Crazy Taxi is an awesome arcade game, truly in the same league as the great classics with its addictive easy to learn, yet hard to master gameplay. Here are some quick tips to get you up to an S-Class license!
Characters
The different cars and drivers in Crazy Taxi aren’t just for looks – they perform differently on the road, too!
Axel is the all-round character who doesn’t do anything particularly well, but doesn’t do anything poorly either. He is the all-rounder of this game, the Ken or Ryu. It’s almost as if he was the first character they created and all others are modifications on his profile. Axel is a perfectly fine choice.
BD Joe, despite his super-cool looking cab, is unfortunately the worst character. His car is huge and it’s very unwieldy! Choose BD Joe if you’re looking for a challenge, or if for some reason the loose handling of his cab appeals to you.
Gina’s cab is the smallest and the most nimble, allowing her to squeeze through tight traffic patterns. The light weight of her cab allows it to accelerate very quickly (especially using the Crazy Dash technique) but it can be harder to stop. Gina is a great choice and is tied for best cabbie with our next character….
Gus‘ cab is the heaviest, making it slow to accelerate (unless you use the Crazy Dash technique) but it also stops the fastest, terrific for dropping off your passengers. He handles stiffly, yet accurately. Gus is an excellent choice. “Let’s have some fun!”
The Crazy Dash Technique
Make some crazy money in Crazy Taxi using the Crazy Dash technique!
To perform this maneuver, when your cab is stopped, begin with the stick shift in the Reverse ( R ) position. Once your passenger has jumped in your car, shift into Drive ( D ) and then step on the gas pedal. Do not shift and accelerate simultaneously – shift THEN press the gas. This has to be done with a bit of rhythm. Think about how you say the words “Cray-zee Tax-ee.” Use that rhythm when you move the stick and pedals. Cray-zee = R → D.
If you perform this technique correctly, your cab will start with a tremendous speed boost! With practice, you can even do repeated Crazy Dashes while you are moving to reach blistering speeds.
Mastering the Crazy Dash is basically the only way you will get above a B-class license, so practice this essential move every time you play Crazy Taxi!
Know Your Route
The best Crazy Taxi players have a route they like to take through town. Since passengers always want to be dropped off in the same locations, you can practice your own route until you know the city of Crazy Taxi like you know your own hometown!
Remember that Red passengers only want to go a short distance but will pay minimally, whereas Green passengers will sometimes want to hit the highway and head downtown, but they will pay handsomely for the trip. Long trips also provide more opportunity to get tips, however if you fail one of these, it will eat up a substantial amount of your time that may be impossible to recover from.
For example, there’s an old lady near the Baseball Stadium that wants to go to the Police Station. This is a great way to get yourself downtown with some money in your pocket, but pretty much a guaranteed Game Over if you blow it. It’s a long, easy drive on the highway, full of “Crazy Through” opportunities alongside the semi trucks, and the highway entrance is right there by the Baseball Stadium. Find another passenger downtown who wants to go to the Baseball Stadium or RB Station and pick up some easy money going back and forth on that zippy highway.
Practice Makes Perfect!
Crazy Taxi is one of the last truly great arcade games, encouraging repeat plays and rewarding mastery with scores simply unattainable by less-skilled players. The information in this guide will give you an advantage over other players, but the only way to really learn is to sit down, hang on, and go make that crazy money!
Here we go!!
