Jet Set Radio Future Racing

Last week, Microsoft surprised a number of Xbox One owners by announcing a list of original Xbox titles that would be compatible with the system, with many of them arriving this Tuesday. This includes some elite favorites, including SSX 3, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Conker: Live & Reloaded and Jade Empire, along with a slew of Star Wars titles coming next week.

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But one game that fans didn’t see on the list -- but desperately wanted -- was Jet Set Radio Future. This futuristic skating/graffiti-spraying game has become the stuff of legend on the original Xbox, and fans were hoping they would be able to skate their way through Neo Tokyo on Microsoft’s new machine. Alas, that isn’t the case.

Why though? Is there something holding back this Xbox classic from turning heads on a new console? Surprisingly enough, there is.

First of all, Sega may be looking to explore its original Xbox library and bring over a number of titles before it jumps in with both feet with Jet Set Radio Future. For instance, the action/shooter Gunvalkyrie is considered by many to be an old-school classic, with beautiful visuals and sound, along with razor-sharp alien-blasting gameplay. And let’s not forget Sega Soccer Slam either. The game was originally made backward compatible on Xbox 360 a while back, and has become a cult favorite since. Introducing it on Xbox One wouldn’t be the worst idea out there.

There are other games to consider as well that would likely be popular based on franchise alone, like the underappreciated Shadow the Hedgehog and House of the Dead III.

But when it comes down to it, a bigger problem could be getting in the way of Jet Set Radio Future’s port to Xbox One -- and it’s a hard one to overlook.

One thing that makes Jet Set Radio Future stand out from other Sega-licensed fare is its amazing soundtrack. There are still lots of people on social media who will sing along to “Understand the Concept of Love!” if you mention those words in any way shape or form.

But here’s the thing -- that soundtrack is years old, and Sega may have a tough time trying to re-license it all for the game’s re-release. After all, if it were eligible for Xbox One backward compatibility, Sega would have to make it available as a digital release, along with any physical copies that are in the wild -- and that means having to secure all those musical licenses again. Ask anyone, that’s bound to be a nightmare.

So is there a way around this problem? Well, there is..but we’re not sure how fans would feel about it.

In the past, Sega managed to re-release the game Crazy Taxi on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 form. While fans appreciated being able to cruise through city streets at top speed again, there was a noticeable change -- the soundtrack.

The original arcade soundtrack features the likes of the Offspring, Bad Religion and more. But when you play these new versions, you may notice that the soundtrack is drastically different, with some new artists in their place. People still loved the game, but didn’t really favor the new soundtrack compared to the old one.

Now, Sega could find a way around that problem with a re-release of Jet Set Radio Future, but that means cooking up a whole new soundtrack as a result -- and considering how iconic the soundtrack is, that may not sit well with fans. But a re-release would certainly be better than nothing.

And to be fair, Sega did reinstate the original Crazy Taxi soundtrack in future releases of the game, so nothing’s impossible. The company may simply be biding its time to try and get the full JSRF soundtrack intact before it jumps off the deep end and ports the game to the new hardware.

Jet Set Radio Future not coming to the Xbox would be a hard pill to swallow, but not totally the end of the world. Yes, it’s a fantastic game and yes, we’d love to play it again. But Sega’s got an uphill battle in trying to get it ported, and seeing it changed from its different form may not be what fans want.

Now, here’s why we say “it’s really not the end of the world.” There has been some evidence indicating that a new Jet Set Radio could emerge. Sega hasn’t officially greenlit anything, but it’s safe to say that interest is high in its return. Considering that the company has been going all out to revive as many classics as it can, don’t be surprised if Jet Set eventually makes a return, with a bold new world that takes advantage of the Xbox One (or PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch) from the ground up -- and a soundtrack to match.

So although Jet Set Radio Future may not be happening (at least, for the time being), at least we know that Sega is giving some thought into an actual future for Jet Set Radio.

