Jet Set Radio Future

As far as my top 25 goes, nothing else even comes close to JSRF in terms of pure style and attractive visuals. The entire game has this odd color pallette of greens, blues, and orange that has stayed in the interest of game designers all the way up until today. Games like Lethal League Blaze owe basically their entire aesthetic to this game. Yet, even with the vibrant colors of the graffiti, the tone of your surroundings are comfortably mellow. That doesn't stop the overwhelming energy of the music from taking over, however. Hideki Naganuma's relentless cyber-funk is another highly sought facet of the Jet Set experience. Even aside from the Naganuma tracks, other licensed deals like Aisle 10 stick fondly in my memory, with Sega's own Richard Jacques fitting into the playlist nicely as well. Let's not forget those Latch Brothers tracks, either! You won't find much other music like this, not even in other video games.

The characters have memorable names and designs, with a large variety of them to choose from. I always liked playing as Combo, who you unlock very early in the game, though you couldn't go wrong with Cube or Gum, either. Their stats vary by a bit, as do their tricks, though the experience remains the same mostly for each person. This game has no Tony Hawk style 'grind meter' to worry about, meaning you can hop and slide around the city as you please. And now that the arcade-style timer of Jet Grind Radio is gone, the player is given more freedom to explore the world of Jet Set with their chosen character. Boy, do these levels ever make you explore them.

As you might expect, you will have to do some graffiti work if you plan on completing this game. The main goal is to cover up rival graffiti, and every level is absolutely covered with these things. It gets absurd at points, where levels can become sprawling in every dimension. Many of the levels are winding either upwards, or across many rooftops. Of both! As horrifying as it is to scale the Fortified Residential Zone, the scope of the level is massive enough to make my eyes water (and question the developers' sanity). Or hell, any 100%-ers remember wall-ride climbing that giant tower of concrete in the sewers to get that one stupid graffiti soul? Of course you do. Even when you think you have a grip on things, these levels are made to disorientate the player, leaving them more helplessly lost the further through the game they progress. It gives you the impression that as wild and senseless as this Jet Set world is, it still has a living breathing society making it all work. Many levels are filled with buildings and other structures, sometimes with cars and pedestrians crowding the area. It's hard to believe any of them can get around anywhere!

My only real problem with this game comes from the battles where you have to constantly spray-paint your enemies until their hp-meter depletes. The ones where you have to chase them around the level while painting them end up soaking up my time rather than providing some kind of challenge. Aside from that, however, most of my experience with this game was a pleasantly memorable one. Does the game stick with my personality? No. Does it define my younger self? No. But that's fine. This is a game that I simply look up to. Its one where the level of creativity and scope that it lives up to is one that astonishes me. This is an otherworldly game that compares to no other. And unfortunately, it's only available on one god damn console! Come on Sega!