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Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast) Review


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Jet Grind Radio

Sega Dreamcast

2001

 

 "WOULD YOU STOP PLAYING WITH THAT RADIO NOISE?!?! I'M TRYING TO GET SOME SLEEP!"

 

Hello this is Kirbymeister2 and these are my reviews. During the winter I like to play summer games and in the summer vise versa. So it’s as good as ever that I play one of the hippinist happinist games from the 90’s: Jet Grind Radio.

 

 ....

 

 What?

 

Jet Grind Radio was one of the Dreamcast’s biggest games ever to be released. It was so big that.... it was one of the most recommended games that I should have for my collection. So I got it... But after a year or so of having it, I never played it to understand the impact it had on gaming. So it’s good as ever that I review this game! Racical!....

 

....

 

 I’ll stop….

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I love Professor K.

 

 

 Jet Grind Radio is set in the future of Japan where graffiti art is outlawed that those that dare so are met with gruesome force. This doesn’t really scare Beat who forms a group of artists called the GG’s with others to claim territory with rival gangs. The gangs are Love Shockers, Noise Tanks, and Poison Jam with their own unique themes. During all of this conflict with the gangs the police- led by Captain Onishima that does anything in his power to kill them whether it be tanks and helicopters, is the named pirate radio tower called Jet Set Radio led by Professor K that usually just is the storyteller.

 

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And the Mafia too!

 

 I do like the cheesiness of the characters but sometimes it can be a little bit in the realm of disbelief when the police are willing enough to try to kill children that want to express themselves. It’s kind of hilarious observe when the police send out tanks just for graffiti and nothing else.

 

 The gameplay is fun in that the majority of it is roller-skating while grinding ramps, doing trips, and spray painting. There are three main locations to explore in the realm of Tokyo-to: Benten-cho, Kogane-cho, and Shibuya-cho. Each location has their own type of mission which is spray-painting walls while running away from the police, doing tech rival battles to obtain a new crew member to help in claiming territory, or playing tag with gang members. Each mission further progresses the story and soon links levels into a huge playing ground that is soon seen as a large canvas for the GG’s.

 

 Rollerblading is simple. Movement is controlled by the sticks, L is to focus the camera to where the character is looking at, R is to gain a bit of dash, and A is jumping in the air. The game, as cleverly depicted by the name, is mostly focused on grinding rails that can be jumped on. It is, however, highly recommended to get a bit of a boost before a rail grind so that characters are faster. As for actual moves, well there aren’t that many as there aren’t an abundance of ramps to do tricks on and when there are ramps the physics in the game don’t measure well to even execute them. Players can have a chance to do tricks, but that usually happens after jumping off a rail. I wish that if there was a true sequel, the game would be including more free areas to include ramps and locations to do more variable tricks while also tweaking the physics.

 

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&Knuckles

 

 Doing tricks isn’t the real focus of the game unfortunately, but spray-painting is. This is done by first obtaining yellow spray cans or blue spray cans that are more than one which both appear after a while after obtaining them. Characters then have to go to places pointed by a two distinctly colored arrows: red and green. Red arrows are objective based while green arrows aren’t important to clear a stage but to get more points. Locations will have the option of just being a one and done deal, while the real fun happens by trick locations. Trick locations have players move the left control stick as directed by the game. The more completed directions, the more of a score the player gets. The problem is that the game has an inconsistency in which red areas will have players focus on spray-painting the longest which can be a pressuring moment since going around places and spray-painting is timed.

 

Image result for jet grind radio police

 

 The timer isn’t the player’s worst nightmare, however. That award goes to Tokyo-to’s finest police. When I meant that Captain Onishima is willing to do anything in his power to stop the characters, that includes police running at the characters with guns, latching on the characters, throwing grenades, sending in groups of motorcyclists to ram into characters, and ordering helicopters at their way. This adds a more stress while trying to perform the longer trick areas. This also means to carefully heal the characters by running into the red spray cans found at the map.

 

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I hated Yo-Yo soooo much

 

Now there is a fun thing the game that I enjoyed but sometimes had the frustration due to the sloppy physics: the rival battles. Like Space Channel 5, the mode is based on Simon says in that characters have to perfectly time grinds and jumps. Completing the set of three action stages means the character joins the party. I had a fun time doing the challenges, but again, with how the game battles with its physics was something a bit of a nightmare.

 

Image result for jet grind radio graffiti

 

 The thing that really sells the game with the almost good gameplay is however it’s presentation. The game is made of stylistic cell-shaded graphics that does well to give in the punk yet almost cartoony atmosphere. The game knows how stupid the premise is so why not use a childish and almost perfectly almost uncaring look. This game knows how ridiculous it is so character designs are made to look to be as pumping as the 90’s were with designs of characters such as Beat, the Poison Jam Gang, Noise Tanks, Combo and Cube. Sure, this would make the game look very aged but ironically at the same time it gives the perfect personality that the game wants to convey.

 

 

 

 

 And the music blends with this as well. The first song that is played while players starting up the game is “Let Mom Sleep” and it is the perfect song that exemplifies the good times they will be having. The soundtrack is so jamming with a combination of rap, hip-hop, techno, and rock. All of these songs do their job well to the game fun; but the best of the songs has to be the best jab in all games called “Super Brothers”.  A ballsy approach to Nintendo is something fans of the game have enjoyed for years.

 

 What however kind of ruins the game is the voice-acting. I don’t know who worked with directing the voice-acting but it is not good. When a character is talking with text, most characters go “hey!” or “yo!” or “hi!” from that one text of dialog they are given. I think them saying the actual full line would’ve given them more of a personality to fit with the game, but instead it’s a lazy attempt from the direction that I guess was supposed to fit but it doesn’t. The police don’t say much either; only lines like “damn” or “get him!” or something on the line. I wished they had something to say as they are waiting to catch the characters while the characters are safe.

 

  Jet Grind Radio is an almost good time with the absurd story, the gameplay that incorporates spray-painting, the visuals, and the bad-ass music. The game however would’ve been nearly a masterpiece to me if there were additions to the roller-blading moves as well as locations to do them, modified physics, and added personal touches in the voice-acting. This game is good, but I don’t think it’s much as a masterpiece as most claim it to be. I would recommend this game for a Dreamcast collection, but I would recommend the better Jet Grind Radio Future for the XBox just to have fun. 

 

 

 

Edited by Kirbymeister2
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I only played this game for the first time a couple of years ago after hearing it hyped up for a long time, and I mostly agree that it's a cool concept that never quite fully clicked with me—just too dated to try playing it 15+ years after its initial release, perhaps. I loved the game's style though and would definitely be interested in seeing a revival of the franchise.

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13 hours ago, Eliwood8 said:

I only played this game for the first time a couple of years ago after hearing it hyped up for a long time, and I mostly agree that it's a cool concept that never quite fully clicked with me—just too dated to try playing it 15+ years after its initial release, perhaps. I loved the game's style though and would definitely be interested in seeing a revival of the franchise.

 

Jet Set Radio Future is way more polished, pretty and smooth but Sega won't fucking release it again anywhere
if you happen to have an original xbox, though, it's super cheap (it runs like crap on 360)
the original is cool but jank as all fuck. god damn diarrhea controls.

 

but I would recommend the better Jet Grind Radio Future for the PS2 just to have fun. 


god I wish it had been a ps2 game cause you know it'd already be ported somewhere by now

Edited by Pichi
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