Jet Set Radio 3 Trailer Fully Leaked, Full Reveal Coming Soon?

 Written by Shaun Castillo

In-game screenshot of Beat, Gum & Combo in the next Jet Set Radio from Sega.

As the prime time of games reveals begins, all sorts of rumors and leaks are propping up on all corners of the internet.  Just recently, those leaks have gotten us some never-before-seen footage of the newest Jet Set Radio game. 

Since its reveal in 2022, Sega has been radio silent on any and all news regarding the newest entry in the long-dormant Jet Set Radio franchise, which hasn't had a new release since Jet Set Radio: Future in 2002.  

With the new footage that's just been revealed, we now have a clear look at the new art style and redesigns in motion with some early looks at cinematic shots and cutscenes from the game.  These give us our first clear look at our series staple characters, such as DJ Professor K, Beat, Gum, Combo, and the Noise Tanks, who appear to be making a comeback. 

Now, the footage that has been leaked is still an early development showcase, and it's pretty evident in some parts of the leak. Despite that, we still get some great insight into what we’re going to be getting in the future.

Old screenshot from the Game Awards trailer of Beat in the upcoming Jet Set Radio.

Firstly, the biggest new feature that stuck out to me was the fully animated cutscenes.  While not new for the series, it looks as though they may be fully voice acted and not wholly centered around the narrations of Professor K.  Although, that isn't confirmed and is purely my own speculation. 

Still, it would be an interesting change that brings about more speculation into the story and its relative depth compared to the previous entries.  With possibly fully voiced cutscenes and the big emphasis placed on a smaller cast of characters, it is possible we may be getting a more character-driven story with the GGs being bigger players in the events, which would be a step up over the previous formula of the GGs existing within the world as the bad guys overrun the city before the end requires them to actually fight back properly beyond drawing a gorilla on the back of a porta-potty.

Beyond what got leaked recently, we also got gameplay footage leaked back in 2024 that's also very interesting and plays into some of what we saw in the new leak just recently.

It's not too clear how it will play or even whether it takes inspiration from the arcady format of the original Jet Set Radio, the mission objective structure in Future, or if instead this new entry is planning on changing the gameplay format entirely. 

In-game screenshot of DJ Professor K in the upcoming Jet Set Radio.

Based on my speculation, it looks like we’re going back to the open world of Future across the whole sprawling city of Tokyo-to based on the preview of the map.  It also looks like the level design has a much bigger emphasis on its verticality, as seen in the many shots depicting tricking over the city streets or the character climbing lamp poles to reach higher areas, which seems to be a new move to potentially replace the vertical grinding seen in Jet Set Radio: Future. 

It also appears as though the tricking may be more in-depth, or at least similar to Future's two-button style of tricking.  Either way, the animations look super smooth and very satisfying.  Hopefully with a better look in a more official capacity, we can really appreciate the look and feel of the gameplay as the flow of movement is super important to this series.

Other smaller snippets of early gameplay depict new moves such as the aforementioned pole climbing, ladder climbing, a brand new double jump, and potentially a dodge roll to avoid enemy attacks.  A dodge does bring some speculation into the possibility of combat, as that was one aspect of Jet Set Radio that's always been present, but not really too much of a focus, or at least very half-baked in the case of Future.  It appears to be making some sort of comeback through just these leaks, but it's too soon to tell anything of legitimate value.

Another old in-game screenshot of Beat in the upcoming Jet Set Radio.

I, for one, think it looks like it's shaping up to be a good time and am excited to see more of this new Jet Set Radio in the future. We may end up getting a look in the upcoming Summer Games Fest Opening Showcase tomorrow.  We will just have to wait and see.

Have you seen the new leaks?  What do you hope to see in the next Jet Set Radio game?  Do you think the official announcement will come at Summer Games Fest?  Let us know in the comments below!