Hello and welcome to the final Instalment of Lost Gems for SEGA month, where I discuss games that have been lost, abandoned or simply taken away from distribution. This time to wrap the special celebration month, I will be covering a legendary title from SEGA and Smilebit. Taking heavy inspiration from a variety of 80s and 90s pop culture, with a futuristic twist, hit the streets on magnetic skates in Jet Set Radio for Dreamcast from 2000.
Disclaimer: while the game discussed here is no longer officially on sale, there are ways to obtain the game. This can be through the second hand market, or through unofficial digital roms/rips. I do not condone or promote piracy, so there won’t be any links to roms or rips of the game being covered.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general gameplay experience, then give my personal thoughts on the title. Please note, a HD remaster of Jet Set Radio was released on Steam and Xbox 360/PS3, but I will be only covering the original console release.
About the game
Jet Set Radio is an adventure game, set in an alternate version of Japan. Across Tokyo-to, street punks have been riding through the streets, using magnetically driven skates and tagging areas with graffiti. These skaters have been nicknamed “Rudies” by the people of Tokyo-to, due to the graffiti tagging and reckless behaviour. The metropolitan government and the Rokkaku group have joined forces, using their resources to try and crackdown on the skaters.
All of these events are relayed through DJ Professor K, the host of Jet Set Radio, a pirate radio station that plays non-stop hardcore music for his listeners. He also covers the ongoing turf wars between the graffiti crews, who each operate in the different zones of Tokyo-to. These gangs are The GGs in Shibuya-cho, the Noise Tanks of Benten-cho and the Poison Jam of Kogane-cho, but there are additional rogue groups and skaters in these territories.
At the start of the game, the player starts with Beat, the leader of the GGs and recruits Gum and Tab to join him. These three skaters, then encounter the Love Shockers, a rouge crew looking to take control of the GGs turf. During their attempt to reclaim the territory, the police lead by Captain Onishima appear, ready to arrest the skaters for their crimes. With this the adventures of the GGs go into overdrive, across the streets of Tokyo-to.
The gameplay loop for this release is separated into missions, where the core objective is to tag all of the areas in a zone. Across the areas of Tokyo-to, there will be rival graffiti tags that have been left behind, which need to be covered within the time limit. Graffiti can be sprayed in two ways, if they are small a single spray with a button press is needed. However, for larger tags, a series of analogue inputs pop up on screen, with success will lead to the area being sprayed.
To be able to spray graffiti, the player needs to collect spray cans which can be collected in two ways. The most common will be by collecting them from the streets, with some of them (alongside graffiti tags) being in hard to reach places. These can be reached by jumping on rails, grinding along them automatically if they land can land on them. The other way to get spray cans is by colliding with rival taggers, causing them to drop cans to pick up.
There are three types of spray cans that can be collected, with yellow ones providing a single graffiti use, Blue that give 5 uses and Recover cans, which restore stamina. The recovery cans are important, as there are several dangers to the skaters and their objectives. As the skaters travel through Tokyo-to, there will be water that they can fall into, cars that can hit them and other environmental hazards. But the most dangerous threat is the Police and Rokkaku group.
In the street stages, as the player covers rival tags, they will be pursued by the police, becoming more aggressive as more turf is captured. The standard police forces will try to chase down the Rudies, jumping onto them and draining their stamina. Alongside the standard police, there is the extremely aggressive Captain Onishima, who will try to blast the player with his revolver. The best way to stay safe is to run if the police turn up.
Then there are the heavies, from both the police and the Rokkaku group, with Attack Helicopters and even assassins will appear, trying the take the player down. Some of the threats can be taken down, tagging them with graffiti to render them harmless. This can be incredibly challenging but satisfying when successful. If the player is defeated, the will get a game over, allowing them to try again or return to the garage to prepare.
There is a second objective to the missions, which are to tag rival gang members. Having to chase them down across the areas and spraying their backs. During these encounters, the rivals need to be tagged multiple times as they try to escape, a counter will appear showing how many times they need to be hit. When all have been taken down, the stage is cleared. With each clear of a stage, the player will receive a rating and score based on their performance.
During the course of the adventure, there will be special Rival Showdown stages that will pop up. These are special battles where a challenge is presented, with the reward for completion being a new member joining the crew. There are several characters that can be recruited, but the player can skip them if they wish to, making them optional. If they are successfully added to the crew, there will be new graffiti added to the garage.
The last set of challenges to discuss are the trials, which are special side missions that will appear during the course of the game. These trials are split into three categories, each providing a different objective to complete. There is the Jet Graffiti, which is a time trial to reach and spray all of the graffiti points within a time limit. Then Jet Technique, where a target score has to be hit, and last is Jet Crash, which is a race against another skater to reach the goal.
Inside the garage, the player is able to select the stage that they want, listen to music and change the graffiti that is used. Within the graffiti menu, the player is able to select from a variety of tags that have been unlocked, collected or even create their own. To be able to make a variety of different graffiti tags, using preset text and paint tools. The custom tags use up blocks on the VMU with different set amounts for the three sizes of small, Large and X-Large.
There was also a special internet system, which allowed players to access a variety of online services. These included accessing user generated Graffiti, allowing them to upload and download creations that can be used in game. Players could also access the Homepage for Jet set radio, alongside other features that were common with the Dreamcast online service. Sadly, these features have since become defunct, with the creations uploaded now lost.
Personal thoughts
Jet Set Radio is yet another game that I have been a fan of for a long time, having played the game on the original Dreamcast, Xbox 360 and Steam. I have returned to the game multiple times over the years, as it is one of those special games that is timeless. The art style is so distinct, the gameplay fun and the setting is so incredibly out there, which all comes together to make an unforgettable experience. Then there is the unforgettable soundtrack.
The various inspirations that the game is built on work together perfectly, creating something unique that didn’t feel confusing. Then there are the characters themselves, who have been so popular with players and SEGA themselves, that they have been featured in several crossovers. The most notable being the All Star racing games, with the distinct settings, music and lead characters Beat/Gum as playable racers.
I have a wonderful appreciation for this game, the legacy it has left behind and the sequel that was released on the original Xbox, Jet Set Radio Future. The game was also my introduction to in-line skates or rollerblades as they are otherwise called, making me want to learn how to do it. I tried to do it, but ended up giving up in the end, after many scuffs, scrapes and various injuries. But I still have a love for the sport thanks to Jet Set Radio.
There has been an enduring love for this game, leading to HD remasters, on both consoles and PC, but these were removed a couple of years ago. This has led to speculations of another re-release, alongside the announcement of a new game that is coming in the future. It makes me wonder what is going to happen, with some hope that they are going to do it right, as well as wishing the original will be able to return at some point.
Even with the popularity of the game, the original is still somewhat attainable on the secondary market. Both Domestically and internationally, the cost for the game is not as high as it would be expected, especially for a title that has received so much cult fame. It is entirely possible to be able to pick this game up, even on a tight budget, which is pretty rare in today’s climate. I do hope it becomes widely available once more though.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems, Retro Revival where I discuss re-releases and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around.
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