Jet Set Radio Reborn

Jet Set Radio Reborn, also known as JS2R, would be a third-person action platformer/skating game for all current-gen systems, the long-awaited third installment in the Jet Set Radio series developed by Smilebit, a division of Sega.

My love for the age-old Jet Set Radio franchise started very recently when I got Jet Set Radio HD on Xbox, and instantly fell in love with the creative soundtrack, engaging graphics, and interesting gameplay concept.

This made me feel surprised that there have only ever been two Jet Set Radio games, and the second one, Jet Set Radio Future, was made over a decade ago. Ideas started flying through my head for what a new JSR would be like, and my favorite idea is what this page is going to be!

As ever, it would have spectacular music composed mainly by Hideki Naganuma, who's actually been looking to compose a new JSR for years. However, it would also feature other bands and composers, with both original tracks and remixes of old ones to fit the new theme of the game.

Also, it would maintain the unique gameplay seen throughout the series, fixing any issues with controls or physics. It would also contain a mix of specialized game mechanics to make it interesting and immersive.

Yet, the most significant change will be that JS2R will have more of a focus on story than the other two, as well as more grounding in modern-day culture and technology.

(Special thanks to Hideki Naganuma, main composer for the JSR series, for rallying fans on Twitter for a new JSR and talking with me on Twitter as well!)

Gameplay
The gameplay of JS2R could be easily summed up as a cross between the original and Future. It has the exact same gameplay style of skating across a stage, performing tricks, and completing various spraypaint tags to complete the typical stage.

The improved physics and controls from JSRF would make a triumphant return, as would the ability to perform tricks on rails to speed up without having to use the jump button and risk falling off. Also returning from JSRF would be the ability to use up 10 paint cans you've collected for a dramatic speed boost for a very short time. These boosts can be used anywhere, including on rails, and can knock aside any enemy. However, they would have to be used more wisely, as the maximum amount of cans possible to hold at once would be the same as in the original, usually 15-30 (depending on how much a character can carry).

The major feature returning from the original Jet Set Radio would its tagging system. Single tags would still be instantaneous, but medium and large-size tags would require staying in one spot and completing the necessary analog-stick quicktime events. This would bring back the need to plan which tags should be done first considering the difficulty of the enemies in the area.

The Wii U and 3DS versions of this game would have a special optional means of painting these tags; the Wii U gamepad and 3DS touchscreen could be used to draw the tag maneuvers with a finger or stylus. However, this would only be an option alongside using the analog stick or pad.

New Features
JS2R would have two major new features. The first would be a button to do multiple mid-air tricks during a long jump off a rail or wall. Similarly to the trick system in Sonic Generations, tricks in this game will provide points and small speed boosts on hitting the ground, but only if the player finishes a combo before touching the ground, wall, or rail. Otherwise, the combo will fail and the player will forfeit most of their points from it.

Secondly, JS2R would have its own skill system and a dedicated button to use skills. Skills would be obtained by purchasing them with large amounts of points, and could be used to pretty serious advantage in-game. Different skills logically do different things, and have different amounts of times they can be used. Here are some of the major skills I had in mind:

Skills
The skills in this game would probably not be limited to these, but these should give you a good idea of what the skills would do.
 * Slow Tempo - This skill serves as a very temporary time-brake to help with tricky maneuvers, or to just revel in epic moments.  It has a decently quick recharge time, since its usefulness lies more with style than anything else.
 * Traveling Artist - This skill lasts only a few seconds, but allows the player to carry as many cans, regardless of normal limits, as they can get until it runs out.  This skill has a long recharge to prevent overuse that makes it too overpowered.
 * Mass Production - This skill makes painting large and extra large tags simpler, while the amount of points they yield stays the same.  It has a fairly long recharge time; at least enough to prevent it being used for every second or third tag.

Gameplay Fixes
I'd like to start this section by outwardly apologizing if I mention a gameplay feature that has been added to the series or changed in Jet Set Radio Future. I haven't gotten to play that title yet, although I would very much like to (hey Sega, JSRF HD maybe? Just saying.). So, if I mention an aspect of gameplay that's already been covered, bear that in mind.

Going off of the original JSR, one of the gameplay issues I noticed the most is that jumping, both standard jumping and trick jumping, didn't have quite as much gravity as it should have. I found it somewhat easy to overshoot a jump to a small target, and in many cases, it would cause me to take fall damage when I was high up in the air. Therefore, this game's jumping would be less floaty, and would provide more of a sense of weight to the player while still permitting a large distance to be covered. Otherwise, the level design would have to be much more compressed and less comfortable.

