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Sega considers reviving classics like 'Crazy Taxi' and 'Jet Set Radio'
Sega is considering reviving multiple classic game franchises, including 'Crazy Taxi' and 'Jet Set Radio.'
Jet Set Radio goes under the microscope at Did You Know Gaming
If you recently found yourself racked by feelings of wistful nostalgia while grinding the rails of Sunset Overdrive, the trivia gurus at Did You Know Gaming have the perfect solution: An in-depth examination of Sega's cult graffiti-and-rollerblades hit Jet Set Radio. [Image: Sega]
Jet Set Radio composer brings funky fresh beats to Hover
Hover: Revolt of Gamers, the upcoming game from French developer Midgar Studio, is inspired by games like Mirror's Edge and Jet Set Radio (or as it was known in the States, Jet Grind Radio). Thanks to hitting the $60,000 stretch goal of their crowdfunding campaign earlier this week, Midgar will be able to add composer Hideki Naganuma's funky fresh beats to the game. If you didn't consider Hover a spiritual sequel to the Dreamcast's best paint-em-up, skate-em-up game already, perhaps Naganuma's involvement will convince you: he composed music not only for the original Jet Set Radio, but the Xbox follow-up Jet Set Radio Future as well. If you've never played either of the Jet Set Radio games, you still may have heard Naganuma's music compositions in Ollie King and Sonic Rush. "It was love at first sight," Naganuma said regarding his decision to contribute to the game. "Hover has hot graphics and a cool worldview. At first glance, I felt like I'd love to make music for Hover. This feeling's been a long time since Jet Set Radio Future." Hover's Kickstarter is still going strong: as of writing, it has less than $2,000 to go before the city players will turn into their playground adds a new district and becomes twice as large. [Image: Midgar Studio]
Jet Set Radio Vita rolls out on Nov. 20, mobile nine days later
Jet Set Radio launches for the Vita on November 20, while the mobile version for iOS and Android lands on November 29. Jet Set Radio is one of six games headed to Vita in the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection, for free from November 20 to December 31.In October we got word that the mobile and Vita versions of Jet Set Radio were delayed. That was a shame, considering we enjoyed the HD, current-gen console version of Jet Set Radio very much. After all, "it's still the most upbeat game about teenagers being shot at by tanks in response to minor acts of vandalism."
Jet Set Radio Vita delayed in Europe, US unconfirmed [update: confirmed]
Jet Set Radio is not styling its way to PlayStation Vita today in Europe, Sega announced. Speaking to VG247, a representative confirmed the game's skated past its due release date because of necessary optimizations required for the Vita platform. Sega UK couldn't confirm to Joystiq if the same delay affects the North American version, also due today.The skater came in HD to XBLA and PSN (PS3) last month. JC said in his Deja review, "The style is as fresh as it was then. Despite being made ten years ago, the candy-colored vision of Tokyo's streets still looks a little futuristic, a little modern, and essentially timeless."Update: Sega confirms the US version is delayed too, and that a final release date will be announced soon.
Jet Set Radio soundtrack reappears on iTunes, Amazon
The Jet Set Radio soundtrack was originally due to be released on iTunes and in both digital and CD form on Amazon on September 18. However, when the appointed day arrived, the pre-order listings mysteriously disappeared.Jet Set Radio's original soundtrack – featuring a selection of the Sega-produced tracks by Richard Jacques, Hideki Naganuma and Toronto – is finally available on iTunes. In addition, you can buy the CD from Amazon, though the MP3 version is not available there for some reason.Its reappearance isn't the only surprise: iTunes also offers a Jet Set Radio Future soundtrack. The two collections cost $9.99 each. That explains why the JSRF bonus tracks have been replaced by ... graffiti sound effects in the JSR collection.
Jet Set Radio soundtrack disappears from retail
Sad news out of Tokyo-to this morning, as the reissued Jet Set Radio soundtrack has vanished from online retailers. The music collection was available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes, but on its official release date – today – the listings are no longer present on either site. The CD version of the soundtrack is listed on Amazon as "out of stock."We've contacted Sega to ascertain the issue and find out when the soundtrack will be available again. In the meantime, you can hear Jet Set Radio's music in ... the actual game.[Thanks, Jonathan!]
