Crazy Taxi: World Tour Hands-On Preview. The original Crazy Taxi games really did encapsulate that look and feel of that bright, positive light 90s aesthetic and fit into the fun, wacky arcade style of the Dreamcast. They’re the kind of games that are straightforward but wonderfully addicting. You are a taxi driver who gets people around, by any means necessary including pulling off radical stunts. The last proper console entry was all the way back in 2002 with Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller. So it’s long overdue and no better time than ever for a new one – Crazy Taxi: World Tour brought the frenetic driving action to Tokyo Game Show this year.
Admittedly, it’s been too many years to count since I last played a Crazy Taxi game. As I completed my first few passenger transports, I noticed my time was too slow and so my scores were low. “Ah, right. I’m playing a Crazy Taxi game,” I thought. The most recent driving games I’d played recently were more grounded racing games like in the Forza Horizon series. I had started my Crazy Taxi: World Tour demo too modestly, trying to drive properly and safely. It was time to drive crazy.
And with that, my times went down and scores went up, and I was reunited with the fun and thrill of Crazy Taxi. I pulled whatever driving maneuvers to go fast – drifting, sliding, ramming through poles and signs – anything to cut down on my time. The series’ wild driving experience
For my hands-on time, I had the opportunity to play a previously unavailable area for demo: Tokyo, Japan itself. World Tour’s Tokyo map is filled with some of the city’s iconic landmarks. The demo started me around Shibuya Crossing, one of the most iconic intersections in the world. I was zooming and sliding through that area like a wackier rendition of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. As I drove further out, I ended up in Tokyo’s famed traditional district of Asakusa. The World Tour’s recreation of Asakusa felt true to the aesthetic of the district, with shopping streets and the historic and tourist staple Sensoji Temple.
You can check out a montage of some of my gameplay below:
Thank you to Sega for having me at its Tokyo Game Show 2026 booth.