History VideoGame / JetSetRadio

** Professor K is essentially a GenderFlip of Creator/LynetteThigpen's unnamed DJ character in ''Film/TheWarriors''.

''Jet Set Radio'' (originally known as ''Jet Grind Radio'' [[MarketBasedTitle in the NTSC U/C region]]) is a platforming/skating game released by Creator/{{Sega}} for the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast in 2000, developed by Smilebit, who were made up of previous AM-6 employees, responsible for the ''VideoGame/PanzerDragoon'' series. The game is centered around [[RollerbladeGood roller-blading]] [[GangBangers street gangs consisting of teens and young adults called rudies]], who battle for turf by spraying graffiti around the streets of [[UsefulNotes/{{Tokyo}} Tokyo-to]]. Meanwhile, the rudies' culture is under attack by an evil corporate conglomerate called the Rokkaku Group which seeks to homogenize the city and whose [[CorruptCorporateExecutive leader]] seeks to take over the world through demonic means.

In 2002, a sequel was released for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}} called ''Jet Set Radio Future''. Set rather ambiguously to the first game, ''Future'' is more of a [[ReformulatedGame "remix"]]. The story is much the same, with some new twists and new elements, though the characters of the game are very different, and the city of Tokyo-to has seen a very drastic overhaul. The game was made to play much faster, replacing the [[ActionCommands joystick graffiti spraying]] with a simple 'hold the button and run' system, as well as making grinding a much more important skill (as well as making it easier to do).

The original ''Jet Set Radio'' was re-released in full HD on UsefulNotes/XboxLive Arcade, UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork, and PC in September 2012, netting the series a boost in popularity. It was also released on iOS and Android, but these versions have since been removed due to a percieved low quality from SEGA.

At the end of that year at The Game Awards, Sega announced several new titles in classic series as part of a ''POWER SURGE'' project, including a brand new ''Jet Set Radio'' game.

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/BombRushCyberfunk'', was released in 2023 by Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes much of [=JSR=]'s style. The only difference is that game has the characters use other movement options in addition to roller blades, like bikes, skateboards, and even [[LeParkour free-running]]. At the end of that year at The Game Awards, Sega announced several new titles in classic series as part of a ''POWER SURGE'' project, including a brand new ''Jet Set Radio'' game.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/BombRushCyberfunk'', was released in 2023 by Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes much of [=JSR=]'s style. The only difference is that game has the characters use other movement options in addition to roller blades, like bikes, skateboards, and even [[LeParkour free-running]].

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: This game takes it to the extreme, especially in ''JSRF'', where the Tokyo Underground Sewage Facility is a sprawling multiple stories monstrosity of a level. Expect to spend a few chunks of both games in these.

* AdaptationalVillainy: The Noise Tanks from the original ''Jet Set Radio'' were [[PlayfulHacker Playful Hackers]] who sold software to pay for their hobbies and were responsible for causing a blackout months before the game began. In ''Jet Set Radio Future'', the Noise Tanks are still mischievious, but are [[RetCon Retconned]] into cyborgs created by Rokkaku determined to destroy the GG's.

* AllThereInTheManual: The year ''Future'' takes place is never explained in-game, but according to pre-release details and advertisements, it's set in the year 2024. Some details about characters in ''Grind'' are also only seen in the manual.

* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: The initial three GG's in ''JSR''; Gum is blonde, Tab is brunet [[HairColorDissonance (though whether his hair is brown or black is anyone's guess)]], and Beat is a redhead.

* BloodierAndGorier: The original ''Jet Set Radio'' had plenty of violence, mostly of the Wile E. Coyote sort; but only Gouji died onscreen, and Coin perished in a single static comic panel. The sequel took the safety brakes off and gave the bad guys gruesome deaths.

* CarFu: ''JGR'''s cops have no compunctions about running you over with their cruisers or motorbikes.

* CelShading: The original game was the first to do this with both black outlines, and the use of two-tone shading on characters.