I also feel like the hitboxes of various objects should be more precise - it's just too frustrating when a player makes a long jump and tries to land on a rail, but bumps into the side of it for being the slightest bit too low, or even overshoots it. This fix is surprisingly important, since efficient navigation of the levels in Jet Set Radio requires chaining maneuvers (particularly grinding) together, sometimes in a very risky way. And I truthfully think that the system of risk and reward can be a little more forgiving without being "too easy". In addition, the hitboxes for certain single-spray tags should probably be a bit more responsive in order to prevent too much tedious repetition.

Lastly, I think the speed-up button from the original game should be used by holding it down, as opposed to hitting it repeatedly and trying to get it to respond. Its effect, however, wouldn't change at all.

Stephen "Snap" Inazawa
A brainy, timid, yet artistically expressive teen who joins up with the GGs in an attempt to try to discover himself and learn what he values in life. He has bright red hair and glasses (which are eventually replaced with Beat's glasses), and wears khaki cargo shorts, and a yellow t-shirt bearing Beat's logo under a black overshirt. He also wears a bright red scarf for most of the game to hide his identity, as well as a backwards black hat.

Charm
The snarky graffiti expert of the GGs who brought Snap to their garage for the first time. She has medium-length blond hair covered by a floppy snow cap, and wears a denim skirt, green shortsleeve hoodie bearing the classic Gum logo, and uses the original Gum skates.

Twist
A good-natured, flamboyant skating pro who frequently helps Snap to loosen up. He wears a Tab-logo striped t-shirt under a Hawaiian shirt and ripped jeans, as well as a navy blue hat with orange goggles.

Inspector Satoru Inazawa
Snap's father, the chief of the Tokyo-to police force who wants his son to live a straightforward life, regardless of his actual desires. He wields a high-voltage taser gun, and is one of the most potent threats to rudie-kind.

Osamu Rokkaku
A twisted corporate giant with an authoritarian taste in art, who will stop at nothing to impose it upon the world whether they like it or not. He is the creator and leader of the Golden Rhinos, an anti-rudie security force, and CEO of the Rokkaku Group.

Noise Tanks
A crew of high-tech computer brainiacs with robotic precision and technique. They're centered in the urban region of Benten-cho.

Poison Jam
Treacherous, monster-like, burly skaters who are the arch-rivals of the GG's. Their turf is the residential district of Kogane-cho.

Love Shockers
A group of hardcore, mentally disturbed punk-rock skaters who have a common feature of brokenheartedness. They compete with the GGs for control of the industrial district of Shibuya-cho.

The Super Brothers
A league of extreme superhero fanatics dressed in colorful costumes and capes. Their turf is Pastel Park in Taito-cho.

Shadow Break
Stealthy, speedy taggers trained in the skills of the ninja and clad in dark blue clothing. Their turf is Skyscraper Square in Ota-cho.

Three-Verberate
A trio of disco-obsessed taggers with special microphones that alter their voices. Their turf is Tempo Boulevard in Nakano-cho.

Chapter 1: The Choice
I mentioned at the outset that Jet Set Radio Reborn would have more of a focus on story than the other two games before it, and this is mostly because you will have more of an insight into the characters' personal stories, instead of just playing out the conflict between the GG's and the Rokkaku Group (although this will of course happen too).

The story will have a good few cutscenes, but instead of just being told with images of comic panels, they will be animated. This game's major lines will also be fully voice acted. However, very brief exchanges between characters won't be.

The story starts with a 16-year-old kid named Stephen Inazawa, the only son of single father, Inspector Satoru Inazawa of the Tokyo-to Police Department. Stephen looks very different from his father, with pale skin and red hair, and their differences are not limited to appearance.

Ever since he was a toddler, Stephen has had an interest in the arts that has been much frowned-upon by his father. Every time Stephen tried to take up painting or drawing or play a musical instrument he liked, his father would always prevent him from pursuing it. All Satoru ever wants is for Stephen to study hard and become somebody important in adulthood, whether he likes it or not.

This changes one day after Stephen and his father get into an argument where Satoru finally forbids Stephen from learning to skate. The argument is followed by a tense ride to Stephen's school, and Satoru gets a radio alert from his station about a mass tagging in progress. He begrudgingly decides to report to the scene and, upon arrival, tells Stephen to stay in the car no matter what.

At first, Stephen decides to listen to him, but he looks through the window at the commotion and sees the incredible stunts of the taggers and decides to get out of the car for a closer look. He spends a minute watching them in awe when one of them, a blond girl, suddenly grabs him by the arm and into the alley he's standing in front of.

