Jet Grind Radio
Dr. K is transmitting to the streets of Tokyo-to and some punks are tagging your territory up with their own brand of graffiti. Time to grab the skates and hit the streets.
Jet Grind Radio (Jet Set Radio everywhere but the U.S., where a company had already trademarked "Jet Set." By the way, remember those shitty "Let's jet set" commercials? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was those.) is probably most famous for its cell-shaded graphics and visual styling. Another Dreamcast title that became more a cult classic than a mega hit, the game has players skating around an alternate Tokyo spraying the streets with graffiti.
The goal of each level is to tag all of your targets in the allotted amount of time. Arrows point surfaces that can be tagged; red arrows are mandatory while green ones are bonus. Some are easy to get while others require some skating skills - jumping, grinding, and running from one section to another. These natural obstacles and time aren't the only enemies, however. As the levels progress, skaters from other gangs and the cops will appear, using increasingly violent measures to take the kids out.
Fighting rival gangs, dodging bullets, running from the caps, grabbing cans of paint and tagging the streets, all the while jumping around and performing tricks are the ingredients to JGR. Add in some funky music and a unique graphical style, and the result is a cult hit.
Playing the game involved pushing the Dreamcast's analog pad to move a character. The left (check) trigger button provided a limited speed boost while the right (CHECK) would cause the character to start tagging.
Interestingly Enough...
For the games release, a graffiti art show was held and nearly shut down by local police.
12/08/07