Control issues aside, the game oozes of style and is very entertaining to play.
What you get
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You get the full game, remastered for HD (720p most likely). The camera system is supposedly changed, and there's also an inclusion of online leaderboards. Surprisingly, the soundtrack has survived, save aside one song, which Sega is trying to fix currently. There's also trophy and achievement support, although the PS3 version only has 9 trophies, whereas the Xbox 360 version has 30 achievements.
Gameplay
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jet Set Radio does have a story mode, but to say that it has a story is kind of stretching it. The goal of the game is to go through various levels, and spray graffiti signs over, with your own graffiti, while avoiding the police and many other hazards. The levels are quite small to begin with, though they do end up getting bigger, as the game proceeds. Each level is bookended by a small cut-scene with the game's DJ, Professor K, who advances the plot. Story really isn't the main focus, which is best for the game, as the story does tend to get a bit ridiculous the more you play it… enjoyably ridiculous that is.
As mentioned before, the game's main goal is to find graffiti spots and spray them over with your own. It's actually very entertaining, and it's very rewarding to see your own graffiti designs, sprayed across the wall… that is, if you can design a good graffiti design, that is. It's not all that easy though. The local authorities will do everything in their power to stop you… literally. It may start with simple cops rushing off against you, but eventually they'll throw everything from helicopters to suicide bombers after you… it's pretty hilarious, with police commissioner Onimusha being entertainingly over the top. As fun as this is though, there's no clear way of fighting back against most of them, however. There are only a few enemies that you can "defeat" by spraying them (besides the suicide bombers, who will die as they try to jump on you), which is a bit annoying since most enemies will pester you until your either done with the level, or till they kill you. That's not all though. At times, other "riders" will attempt to challenge you. These challenges includes following their lines, and races to who can tag a certain spot first. The races can be pretty frustrating, because the game isn't too keen on telling you where you should go.
Unfortunately, enemies and races aren't the only thing that's likely to frustrate you. The controls are generally alrightish, but they are clunky. Doing a 180 turn is very difficult and will cost you some time, especially during race. It's also a bit imprecise, so hitting railings and certain spots will certainly take more than one attempt. Wall grinds are very annoying, they don't always come off at the right speed, and often they have to be used to access certain spots. It can also be very difficult to access other certain areas. For some, these controls will just be a minor annoyance, as I do believe they can be adjusted too, but for some, it'll kill the game for them. At least, the camera behaves surprisingly well.
The game is also pretty short. The campaign can easily be finished in a few hours. After which, there's graffiti souls (more graffiti designs) to collect, and hidden characters to unlock. Surprisingly, even back then, the game lacks a multiplayer mode, which is a bit of a shame. Ultimately, there might not be an awful lot to do after the game's finished, but it only costs $10, which isn't too bad.
8.0
Graphics & Sound
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The game's graphics is among the reasons why the game is so well remembered, and it's hard not to see why. The game doesn't look better than what's out these days, but it does look pretty fine. The cell-shaded style is very good, and the graffiti is excellent. It's not perfect though. The frame rate can be pretty bad in certain sections, and parts of the environment can pop up every once or a while.
The music however is excellent, ranging from j-pop to trip hop and even very little metal. Surprisingly, the music also contains almost all of the music from the original game, including the region specific tracks. The voice acting is pretty corny, but also very entertaining.
8.5
Overall
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jet Set Radio does hold up today, mainly thanks to its style and also because of its gameplay. Though the controls can kill the game for some, it's very entertaining to play never the less; the game oozes of style, enough to make you wonder why they don't make games like that anymore. It's worth buying, especially since it's in parts, a pretty unique game.