Twisted Metal 1 - Lost Endings // Mr. Grimm
32In Twisted Metal (1995), one of the earliest vehicular combat games for the original PlayStation, the player competes in a tournament hosted by the enigmatic and sinister figure Calypso, who grants the winner any wish they desire. Each character has their own wish and unique ending, often ironic or twisted by Calypso, who manipulates their desires with dark humor.
However, the game is infamous for its "lost endings", a set of live-action video clips originally intended to be the character-specific epilogues but which were ultimately scrapped. These endings were a significant departure from what players saw in the final game, which relied on text-based endings accompanied by static images. The lost endings added a unique flavor to the game, but due to issues with tone and content, they never made it to the released version.
Reasons for the Lost Endings' Removal
The live-action endings were filmed but were cut from the final version for a few reasons:
Tone: The clips were deemed too dark, violent, or absurd, even for a game centered on vehicular mayhem. The humor and tone did not blend well with the rest of the game’s atmosphere, making them feel out of place.
Budget and Quality: The live-action sequences were low-budget and lacked polish. The production quality wasn’t up to standard, which clashed with the game's otherwise stylized presentation.
Sony's Intervention: The game’s publisher, Sony, intervened and requested that these endings be cut. It was believed that the live-action sequences were too campy, possibly even embarrassing for a high-profile release that was meant to establish the PlayStation as a serious gaming console.
The Content of the Lost Endings
Though the original footage didn’t make it into the game, these endings have since become part of gaming lore. Eventually, some of the footage was leaked online, allowing fans to glimpse what the developers had intended. The videos were typical of mid-90s low-budget productions, featuring actors in crude costumes and makeup, delivering exaggerated performances. Calypso, the tournament organizer, played a central role in all of these endings, often twisting the wishes of the winners to fit his sadistic sense of humor.
For instance, Sweet Tooth, the iconic ice-cream truck driver and clown, wished for a weapon of mass destruction. In the lost ending, Calypso grants him a nuclear bomb, only for Sweet Tooth to realize he has no idea how to use it.
Thumper, a gang member, wished for ultimate power to rule his streets. His wish was granted, but he was overwhelmed by the sheer responsibility of his newfound power.
Yellow Jacket, driven by Charlie Kane, wished to find his long-lost son. Calypso revealed that Charlie’s son was actually Needles Kane, the psychopathic alter ego of Sweet Tooth, giving the character an unexpected twist of tragic irony.
These endings were campy and overly theatrical, with bizarre camera angles and absurd effects, which some found charming but others saw as out of place in a game with a more serious core of vehicular combat.
Legacy and Cultural Impact
The "lost endings" of Twisted Metal have become a fascinating footnote in the game's history. While the final text-based endings fit the game’s overall tone better, the missing footage has intrigued fans for years. It adds a layer of mystery to the development process of Twisted Metal and serves as a reminder of the creative risks that were taken early on in the development of what would become a successful franchise.
Though never officially restored in the game itself, these lost endings are occasionally discussed in Twisted Metal retrospectives and are sometimes even showcased at gaming conventions or in online fan edits. They reflect a unique moment in gaming history when developers were experimenting with storytelling methods, some of which were too ahead of their time or simply didn’t work out as intended.
The lost endings are a curious piece of Twisted Metal's legacy—a look at what could have been, had the game leaned fully into its dark humor and live-action ambitions.
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