Best Plot Twists
Unable to think of any bad plot twists off the top of my head, I went to TV Tropes to help jog my memory. After battling away the Wikipedia problem several hours later, I found that I wasn't finding a lot of bad ones that weren't already mentioned, but I was finding a lot of good ones (which would be great examples to start this thread with, if I could remember what they were).
So I want to hear from you guys, what are your favorite plot twists?
So I want to hear from you guys, what are your favorite plot twists?
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/endthread
I mean, your winners are "I am your father" and "I am your father".
Final Fantasy X had a nice twist.
The main character never really existed.
Soylent Green
Planet of the Apes
Fight Club
Hero and Rashomon do a good job of keeping you guessing until the end, but I don't know if that qualifies as a twist.
As for games I've actually played, the entire second halves of both The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood and Beyond the Alley of the Dolls. The former was the reason I came to the forums and the latter delivered the same "sucker punched and loving it" feeling. Well done, Telltale.
I'd also like to second Fight Club and toss in Memento.
Two of them from Super Paper Mario. First, the Sammer's Kingdom. Mario's not arriving in time and the consequences, just...wow. Second, the ending, with who the real villain is and Luigi's role.
That's why James Cameron makes the big bucks, folks.
Rumor has it that is a true story!
I loled hard.
Pish-posh. They said the same thing about the moon landing, but did you see any cheese in that footage? No swiss, no cheddar, no colby, neither Wensleydale nor pepperjack. You could hardly call it a moon at all!
This. If I took the time to type out every great plot twist from all the murder mysteries I've read it would take me hours. I'll name a couple though.
Murder on the Orient Express.
Young Sherlock Holmes.
In the Mouth of Madness.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Fullmetal Alchemist.
The Furher King of the entire country is a homunculus.
Up until that point he was so sweet and innocent and helpful, but little did anyone know it was just because he was under orders not to kill any of the heroes. When the shit hit the fan it was no more mister nice guy.
The manga had a nice equivalent of this when Selim Bradley, the Furher's cute little son, was introduced as the most powerful homunculus. Even though Bradley is more powerful in the manga, hell a complete badass, I kind of prefer the first anime version because of how well done his character was and how suspenseful it became once you found out the truth; the surprise was gone in the manga when it happened again and frankly Brotherhood didn't handle suspense very well. The homunculi were also suspenseful in the manga because you never knew when they would decide to break orders, get piss your pants scary, and kill your shit. Brotherhood, mostly, kept ruining the mood.
Psycho.
After the Thin Man.
American Psycho.
Big O.
Mask of the Phantasm.
Death Note.
Some others I liked-
Perfect Blue.
Vertigo.
Jacobs Ladder.
Paranoia Agent.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Batman: Under the Red Hood.
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
Batman: War Games.
Twin Peaks.
Missing.
I could keep going but those are some good picks I think.
Also, finding out that the Furher's son in the manga shocked me some, but what shocked me more was that someone on the internet ACCURATELY PREDICTED IT two years before, with scraps of evidence collected from the manga that had been revealed up to that pint. Before it was revealed, everyone thought she was pulling at straws. Now she's something of an internet hero.
Lastly, the twit that the mice in Hitchhiker's Guide were the ones responsible for both creating Earth and destroying it was quite a surprise.
Charade -
The plot twist on the second one was more predictable and less impressive to me, but still a good one.
I laughed, but in fairness I think he's reffering to "would you kindly" in Bioshock
Megaman Battle Network
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (I know there's no way in hell this qualifies as good but I love it because of how absurd it is XD)
Phoenix Wright: Justice for All
Case 5 with Matt Engarde. Enough said.
I'll post more if I can think of them >.>
By happened again you mean with the Fuhrer or with Bradly? The first doesn't really make sense to say "happened again" since it's the original. I agree with you though, loved those twists.
In Bioshock, Andrew Ryan reveals that you're being controlled by a code-phrase and forces you to listen to him. He tells you that you're his son. He says that once he found this out, he couldn't kill you. He informs you that the man supposedly helping you has been forcing you to do his will. And then he uses that code-phrase implanted in you at birth to make you kill him. That's a massive twist that completely changed the story, not to mention that it's the only time the game literally takes control from you and forces you to do something that you (probably) don't want to do. It made a great game utterly amazing.
