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Jet Set RadioFrom Sega Retro
Jet Set Radio (ジェット セット ラジオ), called Jet Grind Radio in North America, is a video game developed by Smilebit for the Sega Dreamcast. A version was brought to the Game Boy Advance (also called Jet Set Radio) and a sequel was released for the Xbox in the form of Jet Set Radio Future. Jet Set Radio has recently been confirmed for release on the Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network services.
HistoryJet Set Radio was first announced at the 1999 Tokyo Game Show and generated a prodigious amount of press attention due to its use of the then revolutionary rendering technique, "cel-shading". Now commonplace in game design, cel-shading allows for a "cartoon-like" appearance for objects rendered in 3D. There are four slightly different releases of Jet Set Radio. The original game was considered unappealing by Sega of America and Sega Europe, who both made steps to try and localise the overly-Japanese atmosphere into something that had a better chance of selling in their target markets. The original release of Jet Set Radio first went on sale in Japan on the 29th of June, 2000. This is a bog-standard version of the game which was superseded by later versions. When brought to North America, the game ran into unforeseen trademark issues, causing it to be renamed "Jet Grind Radio". This was an almost last-minute change, meaning only the title screen and credits were changed - the term "Jet Set Radio" is still heard numerous times in-game. English voice actors were brought in to re-dub the characters and two entirely new levels were created. Some music was also changed, bringing in American hip hop bands to replace Japanese tunes. Online support through SegaNet was also included, allowing users to download tags. PAL regions received Jet Set Radio shortly afterwards, with all the additions of the North American version, bar the changed name. Once again some of the music was replaced. Not wanting to be left behind, Japan would recieve an updated version of the game titled De La Jet Set Radio. De La contains the additions of the overseas versions, however also tweaks gameplay, fixes several bugs in the process. De La Jet Set Radio is considered to be easier to pick up and play as a result. Its music is adopted from the North American release. De La was orignally only available via Sega Direct, however a full retail version showed up in the months which followed. Though sales were strong enough in Japan to lead to a Dorikore re-release, Jet Set Radio largely failed to capture the market in the west. PlotThe game begins in 2000, Shibuya-cho, and is introduced by Professor K, the DJ of a pirate radio station based in Tokyo-to, who explains the basics of life in Tokyo-to for a "rudie", the term he uses to refer to young people who roam the streets spraying and skating. The city is split into three parts—Shibuya-cho, Benten-cho and Kogane-cho, each of which corresponds to a different time of day. Shibuya is a shopping district full of blue skies and daylight, Benten a nocturnal entertainment spot that represents night, and Kogane a mostly residential area, built on the water, where it is perpetually sunset. In each of these areas the player will encounter a rival gang - the Love Shockers in Shibuya, the Noise Tanks in Benten, and Poison Jam in Kogane - that attempts to usurp the GG's home turf. The player starts off forming a skate gang which also resides in Shibuya-cho, and thus forms a rivalry between the gangs in the area. After completing a set of menial challenges, designed to introduce the player to the control system, Gum and Tab join the gang forming the first 3 members of the GG's. The player starts out as Beat, a 17-year-old rudie who ran away from home like many other Japanese rudies. Beat was first shunned from gang to gang over and over again until he decided to start his own gang. Beat is the leader and founder of the GG's. The player first starts out spraying a little graffiti in Shibuya-Cho looking to recruit members. First Gum joins, then Tab. The initial stage is set in a Shibuya bus station, in which the player has to "tag" various parts of the bus station, as well as spray over existing tags, so as to gain the area as part of their territory. While tagging these places, the player is pursued by policemen and their leader, Captain Onishima. The police, the S.W.A.T team, and Goji Rokkaku's Golden Rhinos are yet another obstacle to avoid while defeating rival gangs. Also, Professor K narrates specific parts of the game via his eponymous pirate radio station called Jet Set Radio. Other gangs which feature in the game as opponents are the Noise Tanks, who appear to be semi-cyborgs, Poison Jam, brutish thugs who wear fish costumes, and the Love Shockers, an all-girl gang made up of jilted lovers. Once the protagonist defeats each gang they hand over their belongings and grant the area to the graffiti gang that dethroned them. Towards the end of the game the protagonist is hunted by the henchmen of Goji Rokakku, leader of The Golden Rhinos. Once the protagonist successfully usurps the areas seized by the Golden Rhinos, the player then must defeat Goji on a giant rooftop record player, on which Goji has assembled "The Devil's Contract", a record which, when played, is supposed to summon a demon. Goji wants to use the demon to take over Tokyo and eventually the world. After defeating him, however, it is revealed that the record is just an unusual indie release. Production CreditsExecutive Producer: Shun Arai Sega of America Dreamcast Inc.Localzation Producers: Jason Kuo, Klayton Vorlick, Mari N. Snaal Sega Europe Ltd.Director Of Product Development: Naohiko Hishino Project Management: Koji Kuroki, Shinobu Shindo ArtworkPhysical ScansDreamcast Version
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