Factor in artillery and protective units and the potential for strategy is staggering. Chaos legion game. But in reality, it plays like a tactical strategy game that places you in near-complete control of units rather than having you issue orders with icons and cursors. Some of your minions specialize in combating mechanical creatures, while others fare better against flesh and blood- so to eviscerate the opposition, you’ll need to plan accordingly. Yet because you do all this while controlling your own character, in reality, you’d need the dexterity of Star Trek’s Data to consistently carry out all your calculations. Commanding an entourage of supernatural soldiers is heady but fulfilling work.

Oh, and don’t forget. In the meantime, we do have Panzer Dragoon Orta coming our way Tuesday. If that’s not worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.

Jet Set Radio Future,^[a] known in North America and Europe as JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future (stylized in all caps), is a video game developed by Smilebit and is the sequel to Jet Set Radio for the Dreamcast. It was published by Sega. It was released on February 22, 2002 in Japan, February 25, 2002 in North America and March 14, 2002 in Europe and Australia for Xbox. After the game's initial release, it was given away on a disk with Sega GT 2002 in specially-marked Xbox console packages.

Similar to the original, it depicts a future Tokyo where freedom of expression is outlawed. The user plays a character in the GG's, a gang of in-line skating graffiti artists who skate around Tokyo covering up rival gangs' graffiti, knocking over Rokkaku police, and dancing to the electric soundtrack. The game uses a cel-shaded style of animation, and has been widely acclaimed for its unique music style, detailed art, and gameplay.

Gameplay[edit]

Jet Set Radio Future plays similarly to the original game in which the player controls a member of a gang of inline skaters called the GGs to gain control of a futuristic Tokyo. Players are able to skate, grind on rails and even up poles, ride on walls, perform midair tricks and use boosts to move faster. Most of the game requires the player to search for graffiti tags left by other gangs and spray over them with their own. To do this, players will need to collect spray cans littered across each stage. Spraying is more streamlined from the last game, with manual spraying over large tags replaced by multiple spray targets depending on the tag's size. Unlike the original game, there is no time limit and spray targets can be completed at any time.

Stages in the level are now interconnected, with time limits removed, and often feature multiple objectives. These range from mimicking a rival's trick line or beating other skaters in a race. The police, who previously chased after the player in the last game, now appear in specific areas, with the player tasked with stopping them by charging into them and spraying them to defeat them. Each area has hidden items to collect, including Graffiti Souls, which unlock new graffiti designs, and Hidden Tapes which unlock additional missions where more Graffiti Souls can be earned. The game also features several multiplayer modes and the option to design one's own tags.

The game is entirely about aggressive inline skating. Players can grind through rails and skate backwards. When a player is skating fast, they can come to a quick stop by performing an advanced inline-skating move called the powerslide. Several characters also appear to have removed the middle two wheels from their skates, a slight modification usually done to make grinding easier.

Plot[edit]

In futuristic Tokyo, referred to in the game as 'Tokyo-to', a group of teenage skaters called the GG's vie for control of the many districts of Tokyo against many rival groups. The Rokkaku Group, a megacorporation, has taken over the many districts of the city and their leader is the mayor of Tokyo. It is oppressing the people, taking away freedom of speech and expression, and is forcing other gang members to give up their territory using the corrupt police force of Tokyo.

The game begins with the player in control of a character called Yoyo, who has to complete a set of basic training exercise to prove himself worthy of joining the GGs.^[1] After these challenges are completed, the game is interrupted by a pirate radio broadcast by 'DJ Professor K' who fills the player in on the turmoil within Tokyo. After this cutscene, the player is released into Tokyo itself, where they pursue their mission to 'bury Tokyo in graffiti' and fight the authoritarian Rokkaku Group, and their own police force, the Rokkaku Police.

The game begins with the GG's fighting the Poison Jam gang after they steal a statue referred to as 'the Goddess of the Street'. To do this, the GG's cover up Poison Jam's graffiti in their turf, and then question Poison Jam's rivals, Rapid 99, for the location of their hideout. There, in the Tokyo Underground Sewage Facility, they fight Poison Jam and their boss, Cube, for control of the statue.

