Jet Set Radio To Return?

If there was an icon of the early noughties, Jet Set Radio seems to be a contender. It had the music, the feel, the unique look and gameplay. SEGA had a winning formula. And then they just stopped. Until now.

The original game was popular enough, and the sequel on Xbox seems to have a decent following as well. But, like Shenmue, it just kind of dropped off the planet. Which is a shame, because unique colourful games were sorely needed during the PS3/Xbox 360 era. A remaster around that time, I guess, did little to move the needle.

All that might be about to change. Footage which supposedly shows a new Jet Set Radio has been found, along with video of a Persona 3 remake.

The idea that Sega might be bringing back one of its biggest Dreamcast titles back in some way is exciting for other reasons too. Aside from not-always-brilliant remasters, they have been pretty hesitant to bring back any of the fan favourites from that era. Every so often, a Sonic Adventure rumour appears, and it gets shot down fairly quickly. But even that – one of the biggest games on the unfortunately shortlived console – seems like a big ask.

And actually, Jet Set Radio is a perfect game for modern audiences. It’s bright, colourful, and a little bit different. It obviously has bigger budget than a lot of indie titles, but not in such a way that it becomes generic. Add in subscription services that could potentially reduce the barrier to entry – I’m not convinced anybody would necessarily rush out and spend £70 on this – and you’re onto a winner.

Jet Set Radio – Future?

These were found on Twitter and discussed on Reddit and gaming forums. You can see full details through the tweet below. Unconfirmed but, nonetheless, a pretty positive indication of something to come.

That Persona 3 remake was shown alongside a visually better looking Sonic Frontiers and Jet Set Radio 3 @SkyRaiderG7 unintentionally found out about it's so fucking over pic.twitter.com/uUNnGC4t0n

— Дастанович (@Dastanovich_) April 9, 2023

I’ve often spoken about the incredible history that Sega has, and the mountain of awesome that it would be if they could start reviving some of their old IP. Unfortunately, it seems for a lot of older companies, there isn’t the bandwidth to play with their historical titles. Streets of Rage 4 was well-received, but then where is Golden Axe? Yakuza does well, but still no Sega-support for Shenmue.

And these aren’t all necessarily down to sales, or popularity. Sometimes it’s just having the teams and money to work on these projects. Or the confidence that they will be well-received if the effort was put in. Shenmue is actually the perfect example of that. You can revive the old game, or you can remake it. Either way, you’re pissing somebody off.

By bringing back Jet Set Radio, Sega are saying they are open to the idea of reviving its old content. I’m not expecting a Skies of Arcadia sequel tomorrow. I’m not even entirely sure the above is real.

And yet so much about modern gaming would be solved with smaller, fun experiences such as these ones. And there are no gaming companies in the world that does pure arcade fun as well as Sega.