* CityOfAdventure: Tokyo-to in either game, as either version of the city is a massive mega-city with many distinct districts.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Rokkaku Gouji, who already owns the city by buying up all the major players and businesses. Now he wants to make it official.

* DisneyVillainDeath: Gouji's ultimate fate in ''JGR''.

* {{Egopolis}}: The drive behind Rokkaku's crackdown on the streets is to pave the way for his "Rokkaku Expo", essentially branding everything with his logo.

* ForcedTutorial: JSRF's is ''ridiculously'' easy.

* GondorCallsForAid: In the RegionalBonus missions, Combo and Cube are forced to flee Grind City after the Rokkaku kidnap the third member of their gang.

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/BombRushCyberfunkstud'', was released in 2023 by Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes much of [=JSR=]'s style. The only difference is that game has the characters use other movement options in addition to roller blades, like bikes, skateboards, and even [[LeParkour free-running]].

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/BombRushCyberfunk'', is being developed by independent studio, Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes much of [=JSR=]'s style. The only difference is that game has the characters use other movement options in addition to roller blades, like bikes, skateboards, and even [[LeParkour free-running]].

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''Bomb Rush Cyberfunk'', is being developed by independent studio, Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes much of [=JSR=]'s style. The only difference is that game has the characters use other movement options in addition to roller blades, like bikes, skateboards, and even [[LeParkour free-running]].

* CameraScrew: Both games have pretty miserable cameras, with the only game having an adjustable camera being the HD re-release of the original. Both games require you to reset the camera to move it, which works sometimes and screws you over other times. ''Future's'' camera also snaps to look at your piece while spraying, blocking your view from heading into a BottomlessPit and also managing to screw up your controls.

* WhipItGood: The first Assassin you encounter, #5, has a whip which ''cannot be dodged'' by dashing.

* TheNapoleon: Captain Onishima.

* NoOSHACompliance: Especially prevalent in ''Future'' with the industrial levels. The Skyscraper District, for example, has a number of construction sites with absolutely no safety rails or nets to stop workers (or you) from falling 50 plus stories to their death. Pharoah Park does have some safety features, but that's a very small part of the level.

* ThankingThePlayer: ''Jet Set Radio''[='s=] credits end with the character you defeated the FinalBoss with spraying a tag reading "Thanks for playing!!" on the video screen at the Shibuya bus station.

* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse

* WickedHeartSymbol: The Love Shockers' graffiti and symbol are heart symbol-based.

* BareYourMidriff:
** Of the GG's, Cube (in both of her appearances) and Piranha.
** The Love Shockers too, along with a CleavageWindow added in ''JSRF''.
** The Rapid 99 get bonus points for essentially not wearing any pants (having gone for tiny shorts), which cannot be good for rollerblading at all.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Rokkaku is variously pronounced as "roh-kah-koo" and "roh-kuhkoo" depending on the game and the cutscene.

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Graffiti removal is SeriousBusiness. For first-time offenders, a plainclothes cop skips the handcuffs and blows your head off with a magnum. Twice, and a [[UpToEleven SWAT team gets called in.]] Three times, and the [[SerialEscalation army]] starts to roll in with ''tanks and helicopter gunships''.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: The soundtrack, composed by Hideki Naganuma, incorporates elements of many genres such as rock, funk, and techno to make a very unique sound.

* AdaptationDyeJob: And how. Tab/Corn goes from brunette to blond (and so does Piranha/Boogie), Yoyo goes from being a redhead to having lime green hair, and Combo goes from having black hair to [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair blue hair]]. Not to mention everybody changes outfits, and most of the changes are pretty significant, too.

** The Rapid 99 get bonus points for essentially not wearing any pants (having gone for [[WhoWearsShortShorts tiny shorts]]), which cannot be good for rollerblading at all.

* ActionCommands: In the original game - and absent from ''JSRF'' - is a mechanic where large and xtra large grafitti tags require you to move the stick in the patterns the game indicates to successfully tag the wall. Characters with a higher Grafitti stat have a lower spray can {{cap}} and have to perform more complex commands to complete these tags, but they receive more points as a tradeoff.

* BareYourMidriff: Cube and Piranha.

