Roller Champions and Jet Set Radio Collide in a Disappointing Crossover

The recent Ubisoft Forward presentation offered a diverse range of exciting content, including the highly anticipated Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora gameplay trailer and release date announcement, as well as several Assassin's Creed games and the thrilling Star Wars: Outlaws. Amidst all the announcements, Roller Champions, Ubisoft's live-service, free-to-play sports game released in May 2022, received a small but noteworthy update. Despite failing to make a significant impact on launch and struggling to maintain player engagement, with a peak player count of just 134 on Steam Charts, Roller Champions is receiving a crossover DLC with Jet Set Radio. However, this crossover misses the mark in a few ways and highlights the game's obvious shortcomings.

Roller Champions' Jet Set Radio Crossover Is Disappointing For Fans

Despite its critical success and dedicated fan-base, the Jet Set Radio franchise has yet to see a new release in over 20 years. While rumors of a remake or new sequel continue to circulate every few years, Sega has instead opted for various crossovers with other titles, leaving fans longing for a true new entry in the series. From guest appearances in Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed to recent titles like Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, Jet Set Radio fans have been left waiting for a return to the vibrant and stylized world they fell in love with.

The integration of Jet Set Radio into Ubisoft's Roller Champions has been met with disappointment. Despite the characters Beat and Gum making an appearance in the game, the art style lacks the iconic cel-shading that made Jet Set Radio so beloved. While rollerskating is a key element in Jet Set Radio, the crossover falls flat and lacks any of the soul that fans have come to expect from the franchise. Although fans have been clamoring for a new game in the series, they have been given crossovers like this one instead. It feels like a half-hearted attempt to resuscitate a failing game, and it's clear that Sega knows fans are hungry for new Jet Set Radio content. However, without a new game, fans are likely to lose interest and move on. The crossover might have been more successful if the franchise had a recent release, but unfortunately, that is not the case.

Roller Champions is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, GeForce Now, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.