Review HolyField 2/5 · Dec 8, 2021
Too Much Wobble
This experience in Tokyo-To feels more like a dysfunctional tour than a genuine adventure. You first see the amazing backdrops and palpable culture that the game's design and demanding controls can offer, but you don't feel like you're the one it was made for and everyone there is waiting for you to leave.
Personally, I may just not be the …
This experience in Tokyo-To feels more like a dysfunctional tour than a genuine adventure. You first see the amazing backdrops and palpable culture that the game's design and demanding controls can offer, but you don't feel like you're the one it was made for and everyone there is waiting for you to leave.
Personally, I may just not be the same person who was sold on it a decade ago.
Nothing the game experience meshes with the smoothness shown off by the NPC grinders. Every mechanic includes a quirky reductivity or meticulousness. Races are 'solved' by dashing and jumping repeatedly, combat requires busy work by circling around corners or tanking damage, spraying is too involved for a secondary mechanic, and progression is just every combination of mechanic and limited levels.
Above all, though, Jet Set Radio is Genuine. Its place in Dreamcast history aside, the art is allowed to run wild and it sells no compromises. The flyer did not lie, rocket powered teenagers evading snipers and tanks, it's just not that fun.
Arcade game in spirit, the fun increases with investment. No snapping to grind rails affects a veteran less than a squid and memorized routes hypothetically settles the tumultuous relationship with speed. The music is simply tremendous and the environment and enemy readability could not possibly be better given the discordance and color blasted out of the screen.
I am truly glad this game exists, but the charming vistas lose the fight against distraction. The problems run deeper than just timers and score requirements, but maybe it'll be more fun the next time.
