Crazy Taxi (series) - Reception

Reception

The original Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi was one of the best-selling games for the console. The game was the second largest selling Dreamcast game in the United States in 2000, selling nearly 750,000 units, and is the third best-selling Dreamcast game in the United States with over a million units sold. The game was praised for capturing the arcade flavor, and possibly exceeding it by making the controls and execution of the crazy stunts easier to perform. The game did suffer from "pop-up" due to limited draw distances, and loss of frame rate when a large number of cars were on the screen. Critics noted the lack of depth given that it was a port of an arcade game, some difficulties with the destination arrow, and the poor "Wolfman Jack" impersonation of the in-game announcer.

Crazy Taxi 2 was well received by reviewers with the new features helping to expand play from the original game, though some thought that more drastic changes could have been made in the sequel. Despite the addition of new maps, the lack of new gameplay elements caused Crazy Taxi 3 to be panned by reviewers. IGN noted in its review for Crazy Taxi 3 that "It's clear that the creative vibrancy that first imagined the Taxi series has waned considerably."

The ports of the original game to the PS2 and GameCube platforms are not considered as strong as the Dreamcast game. Both were noted to suffer from more "pop-up" than the Dreamcast version, as well as poorer controls, despite having the same gameplay features. Graphic problems plagued the Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride port to the Game Boy Advance; as IGN stated, "it's painfully obvious that the hardware just was never meant to push so much." Both PC ports for Crazy Taxi and Crazy Taxi 3 also suffered from graphics problems.

The PSP ports of Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars have had a somewhat better reception than other ports. Reviews have complimented the game on the multiplayer additions and the ability to add a custom soundtrack – which led IGN to comment that "Including this should be a no-brainer, but many PSP titles don't" – but have noted some graphical glitches, the long loading times, and the lack of the original soundtracks for the games. The reviews of the controls of the game have mixed, with some praising the scheme on the PSP, while others have stated that the controls feel stiff and inconsistent. GameSpot's review noted that the gameplay in Crazy Taxi does not hold up well compared to more recent racing games across various platforms.

A Crazy Taxi segment is featured in the "Sega Carnival" track in Sonic Riders, including a hidden shortcut allowing racers to receive a ride from taxi driver Axel; a Crazy Taxi extreme gear can be unlocked as well. There is also a minigame based on Crazy Taxi in the EyeToy game, Sega Superstars, in which players move around and shout to call one of the taxi drivers. B.D. Joe, who has appeared in most games in the series, appears as a playable character in the cross-series racing game, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. Sumo Digital's Steve "S0L" Lycett had to get approval from SEGA AM3 in order to use B.D. Joe in the game. He also appeared in the sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.