Favorite Twisted Metal Games

[Mini_Man.XW]

Black

 

[DjQuick2008]

The PS3 one is what ill be grabbing soon hear its amazing.

 

[Noon]

I was thinking about playing one of these kinds of games lately, sounds like TM Black would be the place to start.

 

[Ian Naxieas]

Hammerhead was also my favorite as a kid, but let's be real, you give a kid a demolition derby game with guns and missiles and really try to convince them not to pick the monster truck, lol.

Haha. xD Yeah, you're 100% on point with that. I was a gigantic fan of both monster trucks and demolition derbies when I was a kid, Hammerhead was the only choice. It's a shame Hammerhead doesn't get as much love as most of the other OG vehicles, though it's not nearly as robbed as Crimson Fury and especially Yellow Jacket. It was cool to see Hammerhead in 2012, but I always wished you'd get a scaled down version of it as an unlockable character, like Minion in Black. That would have been a much better reward from Warthog's unlock method too!

In regards to least favorites though, I have a few, and road boat is definitely one of them. Too much effort for too little payoff with the special, kinda mediocre stats outside that, no original driver to feel attached to... There's just nothing really going for it for me. I don't really like any of the newcomers to 3 (which is funny because I actually think all of them are ones with decent to good endings), but if I had to pick one that really bothers me, it's Augur. He's a discount Mister Slam with a buggy special that sometimes does nothing and sometimes very reliably annihilates whatever it hits through weird wall interactions. Pair that with as a character the driver just kinda feels random since there's no real characterization in Buster's driver profile that links to his ending (he wants to kill the other contestants so he wishes to... reveal his inner child? Huh?) and he just kinda feels like... discount Mister Slam. Pit Viper has actually also been one I've never really liked. Her special in 1 is just a little underwhelming, and while I do think her lost ending is better than what was in the final game and was actually pretty solid (and tragic), what did make it in the final game is just kinda... boring. And I know I'd like it more if there was anything more to it than just "she asked for and got money", because I find Spectre's ending in Head-On very entertaining, but still. As for a more mainstay classic car, I've never actually been very fond of Crimson Fury. His special is usually just better napalm, which is also usually my least favorite weapon to use by a wide margin because I suck at aiming it, lol. The secret agent thing never did much for me either, and most games do have some kind of flame special like Thumper's classic special too, so if I wanted a fire character, I could just play them instead. Speaking of characters to inherit Thumper's special though... Drag Queen. Definitely not a fan, lol. Microblast and Quatro also always felt really out of place to me, even with the series having Minion as the literal right hand demon of Satan.

Good (bad?) choices for least favorites as well. Augur is a pretty stinky one too. I didn't know it's special was that broken either, oof. I just looked through all the character profiles and endings for 3 and honestly, most the character's wishes didn't match their profiles. I guess Mr. Grimm, Outlaw, Spectre and Thumper were close enough, though none of them really hit the mark. But yeah, agreed that none of the new characters from 3 were particularly good. Club Kid had a decent enough special and Flower Power is the only total hippie in the series. That's... something. x) It's no wonder we never saw them again, except for Super Augur in 4 I guess. Though all the Super vehicles just always felt like laziness on the dev's part because they needed more bosses, especially Augur and Axel as they were just reused models changed slightly.

I can see your issue with Pit Viper for sure, I guess I just always liked the design of her car over Grasshopper, though Grasshopper has a lot more personality in it's special weapon. The specials in 1 could be really lame in general. What the fuck were they thinking with Darkside's special? It's wussy and tiny so it's hard to hit with. Not worth the effort. Crimson Fury has basically the same special, but it's a little stronger and it's red. Sweet Tooth and Yellow Jacket don't have very interesting or even different specials either. Microblast and Quatro did feel very out of place, yeah. Microblast was some leprechaun and Quatro was way too sci-fi compared to everyone else. I actually liked the design of Drag Queen as a car, but yeah, the driver will not be missed. x) Trash Man was just a discounted Mr. Slam, though at least it wasn't another construction vehicle like Augur. The Joneses was probably my favorite car in 4. I'm a fan of station wagons, I like it's special and it has a great ending. I like to think Warthog in Black and on is a reference to it. Otherwise, Calypso and Meter Maid were neat, though I seem to remember Calypso's special being a pain in the ass because you could easily detonate it on yourself.

