Crazy Taxi guide: How to drive like a pro

But I already do, you say? Oh, grasshopper, you've much to learn. Only the very best truly know how to get the most out of their fares. You need someone who has years of experience: someone who knows the arcade game, the Dreamcast port, the PSP port — pretty much everything to date. Unfortunately we just don't have anyone like that here so we've taken what we know and combined it with the knowledge of the those players who truly drive a crazy taxi.

The cabbies

 

There are four cabbies in Crazy Taxi, each with their own unique vehicle stats. You'll also find they each have different and humorous vocal quips with passengers.

• Axel: Axel's cab is your garden variety everyone-mobile. It's not overly great at one thing, but isn't weak anywhere either. Beginners and pros can feel comfortable behind the wheel. This is a great all around car.
• B.D. Joe: This cab is a wild one. It's heavy and it's got the highest top speed, but it's really easy to get the back end loose and go into an unintended drift. If heavy, fast and loose is your kind of car then Joe's your man.
• Gena: Gena's car is nimble, light, and quick to stop 'n go. Just don't expect it to break any speed records. Newcomers to the Crazy Drift will find it difficult to do with this car. This is your choice if you want grip, acceleration and control.
• Gus: Now here's an underdog. Looking at it you'd think it's big and heavy. That's true. But while it'll take a bit to get going and stop Gus's cab can plow through traffic you might "accidentally" bump into without losing too much speed. It's a must if you're a hit-em-all kind of driver.

Getting around

There's not a lot to be said about the best way to get around either of Crazy Taxi's two cities. In fact, most of the time you can simply follow the all-helpful arrow to get to your location quickly. There are a handful of shortcuts, but in the end nothing that will shave substantial time off. Another issue is that most guides tell you the original Arcade/Dreamcast names of stops (I.E. Pizza Hut). Licensing for those real-life franchises died long ago, so there are now generic stops as opposed to the franchises you see in the images below. Still, it always helps to have a map, so here you are, courtesy of Sega and IGN:

Arcade

 

Original

 

Advanced driving techniques

Every great driver knows three advanced driving techniques that help get passengers to their destinations faster: the Crazy Dash, the Crazy Stop, and the Crazy Drift. If you're looking to shave precious seconds off each individual run you're going to need to have these three mastered.

• Crazy Dash: Release the gas then press the drive gear button (default is B) plus gas at the same time, continue to hold the gas button. At a standstill or full speed you'll get a short burst of speed. You do not need to shift into reverse and back on this version of the game.
• Crazy Stop: While moving forward press the the reverse gear button (default is A) plus brake at the same time, continue to hold the brake button. The cab will stop much faster.
• Crazy Drift: Release the gas and begin a turn. While turning roll your thumb across the reverse and drive buttons (A, then B), shifting to reverse then back into drive.

Rackin' up the dough

The system for earning money in the game is surprisingly deep. There are passengers, tips, and speed of delivery to consider. All three play into your total fare. Let's break each one down to help give a better understanding of how things work:

• Passengers: There are two main factors to watch for when picking someone up: the color of their marker and the size of the boundary surrounding them.
  • Marker colors range from red to green and indicate how long the trip will take. Red trips are short, while green are long. Longer trips mean more money, but they also eat up time.
  • There are three different sizes of circular pickup boundaries which give a peek into how hard the trip will be. Small boundaries are easy, while larger boundaries are more difficult. The more difficult the journey the more money involved.
• Tips: Tips are earned by driving on the edge and performing one of three stunts. The more these stunts are performed without colliding into another car or building the more the tip multiplies. But there's a bonus: when your combo breaks you not only get the final total the passenger flashed on the screen, but also all the other totals. That means if your tips started at 0.25 and and ended at 2.00 you'd earn not only the 2.00 but everything shown before it. Now, on to the stunts:
  • Crazy through: This one is all about driving as close to oncoming traffic as possible without actually touching. Each car you pass earns you a little more moolah. If you're going fast enough and traffic is slow enough you can also do this with cars moving in your direction.
  • Crazy jump: See a ramp, make a jump, earn some tips. Watch for opportunities around the city. Most often you'll find them in the form of a parked car carrier, but occasionally you'll see them built right into the architecture.
  • Crazy drift: Not only is drifting cool and useful, the passengers love it. The longer you drift the more money they drop. Be careful though, drift too much and you may miss your turn altogether.
• Speed of delivery: They say you're the fastest in town, and that's why passengers want to ride with you. As such the faster you get there the more money is in it for you. There are three ratings for a successful drop: speedy, normal and slow. A speedy drop will get you the most cash while a slow drop will net you less.

Cheats

• Rickshaw: To drive the rickshaw taxi tap LB + RB together three times quickly when the character select screen appears. Just like clicking your heels together the rickshaw will magically appear. Alternatively you can beat all Crazy Box challenges then press up at on the character select screen.
• Another day: Tired of the same fare locations? Activate the Another Day mode which changes the locations of all fares in both original and arcade mode. To do so hold the R trigger while selecting a driver. If done correctly a horn will honk and once the level is loaded the words "another day" will appear in the lower left corner of the screen.
• No arrows: Tired of that big, helpful arrow? Hiding it is simple enough: Hold R trigger + Start then press A on the Arcade or Original menu. Don't release R trigger or Start until the character selection screen. If done correctly the words "no arrows" will appear in the lower left corner of the screen.
• No destination mark: How about highlighting where you need to stop? If that's annoying hold L trigger + Start then press A on the Arcade or Original menu. Don't release L trigger or Start until the character selection screen. If done correctly the words "no destination mark" will appear in the lower left corner of the screen.
• Expert mode: Want all helps gone? Activate Expert mode by holding L trigger + R trigger + Start then press A on the Arcade or Original menu. Don't release L trigger, R trigger or Start until the character selection screen. If done correctly the word "EXPERT" will appear in all caps in the lower left of the screen. The arrow and destination marks will be removed.
• Here's something fun: Hold the gas and brake while stopped, then press the thumbstick in the following directions to change the camera.
  • Up: First-person camera. Press it again to get a look at your passenger in first person view.
  • Right: Cinematic camera. It's the same camera used during attract mode. Be aware that it's very difficult to drive this way.
  • Left: Return to the standard third-person camera
  • Down: Toggle speedometer. The speed displays in kph. We're not sure whether this can be changed to mph.

The menu cheats can be stacked as well. Want Expert mode drving the rickshaw with Another Day fare locations? Hold L trigger + R trigger + Start then press A on the Arcade or Original menu. Don't release L trigger, R trigger or Start until the character selection screen. When the character selection appears screen release all buttons then quickly tap LB + RB together three times. Finally hold R trigger as you select your driver and hold it until you see the words "EXPERT" and "another day" in the lower left of the screen.

There you have it

Now you have everything you need to be a true crazy taxi driver. You know your cars and cabbies. You know your way around town. You know how to get the most out of your driving. Best of all, you learned how to cheat. Now get out there and put that convertible to work!