** The Rapid 99 get bonus points for essentially not wearing any pants (having gone for [[Main/WhoWearsShortShorts tiny shorts]]), which cannot be good for rollerblading at all.

* BigApplesauce: Grind City. You can see the [[BrooklynRage Brooklyn Bridge]] from Bantam Street, though that stage is allegedly modeled on UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}}.

--> [[TheStinger "What's that? You think I just made all that up?"]]

* CastOfSnowflakes: The G.G.'s express this trope the best out of all the street gangs, as every member has their own distinct outfit and character model. The other gangs count when compared against each other, but their individual members all [[Main/YouALLLookFamiliar look like their fellow members]].

* EdibleThemeNaming: Probably unintentional, but some of the rudies have names like Beat (beet), (bubble)Gum, Corn and Garam (Malay for salt).

* GameplayGrading: Upon completing a level, you're given a ranking based on how many you got. They all share the theme of being related to mobility: from worst to best, there's Pedal, Motor, Engine, Turbo, Nitro, and finally Jet.

* GoodGunsBadGuns: The Rhinos are packing some serious heat: [=Mac-10s=] and dragonovs.

* {{Gonk}}: Soda, who despite wearing a coat covering half his face, is noticeably weirder-looking than his fellow skaters.

* GogglesDoNothing: Fairly ubiquitous amongst the cast, along with CoolShades.

* GratuitousJapanese: Gouji does this in the cutscene before his boss fight in JSRF.
* GrindBoots: The rudie's rollerblades automatically attach to metallic surfaces, allowing for seamless grinding on rails, with the player not having to worry about keeping their balance.

* NewGamePlus: In the original game, you return to Chapter 1 after completing the game, but retain any new team members you recruited and Grafitti Souls you collected.
* NintendoHard: Larger levels in the first game can be quite frustrating: you have to find and tag dozens of spots with graffiti, while collecting spraypaint cans (you can only hold between 15 and 30 as most characters, they're limited, some spots use up ''seven'' of them, and most levels towards the end of the game have at least one section with no cans at all) and running away from police, who will come at you in helicopters and on jetpacks even while you're tagging. On a time limit.

** In the first game, getting a Jet rank in all levels of a district nets you one of their gang members as a playable character; a Noise Tank for Benten-Cho, a Love Shocker for Shibuya-Cho, and a Poison Jam for Kogane-Cho. Grind City follows this with ''their'' gang leader, [[spoiler:Gouji Rokkaku]].

* SkateHeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth: Rails, rails and yet more rails.

** One of the songs in the game is actually CALLED "Sweet Soul Brother", and is aptly about one.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The GG's dog is "Potts" in the original releases of the first game, and "Pots" in ''Future'' and the HD rerelease.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Your solution to everything in this game is either a.) Rollerblading and/or B.) spray painting. This includes the final boss of ''JGR''; [[spoiler:he converts the roof of his office tower into a giant turntable, and to defeat him, you must grind rails to reach the adjoining towers and spray graffiti over his occult symbols]].

-->"Love broke their hearts, and now they're looking to do some ''breaking'' of their own!"

The original ''Jet Set Radio'' was re-released in full HD on Xbox Live Arcade, [=PlayStation=] Network, and PC in September 2012, netting the series a boost in popularity. It was also released on iOS and Android, but these versions have since been removed due to a percieved low quality from SEGA.

* CompanyCameo: In the first game, the semi-trucks have mudflaps reading "[[Creator/{{Sega}} SEGA]]", and [[BigApplesauce Grind City]] has signs advertising sega.com.

* LemmingCops: During the revisit to Benten, you can trigger a hidden scene in which dozens of pursuing Rokkaku sedans crash into a giant, flaming pileup.

* LocomotiveLevel: Sort of, in the sense that you're ''chasing after'' a locomotive robot.
* LonelyAtTheTop: At the conclusion of the game, Professor K speculates this might have been the case with Gouji Rokkaku.
* MadBomber: Assassin #4 has bombs strapped to his chest, though curiously he never uses them (his sidekicks, however, are [[SuicideAttack a different story]]). Instead, he specializes in lobbing [[MolotovCocktail molotovs]] and [[ExternalCombustion rigging cars to explode]].

