Bomb Rush Cyberfunk review – Jet Set Radio past

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk – this looks very familiar (Picture: Team Reptile)

Sega Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio gets a spiritual sequel, with the same stylish 90s graphics and another killer soundtrack.

At this point it seems pointless to criticise Sega for letting their classic franchises wither away. It’s a tragedy but they’ve been ignoring them for decades, so them continuing to do so is hardly a surprise. There have been occasional rumours of a new Jet Set Radio but, predictably, nothing has ever happened. Instead, Sega’s only success in leveraging its back catalogue has been with indie games they’ve had essentially nothing to do with, such as the excellent Streets Of Rage 4. So it’s a wonder they didn’t try to make this the official Jet Set Radio 3.

Released in 2000 for the Dreamcast, the original Jet Set Radio was a very influential game, despite the small reach of Sega’s final console. Although not quite the first game to use cel-shaded graphics, it was the one that popularised their use. It’s eclectic soundtrack, full of hip hop, funk, and acid jazz has become iconic and still relatively unique in its use of licensed music (which is why some of it is always missing in subsequent re-releases).

Unfortunately, while the concept still holds up, as you play a roller-skating graffiti artist fighting a dystopian police force, the original is barely playable today, with awkwardly imprecise controls and a terrible camera. A full remake should’ve been Sega’s first step towards a new sequel but in the absence of that Bomb Rush Cyberfunk will have to do instead.

At first, the set-up for Bomb Rush Cyberfunk seems almost identical to Jet Set Radio, as you’re busted out of jail by a gang of graffiti artists who get around using roller-skates and a big turbo boost generator on their back. The tutorial in the police station plays out just as you would expect, as you grind along rails and follow onscreen prompts to create graffiti.

Then someone cuts your head off with a vinyl record and things get a bit weird. Apparently, in this future world, losing your head is only a minor inconvenience and it’s quickly replaced with a robot one, as you immediately begin to plan how to get the old one back, which a bad guy is keeping for nefarious purposes.

After the tutorial you actually start out with a skateboard, although the difference that makes in terms of gameplay and controls is minimal. It’s probably not the best way to start, for those who haven’t played Jet Set Radio before, as the action is considerably less complex than Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater and its ilk. As you unlock additional characters, you also get to ride a BMX but, again, it makes less difference to the action than you might imagine, since none of it is even trying to be realistic.

Despite initial appearances, that isn’t really the sort of game it’s trying to be, as while you can perform tricks while you’re grinding or in the air, they’re all activated by just a single button press. It’s not performing them that’s supposed to be difficult but fitting them in with the platforming and combat that’s always going on at the same time and trying to chain as long a combo as possible.

The game is split into a number of small-ish open world areas, each dominated by a different, cartoonish gang. They all have their own gimmicks and means of blocking off parts of the city but the method of dealing with them is essentially always the same: paint graffiti to increase your rep and take part in the various skating/riding challenges they then issue you.

There’s also quite a bit of combat, primarily against pursuing police forces, but it’s easily the weakest part of the game, with punches and kicks landing without any sense that you’re making contact with anything. It not only feels hollow and unengaging, but it also tends to get the camera acting skittish, as there’s no proper lock-on.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk – sweet soul brother (Picture: Team Reptile)

It doesn’t completely ruin the game, but we suspect it’s like that simply because Belgian developer Team Reptile is trying to emulate Jet Set Radio as closely as possible. The camera and controls are definitely better than they were on the Dreamcast, but they still feel clunky and awkward and while you could construe that as keeping with the retro theme it’s really not necessary.

The graphics perfectly replicate the Dreamcast era of gaming, not just on a technical level but in terms of the distinctive art design of Jet Set Radio, where everyone has gigantic feet and it all looks incredibly 90s. Being chased, Benny Hill style, by the police is also just as you remember it, and far more entertaining than beating them up. It’s a pitch perfect homage and, importantly, that includes the soundtrack.

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Only time will tell if it becomes as beloved as Jet Set Radio but the most important thing it gets right is not just the quality of the tracks but the variety of music styles, which all somehow gel together. But then Team Reptile did make the very sensible decision to get Hideki Naganuma – who worked on Jet Set Radio – on board to oversee that side of things.

As a homage to Jet Set Radio this is near perfect, but the biggest fault of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is simply that it feels so outdated. The visuals and music are cool, but the shallow gameplay and repetition is not. This could’ve been Jet Set Radio 3 if it had released in 2003 but 20 years later it needed to move forward more substantially, if it is to gain new fans as well as just hang on to old ones.

Formats: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £35.99
Publisher: Team Reptile
Developer: Team Reptile
Release Date: 27th July 2023
Age Rating: 12

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Sega Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio gets a spiritual sequel, with the same stylish 90s graphics and another killer soundtrack.