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The first two Twisted Metal titles cemented his psychotic presence but later in the series, the ill-advised Twisted Metal 3 and 4 backtracked and gave him more of a goofy, Joker-esque air. Needles (eh, let’s just call him Sweet Tooth) has gone through several significant changes throughout the series, for good and for bad. RELATED: Why Sega Saturn Should Be Sega's Next Mini-Console Players and even those vaguely familiar with the series began using the moniker “Sweet Tooth” for the tricked out vehicle and its driver, despite Needles Kane being the one behind the wheel. Soon, after however, he was usurped by the much more cuddly-and kid-friendly- Crash Bandicoot, but not before becoming an unstoppable force and name. A blazing bouncing clown head set the tone and people ate it up.įor the moment, it looked like Sweet Tooth was Playstation’s troubling de facto mascot. Upon Playstation’s 1995 debut in North America, one of the very first games released for the console was Twisted Metal. You remember Playstation’s Polygon Man, right? Don’t feel bad, nobody does (unless you played PS All-Stars Battle Royale). All the great ones have done it: Sega’s Sonic, Nintendo’s Mario and Xbox’s Master Chief. Create a character that becomes synonymous with the product. How could you not? That malevolent clown has been purposefully burned into player's brain due to the fact that he’s been featured on every piece of Twisted Metal cover art since the series’ inception certainly not by accident. Anyone who’s played Twisted Metal 1 will fondly-or maybe not so fondly-remember the first time they encountered the ice cream truck and the flaming head of its masked driver.
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Then you hear it: high-pitched maniacal laughter. Your vehicle roars down polygonal streets, picking up a cache of weapons to blast your opponents to pieces. Guitar solos drown out the sound of sirens wailing.
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