Jet Set Radio's creators: Where are they now?
Welcome to Living in the Past, a weekly column about what's new in old games. Now get off our lawn. The HD port of Jet Set Radio arrives today on PS3 via PlayStation Plus. A new credit appears on the updated version: it was ported by a company called Blit Software, who also handled the downloadable versions of Sonic CD. The original, of course, was done by Sega's Smilebit team, who couldn't be brought in to handle the port on account of not existing anymore.Despite a spectacular career on the Dreamcast, during which it created both JSR and The Typing of the Dead, along with a standout performance record on Xbox (Gunvalkyrie, Panzer Dragoon Orta, and, of course, Jet Set Radio Future), Smilebit was disbanded in 2004.After playing Jet Set Radio, I assumed everyone involved with it would go on to even brighter things, in terms of both critical and financial success and explosive creativity. They've certainly achieved success, at the very least.%Gallery-150619%
Deja Review: Jet Set Radio
We're of the firm opinion that your time is too precious, too valuable to be spent reading a full review for a game that was already reviewed many, many years ago. What's the point of applying a score to a game that's old enough to be enrolled in the sixth grade? That's why we invented Deja Review: A quick look at the new features and relative agelessness of remade, revived and re-released games. Jet Set Radio was more than one of the Dreamcast's best games. Jet Set Radio was emblematic of the system, exhibiting a joyful atmosphere, bright color scheme and arcade-style gameplay that all seemed unique to the last Sega hardware. The game will forever be associated with its Dreamcast home.Uncoupling the game from the Dreamcast, however, does nothing to diminish the unforgettable atmosphere that developer Smilebit created. In fact, the association is strong enough that in playing the new HD version, I forget that I'm playing a new version on new hardware. It's just Jet Set Radio, looking how I always remembered it looking anyway.It's still the most upbeat game about teenagers being shot at by tanks in response to minor acts of vandalism.
Jet Set Radio soundtrack download up for pre-order
As great a game as Jet Set Radio is, the best thing about it is its soundtrack. And said soundtrack will be released on iTunes and Amazon on September 18, coinciding with the PSN release of the updated game.The 17-track soundtrack is all Hideki Naganuma originals, plus Richard Jacques' "Everybody Jump Around" and Toronto's "Electric Tooth Brush." It doesn't include the licensed tracks, like any of the iconic Guitar Vader songs. The game itself has a more complete soundtrack, in case you just had a mini-panic attack.
Jet Set Radio comes back in September, for $9.99
The Jet Set Radio update will be released starting September 11, when the PS3 version will be available for PlayStation Plus users. The wider PS3 network release will occur September 18, for $9.99.The XBLA and Steam versions will follow on September 19 for the same price. The Vita version will arrive October 16, which is officially not "summer" as originally announced. The console and PC versions can just barely claim a summer release, but October is past the equinox. We're not upset – just wanted to point out that we're onto you, Sega.
Dress like the Jet Set with new Sega clothing line
Whether you're spray-painting police officers in Shibuya-cho or bundling up for a Sakuragaoka afternoon of investigating what happened on the day the snow turned into rain, UK-based Insert Coin Clothing has styles to suit you.The company's "Sega Reloaded" line features authentic recreations of both Beat and Gum's t-shirts from Jet Set Radio (which amusingly bear the characters' own names), and both shirts and hoodies based on the tiger-adorned leather jacket worn by Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki. Other Sega designs reference Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Sonic.Another upcoming offering by the company is inspired by Sega even more literally, complete with bags matching the approximate shape and appearance of Dreamcast and Mega Drive consoles.
Jet Set Radio also broadcasting to iOS and Android this summer
Sega's Jet Set Radio HD port is also being released on iOS and Android this summer, concurrent with the console, PC, and Vita versions, Sega revealed today. Players will be able to use their devices' cameras to create graffiti, and share progress via OpenFeint.We expect the high-resolution mobile game to be more faithful to the original than the Game Boy Advance version; however, we also expect it to be more difficult to control.%Gallery-160802%
Jet Set Radio HD has '99.9 percent' of the original soundtrack
Sega promised more news about the soundtrack for Jet Set Radio HD, and we don't know how the news could get any better. The game now contains all of the Japanese, US, and European soundtracks. Well, almost all. "99.9 percent" in Sega's unofficial estimation.Two of the 30 original tracks are still missing – Deavid Soul's "Yappie Feet" and O.B. One's "Many Styles" remain absent. But that great Jurassic 5 track remains. And that great – you know what, every track is great. Yes, even "Dragula." We're in a really good mood right now.
