Crazy Taxi: World Tour marks Sega’s return to its zany taxi driving classic, bringing the game back for modern consoles. A short hands-on preview offered an early look at how the revival keeps the spirit of the original while adding contemporary tweaks.
The Dreamcast era of games was defined by wild, original ideas, from Space Channel 5 and Seaman to Shenmue, Chu Chu Rocket, Power Stone and Jet Set Radio. Few titles captured that energy better than Crazy Taxi, a game whose entire pitch sits in its name. The new version arrived among a half-dozen games Sega lined up for its summer press showcase at a hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
What the remake keeps from the original
The preview lasted about an hour, but it showcased what Sega has retained from the original: chiefly the vibes and vibrant visual style, along with the signature fare-pickup system. Players still drive up to a colourful circle representing a person in need of a quick ride, then slam the accelerator to reach their destination, crashing through cars and around pedestrians as the timer counts down. The late ’90s-to-early 2000s alt rock and pop punk soundtrack also returns.
Modern additions include boost and drifts, layered onto the original’s classic style. The remake features several modes, and the one played during the preview was a more free-form sandbox that let players drive around freely rather than simply picking up fares until time ran out.
New locations and specialised fares
The preview featured the map for Germany, one of many international locations planned for the final game. The map was a large loop broken up by smaller zones, including an airport, a city downtown, a small village and a castle on a hill.
Within these German-themed pockets sat the preview’s standout feature: specialised fares with their own mini-quests to complete. Roughly 10 were scattered across the map, each some variation of the absurd. One was a man in an Easter Bunny costume asking for help to “collect his eggs”, while another was a daredevil in a wingsuit who wanted to be launched off a cliff from the cab’s backseat. Their dialogue suggested these characters would reappear across other maps with similarly bizarre goals.
The mix of exaggerated situations and funky characters captures the distinctive Dreamcast tone that made the original catalogue stand out. Crazy Taxi: World Tour is due out in 2027.