Hmm, is there anything else you'd want to talk about? I think it'd be interesting to hear what your favorite drivers or levels or endings are. Or even least favorite of those. OR BOTH! Sorry, I don't want to bother or overwhelm you, I'm just psyched to talk to someone who knows as much about Twisted Metal as I do. x)

 

[Mr. Daddy]

Sorry, I don't want to bother or overwhelm you, I'm just psyched to talk to someone who knows as much about Twisted Metal as I do. x)

Oh don't you worry about that, lol. Unfortunately while I was in school, Twisted Metal was already in that "nobody really knows this series anymore" state, so I haven't really had many people to talk about most of the series for most of my life.

I can see your issue with Pit Viper for sure, I guess I just always liked the design of her car over Grasshopper, though Grasshopper has a lot more personality in it's special weapon. The specials in 1 could be really lame in general. What the fuck were they thinking with Darkside's special? It's wussy and tiny so it's hard to hit with. Not worth the effort. Crimson Fury has basically the same special, but it's a little stronger and it's red. Sweet Tooth and Yellow Jacket don't have very interesting or even different specials either.

Yeah I guess thinking back on it a little, for TM 1 Pit Viper's special isn't really that bad. I actually forgot that Crimson Fury didn't even have his standard fire special yet. Darkside was easily my biggest disappointment in 1 though, because I've always loved that vehicle, and having basically just a single shot of slightly better machine gun fire is probably the number one worst special weapon in the series. It's not like it even charges quickly, and it really holds Darkside back in 1, because he's so big that he's insanely easy to hit, and he's too big and too slow to really take advantage of the janky at best, buggy at worst ramming mechanics of 1. Warthog shouldn't be able to beat Darkside in a ramming battle.

The Joneses was probably my favorite car in 4.

Definitely one of the best additions, and a concept I wish we saw return. This series was literally formed on the ideas of having guns strapped on your car during a traffic jam and the twisted fantasy of bulldozing your suburban hometown with a monstrous vehicle armed to the teeth. A strangely okay with the violence, otherwise normal suburbanite family is just too perfect an idea to not use again. I also always thought Orbital was a pretty strong addition. Maybe still bordering on feeling a little out of place, but the design of the driver, his ending, and his unique and fun special just always helped him stand out really well to me.

I think it'd be interesting to hear what your favorite drivers or levels or endings are. Or even least favorite of those. OR BOTH!

Alright let's go by game here (If I don't mention anything specific for favorites or least favorites of a category for a game, I just don't really have anything that ranks high or low enough to really count.):

TM1:

Favorite Drivers:
Charlie Kane, especially with his original lost ending. While I do like the reveal of him being Needle's dad and wouldn't want to lose that, I also love the idea of him being the guy going around recruiting people for the Twisted Metal competition.
Bruce Cochrane is probably at his best here for me, again especially with his lost ending. It just feels good to see someone genuinely good in the series every now and again, and I wish he kept that general vibe in games going forward.
Dave & Mike really feel like the perfect audience surrogate for this series, especially back then. Just a couple fun-loving teens that found a monster truck to steal and wanna have a damn good time. I especially love that they put literally zero thought into their wishes.

Favorite Levels:
I think Arena Duel is a pretty solid opener, and overall has a good layout for how surprisingly simple it is.
I know this is a little bit of a hot take, but I absolutely love Assault on Cyburbia. I can't disagree that it's probably way too big, especially for TM1, but I love that feeling of just wreaking havoc in a suburb in these games.

