is a 2002 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Xbox. It is the sequel to the 2000 Dreamcast game Jet Set Radio, and as a re-imaging of the original game, Jet Set Radio Future maintains its predecessor's cel-shaded visuals while introducing refined gameplay mechanics, updated graphics, larger open world environments, new characters, an altered plot, a new soundtrack and multiplayer gameplay. As with the first game, the player controls members of the GG's, a youth street gang that uses inline skates to traverse a futuristic Tokyo, spraying graffiti, challenging rival gangs and evading authorities.
Jet Set Radio Future received acclaim, with praise for its music, art style, gameplay, characters, and replay value. It was nominated and won several awards, including "Best Platformer," "Best Music," and "Best Graphics (Artistic)" from GameSpot. Originally developed for the Dreamcast, it was released as a Xbox launch game in Japan and Europe and was later bundled with Xbox consoles along with Sega GT 2002. Jet Set Radio Future became backwards compatible on Xbox 360 in 2005. Jet Set Radio Future is often named one of the best original Xbox games and one of the best games of the 2000s.
In 2022, Sega announced that a new Jet Set Radio project was in development as part of a revival of previous franchises. Subsequent reports in 2023 and 2024 described leaked development footage and screenshots.
Gameplay
Jet Set Radio Future is a third-person action game in which players control inline skaters navigating open urban environments in Tokyo, the main setting of the game. Gameplay centers on performing tricks while tagging graffiti to claim territory and progress through the game’s districts. In the story mode, players are tasked with overwriting graffiti left by rival gangs across Tokyo while avoiding interruption from enemies and police forces.
Graffiti mechanics were simplified from the original Jet Set Radio, replacing manual spraying over large tags with multiple spray targets that scale in number based on graffiti size, while removing time limits on tagging objectives. Players encounter rival gangs throughout stages, triggering combat encounters that must be cleared in order to progress. Battles occur within the game’s open environments rather than isolated arenas. Preview coverage featured in Dorimaga highlighted several mechanical changes from Jet Set Radio intended to emphasize speed and momentum, including a boost system designed to support sustained movement across larger stages. In addition, encounters with rival gangs and police are structured around more dynamic, situational objectives rather than constant pursuit, reinforcing a focus on flow and trick-chaining over time-based pressure. Graffiti mechanics are presented as more integrated into movement, allowing players to spray while maintaining speed instead of stopping play entirely.
Designated graffiti stops allow players to save progress, change playable characters, and replenish spray cans without exiting the stage. Stages also feature hidden collectible items, such as mystery tapes and Graffiti Souls, which unlock additional content and graffiti designs when found. In addition to tagging pre-designed graffiti, Jet Set Radio Future includes a built-in graffiti editor that allows players to create and customize their own graffiti designs. Using an in-game interface, players can draw freehand shapes, apply stamps, adjust colors and thickness, add lettering, and modify individual elements before saving designs to the system memory. Custom graffiti can then be used during gameplay in place of preset designs.
The police, who previously chased after the player in the last game, now appear in specific areas, with the player tasked with stopping them by charging into them and spraying them to defeat them. In addition, the expanded city environments were divided into distinct districts, with contemporary Japanese-inspired stage names as such as Shibuya Terminal and Rokkaku-dai as examples of the game’s traversal-focused stage design. Dorimaga further detailed the structure of the game’s city, identifying multiple districts unlocked through progression, including areas such as Dogenzaka, Chuo Street, 99th Street, and an underground sewer facility. The feature described advancement as occurring street by street, with each district introducing new challenges and traversal demands while remaining integrated into the larger urban environment rather than functioning as isolated levels.
Controls
Jet Set Radio Future uses an analog control scheme centered on momentum and directional input. Players control movement with the left analog stick, allowing for walking or skating depending on pressure applied, while jumps are performed using a face button, with jump height scaling based on button hold duration. Camera orientation can be corrected manually to maintain forward momentum and visibility.
Graffiti actions are context-sensitive and are activated at designated graffiti points. When positioned correctly, players initiate tagging using a trigger input, with larger graffiti requiring sustained input across multiple spray targets. Movement-based abilities such as boost dashes are also tied to spray can resources, linking control inputs directly to speed and survivability.
Additional controls allow players to perform grinding tricks, aerial maneuvers, wall rides, and combo actions while skating. Trick inputs vary depending on whether the player is grinding, airborne, or interacting with environmental objects, encouraging continuous motion and precise timing rather than stationary actions. The control layout emphasizes fluid transitions between skating, jumping, grinding, and tagging rather than discrete combat commands.
