CRAZY TAXI TECHNIQUES

Following are the basic skills you'll wind up using about 95% of the time in a typical game of Crazy Taxi. The better you learn 'em, the better you'll do... promise! We'll start with the easier ones and work up to the hardest.

Crazy Dash

[Crazy Dash] (from full stop, very slow speed, or normal floored speed)
Drive > Floor Gas Pedal
Throughout this page, you'll see references to the "normal floored speed" of your cab. This means the speed your cab travels when you floor the Gas Pedal and do nothing else but steer. Later, you'll see that this speed is only a fraction of the speeds actually possible...

How Do I Do It?

This move can be done while your cab is at a standstill, moving very slowly, or at its "normal floored speed." It involves two actions done in quick succession, like a one-two punch combination. The actions are:

  1. Tap the gearshift to Drive from either the neutral or Reverse position. (I usually hold it in the Drive position as well.)
  2. Floor the Gas Pedal immediately afterwards.

It won't work if you push the gearshift to Drive and floor the Gas Pedal simultaneously; the movements must occur one after the other with a very slight pause in between. This may help with the timing (it sounds a bit weird, but bear with me). Quickly say "taxi" out loud. Now, the timing for the Crazy Dash is as follows:

tak

Drive


-

>


zee

Floor
Gas
Pedal

How Can I Tell If I Did It Correctly?

When you do the Crazy Dash from a standstill, your cab won't burn rubber as it slowly picks up speed the way it normally does. All of that energy gets converted as if the wheels had 100% traction. Your cab will zip off, going noticably faster than its normal floored speed for a short period of time.

Anything Else?

Glad you asked! Here are a few additional points.

  • This move can be "buffered in" during the passenger entry/exit animation. Do the Crazy Dash right as they start climbing in or just after their feet hit the ground as they're getting out. It'll automatically kick in as soon as the animation is completed, saving you precious seconds over the long run.
  • Don't turn the wheel all the way to the left or right while executing this move. If you do, you may get a different move, the Crazy Turn, instead. If you want to turn your cab while Crazy Dashing, wait until you see your cab moving forward before turning the wheel.
  • If your cab is at a standstill and you mess up the Crazy Dash, quickly take your foot off the gas, letting the gearshift return to the neutral position, then try it again. There's a "dead zone" between moving slowly and your cab's normal floored speed during which you are blocked from getting this move to work. That's why it's better to take your foot off the gas and try again right away.
  • The greatest thing about this move is that it leads to even higher speeds, as you'll see when you get to the Limiter Cut below...
  • If you happened to select the bicycle as your cabbie's vehicle, there's an additional surprise. When you do the Crazy Dash from a standstill, occasionally the screen will remain in a fixed position as the bike zips away, rapidly growing smaller and smaller. A second or two later the screen will "catch up" again. I'm no huge fan of the bike for other reasons, but must admit this effect is a huge crowdpleaser.

Crazy Stop

[Crazy Stop] (while driving forward)
Reverse > Hold Brake

How Do I Do It?

Obviously, this should only be only be done while your cab is moving. Like the Crazy Dash, it involves two actions done in quick succession:

  1. Move the gearshift to Reverse from either the Drive or neutral position (you can leave your foot on the Gas Pedal if you want).
  2. Press and hold down the Brake Pedal.

How Can I Tell If I Did It Correctly?

Your cab will come to a halt more quickly than it would if you were using the Brake alone. There's no need to do any case-by-case comparisons. Trust me on this one, okay?

Anything Else?

One little technicality...

  • This isn't the "real" Crazy Stop move (but it does work; use it liberally!). The description for the "official" one is on the Additional Skills page.

Crazy Drift

[Crazy Drift] (while driving forward)
Hold Brake > Reverse > Drive > Turn Wheel

How Do I Do It?

This move must be done while your cab is moving. It involves several actions done in quick succession:

  1. Press and hold down the Brake Pedal.
  2. Tap the gearshift to Reverse.
  3. Tap the gearshift to Drive.
  4. Turn the wheel hard left or right.

How Can I Tell If I Did It Correctly?

When you do the Crazy Drift, your cab will turn sideways on the screen and skid. If you turn sharply enough, you will begin a Crazy Drift Combo and successively increasing tip amounts will be added to your fare until the cab stops skidding.

This is easily the most versatile move in the game. It has several variations in addition to a special move you can tack on to the end. I find myself using the Braking Crazy Drift variation described above around 95% of the time when dropping off customers. Here's why:

  • Holding down the brake pedal from the beginning to the end of the Crazy Drift will keep your cab from veering off course when you start skidding. As shown in the diagram, the front of the vehicle will remain on target, while the back swivels in the opposite direction you turn the wheel. You can use this to your advantage when traffic is light to run up fares by making very long Crazy Drift Combo skids without worrying about missing your destination.
  • Unlike the other versions, the Braking Crazy Drift can be done soon after the speed burst of a Limiter Cut. You can't count on getting the others to work until the speed burst from the Limiter Cut begins to subside.
  • If the destination is backed by a wall and time is short, do a Braking Crazy Drift, but give yourself time to make sure you rotate enough so that a rear corner of your cab strikes the wall. This will ensure that you don't become a victim of wall-stick.