Stephen screams and tries to get free, but the girl has so much momentum that he can't do anything. His father notices and tries to pursue them, but they disappear, followed by the other taggers. One of the other taggers rolls up beside him and puts a bag over his head. Next thing he knows, he's in a chair, sitting in a wildly colorful garage, in front of two very colorfully-dressed skaters.

He decides to start out by asking them who they were and why they had taken him there. They respond by first telling him that they're looking to revive the GGs, a notorious group of graffiti taggers in Tokyo-to, and they tell Stephen that they think he's much more important than he realizes.

The blond girl from before explains that they had heard their old leader, Beat, had a younger brother that looked just like him, with pale skin and red hair. Even though Stephen doesn't have Beat's clothing, the resemblance is undeniable, and he looks to be the right age to be that younger brother.

Stephen is dubious at first, but remembers that he has an interest in skating and the arts. He starts to think it's possible, but tells them he can't take the chance. His father would be looking for him, and Stephen didn't want to worry him. They accept this, but ask him if he really wants to return to his old life of being held back by his father, and let him choose whether he wants to.

He decides to give the GGs the benefit of the doubt and try to learn what they have to teach him, but to go back home if he's not good enough.

Chapter 2: The New GG
The GGs decide to teach Stephen by doing, and this is where the game's opening level takes place. Although he needs more practice, Stephen is a natural at skate-tagging, and ultimately decides to join up with the gang.

But before he can go on any more missions, they say he needs a nickname. To give him something to go off of, they introduce themselves. The blond girl introduces herself as Charm, and the other one, a tall boy in a Hawaiian shirt and torn jeans, introduces himself as Twist. They ask him what his regular name is, and he answers "Stephen."

They both chuckle and tell him he needs a more interesting name. Charm jokingly comments he should be called "Lenses" or "Red," because of his glasses and hair. Stephen responds that she wasn't particularly "charming" back when she was dragging him clumsily along sidewalk.

Twist points out that Stephen makes a snappy comeback, and that's when Stephen has an "A-ha!" moment, and decides to call himself "Snap" from then on.

It turns out, though, that the GGs aren't the only gang that's come back on the scene. Several age-old rival gangs of the GGs from over a decade ago have come out of the woodwork, including the nefarious Noise Tanks and the despicable Poison Jam.

With the return of all these gangs of rudies, logically, the pirate power-station Jet Set Radio officially goes back on the air, and DJ Professor K comes out of retirement to host it! With Jet Set Radio back in full swing and the GGs attracting new members, things are the way they were both a decade before and after.

Chapter 3: The Revelation
The war of expression rages on among the gangs of Tokyo-to, and slowly but steadily, the GGs begin to gain the most territory with the help of Snap. But a new threat to all rudies begins to emerge in the person of Osamu Rokkaku, a corporate giant and enthusiast of the classical arts.

Rokkaku begins to openly detest the radical actions of the rudies, and decides to begin a social and political campaign to end all rebellious tagging in Tokyo-to, and instead promote his own preferences in art and music.

He establishes his own hard-core police force called the Golden Rhinos, dedicated to capturing rudies and headed by Captain Inazawa, Snap's dad.

Eventually, the Golden Rhinos start to discover the various gangs' hideouts and brainwash them to serve the Rokkaku Group. Inspector Inazawa objects to these methods, but Rokkaku insists that it's a better option than having them on the street vandalizing, and furthermore threatens to destroy Satoru's career in law enforcement if he doesn't leave the matter alone.

Soon enough, the GGs get discovered and the Inspector himself decides to head the raid on their garage, still thinking that the GGs have his son in captivity. Snap and the rest of the gang make their best effort to fight back and escape, but Inspector Inazawa eventually corners them. Charm tells Snap to make a break for it. Satoru chases Snap out of the building, tackles him, and sees his son's face under the scarf. The sight shocks Satoru, which gives Snap the opportunity to knock him backwards and slip away. However, Snap's secret has been all but revealed, and he knows he'll have to confront that sooner or later.

Days pass after the raid on the GGs' garage, and Satoru comes home one night to find Stephen sitting on their couch, without the accessories he used to disguise himself.

Satoru reacts by simply asking why. Why Stephen would leave him with no warning, why he would join up with the GGs...why he would join up with exactly what he wanted him to avoid. Stephen responds with the truth - he was on a good path in life, but that wasn't worth giving up who he was inside: a rebel.

