10 Sega Dreamcast Games You Really Should Have Played

4. Jet Set Radio

Jet Set RadioWhat list of Dreamcast titles would be complete without Jet Set Radio? Before Tony Hawk attempted to take total domination of the market with the Underground series, there was the GGs and their quest to properly tag every piece of art in Tokyo, something that we can assume was only commended by the Department of Tourism. To define JSR as a skating game would do it an injustice, because it's so much more, it's a free flowing "pick-up and play" attitude means that you're given hours of fun attempting to achieve checkpoints and solve quests while collecting points. You collect health via spray cans and if you cause too much mischief the police come to chase you, which is akin to similar games of this era, not that we're saying there are any similarities. Quite frankly, Jet Set is unique, and its cel-based polygons are a fantastic example of a well-designed game at the turn of the Millennium. This game was also one of the first to be relatively changed for the North American release. Although a lot of new work and levels were done because of a copyright claim, the added addition of Internet connectivity gave players a chance to become more involved then they could have imagined at the time, connecting to the Internet via SegaNet and downloading user-created graffiti tags, or uploading tags of their own, as some could also be used to promote other Sega games. It was that kind of connectivity and cross promotion that was to be later copied on a much wider scale. Not that I'm suggesting Jet Set Radio "set" the trend. I just wanted to make that pun.
Contributor
Contributor

First studied Journalism in Ireland in 2003, returning to Sunderland University on the tenth anniversary of my first studies in the subject to continue towards an MA. Interested in all sorts including WWE, Music, Film, TV and Games. Has travelled around a bit to places like California, Ontario and Mexico and plans to do more of the same soon again. Recently I've been writing pieces on my favourite topics which have included obscure theme music from nostalgic shows, Guns N' Roses and a few other surprises I'll be happy to share in time!