Which game did you prefer more between Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Jet Set Radio? (2025)

I had played the Jet Set Radio games in 2022 then Bomb Rush Cyberfunk when it released in 2023. Went back and spent 2 hours with Jet Set Radio Future and I have to admit, I think Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is the better game.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is without a doubt the better feeling game and it only makes sense considering it came out 21 years after Jet Set Radio Future. In Jet Set Radio, once you jump, there's a stiffness/lack of control while your character is in the air, it's more realistic but it doesn't feel great to play. The other thing that Bomb Rush Cyberfunk has over Jet Set Radio is player expression. You have tricks (albeit only three) tied to buttons, multiple mobility options with bikes, skateboards, and skates, and you can even get off any of them and just walk/run around.

The level design in the Jet Set Radio series is far more creative while in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk it's more grounded in reality. The soundtrack in both games is varied but I'd say Jet Set Radio is more alternative/electronic while Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is more hip hop/funk.

I personally prefer the level design in Jet Set Radio but prefer the soundtrack in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.

Bomb Rush definitely controls better, though I don't know if I really like the spray paint system (though JSR isn't that outstanding either)

Level design not sure about. Certain city locations in JSR are great, but BRC has that indoor mall, the pyramid, that long river area, blah blah. Lots of great places.

I think JSR is very nostalgic so it's hard to judge it fairly. It's also a much older game and limited by hardware, so I don't know if it's fair to say BRC is 'better' but more a great interpretation of what a modern JSR would look and play like.

Characters in JSR are iconic but I'm a Bel, Vinyl, Rise, Coil, and Solace stan.

I honestly don't know what I prefer.

Of course BRC feels a thousand times better to play but I think they made it kind of too easy to do things. It's nice that it feels more chill but I don't think that goes with the spirit of things.

I also think JSR still looks better visually. The colours pop more and the character designs are iconic. The music between them is just as good though although I think BRC benefits from a much better diversity of artists.

Mandos said:

Was curious to get some thoughts on Bomb Rush. Been waiting for a sale(still had a bitter taste and hesitancy from the Hover fiasco)

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I played Hover, it and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk should never be uttered in the same breadth. lol

Also not sure. I loved JGR on my Dreamcast as a kid but then when I revisited on the Vita the gameplay aged really poorly for me. JSRF I loved even more, but I haven't played it in almost 20 years 🤯

Bomb Rush is great *now*, which I can't say for sure is true of the original 2 Jet Sets. Very few issues with BRC such as too damn many cops which I think you should be able to toggle off at least post-credits.

Darkwing Duck said:

I played Hover, it and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk should never be uttered in the same breadth. lol

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Only game I ever backed on kickstarter. Made me paranoid of claims of a JSR spiritual successor ever since

JSRF.

I still need to finish Bomb Rush but I'm finding it pretty difficult at times, also I prefer the music in JSRF more.

JSR. I replayed it and JSRF last year and was frustrated with both, but still enjoying the graphics, music, and general vibes. JSRF felt more "gritty" in a sense, but both games were hard to control. And with JSRF, sometimes it wasn't clear where to go, and I fell off the stages a lot.

I am enjoying Bomb Rush Cyberfunk quite a bit since I just picked it up for PS5. I feel like it would control better with an Xbox or Switch Pro controller, but that's just a personal nitpick. But I do like the graphics, music, and general vibes. It controls much better than JSR and JSRF, but it's also very unclear of where to go or what to do a good amount of the time. In a sense, it's faithful to the source material to a fault. Lol.

But I do like all 3 games. And I'm looking forward to the JSR revival later down the line.

Mandos said:

Only game I ever backed on kickstarter. Made me paranoid of claims of a JSR spiritual successor ever since

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You have nothing to worry about with Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, it's such a polished experience. I'd be interested to hear your first impressions after you pick it up.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk With Mods is like the best thing since sliced bread.

Really hope Team Reptile has been paying attention, Wall Plants/Wall kicks and switching from your skates to barefoot on the fly should be in the sequel from the jump. No BS required to activate it.

I haven't played JSR in years but I don't understand how people love Bomb Rush.

It's fine, but incredibly shallow mechanically and carried by strong art direction. It also has the worst "combat" of any game I played in 2023. How the fuck it made the final release I don't know.

Cheat Code said:

I haven't played JSR in years but I don't understand how people love Bomb Rush.

It's fine, but incredibly shallow mechanically and carried by strong art direction. It also has the worst "combat" of any game I played in 2023. How the fuck it made the final release I don't know.

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That's exactly how I felt about Stray. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is the perfect skate and chill game while enjoying the vibes.

Bomb Rush is way too easy for my taste. The manual completely trivializes the game imo.

I prefer the first Jet Set Radio because its more difficult and less automated than Future and Bomb Rush.

nachum00 said:

Bomb Rush is way too easy for my taste. The manual completely trivializes the game imo.

I prefer the first Jet Set Radio because its more difficult and less automated than Future and Bomb Rush.

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This is something I was going to cover in the main post but forgot about.

Yes, it is trivially easy and I wish there was a simple (how it works now) and advanced mode. I'm really good at THPS but was still able to greatly enjoy BRC despite how easy it was.

Jet Set Radio is a perfect arcade experience. Locking you into place for graffiti makes spraying art a commitment, which makes it more tense as the cops close in on you. The narrative framework of Professor K giving you updates on the story after each mission makes cutscenes feel like a reward, and it helps that they're thoroughly entertaining because of him while never overstaying their welcome. The character designs are great, the music is great, the levels are vibrant and creative.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk already kinda starts on the wrong foot by borrowing SO heavily from JSR/JSRF both in aesthetic and structure that it virtually has no identity of its own. The movement does feel good in that game, but it's SO easy to rack up points that it never feels rewarding, especially when every other mission is just racking up points. Police not showing up until after you're basically done with a level makes it so that there's no tension whatsoever traversing any level, but that might be for the best because holy HELL are they annoying in this game. Not only that, but the game constantly interrupts you with cutscenes, either to show you that the cops are getting angrier or to shove this stupid plot in your face that they both clearly don't take seriously but isn't funny or cool enough to justify how much they bombard you with it.

I'm still obsessing over JSR decades later, but I struggled to get through BCR. I wish I liked that game, but there's not even a single music track I can think to go back and listen to or even a character design that clicked with me. The story didn't even have anything interesting to say. Somehow, an early 2000s arcade-like skate game by the Sega Corporation felt more lively, punk, and rebellious with more to say than a straight indie project like BCR.

I didn't get on with the Bomb Rush level design at all. It often left me wondering looking at icons wondering how to get to them and the answer was because their level design meant I didn't know (for example) that the train station entrance was the first warp style door you encounter.

I also didn't like the soundtrack not being particularly family friendly, my kids like Jet Set too.

Story also not my bag. Seemed to be trying too hard for my taste. I just wanted more Jet Set.

BRC is a loving, well crafted tribute, but as I was playing and when I finished, my thoughts were pretty much "these guys really loved Jet Set Radio Future, huh?" and that's about it. The level design wasn't as strong, and the story felt like it was alllllmost about to do something really interesting and cool but ultimately didn't have that much bite to it in spite of being way more up-front and spelling more out. Won't say much about the music quality yet, whether that "sticks" needs a lot more time to tell, but it did feel like it lacked the variety I would expect from a JSR.

BRC's trick system is pretty cool though, and I liked having more variety in things to do/collect while exploring.

Bossking said:

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My man. This ^^^