Unbuckle your seatbelts and fire up your Dreamcast, the alternative version of Crazy Taxi from November 1999 will surprise you
To learn more about Crazy Taxi Dreamcast, to discover another aborted project from its development studio (Carbondale) and to download several other prototypes of the game, including an early build, go to the home page dedicated to Hitmaker's title: [Crazy Taxi and its prototypes: in the shoes of colorful Taxi drivers]
Crazy Taxi Dreamcast will remind backpackers of the fast-paced arcades where players spent all their pocket money for a few minutes of pure joy. With this console version, SEGA brought the joys of the arcade home to living rooms all over the world.
Developed by Hitmaker, formerly AM3, Crazy Taxi first made a name for itself on Naomi in early 1999. Such was its success that SEGA decided to port the game to its latest console. It was released in January 2000 on Dreamcast with exclusive content, the Original mode and the zany Crazy Box challenges. Who hasn't dreamed of bowling with their car?
As in the real life of a taxi driver, the aim of the game is to get customers to their destination as quickly as possible. Sitting in the back seat of a yellow convertible cab, they'll gesticulate aggressively or playfully, depending on the player's driving style. Grazing obstacles and jumping over other vehicles earn bonus points.
A sign of the changing times, the Crazy Taxi drivers, 4 in number, are fans of the sixties. With their floral shirts and sunglasses, their casual look contrasts sharply with their chaotic driving. Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena and Gus are the kings of the road. They have every right. They can smash into cafés, cause accidents, ram cars in parking lots and even drive the wrong way on the freeway.
This screenshot went viral
The brave and reckless taximan
With Offsprings Punk and Bad Religion in the background, have a blast in a colorful city that resembles San Francisco. One word of advice: everything's permitted!
The prototype of Crazy Taxi dated November 14, 1999
Analysis of the prototype reveals that the build was created on November 14, 1999, some 1 month before the final version on December 19, 1999, and 14 days after the prototype on October 30, 1999. The evolution of the game's development in the few days between these two builds is dazzling. The developers accomplished an impressive amount of work in a very short space of time. Although the previous build had already transformed Hitmaker's title into an alternative version offering a new gameplay experience, this one now corrects the numerous imperfections (bugs, greyboxed buildings, constant clipping, etc.) noted during its examination. This alternative Crazy Taxi Dreamcast is a MUST HAVE!
Crazy Taxi 2 Debug Camera
Comparisons have been made with the October 1999 prototype and the final Japanese version. Only what is “unique” to this prototype is highlighted on this page. The new views, which make up the charm of this beta, are briefly discussed. The Crazy Taxi home page documents in detail the new camera system already in place on the previous month's build.
The developers no doubt used these amazing views to take screenshots or record the CT1 trailers. The prototype for Crazy Taxi 2 Dreamcast (March 11, 2001) also features a similar, more sophisticated camera system, an evolution in the way Hitmaker employees designed video games.
Hey hey! Come over and have some fun with this prototype !
The unique camera system
Like the Crazy Taxi Dreamcast from October 1999, the prototype's appeal lies in the possibility of choosing from 8 different views, 7 of which are brand new. To switch from one camera to another, either in-game or even during Demo Mode on the title screen, simply press the “Y” button on the controller plugged into the console's “A” port. This button is normally used to sound the horn. The player can drive his cab from the following angles: the default camera (1) - a slightly elevated camera (2) - an overhead camera strangely reminiscent of the 2D Grand Theft Auto games (3) - another overhead camera, this time static (4) - a camera facing the side of the vehicle (5) - a camera facing the cab, on its hood (6) - a Replay camera filming the cab from numerous angles (7) - a camera stuck on a black screen (8).
By plugging a controller into the Dreamcast's “D” port, other secret options are available. The “A” button will freeze/unfreeze the game, or zoom in on the car if the correct view is selected. The “B” button has the opposite effect, zooming out. Depending on the camera selected, the “D-Pad” directions will orient the camera around the cab. With these tricks, the final version's 7 cutaway cameras are fully modulable according to the player's wishes.
