- "To his followers, Sweet Tooth was a king. He was a god, and they'll never stop worshipping him. The day he died, they began to build this in his honor. They say one day the clown will return; stronger and madder than before. For now, they roll across the land, searching for a sign of their lord's resurrection. Pity on you, Krista. Destroying the only sign of hope those freaks have..."
- —Calypso on the Carnival of Carnage
Sweet Tooth's Carnival of Carnage is a massive, mobile fortress built by The Clowns. Dedicated to the memory of the late Needles Kane, it serves as the final boss of Twisted Metal (2012). In game, the boss battle is separated into four phases as the players work their way through the monstrous war machine.
The vehicle was fought and destroyed by Krista Sparks (A.K.A. Dollface) during her participation in the tournament.
Design and Features[]
At first glance, Sweet Tooth's Carnival of Carnage can be described as a large circus tent on wheels; it seems to be based off of a large jack-in-the-box, and is carnival themed, adorned with the classic polka-dots found on the vehicle Sweet Tooth. The colorful nature of the vehicle, however, is largely overshadowed by its dual function as The Clowns' mobile fortress and a macabre monument to their former leader.
It is supported by five sets of massive wheels on each side of the unit, large enough to destroy small vehicles with little effort. The Carnival is outfitted with various advanced technologies, including sophisticated weapons, dangerous self-supporting traps, and a force field which surrounds the Carnival and keeps any unwanted intruders inside so they can be ambushed and destroyed. It is controlled from the "Sweet-in-the-Box" at the very top of the vehicle; as the destruction of this component would lead to the deactivation of the entire Carnival, it has been made extremely difficult to reach. In case recon is needed, a polka-dotted helicopter is kept in a hidden helipad on top of the unit.
Underbelly[]
The centerpiece of the Carnival's underbelly is an automated clown head with a flamethrower.
The underside of the Carnival of Carnage is a large self-defense system which consists of multiple machine gun turrets and flamethrowers. An Electric Cage is present around the vehicle itself, causing anyone who leaves its range to take constant damage over time. Enemies also have to be mindful of the giant wheels, which can damage anything that touches them. To add to the defense, many Clowns patrol the underbelly of the Carnival in their own personal Sweet Tooth vehicles, protecting the largely open areas of the underbelly.
All of these efforts combine to protect an important asset to the unit - the entrance to the vehicle. It appears as an enormous clown head which shoots streams of flame from its mouth. Inside of the mouth of this clown head is an elevator which leads to the main chamber of the Carnival, which is modeled after a pinball machine. The clown head must be destroyed in order to use this hidden elevator.
Pinball Chamber[]
The Carnival's interior.
Inside of Sweet Tooth's Carnival of Carnage is a huge room which resembles the inside of a pinball machine, complete with giant bumpers, colorful lights, and large, explosive pinballs. Protected by Clowns armed with chainsaws, this room is the least-defended area of the structure. There are two sets of two square-shaped bumpers on each side of the room which are colored blue, as well as multiple, circular bumpers that are colored red. Red bumpers can hurt a player if they come into contact with one. However, if a player touches one of the large blue bumpers, health energy will be transferred into a red bumper and change it to a blue one, creating a means to restore health.
In the center of the room is a large target which, when hit, will launch a clown carrying a time bomb into the fray. These bombs can be used to destroy the clown head on the north end of the room, which is the gateway to the next area of the Carnival.
Obstacle Course[]
The Obstacle Course.
Surrounding the Carnival and leading to the very top of the structure is a line of twisting halfpipes which are protected by numerous traps, including over-sized maces, flame-spewing exhaust pipes, giant blade-edged fans, and titanic axes, all put in place to protect the helipad on top of the Carnival. Large Death Balls roll through the course, trying to impede enemy progress or force them to hit one of the other hazards.
The entrance to the helicopter's hangar is guarded by a pair of spiked fists which clash together repeatedly before pausing. If Dollface and her gunner manage to pass this final defense, they can commandeer the helicopter and move on to the final phase of the battle.
Sweet-in-the-Box[]
The Sweet-in-the-Box.
As with most of the vehicles based on Sweet Tooth, the Carnival of Carnage has its own horrific clown head adorned on top of it - the Sweet-in-the-Box. This massive clown head, modeled after Needles Kane, is the primary control room and is also the weak point of this massive structure. It is set atop a thin, multi-jointed neck that gives it a surprising range of movement.
The clown head is extremely durable, and is able to use its weight and size to headbutt and bite attackers. It can also release a volley of large fireballs from its mouth and fire a barrage of missiles from a cannon within its nose. It also has the assistance of an endless horde of Clown-piloted Sweet Bots, equipped with flight capabilities and time-delayed self-destruct sequences.
While the Sweet-in-the-Box is well armed and armored, it has one fatal design flaw. On top of the Sweet-in-the-Box is a hole which seems to be the entrance to the primary control room. Using the Talon's magnet crane, it is possible to drop critically damaged Sweet Bots into the hole, leaving them to detonate in the most sensitive component of the entire Carnival of Carnage. Enough damage to this artificial "brain" will cause a chain reaction in the vehicle, resulting in its destruction.
In the end, Sweet-in-the-Box is destroyed. Meanwhile, Dollface kills her gunner as she believes there's only room for one at the top.
Trivia[]
- While in the Pinball Chamber, it can be seen that many of the Clowns carrying chainsaws have several designs that resemble classic iterations of Needles Kane. Some look like the original Needles Kane from Twisted Metal (1995), some look like the version from Twisted Metal III, and others look like the clown who speaks during Twisted Metal 4's endings. Most notable is the version that looks exactly like Needles Kane in this game, where he only lacks the flaming hair.
- When the Sweet-in-the-Box is destroyed, four bodies fly out. However, only two people are ever shown to be inside the metal monster.
- The driver of the Carnival of Carnage uses the same model as Sweet Tooth's gunner, who died in the fight against The Brothers Grimm.
- This is the only part of the game (and in the series minus in Twisted Metal) where people are on foot and fighting the cars.
- This boss fight may have been based on Tower Tooth from Twisted Metal: Head-On.
- Only a handful of vehicles can be used in the fight: Crimson Fury, Death Warrant, Kamikaze, Meat Wagon, Outlaw, Road Boat, Roadkill, Shadow, Talon (For the last phase only) and Warthog.
Gallery[]