There are some additional variations of this move:

Non-Braking Crazy Drift

This version is simply done without using the Brake Pedal (Reverse > Drive > Turn Wheel).

Unlike the Braking Crazy Drift described above, your cab will not continue in a straight line during the skid. It will also slide a considerable distance in the direction you turn the wheel. In other words, during the skid you retain some traction in the direction your cab is facing. Tapping (or holding) the Brake Pedal after you've started a Non-Braking Crazy Drift will cause your cab to continue in the direction it is skidding, but without that "forward traction."

Granny's Crazy Drift

This is the way some of the other Crazy Taxi sites have advocated doing the Crazy Drift. It's based on the belief (common among some elderly drivers on the road) that it's always good to "turn a little bit left before turning right."

To do this kind of Crazy Drift, you veer a little bit in the opposite direction you plan to face when you skid while moving the gearshift (Reverse > Drive), then steer hard in the desired direction and tap or hold the Brake Pedal (Turn Wheel > Brake).

This version of the move does have certain advantages: you get a bit of extra speed in your skid and the Crazy Drift combo starts sooner (and points earned during the combo may also accumulate at a slightly faster rate). The bad news is, you don't have the same degree of control over the path your cab takes, and sometimes that extra speed has undesirable consequences (wall-stick or impact bounce) when this move is done too close to a wall or other object. You may want to use this version to stop your cab in a large drop-off zone when it's backed by a wall and there aren't any obstacles in the way.

Anything Else?

You bet!

  • While skidding, you can change gears to Reverse while holding down the Brake Pedal. If you are near the end of your skid, your cab will come to an immediate stop, "planting" itself in place. However, if you are skidding too quickly, the cab will hop into the air for a split second, then continue skidding in the same direction at the same speed (usually resetting the Tip Bonus Multiplier in the process).
  • You can also do the movements for the Braking Crazy Drift without turning the wheel. This actually turns out to be a good way to stop when picking up customers. When you're near the end of your slide, you can still plant your cab by switching gears to Reverse; this will prevent you from accidentally sliding past them. For some reason, customers are also a little more fearless when you use this method; they don't somersault away as often.
  • During your skid, you can execute a Crazy Dash or Limiter Cut (Crazy Dashing's a lot easier, though). Doing so will "shoot" your cab forward in whatever direction it's facing. This works great for sharp corners; execute an early Braking Crazy Drift, turning your cab in the direction the street leads, earn some tip money, then Crazy Dash off in the new direction! Just don't prematurely bump into any traffic, or you might find yourself facing the side of a building instead of the open straightaway of a street.

Crazy Tailspin

[Crazy Tailspin] (just before cab completely stops after Crazy Drift)
Turn Wheel > Release Brake & Press Gas Pedal > Drive > Release Gas Pedal

How Do I Do It?

Just before your cab comes to a complete stop (usually near the end of a Braking Crazy Drift), you can do a move similar to the Crazy Turn by doing the following:

  1. Turn the wheel to the left or right.
  2. Release the Brake & press the Gas Pedal.
  3. Change gears to Drive (if necessary).
  4. When your cab is facing the direction you desire, release the Gas Pedal.

How Can I Tell If I Did It Correctly?

The front of the cab will be anchored in the same position while the rear of the cab rotates around it. The amount of rotation you get depends on how much you're turning the wheel and how long you hold the Gas Pedal.

Anything Else?

Of course there is!

  • As you can tell from the diagram on the left, the Crazy Tailspin is integral in maximizing your gameplay time. If only the Crazy Drift was used here, a Crazy Dash afterwards would accelerate the cab into a corner. The Crazy Tailspin enables you to avoid such time-wasting situations.
  • You can actually do this move any time your cab is on the verge of stopping completely; it's just most common and easiest to perform after a Crazy Drift. For instance, you can be in the midst of a Crazy Stop, strike a telephone booth to (almost) bring your cab to a halt, then do the Crazy Tailspin so you'll be in a better position to pick up your next customer.
  • The speed of your cab's rotation during the Crazy Tailspin is about twice as fast as the Crazy Turn's rotation speed. So, the only time you should ever choose to do the Crazy Turn over the Crazy Tailspin is when you're stopping at a customer's destination but so short on time that doing the Crazy Tailspin might cost you the 5 bonus seconds you get from a Speedy fare rating (or the 2 seconds you get from a Normal fare rating). Otherwise, it is always more advantageous to Crazy Tailspin to a better direction before stopping; especially when you're picking up a customer since beginning a fare with a Crazy Turn reduces your chances of getting those critical Speedy fare ratings.
  • Customers are afraid of the front of your cab, and will often somersault out of the way if you drive directly towards them as you stop to pick them up. However, if you stop alongside them and use this move to rotate the rear of your cab towards them, they won't budge. In fact, the back of your cab can swivel through (and even stop on top of) customers and they'll stand their ground. In many situations you can use this knowledge to reduce the distance the customer has to run to climb on board. This maximizes your driving time, increasing your chances of successfully earning extra bonus seconds to keep playing.

