Time Shouldn’t Forget Jet Set Radio Future
The coolest game on inline skates
Jet Set Radio was something of a sleeper hit for Sega. Riding the 90's/early 2000’s aesthetic of graffiti and rollerskating, it immediately had that “cool” factor. It sold well and was followed by a US release, complete with added levels that were inspired by the international release. Spurred on by its’ success and its’ criticisms, Sega went forward with Jet Set Radio Future, doubling down on what made the game work while removing a lot of the fat. What came out in 2002 would end up becoming a beloved and revered cult classic.
I would be remiss to begin this without mentioning the soundtrack first. Jet Set Radio has the most eclectic and best soundtrack of any video game. I mean we’re talking hip-hop/funk/jazz/whatever fusion, and it’s incredible. “The Concept of Love” alone should cement its’ status as legendary. Hideki Naganuma is so tied to the spirit of the franchise at this point, fans in the past have hounded him for a sequel.
But what did the game actually play like? Jet Set Radio Future is about getting places fast. Above all, the game wants you to be moving. Imagine your feet are replaced with inline skates and you cannot stop moving for a second. Well, you can stop, but why would you, other than to look at the scenery. Sure, the story is about a futuristic Tokyo about a corporate regime controlling every facet of life, but you fight this by spraying graffiti and riding very fast. Along the way, DJ Professor K is there to narrate your journey and keep you up to date with the world at large.
It’s easy to compare Jet Set Radio Future to something like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater because of the focus on extreme sports, but with an open world and many different items to collect and paths to take, it has more in common with say, Banjo-Kazooie.
The levels themselves are little neighborhoods filled with nooks and crannies to explore and lines to grind. In fact, the game lacks even a dedicated grind button, instead letting you grind as soon as you hit the area. In fact, most of the game requires little input at all, just some pressing of the face buttons to pull off tricks. The animation is the star of the show, and looking cool is effortless.
Jet Set Radio thrives on allowing you to get where you want to as creatively as possible. Want to grind on a line and turn ninety degrees, climbing up an electrical tower? Sure, go ahead, they encourage it. Each neighborhood is unique and a different test for your abilities, put together to create the portrait of Tokyo. In fact, the world itself still holds up nearly twenty years later, with large crowds and odd quirks that combine to create a very real playground in which you take part. From Shibuya to Sky Dinosaurian Square, there’s always something amazing to see.
But Sega seems to forget this game exists. Although they remastered the original Jet Set Radio way back in 2012, it was a rush job that hardly paid proper respect to the IP. And by then, the gameplay had been sufficiently dated that it was hard to recommend, except for the most ardent of fans.
The sequel, Jet Set Radio Future, an original Xbox classic, lies dormant for now. The game even runs poorly in backward compatibility on the Xbox 360. Fans have been clamoring for the official ability to run this on their consoles for years. Perhaps it’s disinterest in remastering what is such a strange game, but most likely the rights for the music are hard to track down.
Fans refuse to let Jet Set Radio Future go. To this day, fans have made a randomizer mod for the game as well as a PC-playable version of the game’s multiplayer. Also, the game is consistently featured in Games Done Quick for speedrunning, as well as the world being ported to VRchat. For my part, it’s worth it to buy an original Xbox to experience this game alone.
The one hope for a new game is Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, which is an absolute dead ringer for the Jet Set Radio of old. With Hideki Naganuma at the lead for the soundtrack, it’s hard to imagine this game disappointing in the music department. Here’s hoping it can iterate on Jet Set Radio Future and finally give the series some justice, albeit in a new form.
