It’s almost hard to imagine now, but when Jet Set Radio first landed on Dreamcast back in 2000, its cell-shaded graphics were completely fresh, and a genuine revelation. Impossibly bright, crisp and stylish, Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio in North America) looked more like animation than a video game.

But it wasn’t just the forward looking – and soon to be endlessly copied – visual style that made Jet Set Radio stand out. The game featured an eclectic, up-to-the-minute electronic soundtrack that proved to be nearly as influential as its visuals. The audio landscape of SSX, for example, certainly owes a debt of gratitude to Jet Set Radio.

You can hear a bit of the game’s audio legacy in the teaser trailer released last week.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfDlHdERxrE&feature=player_embedded

For those not lucky enough to have played Jet Set Radio (or its Xbox sequel, Jet Set Radio Future) the first time around, the game takes elements of stunt-based extreme sports titles (especially the Tony Hawk series, which is also on its way to XBLA/PSN), adds an emphasis on platforming, and tops the whole thing with a cool graffiti tagging mechanic – which is how protagonists Beat, Gum, and the rest of the GGs liberate Tokyo-to from the “overbearing, corporate-controlled police force” that controls it.

Take a look at some images from the upcoming re-release that show just how good Jet Set Radio looks in wide-screen high-def.

[gallery columns=“2” orderby=“title”]

In honor of the game’s celebration of graffiti art, Sega is sponsoring a contest for US and UK fans, giving them a chance to design new tags that will appear in the game. From the Jet Set Radio Graffiti Art Contest website:

Time to get designing, Ranters!

As one of the last remaining Dreamcast  classics to be updated for modern consoles, Jet Set Radio should be a real treat. The game’s stylish world, last seen in Sega and Sonic All-Stars Racing (and hopefully set to be included in that game’s upcoming sequel), looks as enticing as ever, while JSR’s killer soundtrack is practically worth the price of admission on its own.

Are you looking forward to the Jet Set Radio re-release? What other Dreamcast games would you like to see ported to current consoles? (Hint: Phantasy Star Online. The first one. Only.) Let us know in the comments below.

Jet Set Radio releases this Summer on XBLA, PSN, and PC.

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Source: Sega Blog