Jet Grind Radio | Teen Ink

Jet Grind Radio MAG

April 30, 2014
By Stephan Kellogg BRONZE, Wilmington, Delaware
Stephan Kellogg BRONZE, Wilmington, Delaware
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

“Jet Grind Radio” was released in 2000. It received many good ratings and is still a treasured childhood memory for many older gamers.

Let's begin with the plot. You're a rollerblading rebel in a Japanese city called Tokyo-to, who builds a team of rebels that ride on modified Rollerblades with high-powered motors. You compete against other teams and graffiti on their turf to earn reputation and become the biggest, most popular group. A DJ named Professor K hosts a pirate radio show called Jet Set Radio. He gives news to the rebels and plays nothing but hardcore electronic music 24/7. Meanwhile, the police chase you down and try to arrest you using every possible means.

The controls are fairly simple, resembling other games that use vehicles. Sometimes the controls get a little picky, but it's rare. When you go to the menu, or the garage, you can select different features. Online mode works if you have purchased a LAN modem for the Dreamcast. Yeah, this game if from a time when everyone had dial-up. You can create your own graffiti, too, which is really cool, and even better – if you get the Dreamcast mouse, you can use it to make freehand graffiti! If freehand is not your thing, you can type in letters or your name and customize it to look street flashy. You can save the graffiti on the memory card to display and share with other players.

My only complaint, which is a common one, is about the camera control. It's so fussy that sometimes I don't even know where I am going. I actually turned a sharp corner and the camera got stuck inside the building! The graphics show a comic book-like effect, with bold outlines, bright colors and the visual feel of both a game and a comic book. Of course, the graphics aren't modern like today's, but back then you ­didn't need good graphics to make a good game.

My favorite part is the music. The soundtrack is so amazing it deserves its own album – and it got it! The soundtrack includes a ton of remixes of electronic music. It plays very well with the game and gives you the “radio playing in your ear” feeling. You can even have it just play music so you can listen while doing other things. This is the kind of game that should be played with a stereo system.

“Jet Grind Radio” is an amazing part of video game history that should not be compared to modern games like “Half-Life 2” and “Call of Duty” with their advanced graphics. The music is absolutely amazing and the custom graffiti mode still blows my mind.


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This article has 3 comments.


on May. 4 2015 at 8:35 am
Brian110 SILVER, Jonesport, Maine
8 articles 1 photo 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
if life gives you lemons..... squeeze them back in life's eyes!

I beat the game now, and the final boss is really... um... strange... any way he goes to extreme measures to stop you from painting graffiti every where, and somewhere along the line he goes a little nuts and builds a weird radio station that sucks up every thing into some alternate dimension and... run into him... paint him... save world. yeah, he definitely hit his head, HARD!

on Dec. 10 2014 at 8:28 am
Brian110 SILVER, Jonesport, Maine
8 articles 1 photo 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
if life gives you lemons..... squeeze them back in life's eyes!

Wow I recently got a game extremly simalar to this, a more recent version "JSRF" (Jet Set Radio Future) only this has a bit more humer in it, for instance in the later parts of the game the cops are fired and replaced by a group of profesional assasins named the rhinos. There ranks include men with dark cloacks and tedy bear costumes, and the newest member Yoyo is kidnaped and is framed for betraying his frends. And the assasins tric you into a time bomb trap! which you escape from and save Yoyo.

DarkyPMobian said...
on Jul. 15 2014 at 10:54 am
DarkyPMobian, Moncks Corner, South Carolina
0 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Our fate lies within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it.&quot;<br /> -Princess Merida

Thumbs UP!