A “Free Camera” option is hidden in the prototype's second “GTA Like” view, the one with the camera staying in place. The “Left” and “Right” triggers on the controller plugged into the console's “D” port are used to move forward or backward, while the “D-Pad” arrows are used to steer.
Crazy GTAxi
With these new views, the game experience changes completely, bringing a breath of fresh air to Himaker's Hit. Or how to turn Crazy Taxi into Grand Theft Auto...
The Crazy Box mode
The font used for the Crazy Box menu rules is not the one finally chosen by the developers.
Crazy challenges
Almost all the announcer's lines have been audio recorded and implemented in-game, with a few missing. Oddly enough, the voice-over always exclaims “no new records here” after a Crazy Box mode event, even if you've reached the top of the leaderboard.
There are no default records at the end of a Crazy Box mode event for the player to beat, meaning that each successful challenge is automatically a new record.
The Crazy Bound challenge: Strangely enough, the jump ramps are MUCH more buggy than in the previous prototype, making this challenge from the November 1999 build almost unfeasible.
The Crazy Jump challenge: The prototype has a gap between the dome walls and the jump landing area. In the final version, this gap will be filled and raised to the same level as the road, and marked with an orange stripe. It will no longer be possible to tip over and fall into the void.
Prototype (Oct 30, 1999)
Prototype (Nov 14, 1999)
Final Version
The Crazy Attack challenge: This prototype, the only one with this feature, displays Debug information in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This indicates the player's level of speed (fast - normal - slow) between two Checkpoints. Completing this mission will not save any records, mark it as completed or unlock any bikes. Strangely, this build does not count Crazy Jumps as combos.
The Crazy Party challenge: After all the customers have been grouped together and taken to their destination, the announcer has a slightly different line of dialogue from the one normally spoken.
The developers at Hitmaker didn't want to make a simple, banal port of Crazy Taxi Arcade to the Dreamast. To meet this desire, they added several crazy mini-games, the Crazy Box mode, to the home console version.
General information
The introductory cutscene for Arcade Mode, Attract Mode or Demo Mode on the title screen, corresponds in part to that of the October 1999 prototype (a few other camera shots used towards the end), but not at all to that of the final version. The Orignal mode sequence remains unchanged since the earliest referenced build of Crazy Taxi Dreamcast.
A Naomi terminal anyway
Comparative video of Attract Mode
Espacement
Although the metadata displayed in the system's save manager is still identical to that of the previous prototype (October 30, 1999), the saves generated by this version are now 23 blocks in size, just like the final version. Saves from the final version are compatible with this beta, which is the only way to play with bikes only available in Crazy Box mode events and not everywhere as is normally the case.
It's finally time to venture into this Crazy Taxi Dreamcast prototype. This build is just crazy, just like the game by Kenji Kanno !
I would like to extend a special thanks to FamilyTeamGaming for its valuable expertise and help in documenting this Crazy Taxi Dreamcast prototype.
You can download this build of Crazy Taxi Dreamcast below
Another article about Hitmaker's Survival Horror Unreleased and several Dreamcast and GameCube prototypes of Crazy Taxi are listed on the game's home page: [Crazy Taxi and its prototypes: in the shoes of colorful Taxi drivers]
Special thanks to:
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Hicks for proof-reading the French text
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Neil Riddaway for the English correction of the article
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FamilyTeamGaming for investigating the Crazy Taxi Dreamcast prototype and helping to analyze it
Prototypes with special options (Cheat, Free Camera etc.): Crazy Taxi Dreamcast - Nigthmare Creature II Dreamcast - Sega Extreme Sports Dreamcast - Gauntlet Legends Dreamcast - South Park Rally Dreamcast - Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Dreamcast - Fur Figthers Dreamcast - Hydro Thunder Dreamcast - Le Mans 24 Hours Dreamcast - Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm - Metropolis Street Racer - Crazy Taxi 2 Dreamcast - Rayman 2 Dreamcast
More than 300 prototypes have been dumped, all of which are available for free download in the section “Dreamcast prototypes (not only) available to download”.