A visual landmark (Jet Set Radio (DC))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	Jet Set Radio (DC)
Date:	03/09/09 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb graphics

Disadvantages: Short campaign

The first game I got for the Dreamcast was Jet Set Radio, is a visually stunning title that still stands up extremely well today, and is notable for making the use of cel-shaded graphics popular in games - thus, later iterations of the Zelda and Prince of Persia franchises owe a lot to this superb game.

The game pits you as a skater, who goes around a Japanese district, spray-painting and performing various other tasks, whilst trying to outrun the police, who get tougher and tougher the longer they're on you (ultimately throwing gas grenades at you!). You form a skate gang early on, and also have enemy gangs who will chase you if they see you, but if you can defeat them in a challenge, then they will hand up their gloves and grant you permission to claim the area as your own spraying ground.

What really impresses me is the general feel and aesthetic of the game - it has a superb soundtrack that combines J-pop sensibilities with some more Western rap music (no doubt to make the game appeal to a more broad audience). The visuals, though, are the unqualified reason to check this game out - even a decade later, it still stands up incredibly well, and is something of a visual hallmark for its revolutionary technique. Why the game didn't sell more copies is, to me, baffling.

There are plenty of other cool tricks, like being able to post your own custom spraytag online, although, of course, the Dreamcast's online capabilities crumbled many years ago now. Whilst the game itself doesn't have a lot of longevity, and can be completed fairly breezily, the sheer visual wonder of it should have you coming back for more and more, not to mention how fun it is to skate around the city and perform crazy jumps and stunts, whilst evading the frenzied police, and other gangs.

Summary: A short but sweet game