Favorite Endings:
The lost endings in general I find very thoroughly entertaining and I kinda wish they made it into the final game instead of the text ones. Given that most of the text ones are the same, it's not too big of a deal, but the ones that are different I generally think are downgrades.
In particular I love Specter's ending. It's probably one of the best endings in really establishing the series feel that I love so much.
I also really like Outlaw's ending, even if his survival into 2 makes absolutely no sense.

Least Favorite Levels:
Warehouse District. Kinda just an uninteresting layout, and doesn't really have anything in particular going for it.

TM2:

Favorite Drivers:
Mike & Stu are the perfect, still very funny followup to Dave & Mike for me.
Jamie Roberts is also another perfect followup, and quite possibly might be my number one Twisted Metal waifu. I just think she's really likeable.
Axel is high up on the list for my potential overall favorite character in the series. I think his characterization is surprisingly strong, and if you ignore TM3, surprisingly consistent too. Given that his vehicle is more or less also a major part of his character design, he's also probably got one of my favorite designs in the series, though I do often find myself wondering how he eats or uses the bathroom.
Mortimer is probably one of the coolest concepts the series has introduced, and I really wish he'd show up more than he does.

Favorite Levels:
Paris is a classic for a reason. Blowing up the Eiffel Tower is just something that feels so cool to be allowed to do, and the way it opens up the level is really cool. Plus it generally just has a nice layout, and a lot of other neat little destructibles hiding different weapons.
I love the ticking clock of Antarctica, and despite what I'm going to say about New York later, I don't really mind the instant death falls here. Something about this level made it so that I never really had problems with falling off.
Suicide Swamp and Assault on Cyburbia are cool easter eggs.

Favorite Endings:
Mike & Stu also have one of my favorite endings in this game. It's still a pretty simple one, but the execution and delivery of it are hilarious to me. Almost feels like a Cheech and Chong skit.
Captain Rogers probably also has one of my absolute favorite endings in the series. That image of Calypso laughing at his old head on his new body will forever be burned in my brain.
Axel's ending has always stuck with me for many reasons. I love the brutality of it, and the line delivery has always been great to me. It just feels so satisfying.

Least Favorite Levels:
Amazonia. I do not enjoy the constant feeling of practically stumbling around to avoid lava that does way more damage over time than is necessary, not to mention the fact that the health is annoying to get to at best. Not much hidden here either.
Despite having one of the best monumental destructions, I never really liked New York. A game this slippery just makes instant death falls feel worse than normal.
Holland is a boring rectangle with a single destructible windmill and nothing else in it. Boo.

TM3:

Favorite Levels:
Hanger 18 is actually pretty cool, if maybe a little unfitting. It's got some neat secrets and a good amount of care and character put into it.
I also think the North Pole is a pretty neat level layout wise, and I enjoy the novelty of destroying Santa's village.

Favorite Endings:
Captain Rogers actually has a pretty good ending in this game, especially with how it ties back to his ending in 2.
I actually find Flower Power's ending pretty entertaining.

Least Favorite Drivers:
Axel's entire concept in this game is such a 180 from the entire point of his character in 2 that it just feels insulting.
Pretty much already covered my feelings about Buster Cobb.

Least Favorite Endings:
Pretty much the same thing I said about Axel above goes here.
They didn't even try with Thumper in this game, did they?
Sweet Tooth might have the worst ending in the series to me in this game.

Least Favorite Levels:
Washington D.C. is Holland from 2 with a different skin and a ledge. At least it has Microwave as its level track.
While I appreciate the attempt on a twist of the rooftop level formula, I think I might prefer instant death to the lava maze of the Tokyo level. It makes it surprisingly more frustrating to play.
Egypt would be a great level if the camera wasn't so bad.

Incoming part 2 to this post, since I'm close to the character limit again...

