This Week in Retro: Jet Grind Radio [2000] (Patreon)

June 29, 2000: Sega Releases, Does Not Condone Jet Set Radio 

by Diamond Feit

It's not uncommon while revisiting old video games to encounter material or subject matter that has become dated. Everything is a product of its time, of course, but quite a few games seem to comfortably exist only within a certain window of relevance and acceptance before technology or society changes, leaving them in the dust. Mortal Kombat was shocking right up until it wasn't, "interactive movies" were once the wave of the future, and games starring trigger-happy police officers used to be uncontroversial entertainment.

Sometimes though, you look back on a game and discover it still comes across as strikingly contemporary—aesthetically, tonally, or even both. It may not necessarily be a work that was considered a cultural touchstone, but something about it manages to feel distinct, modern, and not at all "dated" in any meaningful way. Given the abundance of indie games that exist today as homages or spiritual sequels to works of the past, I am legitimately shocked that I don't see more independent creators holding this aloft as an honor-worthy achievement.

This past week marked the 20th anniversary of Jet Set Radio (originally released in English as Jet Grind Radio), and it might be the least-retro game ever to be featured on Retronauts. If anything, Jet Set Radio feels like it was made in the year 3000, not 2000; the fact that we still get to play it is a miracle.

Right from the start, Jet Set Radio explains its premise and makes it clear to the player that this game does not take place on our version of Earth. Rather, Jet Set Radio takes place in the city of Tokyo-to, "which cannot be found on any map." The original manual, in both English and Japanese, states that Tokyo-to is "similar to Tokyo." In other words, this game and its characters appear to be in Tokyo but they are not. This layer of disbelief has its advantages: Despite the similar names*, Tokyo-to is able to exist as its own hyperreal place rather than be tied to a real location with real baggage. A video game set in the actual city of Tokyo would be way too crowded to dash around in.

*For those unaware, Tokyo-to 東京都 is the real, official name of the Metropolis of Tokyo, a city so large it actually encompasses nearly two dozen other cities. This is one reason the real-life Tokyo doesn't have a mayor, but a governor.

Jet Set Radio is a game about two things: In-line skating and graffiti. The skates, according to the game's introduction, are high-tech machines running on "netrium batteries", which I do not believe exist in real life. But I also know it doesn't matter; aside from the bursts of blue light when a character accelerates or grinds on a railing, the sci-fi skates aren't important. Rather, the player must constantly be on the lookout for spray cans scattered around the neighborhood. These cans are not only the only tool for painting graffiti and winning the game, they're also a means to refill health and even fight off rivals. In Jet Set Radio, tagging an opponent with spray paint is the only means of "combat," so your art is both your life and your only weapon.

The world of Jet Set Radio is impossibly hip and cool-looking; this is one of the first—if not the first—games to popularize the term "cel-shaded" to describe its distinct cartoon-like 3D models. But beyond the bright colors, everyone in this game is constantly in motion. Whether it's DJ Professor K delivering exposition, enemy gang members menacing the player at the start of a stage, or even a dialogue between two skaters, every single human being in Jet Set Radio is always always always bopping and moving to a beat. The only exception to the all-dancing universal rule are the cops. The cops march, and menace, and pursue. But they do not dance.

Actually, let's talk about those cops, because that's hyper-relevant to 2020: The cops are not the only enemy in Jet Set Radio, but they're the primary antagonists—and they suck. Most of the game is about gangs competing with each other non-violently over turf. A dog gets kidnapped, sure, but no harm comes to him. In response to these skaters, the cops in Jet Set Radio send out entire squads of officers, paratroopers, helicopters, and even tanks in force to shoot you dead. The manual says they're firing "rubber bullets", but unless they also use rubber tear gas and rubber air-to-surface missiles, Jet Set Radio could easily be viewed as a metaphor for police militarization and gross escalation.

If this sounds harsh, I haven't gotten to the worst part: Later in the game, Jet Set Radio switches from inter-gang squabbles to the overreach of capitalism as a private army chases the player with jetpacks and explosives, all so a corporation can build... something. (It's unclear what.) During these levels, the cops are nowhere to be found, and the game explicitly says it is because they are scared. They're real brave when the only force standing up to them is a kid with a can of paint, though.

Ultimately, the street gangs prevail thanks to said paint, and the story ends. Jet Set Radio as a piece of media is clearly pro-graffiti, which is an interesting take coming from Japan where graffiti is rare and extremely frowned upon (unless it is possibly made by Banksy). Someone at Sega was so anxious about the subject that every time a player boots up the game, they are greeted with a warning screen about the legal ramifications of graffiti and how the company "does not condone the real life act of vandalism." No such warning can be seen when booting up Yakuza on PS2; does Sega condone the real-life act of street brawling?

Jet Set Radio is an unlikely video game for its time—a non-violent, cartoon-styled 3D world that embraces counter-culture and dunks on cops—but it is thanks to that unique combination of elements that it fits right in today. It launched on a system that was not long for this world, but happily an HD remaster exists on Steam and consoles, and it looks terrific (cel-shading always ages like wine) and plays better than the original thanks to modern twin-stick controls. Jet Set Radio is not an easy game to play; there is an entire FAQ titled "how to complete the tutorial", which is likely required reading. But the core functions of skating, jumping, grinding, and spraypainting things is just as fun now as it was 20 years ago.

And will still be fun, 100 years from now.