Jet Grind Radio (Sega Dreamcast, 2000)

This game is very good. I bought this game because I owned it before and just recently found another Dreamcast. The graphics are awesome. The music is cool until you here the same songs fifty times over and over. The controls could be a little better but overall are pretty easy to navigate with. I really like this game because it has 2 things I really love, Inline skating & Graffiti. One of the coolest features is creating your own graffiti. Nothing is cooler than seeing your favorite character spraying your name all over his cartoon city. Overall this is a good game, it's just missing that little something to make it a great game. Thanks

A truly great game. It was one of the first games to use cell-shading, giving it a bright, cheerful look. And that really just characterizes this whole game, its built around you having fun.

You play as one of a cast of strange and interesting street kids. They are all designed to be "cool". Sometimes this works, other times its annoying. But regardless, no matter who you pick your objective is the same. Skate around the streets of Tokyoto and graffiti the hell out of it. Cops and Yakuza will try to stop you, but this is your turf, not theirs.

Story (3/5)
There is a story, but you probably don't care. It's told by the loud and sometimes grating radio host Professor K. He's loud and excited, which can be annoying but it certainly sets the tone.

Gameplay (5/5)
The game controls beautifully. All tricks and grinds happen automatically, allowing this game to be controlled with only three buttons and the stick. Longer graffiti sequences are controlled with the stick. Its so easy to get into a flow of tricks and tagging (graffiting), but if you ever happen to stop, you'll find that your character controls are very clunky at low speeds. If you have ever played Batman: Arkham Asylum, its like that. As long as you maintain the combo, controls are great.

Graphics (4/5)
This game is really nice to look at. They didn't hold back with the colors and some levels are really cool to look at. They are dated now, but still pleasing. One complaint was that the camera was very stiff. You can center it behind you, but other than that its out of your control.

Music (4/5)
The soundtrack is a combination of J-pop, rock, hip-hop and rap. I know that sounds unpleasant, but it really suits the setting and game play. Gets a little grating on the load screen though.

Design (3/5)
Some of the map screens are next to useless, leaving you to explore randomly until you find the shortcut you were looking for. This wouldn't be so annoying if it weren't for the level timer, which seems a little strange to have. Also, the later enemies become ridiculously accurate, making it very tough to stop at all do graffiti something.

I know I listed some negatives, but I would like to reiterate that this game plays like poetry. Jumping from rail to wall, spraying graffiti and avoiding the cops all the while just feels great. And the levels can be really sprawling later, leading to all sorts of awesome trick combos. If you have a Dreamcast, buy this game. If you don't have a Dreamcast, buy it after you buy this game.

Ha ! The only reason why I bought a dreamcast console recently was to play this game ! If you like Jet Set Radio Future for the original xbox, you will like this one as well.
When I first saw Jet Set Radio Future for the original xbox back in 2003, I said to myself :"I gotta have this game too!"
Rollerskate, grind on everything and win your territory by spraying your own graffitti with spray cans! There are other gangs trying to put their graffitti over yours, so you have to cover their graffitti to win the turf and cover the rest of the areas before they do! The music in this game is just so fantastic also! You can actually buy the music seperately if you wanted to! That is how good the music is in it! I love the Jet Set Radio game series so much that I am making my own video game that is similar !! Check out my website(unity3d.ca) if you want to play a part of the game im making. It is on the Ullukai games page on my site. I'm hoping to see more video games like this in the future because they are so much fun ! So, to summarize this review : if you like to play video games, then you will probably like this one !

Jet Grind Radio (Jet Set Radio in Europe and Japan) is one of the best games in the Dreamcast library. It's a simple game, yet is pleasantly difficult and fun to play. It has a kind of charm to it that makes it contagious. This game was the first to use a now-popular method of cel-shading graphics, which made it unique back in 2000. The game is about tagging places and people with graffiti to show freedom and individuality with three roller blading gangs. It may send a bad message to some people, but it's really very fun. You can also put together your own graffiti tags, so the artists out there will be satisfied, and they'll fill up their memory cards with new graffiti tags.

What makes the game even more fun is pick-up-and-play gameplay that still manages to be gratifying. Jet Grind Radio puts an emphasis on movement, momentum, and fluidity, which are aspects we take for granted in games today like Mirror's Edge and Assassin's Creed. Helping this sense of fluidity and movement are some very funky-looking characters (10 in all) and also an eclectic soundtrack that still stands up today, 8 years later, as one of the best in gaming.

The game however, isn't perfect. Some of the problems are the relentless pursuit of the police, and the police chief. They won't chase you so much as they'll camp in one spot you need to get to, and they'll make your life a living hell if you get to that spot, or anywhere near it. Also, the controls can get a little floaty at times, but since this is nowhere near a sim, it'll be forgivable for people who are looking for a good time.

Jet Grind Radio pushed the limits of the Dreamcast back when it was first released several years ago. Not only that but it opened up the concept of cell shading to a broad audience and is now used by several developers including Suda 51 and the Tales of team. Let's first discuss the graphics. Back when Jet Grind was released in 2000 the graphics it was showcasing were steller, and the immense amount of style Sega managed to put into the game would not be seen again until Suda 51 released Killer 7 back in 2005. At the time of this review the graphics are still fairly impressive but don't hold up as well as its sequel Jet Set Radio Future released for the xbox back in 2002. The gameplay in Jet Grind Radio is fairly basic. You grind on rails, and tag areas that rival gangs already tagged. It doesn't require much skill but it is simple fun. Jet Set Radio Future would top this in 2002 with faster gameplay and multiplayer. Now let's discuss the music. Cell shading and style may be important aspects of this game, but the music is where it truly shines. Its mix of hip hop and techno make this simple game one of the best on the Dreamcast. It is hard to describe this music because it really does have a unique feel to it, so even if you do not buy this game, do yourself a favor and download or buy the soundtrack. To end this review I would recommend this title to any Dreamcast owner or video game collector, but if you want a quality title I would recommend getting Jet Set Raido Future for the xbox over this.