 

[CG4R12I4N]

2 is the best due to nostalgia being the first game I've played with friends on the PSX. 3 and 4 are good too but not as memorable as 2. Small Brawl is fun as well despite its kiddiness. Haven't played Black yet and hopefully I can do it as soon as my PC is fixed.

 

[Mr. Daddy]

Incoming part 2 to this post, since I'm close to the character limit again...

TM4:

Favorite Drivers:
Goggle Eyes actually feels like someone I could see some potential in returning someday. I love how unhinged he is.
As mentioned above, The Joneses are one of the best concepts for a driver in the series.

Favorite Levels:
The Construction Yard is one of the best first levels in the series to me. It's got a lot of cool stuff going for it, particularly the crane, but because of it being destroyed when the boss spawns you're also still forced to actually learn about and appreciate the layout and hazards of the rest of the level.
The Bedroom is similarly really well constructed and a phenomenally well realized idea.
The Carnival is also a particularly fun level to me with just how much stuff is in it, especially with how much more open it actually is compared to how it seems at first glance.
A lot of the multiplayer levels, particularly Tic-Tac-Toast, Son of a Ditch, and The Citadel are pretty cool to me, though I wish they had a different aesthetic visually.

Favorite Endings:
Goggle Eyes has one of the darkest endings in the series and I love it.

Least Favorite Drivers:
Quatro and Microblast feel way out of place to me, but I do think at least Quatro could be a cool driver in a game that just had a more futuristic aesthetic.
I think Dennis Flanders might actually be my least favorite driver in the series.

Least Favorite Levels:
I really hate navigating Minion's Maze.

Least Favorite Endings:
The Boss/Create a Car ending might just be the most unsatisfying ending in the series, and is the only real contender for my least favorite ending other than Sweet Tooth's in 3.

TM:B:

Favorite Drivers:
Black overall I think has the strongest collection of drivers, to the point that I don't think there's any I can even really say I dislike. I'm a little neutral on Bloody Mary and Billy Ray, but most of the rest, in particular Grimm, Dollface, Raven, Needles, Preacher, and No-Face I think are some of the best in the whole series.

Favorite Levels:
The Suburbs have a lot of the same appeal to me as Attack on Cyburbia, but if anything this is just the same concept done better.
Prison Passage blew my mind as a kid because of the unique progression of the level and I absolutely love it.
Skyscraper is one of my favorite rooftop levels in terms of its layout, but the added aesthetics from the rooftop church also adds a lot.

Favorite Endings:
Agent Stone's ending is one I'm particularly fond of, especially if you add on the context added in Twisted Metal Lost.
Mr. Grimm's ending is so perfectly demented that it has always stuck with me, and I absolutely love it.
Dollface is probably one of the most memorable and haunting endings to me. I'll never be able to unhear the line "It's funny. Now that I had the key, I didn't want it anymore." Peak Cinema.
You can really tell that Preacher might have been the most inspired Jaffe has been to tell a story in this series.
No-Face is really high up there among the most satisfying endings in the series for me, and I still haven't made up my mind on if he even knows the full extent of what he did.

Least Favorite Levels:
Downtown is a lot more basic than what I'd really want it to be, and actually feels like a downgraded version of River Park Rumble from TM1.
I'm not really a fan of the layout of Snowy Roads, and I think the fog effect can actually make enemies a little too hard to see at times.

Least Favorite Endings:
I think Bloody Mary's ending is a little lackluster. Just always felt like it could have a little more to it than it does.

TM:SB:

Favorite Drivers:
I love how this game adapts a lot of classic drivers, like Mr. Grimm being a kid obsessed with Halloween, Spectre being a kid so shy he wears a sheet like a ghost, and a variety of other drivers like Slam and Crimson Fury being kids obsessed with their legacy counterpart's profession.

