How a piece of Japanese counterculture was saved by a Dutch game developer.
If any video game just screams "2000s", it's certainly Sega's Jet Set Radio and – to a lesser extent – its sequel Jet Set Radio Future from 2002. The cel-shaded adventures of the graffiti-tagging inline skaters of the GG gang just had an undeniable charm to them you really couldn't find anywhere else.
Although Sega eventually announced a successor in 2023, for years it seemed the franchise's appeal was too bound to its original era to justify a true sequel. That perception changed in 2021, however, with the surprise release of a spiritual successor by a small Dutch development team.
Vision Of A Funky Future
The idea for Jet Set Radio originated at Sega's Smilebit studio in the late 1990s, with director Masayoshi Kikuchi and art director Ryuta Ueda envisioning a stylish game that captured the rebellious energy of Tokyo's youth culture. Inspired by graffiti, hip-hop, and the emerging extreme sports scene, the team wanted something radically different from Sega's traditional arcade hits, which would be underscored with Hideki Naganuma's iconic eclectic soundtrack.
When Jet Set Radio launched for Sega Dreamcast in 2000, it was the first game to use cel-shaded graphics, giving it a bold, cartoon-like aesthetic which would prove very influential. Players controlled a graffiti-tagging gang called the GG's, rollerblading through a futuristic version of Tokyo while evading police and rival crews. Its unique fast-paced action-platforming gameplay was contextualized in a story about freedom of expression versus authoritarian control.
While it never reached blockbuster sales, Jet Set Radio became a critical darling, praised for its artistry and innovation. Sega released a sequel, Jet Set Radio Future, on Xbox in 2002, refining the controls and expanding the world. Regrettably, neither game was a commercial hit, though they did develop a loyal cult following, something which would eventually manifest in a spiritual successor decades later.
Nostalgia For Rebellion
Dutch indie studio Team Reptile, best known before for their Lethal League games, aimed to create a love letter to the street-culture games of the early 2000s. Led by director Dion Koster, who also handled character design, story direction, and even motion-capture dancing, the studio wanted to channel the rebellious energy of skating, graffiti, and hip-hop culture in a modern setting, eventually resulting in the release of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.
During development, Team Reptile built Bomb Rush Cyberfunk in Unity, carefully shaping its cel-shaded visual identity to stand out while paying homage to its inspirations. The process involved close collaboration between art, music, and animation teams, ensuring every aspect of the game moved in rhythm with its soundtrack. The team even experimented with a rhythm-focused dancing system before setting it aside, highlighting how important music was to the project.
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk was first released digitally for Nintendo Switch and PC (Windows via Steam) on August 18, 2023, with subsequent releases for PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/Series X|S on September 1, 2023. Team Reptile self-published across those platforms, with physical editions releasing later that same year.
Rush Of Renewed Adrenaline
In Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, players once again join a graffiti crew in a sprawling, cel-shaded city where style, movement, and creativity are central to progression. The core premise blends traversal across skateboards, BMX bikes, and inline skates with the act of tagging graffiti to claim territory. The game encourages chaining tricks, grinds, and wall-runs into fluid combos, all synchronized with its energetic soundtrack also composed by Hideki Naganuma.
The story follows protagonist Red, a graffiti artist who starts the game with a cybernetic head after an accident, joining up with a new crew to uncover his past. Players explore districts of the futuristic city of New Amterdam, battling rival gangs for control of turf while evading an oppressive police force. Themes of identity, self-expression, and freedom in the face of authoritarianism echo through the narrative just as they did in its spiritual predecessor.
Compared to Jet Set Radio, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk elaborates on the graffiti-tagging and territory-control mechanics by expanding mobility, letting players switch between multiple vehicle types. Its trick system is deeper, focusing on style-driven combos and boosts, while also allowing for more vertical and interconnected level design, making Bomb Rush Cyberfunk both an effective homage and a refinement.
Yearning For More
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk received generally positive reviews, praised particularly for capturing the aesthetic energy, soundtrack, and spirit of Jet Set Radio. At the same time, some fans of the original argued that the title may have stuck a little bit too close to its template, suggesting that, while strong in style, the game's story and gameplay felt a bit too derivative. In general though, the release can be considered a success.
Consequently, Team Reptile has signaled that they want to expand the game's world and concepts, something which concretely resulted in the 2025 announcement of Hyperfunk, a follow-up that leans further into multiplayer and expanded stylized features. Along with featuring online crew battles, the sequel promises to be more ambitious in scope than its predecessor.
As for Jet Set Radio, there's an undeniable possibility that the hype surrounding Bomb Rush Cyberfunk following its initial reveal may have contributed to Sega's decision to announce the revitalization of the brand in 2023. While only little information regarding the in-development project has surfaced as of yet, if Hyperfunk takes advantage of its own distinctions, one could easily envision a future where the original franchise its spiritual successor can coexist.