* NintendoHard: Larger levels in the first game can be quite frustrating: you have to find and tag dozens of spots with graffiti, while collecting cans (you can only hold 20-25, they're limited, some spots use up ''nine'' of them, and often you'll go a while without seeing any) and running away from police, who will come at you in helicopters and on jetpacks even while you're tagging. Oh, and there's a time limit.

* PerkyGoth: ''JGR'''s token gaijin chick, Cube, wears a lot of Hot Topic gear.

* PowerTrio: Beat, Gum, and Tab/Corn initially comprise the GG's' gang. They also fit into the BlondeBrunetteRedhead trio; Gum is blonde, Tab is brunet [[HairColorDissonance (though whether his hair is brown or black is anyone's guess)]], and Beat is a redhead.

** The North American release of ''JGR'' contains an extra mission sandwiched between the two run-throughs of Tokyo-to.

* SealedEvilInACan: A record called the Devil's Contract in the first game. [[BigBad Rokkaku]] wants it so he can TakeOverTheWorld.
* SecretCharacter: More than one, the best one of course being [[spoiler:the dog, Potts.]]
* SequelHook: Both games have one at the end. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a follow up to ''Jet Set Radio Future''.

* SinisterSilhouettes: Gouji's son, as pictured in the ending sequence.
* SissyVillain: Hayashi. He sports a huge health bar, but is no more powerful than the regular Rokkaku mooks you face.

* SwissArmyWeapon: Player characters can use ''spraypaint'' to stun police officers, give their rollerblades a crazy boost, disable machinery, cover spotlights, disable bomb timers, operate switches, essentially anything they need done. In ''JSRF'', it just looks like spray paint, but is in actuality ''the soul of the streets''. Uh-huh.

* TitleScream: "'''JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'''" In the original North American version, the title was screamed by the ''VideoGame/CrazyTaxi'' announcer!

* TheMenInBlack: The Golden Rhinos. Professor K announces their arrival by referring to them as a new gang; it's plain to see, however, that they're working for Rokkaku Corp. Their 'graffiti' is merely Rokkaku advertisements plastered over your own tags.
* MercyInvincibility: You get a small grace period of invincibility after taking damage, which is quite helpful when getting chased by dogs, mooks with whips, and attack helicopters.

* PyroManiac: Both games feature a flamethrower assassin with a love for torching cities.

* RemixedLevel: The second half of ''JGR'' consists of beating the same three city districts again -- only ''this'' time, the maps aren't segmented into individual missions; you have to tag the entire district at once.

* AdaptationalVillainy: The Noise Tanks from the original ''Jet Set Radio'' were [[PlayfulHacker Playful Hackers]] who sold software to pay for their hobbies and were responsible for causing a blackout months before the game began. In ''Jet Set Radio Future'', the Noise Tanks are still mischievious, but are [[RetCon Retconned]] into cyborgs created by Rokkaku determined to destroy the [=GGs=].

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Yoyo in ''JSRF''. Later subverted when it’s revealed that he really was kidnapped the whole time, and the Noise Tanks had used [[EvilKnockoff NT-3000]] to make the [=GGs=] think he had turned on them.]]

* OddlySmallOrganization: The rival gangs have three members each. (Or at least we assume, since we only see three at once. It's likely that the other gangs are around the same size as the [=GG=]s.)

* PlayerHeadquarters: The [=GGs=]' garage. (Though it's more like an abandoned construction site in ''Future.'')

* PowerTrio: Beat, Gum, and Tab/Corn initially comprise the [=GG=]s gang. They also fit into the BlondeBrunetteRedhead trio; Gum is blonde, Tab is brunet [[HairColorDissonance (though whether his hair is brown or black is anyone's guess)]], and Beat is a redhead.

* SimilarSquad: Combo's gang on the other side of the Pacific also roller-skates and tags up the city. Chapter 2 begins with them joining the [=GGs=], where they fit right in.