Favorite Levels:
In general with the aesthetics of the game I really enjoy most levels in this game, but there are still a few particular standouts to me.
Easy Death Oven has a bunch of neat interactables, and I love that this game will take every opportunity to do the style of health pack placement where one is in an easy to reach location (under the kitchen island) and the other is in a dangerous location (in the microwave).
Meat Your Maker has a really fun hazard/environmental weapon with the meat tenderizer, and the layout is actually surprisingly fun.
Tree Top Rumble is a really cool twist on the rooftop idea, and I love that the trampoline in the center of the level really changes up how you can traverse the level to chase after people. I also love that the main hazard, the lawnmower, can actually be destroyed by a different stage hazard, and that this level has two hints at secret unlockables in the game.
Whoever came up with the concept of a bowling alley level and realizing it as well as they did with Buster's Lanes was a genius.
Holiday Havoc is also a lot of fun, and I love how much it embraces messing with the holiday without holding back. You can burn the Christmas tree, light santa on fire, hell, knocking down the stockings is how you unlock Mime.

Favorite Endings:
I love how dark Mr. Grimm's ending is for a kid's game. Like, he just straight up gets sent to Hell and eaten by demons.
I love that Spectre's ending connects to 2, especially since the game is non-canon so they could theoretically get away with whatever.
Needles sure is an evil little creep even as a kid, but that's why I love him and this ending.
Mr. Ash and Mime didn't get to have their endings in the final game, but I love both of their endings.

TM:HO:

Favorite Drivers:
This game has my favorite version of Marcus Kane, Mr. Grimm, and Needles Kane, which I think is a really hard bar to beat for each of those characters too.
I also really like how this game went about bringing Axel back as more of a reluctant version doing it for the greater good.

Favorite Levels:
I like pretty much all the levels in this game, but the standouts to me are Paris, Egypt, Russia, Monaco, and Transylvania from the Extra Twisted edition.

Favorite Endings:
I also like most of the endings in this game, but there are a few that particularly stand out to me.
I love the turmoil of Marcus' ending, and how it really properly ties in and connects him to Sweet Tooth.
I think Mortimer's is really hilarious and kinda cute, and I just find the whole thing really endearing.
Mr. Grimm's is also very thoroughly entertaining to me. That poor little asian girl is death now.
I love seeing Needles win one over on Calypso like that.
Even though it's depressing as hell, I love how Krista's ending ties back to the TM2 prequel comic.
I really like seeing Agent Stone have the sheer moral fiber and force of will to resist temptation and actually manage to arrest Calypso without using his wish.
Gene's ending is hilarious and I love it.

Least Favorite Driver:
I find Angel very grating.

TM:L:

Favorite Drivers:
I like the new direction proposed for a lot of the drivers from Black, especially No-Face, Mr. Grimm, Raven, Preacher, Dollface, Agent Stone, and Charlie Kane.
Severed Sam is a great addition and I hope if we ever get a new entry we get to see him again.

Favorite Levels:
All of them, but especially Scenter, the amusement park. It's so much fun to play on.

TM(2012):

Favorite Drivers:
I absolutely love this iteration of Dollface.

Favorite Levels:
Blackrock Stadium is a lot like Suicide Slide from TM2 but with way more stuff and just generally improved.
Diesel City is really unique functionally for the series and I love it.
Sunsprings, California is my favorite suburbs type level, and I'm glad it reused a lot of the best parts of the suburbs level from Lost/Harbor City.
Adventure Park is an awesome level that feels so good to play on.

Favorite Endings:
Needle's entire story in this game is so much fun to me. I absolutely love everything about it.
Dollface's is also similar to me. The shot of her hallucination of how her face looks will stick with me forever, and I absolutely adore it.

Least Favorite Levels:
Less a level and more a game mode, I despise Electric Cage Match with a passion. There's a lot of times I feel like I get punished for little mistakes way more than I feel like I should.

 

[Lokgamer]

My favorites without a doubt is black and twisted metal (ps3)