Limiter Cut

[Limiter Cut] (after Crazy Dash)
Unfloor Gas Pedal > Reverse > Drive > Floor Gas Pedal

How Do I Do It?

This move must be done after a successful Crazy Dash, before your cab drops back down to its normal "top speed." It's basically a two-part move; with an optional pause between each part.

  1. Reduce speed by "unflooring" the Gas Pedal.
  2. Tap the gearshift to Reverse. (It helps me to hold it there.)
  3. [optional pause] I don't think it can be much longer than half a second or else your cab will slow down too much for the rest of the Limiter Cut to work.
  4. Tap the gearshift to Drive from either the neutral or Reverse position. (I hold it there, too.)
  5. Floor the Gas Pedal.

So, the first part is a "reverse Crazy Dash," (executed with Crazy Dash timing) and the second part is the Crazy Dash. To help you out if you've never seen it done before (I bet you saw this coming), here's the timing for the Limiter Cut:

cray

Unfloor
Gas
Pedal
 

-

>


 

zee

Reverse


 

. . .

optional
short
pause
(.5 sec or less)

tak

Drive


 

-

>


 

zee

Floor
Gas
Pedal
 

Pretty convenient of Sega to provide the LC timing right in the name of the game, huh? :) If there are any Street Fighter players out there who used Guile; it may help to learn the timing this way — the Unfloor Gas Pedal > Reverse part is like when you start to charge Guile's Sonic Boom, and the Drive > Floor Gas Pedal part is when you shoot it. Once you can do this consistently, concentrate on shortening the pause between the two parts.

How Can I Tell If I Did It Correctly?

Well, your car goes pretty fast after the Crazy Drift, but it will go even faster after a successful Limiter Cut! Other telltale signs that you were successful include the rear bumper of the car momentarily dipping down, a faint squeal from the tires accompanied by a whine from the engine (which may be difficult to hear depending on how loud the music volume and other background noise is), and the animation of the driver speeding up dramatically, which looks kind of comical.

Anything Else?

Heck, yeah!

  • Just as you can gain extra speed by doing the Limiter Cut before the speed burst from the Crazy Dash ends, you can gain even more speed by executing a Limiter Cut before the speed burst of the previous Limiter Cut ends! Thus, it's possible to build multiple Limiter Cuts on top of any Crazy Dash, with each Limiter Cut making your cab go faster and faster.

    WARNING! Once you're used to LC3+ speeds, watching less knowledgable people play is like watching slow-motion football replays. You may even become mildly irritated; consider yourself warned!

    Your goal is to make the Limiter Cut such a routine, automatic move that you're traveling that fast pretty much all the time! Practice this move to death; once you can execute it consistently (and still retain control of your cab) the payoff is tremendous! When it starts to click, you'll be playing Crazy Taxi on a totally different level.

  • Why do I say "unfloor" the Gas Pedal?

    The Gas Pedal in Crazy Taxi has a maximum value, which is typically triggered by pressing the Gas Pedal all the way down to the floor. If you release the pedal a bit, even just a half-inch from the floor, this maximum value is not triggered. When doing the Crazy Dash (or the Crazy Dash half of the Limiter Cut) it's crucial that the pedal is pushed down far enough to trigger the maximum. However, when doing the first half of the Limiter Cut (Unfloor Gas Pedal > Reverse) you only have to lift your foot off the Gas Pedal enough for the maximum value not to be triggered; it isn't necessary release the Gas Pedal completely on most machines.

    Although the Limiter Cut will still work if you completely release the Gas Pedal, it's a bad habit to get into if you're playing on a sit-down Crazy Taxi. You might not have any problems at first, but as you get more proficient with the Limiter Cut and better at the game in general, you'll play for much longer lengths of time. An average game for me lasts an hour and forty minutes right now. I can't even guess how many Limiter Cuts that is... So, if you always completely release the Gas Pedal and jam it all the way back to the floored position in the process of doing the Limiter Cut, I have some bad news for you... The more you improve, the more you are going to sweat! Therefore, it's worthwhile to learn to execute the Limiter Cut with the minimum amount of effort possible. In the long run, it'll be beneficial for both you and the game.

  • NOTE: If you can't get either Crazy Dashes or Limiter Cuts to work at all, you may need to have a game technician adjust the machine settings.