The Dreamcast cult classic rollerblading graffiti ‘em up Jet Set Radio is well remembered for it’s iconic off-kilter cel-shaded aesthetic, it’s lovingly rendered depiction of an exaggerated futuristic Tokyo setting, and the pounding soundtrack full of street anthems and electronic earworms. There was a sequel not long later for the original Xbox, and then we got an HD remaster of the original game in 2012, but we’ve not had a peep about a new entry in the series, or any kind of continuation.
Perhaps it’s fitting then that now, following the announcement of a remake of the classic Tony Hawks games, and a new entry in EA’s Skate series, that we’re seeing their fashionable cooler cousin return in some form, as Dutch studio Team Reptile has partnered with the composer of Jet Set Radio, Hideki Naganuma, for this new game that is very clearly directly inspired by Sega’s original game.
Here’s the description of the game from the Steam store page:
“Team Reptile brings you Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, 1 second per second of highly advanced funkstyle. In a world from the mind of Dion Koster, where self-styled crews are equipped with personal boostpacks, new heights of graffiti are reached. Start your own cypher and dance, paint, trick, face off with the cops and stake your claim to the extrusions and cavities of a sprawling metropolis in an alternate future set to the musical brainwaves of Hideki Naganuma.”
They say that you’ll be able to play as a variety of different characters, and explore in-game locations freely, where each level is showing a section of the city at a particular time of day.
Most of the moves present in JSR will be replicated here, with jumping, grinding, tricks, and an air dash. Much like in JSR, you’ll be both skating and graffiting, with hidden spots to plant your tag in each level.
It’s going to be a primarily single-player game, with no plans for any kind of multiplayer announced so far.
The game is still some way off, it’s not going to be releasing this year, but the precise release date hasn’t been pinned down yet.
There have been murmurs that Sega was thinking about doing some kind of new take on Jet Set Radio over the years, with supposedly a few internal pitches having been put together, but not taking into production. Perhaps Hideki Naganuma lost his patience with waiting for a new Jet Set Radio, and so partnered with a new team looking to return to this design philosophy and aesthetic.
We love the look of this trailer, and can’t wait to find out more. What do you think of this reveal? Were you a fan of the original Jet Set Radio? Do you understand, understand, understand, understand, understand, understand the concept, the concept of love? Let us know in the comments.