Rather than using conventional combat mechanics, Jet Set Radio Future players use spray paint as an offensive mechanic. Police units act as obstacles, attempting to interrupt the player’s movement or prevent graffiti tagging. Players counter these threats by maintaining speed, using environmental routes, deploying boost dashes, and completing graffiti actions to disrupt or evade opponents. Spray cans function both as a resource for graffiti and as a means to activate movement-based abilities, linking traversal directly to player survivability.
Multiplayer Jet Set Radio Future includes local multiplayer modes for up to four players. The game’s Versus Mode features multiple competitive mission types, including City Rush, Ball Hog, Flag, Graffiti Wars, and Tagger’s Tag, each with distinct objectives such as racing, item control, or competitive graffiti tagging.
In a 2001 interview with IGN, Smilebit producer Takayuki Kawagoe stated that the team was exploring online functionality for the game during development, though specific details had not yet been finalized.
Plot Set in Tokyo of 2024, Jet Set Radio Future follows a group of underground roller-skating youths known as the GGs, who use graffiti to mark territory and express identity while evading authorities. The city is dominated by the Rokkaku Group, a powerful megacorporation that exerts control over politics, industry, and culture through its private police force, the Rokkaku Police. As the GGs expand their influence across the city, DJ Professor K broadcasts pirate radio commentary that frames events and narrates the growing conflict between youth subcultures, rival gangs, and the Rokkaku regime. The struggle culminates in a confrontation with Rokkaku Gouji, head of the Rokkaku Group and new mayor of Tokyo, whose plans to consolidate power through the Rokkaku Expo are ultimately disrupted.
Characters The game features a cast of stylized characters drawn from Tokyo’s underground culture, rival gangs, and corporate authority. The GGs, the primary protagonists of the game, are a group of roller-skating youths who use graffiti to mark territory and resist the control of the Rokkaku Group. The core members of the group include Corn, Gum, Yoyo, Beat, and Roboy. Many other members join the team throughout the game such as Rhyth, Boogie, Soda, and most notably Combo, Cube, Garam, Jazz, and Clutch who all assist and reveal plot-sensitive information to the GGs regarding the Rokkaku Group. DJ Professor K acts as the guide for the youths, and controls the pirate broadcasting station, called Jet Set Radio. He also serves as the narrator, providing commentary that frames the story’s events and themes. In interviews published around the game’s release, members of the development team described the use of Professor K as a narrative device intended to frame the game’s setting and themes, blending street culture, music, and exaggerated urban identity rather than conventional storytelling.
The primary antagonists of the game are the Rokkaku Group, who pose as a powerful megacorporation that dominates Tokyo. Key figures include Rokkaku Gouji, the company’s head and new mayor of Tokyo, and Inspector Hayashi, who leads enforcement efforts against street gangs. In early stages of the game, the GGs also avoid policemen and the chief of police, Captain Hayashi. Throughout the game, the GGs clash with rival groups such as Poison Jam, Rapid 99, Noise Tanks, Immortals, Love Shockers, Doom Riders and Rokkaku's assassin group the Golden Rhinos, each representing different subcultures within the city.
Development and release
Jet Set Radio Future was first scheduled as a Dreamcast game.Dreamcast Magazine Issue 23 p. 08. Early coverage in Dreamcast Magazine (Dorimaga) described the game as building on the core concepts and visual style of the original Jet Set Radio during a period of transition at Sega. The feature placed the project within the company’s shift away from the Dreamcast, noting that its development reflected changing technical priorities and an increased emphasis on scale and presentation as Sega moved toward new hardware platforms, including the Xbox.
Several members of the development team had previously worked on Sega’s Panzer Dragoon series as part of Team Andromeda.
In a feature published by Official Xbox Magazine, early coverage emphasized the game’s expanded environments and increased emphasis on stylish movement, with developers highlighting larger, more detailed city spaces designed for exploration and extended trick chains. Producer Takayuki Kawagoe stated that the game’s settings were inspired by Tokyo but were not intended as literal recreations, instead presenting a stylized, cel-shaded interpretation.
According to Sega product manager Rich Briggs, the development team distinguished between graffiti as illegal vandalism and graffiti as artistic expression, framing the latter as a stylistic and narrative device rather than an endorsement of real-world vandalism. He stated that some players struggled with the original game's difficulty and did not clearly understand the narrative framing of graffiti. Briggs also indicated that stated that these issues led the development team to place greater emphasis on character and story in Jet Set Radio Future. Lead composer Hideki Naganuma stated that Jet Set Radio Futures story is not a continuation of the original Jet Set Radio'''s story, but an alternate story set in an alternate reality.HIDEKI NAGANUMA｜CEO OF FUNKY FRESH BEATS