After the GG's win the battle against Poison Jam, a new gang springs up, the robotic Noise Tanks, who have taken Tokyo by storm and is already in control of three gangs. At the same time, one of the GGs, Yoyo, disappears without a trace. The GGs decide to question one of the Noise Tanks' gangs, the mummified Immortals, wondering if the Noise Tanks sudden appearance had anything to do with Yoyo. They reveal they had supposedly kidnapped Yoyo; however, when he is freed, he turns on the GGs and enslaves them under the Noise Tanks' control.

The Noise Tanks then have the gangs under their control battle in the game 'Death Ball'. Those who lose are brainwashed and controlled by the Noise Tanks for life. The GGs succeed in all three games, but then the Rokkaku Police suddenly appear and crack down on the whole game. When the GGs win this battle again, the Noise Tanks become furious, releasing hundreds of Noise Tank androids to terrorize the street. When the GGs clear out all of the androids, they discover a wounded Poison Jam, who reveals that Yoyo had beaten him and ran off to the nearby amusement park. There, it is revealed that 'Yoyo' was actually a Noise Tank in disguise, and the real Yoyo had been missing the whole time. After the GGs defeat them, a mysterious man destroys the Noise Tanks and runs off. They soon discover the Noise Tanks were built by the Rokkaku Group to take over the gangs of Tokyo.

After the Noise Tanks are destroyed, two new threats appear: a Yakuza-style gang called the Golden Rhinos who are bent on eliminating all graffiti in the city, along with executing all Rudies; and an insane demon like creature who sprays odd graffiti and looks strangely like one of the GGs, Beat. In the midst of all this heat, the GGs are approached by Clutch, a Rudie who knows where Yoyo is; the player needs to find a certain number of Graffiti Souls for the info. However, when the GGs give him his payment, he runs off without telling any information. They chase after him and interrogate him, where he apologizes, says he was 'just having a little fun', then reveals Yoyo was taken to the Fortified Residential Zone. When they arrive, they discovered the place rigged with bombs. They disable them all and finally save Yoyo.

Yoyo then tells the GGs what happened: he had heard of the Golden Rhinos and went searching for more information, and he had gotten caught. After the rescue, the Golden Rhinos begun tearing up the streets, which required the GGs to intervene. As soon as they clean the streets of all the Golden Rhinos, DJ Professor K is kidnapped and taken away. The owner of the Rokkaku Group, Gouji Rokkaku, uses this time to broadcast an announcement to the city to gather at the Shibuya bus terminal. Here, he blares odd, creepy music from a strange tower. He absorbs all the people into the tower, telling them to 'wipe the pitiful smiles off your face' and to 'let the evil show, baby'.

The GGs go to the bus terminal to stop him. They destroy Gouji's Beat creatures and supposedly save the city. However, soon they are absorbed inside the tower. Inside the tower, Gouji transforms into a giant monster, but is defeated by the GGs again. The game ends as the tower is destroyed and Gouji apparently dies. An epilogue plays as DJ Professor K relates to the players how the hearts of men are easily corrupted by greed.

Music[edit]

The music is played in a premixed format consisting of certain playlists directed to certain levels, although there is a jukebox and the end of the game features a song only available through the jukebox. Alongside returning video game composers from the first game Hideki Naganuma and Richard Jacques, the soundtrack features artists such as Guitar Vader, BS 2000 (the side project of Adrock of the Beastie Boys), Scapegoat Wax, The Latch Brothers (including Mike D of the Beastie Boys, Chris 'Wag' Wagner and Kenny Tick Salcido), Cibo Matto, and The Prunes.

