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Crazy Taxi is a popular and now classic arcade game that can be enjoyed on multiple consoles. It was one of the first Dreamcast games I owned and I played the shit out of it and for two reasons. The first is it’s fun and the second is I didn’t own a lot of games for the system when I first got it so I played the shit out of anything I did own. Developed by Sega AM3 and published by Sega, Crazy Taxi was released as an arcade game in 1999 and has been ported to numerous systems over the years, starting with the Dreamcast. For this review, I played the PC version, specifically the Steam release which is an updated re-release.
I did, of course, consult the game’s PCGamingWiki page before playing and learned of some issues that can be rectified. Apparently, the Steam version lacks proper analog controls and can suffer from poor performance. Furthermore, due to what I’m guessing is licensing issues, it lacks the original soundtrack and product placement found in the arcade game and Dreamcast version. I did install the SilentPatch which adds proper analog support and fixes some bugs. I also installed DXVK which fixes performance issues and finally, I installed the Crazy Taxi Overhaul mod. It improves the game’s overall audio and visual quality and restores the product placement and original soundtrack.
As far as I know, there’s no plot or backstory. You choose a cabbie, pick up passengers, and must take them to their destinations as fast as possible and the money you earn can be seen as your score. The game features the arcade map and an original map designed for the console and PC versions. These maps are like open worlds of sorts and do seem to be based on California locales like San Francisco for example. Crazy Taxi comes with three game modes and does track your best scores. The Arcade and Original modes are the real meat of the game and allow you to play under arcade rules or work for up to ten minutes. Then there’s the Crazy Box mode which you may want to jump into first if only because it teaches you some of the more advanced mechanics which you must learn if you want to earn as much money as possible.
Each cabbie has their own unique vehicle so you’ll want to try them all out and figure out which one suits you best. While the concept of the game is simple, earning a ton of money will require practice and even some memorization. For one thing, you want to learn mechanics like the crazy dash and crazy drift among others and you do have to utilize the gearshift to pull off certain moves. Dash is useful because it grants you a burst of speed and allows you to quickly get moving from a standstill instead of slowly burning rubber by simply accelerating. It can really help save some time. As you drive passengers around, you will accumulate bonus money or tips for performing moves or stunts like drifting, driving off ramps, and near misses and chaining moves together increases your combo. Basically, you earn more money for pulling off moves in succession and the amount increases with each consecutive move. In other words, the higher the combo, the more money you earn.
In the Arcade and Original modes, you’re given a set amount of time. If playing under arcade rules, you will earn bonus time for taking passengers to their destinations quickly. You can find passengers almost anywhere and they are identified by different colors. Passengers with a red icon indicate their destination is close by. Passengers with a green icon indicate their destination is a ways but you’ll earn more money. There is an arrow on the HUD that will point you in the direction of the destination but it’s your job to figure out the best route and that’s where some of the memorization comes in. You’ll have to learn the best and fastest routes as you play. You don’t have to stick to the roads and you’re not penalized for driving recklessly. You can’t run anyone over, people will always move out of the way of your vehicle, and traffic vehicles, buildings, and water will act as obstacles and crashing will slow you down. At the end of a run, you are ranked based on your performance.
As for the Crazy Box mode. I don’t care for it. I didn’t care for it as a kid and playing through the game again now, I can see why and I still don’t like it. However, the mode has its benefits. It consists of multiple challenges to complete and some do need to be unlocked. Challenges include things like drifting to raise your combo to a certain point, dropping off passengers within a time limit, popping balloons, and a bunch of other stuff. The benefit of this mode is that several challenges teach you certain mechanics that you should know if you want to master the gameplay. But other than that, I find many of the challenges to be tedious and frustrating. Luckily, there’s not too many of them and I imagine if you’ve mastered the mechanics, you can breeze through them all very quickly and completing them all comes with its own rewards.
Crazy Taxi showcases a colorful presentation that does look a little dated today but I can’t say it looks terrible. The Steam version does support widescreen resolutions but, unfortunately, it will be stretched and I’m not a monster so I played in wallpaper mode which means it’s presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Some textures don’t look that great when viewed up close and pop-in is rampant. On the other hand, the vehicle models look pretty good and the environments are detailed. The environments or cities look like actual urban locations and each area does feel distinct. The gameplay is accompanied by solid audio work and passengers will also shout with joy and complain if you mess up. However, the cabbie and passenger dialogue does repeat often which can be slightly annoying. If you play with the Overhaul Mod which restores the original soundtrack among other other things, the gameplay is backed by tunes from the bands The Offspring and Bad Religion. On the technical side, I’m happy to say I did not encounter any major issues.
Crazy Taxi is a fun game but I left it feeling the same way I did way back when. It needs more. Granted, it’s an arcade game and the ports for consoles and PC do come with more content. The additional map is nice but once you’ve played through the Arcade and Original modes, you’ve pretty much seen all there is to see. Nevertheless, there is an addictive quality to the gameplay. Trying to last longer and earn more money each time is what will keep you coming back. Mastering the mechanics will take some practice and is required to earn as much money as possible. That said, if the gameplay doesn’t hook you immediately, there’s not much else here to keep you occupied. There are some things to unlock and cheats to mess around with but I think it would have been cool to see more modes that mix things up. As it stands, you drive around two maps picking people up and dropping them off and the Crazy Box mode can teach you some things and will test your skills but I find it frustrating and it’s nowhere near as enjoyable as the other two modes. With all that said, Crazy Taxi is a game that can be enjoyed in short bursts or long sessions and whether you want to enjoy it casually or master it, there’s always fun to be had.
I do recommend Crazy Taxi. It’s a fun game that offers addictive gameplay and has good replay value. Compared to the arcade game, the console and PC versions do offer more content and the only money you’ll spend on them is the amount it costs to purchase and if you get the Steam version, I do recommend the mods. Definitely check it out.