Game:

Jet Set Radio (2000)

Duration: 15:25

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4

Gameplay Performed by: TrevorDFox

November 24, 2000 in Europe. The player controls one of a gang of youths who roam the streets of Tokyo-to, rollerblading and spraying graffiti while evading the authorities. It was one of the first games to use cel-shaded visuals, giving it a "flat", cartoon-like appearance.

A version by Vicarious Visions was released by THQ for Game Boy Advance on June 26, 2003 in North America and February 20, 2004 in Europe. A sequel, Jet Set Radio Future, was released in 2002 for the Xbox. A high-definition port, developed by Blit Software, was released for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Windows in September 2012, and for PlayStation Vita, as well as iOS and Android at later points.

The player controls Beat, a tagger who forms a gang of graffiti-tagging rollerbladers. In a typical stage, the player must tag every graffiti spot in each area before the timer runs out, while evading the authorities, who pursue on foot, in tanks and in helicopters. New playable characters are unlocked after the player beats them in trick battles.

The game is controlled with only a few buttons, and technical aspects of skating are simplified compared to games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. According to Vice, although Jet Set Radio is "about the fluidity of good skating, the joy of motion and skill ... skating is less the focus and more the medium"; the game instead emphasizes a "general sense of youthful rebellion".

Jet Set Radio was one of the first games to feature cel-shaded graphics, with exaggerated shapes, thick lines, and flat, bright colors. According to Vice, "The whole world feels like it could be scrawled on a wall somewhere, reeking of spray paint fumes."

The Jet Set Radio soundtrack includes an eclectic array of original and licensed songs combining the musical genres of J-pop, hip hop, funk, electronic dance music, rock music, acid jazz, trip hop, and in the North American version, metal. The high-definition port omits "Yappie Feet", "Dunny Boy Williamson Show" and "Many Styles" for licensing reasons. The Game Boy Advance versions features shorter samples of six of the game's songs.

Vice described the music as "energetic, rhythm-heavy and defiant ... an eclectic mixture of hip-hop, dance pop, ska, and Japanese rock, a multicultural melange of youth culture and an irrepressible, joyful sense of revolution. Every moment thrums to its soundtrack, which is, on the default settings, emphasized almost more than the in-game sounds, positioning it as a central consideration of play."

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