** Professor K, though not out spraying with the [=GGs=], blasts funky music from his radio station.

* ThereWasADoor: Played for laughs in the first stage of Kogane. One method of crossing the river is plowing through a half-dozen plaster wall apartments. It's not until later that Garam shows you a cleaner route.

The original ''Jet Set Radio'' was re-released in full HD on Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and PC in September 2012, getting the series a newfound popularity. It was also released on iOS and Android, but these versions have since been removed due to a percieved low quality from SEGA.

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''Bomb Rush Cyberfunk'', is being developed by independent studio, Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes many of [=JSR=] style. The only difference is that game not only has the characters use roller blades, but bikes and skateboards as well, even free-running.

* ActionCommands: When "tagging", the larger the tag, the more commands. Totally absent in ''JSRF''.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: In ''JSRF'', several hidden characters are often nothing more than re-skins; despite having to get a "Jet" rank on several difficult challenges to play as minor characters and antagonists, several of them turn out to be pretty much the same thing. Note that it's not even subtle sometimes with certain combinations: Cube, [[spoiler: the ex-leader of Poison Jam]], is different only in clothes and color, even retaining the same skills and dances; the same applies for [=YoYo=], Beat and [[spoiler: their robot counterparts, who are identical save for different colors and an altered model respectively.]]

* BilingualBonus: Rude boy, rudeboy, rudie, rudi or rudy were common terms for juvenile delinquents and criminals in 1960s Jamaica, and have since been used in other contexts.
** [[spoiler: Gouji's final boss form in ''Future'', A.Ku.Mu, means "Nightmare" in Japanese.]]

* ChangingOfTheGuard: In ''JSR'', Yo-Yo is a character unlocked near the end of the first chapter. In ''Future'', he replaces Beat as the first person you play as and who has to go through the tutorial. Subverted as [[spoiler: he's kidnapped and rendered unplayable for about two-thirds of the game.]]

* ChekhovsGun: In Chapter 5 of ''Future'' you can see an evil-looking tower in the background. No attention is drawn to it, and no one mentions it, so you'd assume it to just be a background element, right? [[spoiler: Turns out it's the device used by the BigBad at the end of the game to absorb some sort of energy from the people of Tokyo-to, and sends you and them into an alternate dimension.]]

* ClusterFBomb: The song ''Rockin' the Mic'', which features a lot of S-bombs and N-bombs.

* ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding: The moment the military shows up, pedestrians magically vanish from the scene. Needless to say, this removes ([[MoralDissonance some]]) of the guilt associated with crashing helicopters into commercial buildings.

* CouldntFindAPen: Coin's final instructions to his friends before [[DyingClue dying]] were, fittingly enough, written in graffiti. It's a cryptic mural featuring rhinos, an airplane and arrow pointing to Tokyo-to. Presumably, the Rhinos didn't catch onto its meaning.

* DefeatMeansPlayable: The rival gangs (and even Gouji!), should you rack up enough points.

* DontTryThisAtHome: Both games on start-up display a message that, while graffiti is art, doing it as an act of vandalism is a crime.
* EdibleThemeNaming: Probably unintentional, but some of the rudies have names like Beat (beet), (bubble)Gum, Corn and Garam (Malay for salt）
* EgoPolis: The drive behind Rokkaku's crackdown on the streets is to pave the way for his "Rokkaku Expo", essentially branding everything with his logo.

-->'''Gouji:''' "The name of this tower is -- well, [[BlahBlahBlah blah-diddly-blah-blah.]] '''''ITS NAME IS IRRELEVANT!'''''"

* GondorCallsForAid: In the bonus mission (see RegionalBonus below), Combo and Cube are forced to flee Grind City after the Rokkaku kidnap the third member of their gang.
* {{Gonk}}: Soda, who despite wearing a coat covering half his face, is noticeably weirder looking than his fellow skaters.