Stephen goes on by saying he didn't choose to run away, but the GGs showed him that he was capable of more than Satoru had let him believe. He had finally learned to express himself, and realized just how important that was to being a human being. He thus takes the opportunity to point out why Rokkaku's "philanthropic goals" are nonsense. Not only had he shown his desire to limit people's self-expression, he had literally forced it away from the young, restless, and directionless who arguably needed it the most.

Satoru tries to defend Rokkaku by saying he only wants for everyone what Satoru wants for Stephen - for them to live safe and productive lives...but Stephen responds by saying that all Rokkaku really wants is control on a massive scale. He says part of being human is controlling your own actions. People can't survive without self-control. Rokkaku only proved this by having to turn the rudies into mindless slaves to get their help. Just because Satoru, as a policeman, wants people to be safe and content doesn't mean that Osamu's means to that end are right, and it doesn't mean that Satoru should be helping him.

Stephen stands up and says the only reason he came back was to explain himself to his father. He's still dead serious about fighting Osamu Rokkaku, and says he's going to stand against the Golden Rhinos, gang or not, no matter what the consequences.

Satoru tries to appeal to Snap and stop him from fighting an empty battle, but Snap doesn't have any reservations about telling his father he doesn't run his life anymore. Doing this, Snap says, is simply his way of doing what his dad and Rokkaku always did - do just what he wants to do.

Chapter 4: The Beat Goes On
That weekend, Osamu Rokkaku happened to be having an outdoor classical arts show in Shibuya-cho, and this is when Snap decides to confront him. He cleverly sneaks up to the massive spotlights lighting the occasion and paints them over, and follows up by tearing through the show itself and painting over the dull works on display.

Snap causes quite a bit of havoc before he is eventually cornered by the Golden Rhinos. Rokkaku walks up to speak to Snap himself, and expresses his surprise that there were still any rudies left in Tokyo-to. Snap responds by saying it shouldn't be a surprise; the rudies can never really disappear, no matter how much Rokkaku throws his money around.

Rokkaku punches Snap in the stomach, and says that he would personally see to it that the last rudie did disappear. But before anyone could make a move, the immediate area is then flooded in smoke, and Snap once again finds himself grabbed up by none other than Charm!

Snap begins to regain himself, and looks up to see his father and an entire police force standing in front of him, facing down the Golden Rhinos. Osamu asks Satoru what the meaning of his actions is, to which Satoru simply replies that nobody hurts his son. He says Rokkaku is under arrest for assault, illegal trade practices, and forcible mind control.

The showdown quickly turns into an all-out battle between the police and the Golden Rhinos, but Osamu himself retreats back into his tower and travels to the top. Snap is bent on pursuing him. Even though Charm and Twist think it's a poor idea, the GGs rally behind him and help him get through the Rhinos to reach Osamu.

Snap reaches the top of the tower alone and at this point, the final boss of the game takes place. After a short dialogue between Snap and Rokkaku, Rokkaku mans into a giant machine not unlike the one from the first JSR, but this time built with long arms wielding deadly weapons. However, the cockpit is made of glass, and Snap eventually spraypaints the entire thing to blind Rokkaku.

Rokkaku can no longer see the room around him, and he accidentally makes his machine tear up the entire top floor of the building, sending itself crashing down, bringing Snap with it. In these final seconds of the fight, Snap manages to grind down the side of the building and barely make a safe landing...but Rokkaku is not so fortunate.

In the aftermath, the Golden Rhinos' operation is gutted, and their associates are identified and pursued next. Osamu's less power-mad brother takes control of the Rokkaku Group, and orients the company in a better, less sinister direction that promotes all forms of art, including graffiti.

Things between Stephen and Satoru become much different after recent events. Although Satoru is still the same strict police chief he always has been, he and his son decide to pursue art and music together, for Satoru realized the truth in his son's words: life without creativity is not life at all. As for Stephen himself, he continues to pursue a bright future as his dad wishes...but this doesn't stop him from moonlighting as a GG. After all, "on the streets, there's no such thing as 'the end.'"

Levels
The level progression in JS2R would be more similar to the original game than to JSRF. Whereas Future had more of an RPG-like construction, 2R would return to the original level by level sequence, although it would maintain the larger level size of Future.

Also similar to the original JSR is that each area will have three dedicated areas to it, as well as a larger fourth level in the second half of the game. My reasoning is that the amount of levels per area was spot on in the original JSR, but the reason it felt somewhat short is because there were only three areas. JS2R would have twice the amount of areas, twice the amount of levels, and therefore twice the longevity.