Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

[Pissmaster]

I'm not one to shame piracy but this is a fully independent game that took the devs over four years of work... no disrespect if you're poor, but if you've got the money to spend, put it where it counts. fund based games. this one is hella worth it

I would if it were $20. Even Hi-Fi Rush was cheaper.

 

[AbduluCthuluZulu]

I legitimately thought this game was gonna be vaporware. I'll wait until the reviews are in to buy it or not.

There's already tons user and curator reviews out for it. Who exactly are you waiting for?

 

[Jerkedupasshole]

There's already tons user and curator reviews out for it. Who exactly are you waiting for?

I trust steam reviews like I trust a hooker to not have an std. A few of my friends are getting it and I'll wait for the verdict.

 

[I'm Retarded?]

man, normally I take my time with games and play them in short-ish sessions, but this one I straight up chugged over the weekend. 12 hours for story completion, now there are a bunch of bonus characters to unlock, as well as the score/graffiti achievements. it never slowed down or got boring, each successive zone was more and more impressive. of all the games I've played this year, this one was on another level of accomplishment in a way that's hard to describe. it's an artistically ambitious game that manages to bullseye just about everything it tries to do (except for the super cheesy final cutscene). I know all the AIDS awards are going to give GOTY to BG3 or fucking Starfield but this one is at the front of my noms.

 

[topsykrets]

Cool game. It's way too easy though, gameplay feels like it targets a younger audience. Small gripe, if you're going to have unlockable skins for characters don't just make them recolors at least give me a different tshirt design or anything to make it feel actually worth getting. Also here's an idea for a sequel, Bust A Groove style minigame, I can't be the only one who wants another rhythm fighter right?

 

[elrond hubbard]

anyone saying the non naganuma tracks dont fuck hard is a brain dead retard, they even stayed true to jsrf form w condensed milk as an unlistenable song to rival birthday cake

 

[You gain Brouzouf]

Game is great so far. I put a played a lot of Lethal League/Blaze so I was looking forward to this since it's announcement.
Seeing them nail the execution on something so unlike their previous games is really cool.
My only gripe is with the soundtrack and it's not even that it's bad but that some of the tracks just feel a little out of place.
It's hard to put into words why exactly but the way it feels to me is, JSR's ost was definitely of it's time (not in a bad way) but also captured what I can only describe as 90's/2000's futurism on a lot of the tracks.
BRC has the futurism, but it's mostly supplied by 2 Mello and Hideki Naganuma while some of the other tracks feel like they are specifically trying to emulate specific styles from the early 90's.
Clearest example I can think of is Bounce Upon A Time, which feels like it's trying to do a G Funk thing and just feels out of place to me.
Soundtrack is still great there are just some songs I wish I could have skipped over right away because they just felt off to me.
Besides that minor gripe the game scratches my JSR itch and then some. It'd be cool if they could build on this and expand the mechanics or scope of any potential future games to further differentiate BRC from JSR.

anyone saying the non naganuma tracks dont fuck hard is a brain dead retard, they even stayed true to jsrf form w condensed milk as an unlistenable song to rival birthday cake

I will hear no more of this, Birthday Cake is a banger. I can't understand a word she says while she's screeching like a banshee during the chorus and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Spiral Architect]

Fun game. Soundtrack is fucking hilarious, in a good way. My boy Naganuma yet again decided to sample Stokely Carmichael speech, in fact the exact same one. And of course, it's the best track in the game.
Also:
ASS
ASS
ASS
ASS

 

[Coolio55]

Uh oh! Stinky!

 

[Pissmaster]

Well, I played it a bit, and my overall feeling so far: The game itself is mediocre and uncomfortably anachronistic.

It's not great. Yeah, skating around feels exactly like Jet Set Radio. The characters look and move like Jet Set Radio characters. Transitioning between running around and skateboarding is seamless. The new movements for doing graffiti are more stylish and interesting than the stick prompts in JSR. But the game isn't nearly as colorful or vivid as JSR, and the plot's kind of.. weird. Not that JSR had much of a plot in and of itself, but DJ Professor K and his upbeat attitude emceeing the game is sorely missed here.

Here's a random sampling of DJ Professor K's dialog, backed by quintessential JSR music:

The whole thing just kind of rings hollow. Ten minutes into the game and the plot is set up with the protagonist getting decapitated, and then a whole conversation between him and the gang leader occurs where it's discussed how he actually died, but then they replaced his head with a cyberhead, like it's no big deal. So are they robots, or in a much more advanced world, or...? Anyway, the macguffin is the protagonist's head, which they have to go get back. He's also given a 2000s-style flip phone, to really punctuate that Y2K style they're going for.

There is a Tumblr blog I've read through, the Y2K Aesthetic Institute, that posts a bunch of images of things with Y2K stylings. That's been a nostalgia trend recently, because that aesthetic reflected a certain optimism and excitement about a future that wouldn't actually happen. Before the bland glossy white look of the iPod, and eventually every cellphone being a boring flat slate, electronics embraced interesting shapes and translucent plastic:

Spoiler: Plenty of music videos embraced this aesthetic, too

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk really tries to ape this style, but it rings hollow. There is no artistic vision beyond "Let's make Jet Set Radio 3". There are plenty of good games that've been built off the backs of classics, but the best of those always use them as foundations, and build something of their own. The most well made one I can think of is Shovel Knight, clearly built on top of Mega Man's NES entries, but it has a distinct style and feel that's reminiscent of Mega Man. The Binding of Isaac takes things from The Legend of Zelda, but it's not even the same genre as its foundation. Both Shovel Knight and Isaac are games that can stand on their own. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk can only be compared to JSR. It is impossible to talk about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk without bringing up Jet Set Radio.