* HandCannon: [[AllPsychologyIsFreudian Compensating for something]], Onishima?
* HiddenDepths: Call [[BigBad Gouji]] a CorruptCorporateExecutive all you want, but you ''have'' to admit; having turntablism skills so good that [[spoiler: you can both ''summon demons'' and '''''absorb the souls of Tokyo-to''''']] would ''not'' be something to gawk at.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Graffiti has the ability to blow up skyscrapers, helicopters and mecha on a regular basis. "Agh, spray paint, my only weakness."
* InASingleBound: All rudies can jump six to nine feet in the air from a standing position. Maybe justified because of the rocket-boots.

* InformedAttribute: The character profiles on the official Japanese site for ''JSR'' (as well as the [[http://beat.happydays.ro/post/102415841903 official Japanese guide)]] list a single defining characteristic and a favorite thing for each Rudie. But many of these traits aren't even [[AllThereInTheManual in the instruction manual]], never mind in the actual game. For example, Garam [[InformedFlaw is apparently short-tempered]] and Mew likes money.

* JetPack: Assasin #2 and his cronies have jetpacks, allowing them to rain gunfire on areas that other mooks can't. By far the most [[DemonicSpiders irritating enemies]] in the game.
* LargeHam: Rokakku Gouji is a modest [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnDTerbOGGo example.]] He's voiced by Creator/CharlesMartinet.
** Onishima, as well.
** LargeHamRadio: DJ Professor K, oh so very much.

* LeParkour: Assassin #5 isn't a big believer in stairs.

* LoadBearingBoss: Defeating Rokkaku causes his entire skyscraper to explode.

* {{Megacorp}}: Rokkaku Corporation. The logo is emblazoned on gas stations, satellite dishes, and trucks marked "[[BlandNameProduct Rokkaku Depot]]" (using the same typeface as Office Depot).
** Taken even further in ''Future'', where the Rokkaku symbol can be seen on street signs, hydro plants, and construction equipment.
* TheMenInBlack: The Golden Rhinos. Professor K announces their arrival by referring to them as a new gang; it's plain to see, however, that they're working for Rokkaku Corp. Their 'graffiti' is merely Rokkaku advertisements plastered over your own burners.
* MercyInvincibility: You get a small grace period of invincibility after taking damage, which is quite helpful when getting chased by the aforementioned attack helicopters.

** Also in ''Future'',[[spoiler: Potts]] shares an idle dance with the Noise Tanks, [[spoiler:the gang responsible for kidnapping him and connected to unlocking him]] in the original game.

* NewGamePlus: After beating the game once, you could play it again with a selection of new levels.
** Given the fact that you unlock a dozen characters ''after'' you finish the story, you have to wonder why this is absent in JSRF. At this point, all you can do is challenges or skating around levels already covered in your tags.

* OccidentalOtaku: Combo can be assumed to be this. He has a yen necklace, has no trouble speaking to the GG's, and very likely got the idea for his gang from the various gangs around Tokyo. And it's not like they couldn't have changed his necklace in the western release(Cube got an entire redesign for the west).

* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler: When Rokkaku transforms into A.KU.MU during your BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind.]]

* PoliceAreUseless: When assassins with guns and firebombing-throwing terrorists go after you, the police are nowhere to be seen. One intro states that they're too scared to even touch them.

* PowerTrio: Beat, Gum, and Tab/Corn initially comprise the [=GG=]s gang.
** As well as BlondeBrunetteRedhead. (Gum is blonde, Tab is brunet [[HairColorDissonance (though whether his hair is brown or black is anyone's guess)]], and Beat is a redhead.

* RegionalBonus: The North American release of ''JGR'' contains an extra mission sandwiched between the two run-throughs of Tokyo-to.

* RemixedLevel: The second half of ''JGR'' consists of beating the same three city districts again -- only ''this'' time, the maps aren't segmented into individual missions; You have to tag the entire district at once.

* SailorEarth: Combo's gang on the other side of the Pacific.

