanese games then there’s a very good chance that you will enjoy Jet Set Radio Future. Despite some minor camera issues, JSRF is a great package that truly shows that Sega still knows how to make a worthwhile gaming experience.