I don't think I'm gonna play any further, or at least not for a long time. There's already needless cussing and a tranny flag, both hallmarks of vapid paint-by-numbers millenial writers. Even the central hub is a copy of the one in JSRF, except with very downtempo 2020s music you'd hear not in JSR, but on something like that lo-fi hiphop stream.

Here's the central hub music in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk:

Here's the central hub music in Jet Set Radio:

Speaking of which, here's the pinned comment from the artist of the hub music song:


Nothing against the artist, of course, but the torrent of emojis punctuating their gushing excitement over getting featured in a game is delightfully iconic of how counterfeit the game's aesthetics feel. A 2020s hiphop tune with a very 2020s word of thanks in a game sold on nostalgia from over 20 years ago. It's like if Roundabout, a game designed around 1970s aesthetics, featured dubstep because it came out in 2014.

Bad game, don't buy. $40, lmfao.

 

[Coolio55]

There are plenty of good games that've been built off the backs of classics, but the best of those always use them as foundations, and build something of their own.

Anther good example is Shantae. They practically had "Capcom and Konami, please hire us!" scrolling on the HUD at all times and yet it unmistakably had a strong vision of it's own.

It's like if Roundabout, a game designed around 1970s aesthetics, featured dubstep because it came out in 2014.

I almost completely forgot about Roundabout. I saw Pewdiepie playing it near the end of my period of watching him and groaned at the obvious fact that the developers had spent more time making shitty skits than making the actual game. I remember it flashing in the back of my mind when Gamergate was in full swing. It was *that* sort of comedy. Something that Zoe Quinn or the Frog Fraction guys would thoughtlessly fart out.
Also the game is a cheap clone of the Kururin series which is a must-play if you want some authentic y2k.

The characters look and move like Jet Set Radio characters.

Is the prominently featured afro negress with the ice cream hair just an outlier?

 

[elrond hubbard]

Uh oh! Stinky!
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Theres also Dago Records and Spicy Shrimp has the y faded out from weathering

 

[BigKant]

Alright

Spoiler: Pro Gamer Tips

Take the corners on rails so you can increase your multypier and score, do manuals if you are on the ground to make your combo last till you can get to the next rail.

 

[I'm Retarded?]

Bad game, don't buy. $40, lmfao.

I'll agree with you on the DJ Professor K thing, but the argument about it being derivative holds considerably less weight when you consider that the Jet Set Radio series was an anomalous cultural splash that lasted two games (the GBA port doesn't count) - which are different enough in execution to be two different takes on the style, IMO - which are both over 20 years old now. other than Hover, there's really never even been an attempt anything meaningfully similar before or since. furthermore, "tricks" games are fairly rare these days, and the ones that exist almost exclusively focus on the technical aspect rather than blasting around big spaces at maximum speed. this isn't an overcrowded genre like "open world survival crafting" or "metroidvania".

I also don't agree that trying to make a direct sequel to somebody else's game is necessarily a creatively bankrupt enterprise. BRC has several aspects that are notably unique from JSRF, like the improved movement system, the more ambitious level design, and an excellently curated soundtrack that has similar spirit but a very different sound from either JSR game. even Hideki doesn't sound like he did back in 2002. these things may have used JSRF as an anchor point, but they're considerably beyond a brainless copy/paste job.

finally, I definitely disagree with the notion that it's somehow anachronistic or counterfeit simply because it selectively uses parts of an inherited aesthetic and joins them with various modern elements. JSR's style may be from a certain time period but its appeal is timeless. this is the point of many of the retro genres - in the days these games were made, their successes were quickly abandoned simply for the sake of technological progress or pursuit of commercial success. yes, the flip phone is deliberately evocative, but it reads more to me like a small stylistic nod. overall the game itself is not trying to be from a certain era; it's an eclectic mish-mash of cool shit.

the story did suck though, especially the end.

Uh oh! Stinky!
View attachment 5296644View attachment 5296645

I've nearly 100%ed the game and I never once noticed this. besides, eurofags have a handicap when it comes to this shit. the only part that set off my weird-dar was the character who admits to being a masochist clearly getting some degree of sexual satisfaction from being trapped in small places, but the other characters openly call him a degenerate and shun him. it's not a political game.

 

[Car Won't Crank]

While I understand paying homage to great games of yore with a near copy, I will have to pass for the same reason I didn't buy Project Wingman, which is a sort of tribute to Ace Combat. The trend of remakes in both movies and games is so tiring. Media in general feels so stagnant now.

 

[Scarthew]

While I understand paying homage to great games of yore with a near copy, I will have to pass for the same reason I didn't buy Project Wingman, which is a sort of tribute to Ace Combat. The trend of remakes in both movies and games is so tiring. Media in general feels so stagnant now.

Game sequels always do better than movie sequels because upgrading works. Remakes are certainly tired but sequels aren't and spiritual sequels have potential to upgrade far more since they aren't locked by the specs of the original.