MASF wrote on 03/17/23 at 17:21:51:


This is a tough one to answer but it gets asked from time to time...

The game of course is actually called Twisted Metal, but the 1995 original game was also called Twisted Metal. That right there is the problem, with it having no sub-title (like World Tour/Black/Head-On/Small Brawl) or number (like TM2/III/4) it became necessary for Twisted Metal to have alternate names. I mean, the first game gets called TM1 rather than just "Twisted Metal". It's human nature I guess. We put a 1 in front of things sometimes. Other times we put an X.
Twisted Metal PS3, TM PS3, Twisted Metal 2012 are all appropriate names but TMX kind of caught on.

Technically it originates from the game itself. The Online mode Quick-Match option for matchmaking would by default name rooms "TMXGame" with a chain of random numbers following. However this was the least popular way of matchmaking that was rarely used outside year one of the game. Why it was TMX Game by default I don't know. The theory that TMX is TMX because it is the 10th game is not really true, but can be made true through a technicality.
TMX / Twisted Metal 2012 would be the 8th Twisted Metal entry.

TM1>2>III>4>5/Black>6/Small Brawl>7/Head-On>8/TMX

However one can see TM Black Online & TMHO Extra Twisted Edition as their own individual entities. Others would disagree and see them as being under the umbrella of their associated title. For example, nobody sees the PC versions of Twisted Metal 1 & 2 as different games even though the multiplayer allows for more players than their Playstation counterparts. But then the counter argument is that TM Black Online made enough modifications and additions to the game-play to be it's own separate entry, and that TMHO:ETE's extras like TM:Lost/Sweet Tour/etc. also give it enough of a unique identity in contrast to the original TMHO on PSP that had a whole Online mode that the PS2 port lacked.
So if you go by the thinking that TMHOETE and TMBO are their own entries, then it is 10 games, although TM: Small Brawl is technically a spin-off, so then that opens up another debate. Nobody sees a spinoff like Mortal Kombat: Special Forces as part of the Mortal Kombat series; but I guess TMSB doesn't feel enough like a spin-off for that to really matter, but if Twisted Metal Black is TM5 then is Small Brawl being a spinoff TM6 or would Head-On be TM6, and then TMX is actually TM7.

But you see how confusing it is to overthink?

TMX just kind of sounds better than TM PS3 and TM 2012. It's like how the Japanese version of Twisted Metal 2 is called Twisted Metal EX. The EX there means nothing too.

MASF wrote on 03/18/23 at 03:46:40:


Being a spinoff doesn't diminish it or make it a lesser Twisted Metal game at all, it's just the concept of remote control cars with non-lethal weapons that makes it distinct enough from the other titles despite otherwise being true to the spirit of the original titles and connecting to the original lore. Originally they wanted to make it a PS2 title too like Black but it didn't happen, which also makes sense because they developed it alongside Black which was a bigger priority, but Small Brawl was a good counter to Black's Mature rating and it gave people who had no PS2 yet a fifth TM option on PS1. Small Brawl is kind of a companion piece to Black in the sense it is the bright side. It's Twisted Metal: White (pause) Scratch that comment. But you know what I mean, it's like if you combined the best of TMB & TMSB you would get the perfect balance, the dark side and the funny side, the gothic and the light-hearted. Then add TMBO and you get a trifecta of twisted metal bliss. Those 3 bundled is a complete TM experience just like the combo of the first 2 games is. The series makes more sense when you kind of group the games by pair...
TM1&2 - TM3&4 - TMB&TMSB - TMHO&TMX
Those are the 4 major eras of the past, and there's more to it of course, like how the TM3&4 era is also the era Singletrac made games using the Twisted Metal engine like Critical Depth and Rogue Trip; and also the era when Vigilante 8 temporarily usurped Twisted Metal, at least that was the perception then.
And TMHO and TMX weren't released near each other I know but they still work as a pair. I see them as the aftermath of TMB2/Harbor City not happening which derailed the creative direction of the series.
So we've entered the 5th major era which will be TM on television & TM on PS5 (unconfirmed but rumored) and if both teams of creators play it right and follow the example of the TMB & TMSB era, or even TMHOETE which offers two vibes I think TM could win out. A Yin and yang balanced approach where the show is comedy but the game takes a darker approach would be the way to go if they want to expand the fanbase. As long as they give the game a proper name anyway. We don't need a third "Twisted Metal" where we have to come up with a new nickname like TMZ.

