Review: "I'm on a Mexican...Radio..."
The transition from console hit to portable triumph is difficult and often painful. Sometimes the games wind up being nothing more than licensed fluff. Sometimes they wind up being a convoluted mess that is so hard to see that you just give up in frustration. Other times, precious few other times, the game becomes a gem, a diamond in the rough, if you will. The development crew at Vicarious Visions seem to have discovered the formula that turns lead into gold as everything they handle seems to shine. First they worked their magic with bringing Tony Hawk to the GBA and now they've done it again with Jet Grind Radio.
Based off of the hit Dreamcast smash and the Xbox sequel, Jet Grind Radio puts you on the streets of Tokyo-to, skating to the tunes spun by Professor K and tagging the walls of the city. The entire premise of the game is built around non-violent competition between in-line skating street gangs, where the dominant posse is that most skilled with a can of spray paint. Of course, rival gangs aren't the only thing standing in your way of ruling the streets. Captain Onimusha, a surly street cop, has it in for all of the skate-punks roaming the streets and will use any means necessary to stop you in your tracks. Sometimes he calls for a bit of overkill but you have to give him an 'A' for effort.
Much like in the console adaptations of Jet Set Radio, Jet Grind Radio on the GBA incorporates a few unique gameplay elements that set it apart from the crowd. While skating around town and picking up items (spray cans) is nothing out of the ordinary, using them to spray paint a wall is a little bit different. After approaching a paintable surface, indicated by an arrow floating overhead, you enter a paint mode wherein you use the GBA's d-pad to put your tag on the town. It is a great deviation from the typical go here, go there gameplay and it is executed near-flawlessly. To make the game a little bit more personal, Jet Grind Radio gets a little bit more unique and lets you design your own graffiti tags. It is a little bit time consuming, but is a great way to make the game your own.
The greatest achievement of Jet Grind Radio is the fantastic translation that the gameplay made in the transition to the Game Boy Advance. All of the action and excitement of it's console counterparts made the jump well and the stylized graphics help keep the entire package looking slick. Speaking of how the game looks, the isometric camera perspective is a double edged sword in Jet Grind Radio. On the one hand it allows the system to recreate 3D gameplay in a 2D environment without sacrificing gameplay. On the other hand it makes some of the environmental elements impossible to see, especially staircases and rails that are unfortunately positioned. Everything else is sharp as a tack and, although it can be a bit small, the game looks fantastic.
Now, for a game that touts the stylings of it's own DJ, Jet Grind Radio's audio department is a bit of a letdown. All of the audio tracks are repetitive and never seem to go anywhere while the in-game sound effects are few and far between. Of course this means little when you can just turn the volume way down and pop in your favorite Atari's record to accompany your playing experience. I find that providing your own tunes are especially nice when playing against three of your friends in a little game of tag.