'Dragula' returns to Jet Set Radio, Sega teases more music announcements
A new trailer for Jet Set Radio features the remix of Rob Zombie's "Dragula" featured in the US-exclusive levels from the Dreamcast game, indicating that Sega has acquired the rights to more music for the HD re-release than previously announced. Whether that's good news depends on the balance of your desire for a more accurate version versus your desire to never hear "Dragula" again.The end of the trailer exhorts us to "Stay Tuned" for more music news. This can only be good, unless it refers to the removal of every song but "Dragula."
Jet Set Radio tags PlayStation Vita this summer
You'll be able to listen to Professor K and his circa-2000 futuristic pirate radio station anywhere. Sega's updated version of Jet Set Radio is coming to PlayStation Vita alongside its PS3, Xbox, and PC releases, the publisher announced today. It'll include "Vita camera integration" in an unspecified capacity, and touchscreen graffiti mechanics.The summer release will be playable for the first time on Vita at E3. Will we take time out of our packed E3 schedules to play an old game? Of course we will.%Gallery-156168%
You did a great job making Jet Set Radio graffiti
There is, strictly speaking, new content to be found in the HD update of Jet Set Radio. It's limited to user-created graffiti designs, but it's new content nonetheless! In the video above, Sega introduces the winning designs in its graffiti contest, all of which look like legitimate graffiti designs and not just Rage Comics and QR codes linking to petitions about Sonic voice actors.We're sure those were submitted – they just didn't win.
Jet Set Radio HD retains US-version content, half of original track list
Stripping out Jet Set Radio's eclectic mix of original and licensed music would be a vandalism far worse than that perpetrated by its roving band of cel-shaded graffiti artists. Sega's proposal of a high-definition update to the cherished and influential Dreamcast game skated around the question, but now we know just how much of the music will remain intact: 16 tracks, roughly half of the 30 shipped between the North American and European versions.Sega tells Joystiq it made every effort to pursue and re-license all the music, but cost and even the availability of certain music publishers became an impediment. In the end, Jet Set Radio keeps its original music (composed by Hideki Naganuma), and several fan favorites like "Magical Girl" (Guitar Vader) and "Funky Radio" (B.B. Rights). We'll probably survive without Rob Zombie.Though the NTSC- and PAL-specific tracks haven't made the cut, the levels developed for those versions (including Grind Square) will be included with this summer's HD port. The preservation may not be flawless, but the presentation nearly is -- Jet Set Radio's bold, cartoonish aesthetic benefits immensely from the higher resolution, 16:9 display and 60 frames-per-second output. Oh, and there's one more thing you didn't have before: a second analogue stick to steer the camera!%Gallery-150619%
Jet Set Radio trailer features self-referential graffiti
You won't find any real surprises in this GamesRadar-exclusive trailer for the HD update of Jet Set Radio. Except, perhaps, at 41 seconds in, when you see that the graffiti contest announcement image is, apparently, a real in-game tag.
Jet Set Radio tags XBLA, PSN, PC this summer, Sega holding graffiti contest
Sega's extremely subtle teaser turned out to be for an update of Jet Set Radio after all! Sega is re-releasing the beloved Dreamcast skating/vandalism action-adventure this summer on XBLA, PSN (for PS3), and PC download -- under the proper name. None of that "grind" nonsense. The in-progress screens show an HD presentation that looks just like the original, but smoother.Sega hasn't said anything about whether you'll be able to import your own graffiti images as was possible in the Dreamcast version. The publisher is, however, holding a contest to solicit eighteen winning images for inclusion in the game. Prizes include copies of the game, a solar-powered Bluetooth speaker system, and Jet Set Radio hoodies and beverage shakers.%Gallery-148852%
