The Sega Dreamcast was home to many groundbreaking titles, none of them more visually dazzling thanJet Set Radio (originally known asJet Grind Radioin the US). The cel-shaded rollerblading graffiti masterpiece caught the hearts of many via Sega’s console, which then transferred to its Xbox sequelJet Set Radio Future. Sadly, however, we’ve been experiencing a large drought of similar games ever sinceJSR’sHD remaster for thePlayStation 3and Xbox 360 from 2012 — up until now, that is.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunkjust came out to quench ourJet Set Radiothirst. It tells the story of gangs of cool-ass rollerbladers who do graffiti battles to see who gets to control their city. This Utopian landscape seems to capture the gameplay, the look, and the vibe ofJSR,so what is that all about? Are they family or just gorgeous lookalikes?
Well first off, what really matters is that the hype is real.Bomb Rush Cyberfunkrocks and therefore deserves your time regardless of its origin point. Still, if you’re curious about its DNA, you’ve come to the right place.
What’sBomb Rush Cyberfunk‘s connection toJet Set Radio?
Bomb Rush Cyberfunkisn’t an official sequel toJet Set Radio.It looks like it could take place in the same city, maybe even feature the same characters, but both take place in their own separate universes. Still, none of it is accidental, nor a soulless copy — it’s clear that its developers wanted to pay homage to the never-forgotten classic.
Despite the clear visual similarities and shared gameplay elements, they both havealmostcompletely different teams behind them. WhereasJSRis the work of Smilebit, a Sega AM2 company,Cyberfunkis the work of Team Reptile, a Dutch studio known forLethal League. The only common thread in their DNA? Well,Cyberfunkalso features many musical tracks by Hideki Naganuma, the man responsible for producing the soundtrack forJSR,so that’s another obvious plus.
Interestingly, if you care to take a glance atLethal League,you’ll easily recognize similarities toJSR.It’s likely that the entire studio has been drawing heavy inspiration fromJSRfrom the very start and is merely coming full circle.
The clues were there all along.
You can now playBomb Rush Cyberfunkon PC and Switch. Team Reptile says that the game will arrive on PlayStation and Xbox platforms soon.
