A stylish reissue of Jet Set Radio with urban skating, vibrant graffiti and an unbeatable soundtrack. The cel shading still dazzles and the freedom of motion remains pure joy. A funky classic.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player7+
Description
Beat and his tagger friends battle the GG Company on inline skates through Tokyo's streets in this Smilebit action game US version. Published by Sega, released in the United States in October 2000. Inline skate action with graffiti spraying, jazz-funk musical gameplay, iconic cel-shaded visuals, open Tokyo world. US edition.
Jet Grind Radio review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
A pioneer of cel-shading, the game dresses an electric Tokyo in garish flat colours, black outlines and bounding graffiti. The pop energy of the colours weds the funk of the skates for an insolent, free-wheeling style. This visual jolt, foundational and forever imitated, has lost none of its insolence.
A genius of collage, Hideki Naganuma blends funk, hip-hop, big beat and scratches into a sonic patchwork of wild freshness. The music marries the flow of the skating and the graffiti spirit with an ultra-infectious energy. This avant-garde sonic identity, imitated but never matched, remains an absolute peak of the genre.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Grinding rails, tagging walls and shaking off the cops to a cult soundtrack: everything breathes freedom and style. The blazing cel-shading and constant motion deliver a glide unlike any other. Bold back then, just as cool now, this urban ballet remains a burst of pure energy.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Gliding through the city, tagging walls in rhythm and shaking off the police forms a loop of freedom that keeps pushing you to explore further. Collecting spray cans, swelling the combos and unlocking new districts feeds the urge to come back. The sometimes stubborn controls and a few repetitive objectives grate, but the style and the groove make it a ride you struggle to leave.
Jet Grind Radio is the American name of Jet Set Radio, distributed by Sega in NTSC with a title adaptation tied to the US legal context. Collector value comes from that nomenclature peculiarity unique to the US market, and from the licensed soundtrack (Hideki Naganuma) never being reproduced identically in modern reissues due to rights issues.
A cult cover
An explosion of cel-shading and neon tags: Beat bursts forward on skates against a backdrop where graffiti becomes the very identity of the image. Acid flat colors, street typography and a restless line instantly convey the game's pop rebellion and underground Tokyo. A graphic manifesto that redefined what a cover could dare to be.
Is Jet Grind Radio still worth playing in 2026?
An enriched Japanese version of the original, De La Jet Set Radio adds characters, stages and a few tweaks that make the adventure feel more generous. The cel shading still looks brilliant, the funky hip hop soundtrack keeps an impressive freshness and the tagging mechanic in search of flow remains genuinely unique in gaming. Some controls have visibly aged, but the artistic punch and the personality of Tokyo to still carry the title to remarkable heights even today.