MASF wrote on 03/18/23 at 07:15:07:


I always wanted to try that version and the sequel properly on a N64. I could never get it to run well on an emulator and I really have no incentive to buy an N64 again when I only really like about a dozen games in that library. But I instead settled with experiencing the N64 soundtracks of Vigilante 8 which was great - kind of better than the PS1 soundtracks for me, I can appreciate the retro style of game music - and the Dreamland map was probably the most unique looking of the bunch, so it is kind of annoying it's not in the PSX version.

The real inferior Vigilante 8 was that garbage Game Boy Color 8-bit version of Vigilante 8... now that was a stinker. I'd rather play one of those licensed Tiger Electronics mobile games from the 90s.

MASF wrote on 03/18/23 at 16:33:36:


Oh, I totally agree. I prefer playing the first V8. The extra objectives weren't fun in 2nd Offense and made the quest levels needlessly longer than necessary, and so I felt it had a bad pace of action in comparison to the original in that regard. The only thing 2nd Offense had going for it to me were the added vehicles although I didn't like they had to swap Molo's school bus for a prison bus. And the comic book Chaos! Comics made for Vigilante 8 Second Offense was neat.  The story of the sequel in general was improved despite the game-play getting worse. While the original just looks like an Interstate '76 clone on the surface the sequel plays up the Sci-Fi elements and gives V8 more a unique personality. If only they kept the gameplay more like the original 2nd Offense would have been better off.

But I think of Star Wars Demolition as a sort of Vigilante 3. It was a collaboration between the Vigilante 8 developers Luxoflux and Lucasfilm Games but got mixed reviews. One I agree with came from IGN that said SWD was a "very well-done spiritual successor to the first Vigilante 8, though, fixing many of the problems with Second Offense." This is correct, but most don't see it that way and it gets dismissed. It took the Vigilante 8 engine and modified it. All weapons were chargeable for stronger level attacks, or you could not charge them for rapid light damage attacks, and instead of guns you had the Star Wars pew-pew style lasers that would produce a unique special attack when fully charged. The game had some good match options, like health stations were optional and you could have it so attacks did lighter/heavier damage. It's kind of unfortunate Demolition was not taken seriously and by the time Twisted Metal Black arrived a year later it was a dismissed title, and even by Star Wars fans who are spoiled by multiple and various SW games a year; although Demolition was re-released for PS4 and PS5 recently, which should be no surprise because Star Wars is popular even if car-combat isn't. I'd recommend fans Twisted Metal and Vigilante 8 give it another shot. I think it has aged well; it's only flaw is being a short game, but so was the original Twisted Metal and that game has aged well.

But yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing an official Vigilante 3 come out to rival Twisted Metal 9, the sequel to TMX

MASF wrote on 03/19/23 at 05:32:43:



Yeah, Molo drives the "Blue Burro Bus" prison bus in both the 2nd offense video game and in the comic book although there is also an alternate hotrod version of the prison bus in the game. not sure why V8:Arcade redesigned the Blue Burro and renamed it the Incarcerator. That remake is an odd one.
Molo should have stayed in the school bus regardless. Seems like Activision was worried about sales... they were fighting for that car combat profit after all.
When 2nd offense was being developed Luxoflux did originally use the school bus but Activision expected them to change it "due to a sensitivity of violence" according to an old preview, which we all presume to be school violence because... it's a school bus, but school violence has only gotten worse since Molo stopped driving that school bus, so Activision might have ruined the trajectory of the world back then. I think they were worried the game would get negative attention because during market research for the first game the school bus was the most favorite vehicle among focus groups - and probably why it was chosen for the cover. It's an unfortunate decision they made - and silly considering a prison bus actually does make a person think of violence. Could you imagine if back then Twisted Metal 3 & 4 decided to drop Sweet Tooth (the vehicle) due to a sensitivity of violence (with ice cream trucks having an association to children)? Definitely would not help sales.
And I have to figure the title 2nd Offense didn't help much either, going to the original topic of titles. I think the other proposed title Vigilante 12 (because it added 4 vehicles) would have been the better way to go for the series. If they ever make a new game they should avoid Twisted Metal's mistake of reusing the original game title. Should be something like Vigilante 16, with 16 playable vehicles to really get people excited. "2nd Offense" is a crap name.