Reception[edit]

Jet Set Radio Future received 'favorable' reviews according to video game review aggregatorMetacritic.^[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 32 out of 40.^[8]

IGN called it 'one of the coolest titles around' but said that it also fails to reach classic status because it was 'not enough of a challenge.'^[15]GameSpot described it as 'one of the better Xbox games to date' and disagreed with IGN, claiming the game 'offered a serious challenge.'^[12] Despite positive reviews, this was not followed by high sales, landing it the title of the most unfairly ignored game in the OXM UK Awards the year of its release.^{[citation needed]}

Edge ranked the game #44 on its list of 'The 100 Best Games To Play Today', stating 'The sound track is peerless, and whether grinding vertically down a 200-foot dragon, leaping across Shibuya's handrails, or just cruising the wrong way down a one-way street, there's nowhere else that's so exhilarating to simply travel through.'^[19]

Sequel[edit]

At the end of Jet Set Radio Future, there is an in-game mention of a possible sequel: during the final cutscene, DJ Professor K says 'The streets are in trouble again? Who's gonna rise to the call? Remember, the streets don't wait for no one!'^[20] During the early stage of the NintendoWii, Kuju Entertainment made a concept for a Jet Set Radio game for the Wii. But, when Kuju presented the idea for a Jet Set Radio Wii, Sega said they were not interested in making a new Jet Set Radio for any console.^[21]

In 2017, Dinosaur Games created a visual proof of concept after Sony expressed interest in their work at GDC 2017. This project, Jet Set Radio Evolution, was ultimately turned down by Sega for largely unstated reasons.^[22]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Japanese: JSRF ジェットセットラジオフューチャーHepburn: Jetto Setto Rajio Fyūchā

References[edit]

1. ^Kidzworld staff (December 27, 2006). 'Jet Set Radio Future :: Xbox Game Review'. Kidzworld. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
2. ^'JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future for Xbox'. GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
3. ^ ^ab'JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future for Xbox Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
4. ^Marriott, Scott Alan. 'JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future - Review'. AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
5. ^Edge staff (March 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future'. Edge. No. 108. Future plc.
6. ^EGM staff (April 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future'. Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 153. Ziff Davis. p. 142.
7. ^Bramwell, Tom (April 25, 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future'. Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
8. ^ ^ab'Xbox - JSRFジェットセットラジオフューチャー'. Famitsu (in Japanese). Vol. 915. Enterbrain. 30 June 2006. p. 104.
9. ^'Jet Set Radio Future'. Game Informer. No. 107. GameStop. March 2002. p. 83.
10. ^Pong Sifu (February 24, 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future Review for Xbox on GamePro.com'. GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
11. ^Gee, Brian (March 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future Review'. Game Revolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
12. ^ ^abTorres, Ricardo (February 25, 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future Review'. GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
13. ^Bub, Andrew S. (February 15, 2002). 'GameSpy: Jet Set Radio Future'. GameSpy. Ziff Davis. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
14. ^McElfish, Carlos (April 14, 2002). 'JSRF - Jet Set Radio Future Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
15. ^ ^abGoldstein, Hilary (February 22, 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future'. IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
16. ^'Jet Set Radio Future'. Official Xbox Magazine. Future plc. April 2002. p. 66.
17. ^Robischon, Noah (April 19, 2002). 'JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future [mislabeled as 'We Got Game']'. Entertainment Weekly. No. 649. Time Inc. p. 75. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
18. ^Steinberg, Scott (March 1, 2002). 'Jet Set Radio Future'. Maxim. Biglari Holdings. Archived from the original on June 6, 2002. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
19. ^Edge staff (March 9, 2009). 'The 100 Best Games To Play Today (Page 6)'. Edge. Future plc. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
20. ^FunkyDeodorant (July 4, 2009). 'Jet Set Radio Future: Ending, Part 2 (Xbox)'. YouTube.
21. ^monokoma (February 18, 2009). 'Jet Set Radio [Wii – Cancelled Concept]'. Unseen 64.
22. ^'Dinosaur Games shares Jet Set Radio Evolution visual proof of concept turned down by Sega - Gematsu'. Gematsu. 2017-12-17. Retrieved 2018-07-28.

External links[edit]

• Jet Set Radio Future at MobyGames