* SavingTheWorldWithArt: Both games are initially about rollerskating around and tagging over the graffiti of other roller gangs. Halfway through the game, there's a shift and you start tagging the art of the [[EvilInc Rokkaku Group]], becoming TheLastDJ and resisting the evil group. In the end, you manage to defeat the final boss [[spoiler: who is a demon summoned by the CorruptCorporateExecutive]] using nothing but your graffiti.
** The sequel has you doing all of the above as well, but the graffiti can now be used to cure poison and purify the streets.
* ScoringPoints: ''Deceptively'' important -- Earning a "Jet" ranking in each level is the key to unlocking characters. Tagging and performing stunts adds to your score, as does completing the level with lots of time left on the clock.
** Though all it does in Jet Set Radio Future is unlock some of the Graffiti Souls.

* SecretCharacter: More than one, the best one of course being [[spoiler: the dog, Potts.]]

* SerialEscalation: The Police in both games will keep resorting to more ridiculous and deadly means to stop the graffiti issue. When you deploy an prototype combat mecha piloted by a psychotic detective to squish one teenager, you know you've gone a tad insane.
* ShabbyHeroesWellDressedVillains: In both games, the normal/modified clothes of the GG's and other gangs are contrasted with the {{Elite Mook}}s of Golden Rhinos, dressed with [[TheMenInBlack black suits and ties]], and the BigBad Gouji Rokkaku, which is a ManOfWealthAndTaste.
* ShoutOut: Surprisingly, to [[Series/GakiNoTsukaiYaArahende Downtown]]'s Hamada and Matsumoto of all things. The original ''Jet Set Radio'' (and its remakes) feature an XL-size graffiti of Hamada giving Matsumoto the DopeSlap as per their trademark.

** "That's Enough" repeats the phrase "Comin' at ya," popularized in [[TheNineties 90's]] Hip Hop songs like ""How I Could Just Kill a Man" by Music/CypressHill and "Shame On A Nigga" by Music/WuTangClan.

* SoulBrotha: Professor K epitomizes this trope.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: The obvious example is Onishima/Hayashi, who are basically interchangeable as detectives trying to stop the Rudies running wild. Hayashi's only defining feature is how bonkers he is.

* SummonBackupDancers: During the final battle with Rokkaku, gyrating cage dancers are suspended from revolving cranes.
* SwissArmyWeapon: Player characters can use ''spray paint'' to stun police officers, give their rollerblades a crazy boost, disable machinery, cover spotlights, disable bomb timers, operate switches.....
** In ''JSRF'', it just looks like spray paint. In actuality, it's ''the soul of the streets''. Uh-huh.

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: The final boss of ''JGR'' converts the roof of his office tower into a giant turntable. To defeat him, you must grind rails to reach the adjoining towers and spray graffiti over his occult symbols.
** Your solution to everything in this game is either a.) Rollerblading and/or B.) spray painting.

* WhiteGangBangers: Some of the gangs qualify. Poison Jam are a good example, and they also worked for an Asian boss for a while. The main characters are a mix of ethnicities, including White, Black, Japanese and possibly other kinds of Asian (Beat is Korean, at least according to a popular {{Fanon}} theory).

* YouALLLookFamiliar: Not only there are a limited number of pedestrian designs, but each pedestrian of a particular design exclaims the exact same thing when bumped into. Every. Single. Time. One level features dozens of women in identical orange jumpsuits in rows (presumably doing morning exercises or something) that all exclaim "Ah! He touched my butt!" in comically high voices.

* FingerlessGloves Beat wears these in the first game, though in Jet Set Radio Future, he wears full gloves. In ''JSRF'', Yoyo wears fingerless gloves.

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''Bomb Rush Cyberfunk'', is being developed by independent studio, Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes many of [=JSR=] style. The only difference is that game focuses on free-running rather than rollerblading.

A SpiritualSuccessor, ''Bombrush Cyberfunk'', is being developed by independent studio, Team Reptile (''VideoGame/LethalLeague''), which apes many of [=JSR=] style. The only difference is that game focuses on free-running rather than rollerblading.

* AfroAsskicker: The Golden Rhinos each look they they've stepped out of a Tarantino film, with seventies hair and [[BadassMustache mustaches]].