Crazy Taxi

aka: Crazy Taxi Classic
Moby ID: 3575
Arcade Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/28 12:10 PM )

Description official descriptions

Crazy Taxi is an arcade-like racer where the player takes the role of a taxi driver who weaves his way through crowded streets, across sidewalks, and even underwater, in a wild and frantic race to deliver passengers on time. The courses are largely set inside cities crowded with general traffic and pedestrians (which can't be run over, they dive away). The main goal is to bring as many customers as possible to their destination in time. Available customers are marked through circles and the color represents the distance and the fare they offer. Green means long rides with plenty of money, and red ones are very short.

In the main Arcade mode, there is a timer that quickly runs down. It can be replenished by picking up customers. While driving reckless maneuvers are encouraged. Players can disregard all traffic rules and customers give extra tips for speedy and dangerous driving, but these can only be cashed when the customer arrives at his destination in time. By the same token, the reward at the end of a ride is based on the amount of time left, as each customer also has a personal timer. The city is filled with slopes and jumps, and the game uses a very loose driving model. No damage can be done to the car, so driving as fast as possible is encouraged. While driving players can toy with the gears to perform two special tricks: a crazy drift and a crazy boost to speed up more quickly.

Next to the Arcade mode, there is an Original mode and Crazy Box where specific goals need to be met on closed-down courses. In the regular modes, it is possible to disregard the usual timer and play for a fixed amount of minutes. At the end of the race, the player is rewarded with a license, either D, C, B, or A, with S for outstanding performance. Next to the interactive courses from the arcade version, there is a new course for home consoles. There are four cabs and drivers to choose from. The cars have different statistics and the drivers' different attitudes while racing. The game has a soundtrack featuring The Offspring and Bad Religion (not for the Xbox 360 version).

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Arcade version)

48 People (35 developers, 13 thanks) · View all

Chief Graphic Designer
Graphic Designers
Character Designer
Chief Programmer
Programmers
Technical Support
Mechanical Supervisor
Mechanic Engineers
Electric Engineer
Cabinet Designer
Sound Supervisor
Music - Hear It, Ten In 2010, Them and Us, Inner Logic
  • Bad Religion
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 79% (based on 93 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 228 ratings with 10 reviews)

Like the other guy said, this is very addictive

The Good
Now this game is obviously gold. The graphics are in depth and look simply amazing. While the game could have been more colorful, the graphics were one reason why you couldn't leave the seat. The gameplay is smooth and uninterrupted. The game's tasks are refreshing from other games, and is fun. Playing the game will prove to be good because of all the action pumped into this game.

The Bad
The only thing bringing the game down is the corny sound. The voices are incredibly poorly done, and you have to keep yourself from laughing at the stupidity of the starting voices.

The Bottom Line
Still, CT is a great change from other games out, so it deserves a well earned

( 4.5 / 5 )

Windows · by ThE oNe (180) · 2002

Addictive. Very, very addictive

The Good
There are only a few titles that I believe take a simple concept and turn it into an art form. Tetris is one, Mario the other. And now I can add Crazy Taxi to the list. It's really a simple design: drive a taxi, pick up customers and beat the time limit to get to the destination, making plenty of money has you go along. But once you pick up and play, I doubt you'll want to stop. It's non-stop fast and very funny stuff.

The Bad
The music tunes repeating over and over again may become grating to the ears, and the graphics do have their problems here and there, such as running through people without any collision detection.

Pity there is no multiplayer modes, that would have been a blast.

The Bottom Line
It's a great title, and another classic from Sega. It can be just as addictive as Tetris, and that's a good thing. Very simple to pick up and play, and a lot of fun.

PlayStation 2 · by Kartanym (12418) · 2006

Classic fun, however lacks longevity.

The Good
Craaaazzy Taxi! This is one of those games that was almost worth buying a Dreamcast for. It was a blast in the arcades which always left you wanting one more go. Most of the appeal is because of the very basic premise - drive around in your taxi cab and pick people up and take them to their destination. Driving crazy also helps.

The game has been translated to Dreamcast as an almost arcade-perfect conversion. The addition of another city to explore is also a welcome inclusion in the home version. When I first got this game I couldn't stop playing it... it's an absolute blast for the first few days (and a good party game too).

The graphics are great, the music selection is great (The Offspring.. woo hoo!) and the controls are responsive and well suited to the Dreamcast controller. Technically the game is flawless!

The Bad
The only real problem with the game is longevity. Because it is strictly an arcade game with no story or real progression you will get sick of it after a while and it will most likely remain one of those games that gets dusted off every six months for a quick retro-blast and then put back in the box.

The Bottom Line
If you haven't played Crazy Taxi then you need to! Just don't expect a deep gaming experience.

Dreamcast · by Tibes80 (1543) · 2003

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Trivia

Lawsuit

The December 2003 lawsuit filed by Sega against Fox Entertainment claims that The Simpsons: Road Rage infringes on a patent owned by Sega of America. Specifically, Sega claims that The Simpsons: Road Rage gameplay is too close to that of Crazy Taxi. It was eventually settled in private.

The abstract for the patent reads as follows:

A driving game, wherein players having various driving skills--from beginners to those advanced--may enjoy both aspects of amusement and simulation in consistency. The game device of the present invention has an element for providing to a player a plurality of different movement modes upon moving the vehicle along a traveling line. Upon selection of a desired movement mode, a vehicle-driving game relating to the driving mode selected by the player is executed. Included in this plurality of driving modes are an assist mode in which auto-brake control is performed and a training mode in which various indications, such as the timing of the braking point, are given.

The full patent is available here.

Product placement

Product placement at its best: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Tower Records and Levi Jeans. Each one is present as a location in Crazy Taxi.

Information also contributed by Terrence Bosky

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Crazy Taxi: Gazillionaire
Released 2017 on iPhone, Android, iPad
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
Released 2007 on PSP
Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller
Released 2002 on Xbox, 2003 on Arcade, 2004 on Windows
Taxi Sim
Released 2016 on iPhone, 2016 on iPad, 2020 on Nintendo Switch
Taxi Challenge: Berlin
Released 2002 on Windows
Sky Taxi
Released 2009 on Windows
Venice Boats: Water Taxi
Released 2017 on iPad, iPhone, 2022 on Nintendo Switch
New York Taxi: The Simulation
Released 2012 on Windows
Taxi Challenge: New York
Released 2002 on Windows

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 3575
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Brolin Empey.

GameCube, PlayStation 2 added by Kartanym. OnLive added by firefang9212. Android, Xbox 360, PlayStation Now added by Sciere. iPad, iPhone added by Kabushi. Arcade added by The cranky hermit. PlayStation 3 added by Crawly. Xbox One added by MAT. Windows added by Rantanplan.

Additional contributors: Zovni, Guy Chapman, Sciere, DreinIX, Patrick Bregger, GTramp, Victor Vance.

Game added April 2, 2001. Last modified March 28, 2024.