The Empire Strikes Back takes the same plot twist and does something completely different with it. The big bad, Darth Vader, reveals that he's Luke's father. But then he tries to convince him to join him. But Luke refuses. He can't believe that his father, a man he'd been led to believe all his life was a good and noble man, is one of the most evil men alive.And he rejects him, casting himself to an almost certain doom. And the film pretty much stays in that tone until the end, conveying a sense of doom and almost utter hopelessness that isn't really countered until the sequel.
There are other plots twists in other stories that other people may consider better. But I honestly believe that those two brief moments are some of the most powerful and impressive twists that I've ever seen, and I can't see that ever changing.
I sure as hell didnt! He was my fave chareter on it aswell T_T.
Indeed. 'Nuff said. Epic twist.
Another great PW twist for me was case 3 of PW1. The twist about the person in the Samurai suit.
How do you put up spoiller tags?
Like this [ spoiler ] but with out spaces [ /spoiler]
Okay second attempt:
A question regarding Matt Engarde:
EDIT: Jeej! Worked! ^^
Yeah I made a mistake here. By happened again I mean I read the manga after I saw the first anime, so for me when I saw the same twist again in the manga the impact was lessened. But personally, I still say it was better in the first anime because you spent around 40 episodes attached to the idea of the Furher being a good guy. So it was utterly impossible for you to see it coming. It wasn't done randomly either; it was done very well. Marta just happened to sneak into the wrong place and catch Bradley without even meaning to; up 'til then Bradley was a master spy about it.
In the manga and in Brotherhood it's so obvious and so early that the only suspense comes from how powerful Bradley is, but even then there are characters who can counter him. In the first anime, Roy BARELY managed and would have died if not for Selim. In the manga and Brotherhood this suspense is transferred to Selim instead, who is made less of an 80's action villain than Bradley (maybe a bit extreme of a comparison) and more of the conscience-empty never know when he may strike utter bastard. Envy's basically the same in both series but I can't help but feel some of his greatness and power from the first anime was transferred to Selim in Brotherhood as well. Hell, even Gluttony was transferred to Selim. The only reason Father really even needed any of the other homunculi was because he needed more than just one powerful force at work and he needed them spread out. Outside of that, Selim could have eaten his brothers and sisters at any time and been just fine. Hell, Father could have kept them within himself until the end when he didn't need them. Once Selim could eat other homunculi, it took their power and individuality away and it just made you wonder why he didn't do it before.
Anyway, rant over.
Like Origami I think this is a great twist, in fact I think it may have been the best twist in the series since
Yeah that was probably the darkest mario game to date.
Along with that there was also
Luvbi's role in the story(I mean that was unexpected)
Mario actually
Luigi's role as you said(which created the best music ever)
Bowser actually
Luigi's role
Tippi's identity
Bleck's identity
Mario killing someone and it having consequences(the caveman level's boss)
Wow, so many twists in that story, may not be a good paper mario game, but certainly a good game.
HOWEVER, they missed out on one crucial bit. When Elika is in your arms and you're leaving the temple, the game's credits roll, though you're still in control of the Prince. The implication is that the game is OVER now. However, once the credits have finished and you've laid her body down, you're still in control unless you just leave the game. The only action you can do now is to destroy the seals; something the game does NOT tell you to do, just allows you to.
Obviously, destroying them seems to be a bad choice, but would fill the "emptiness" of the original ending, which is just leaving the game once the world is saved. However, it's also the game reminding you: When given a choice, you must always remember one option is to do nothing at all.
Penumbra.
Then a DOUBLE twist: Your character says something along the lines of:
I promised this creature that I would ask the world to stay away from this place. To leave it in peace.
I lied.
The mine is at coordinates -270.3 W, 189.4 N. Kill them. Kill them all.
[MESSAGE SENT]
(the creature knocks you unconscious, presumably to kill you for your betrayal)
Ah, yes! When I first saw it, I was literally yelling to the screen "There's Rosebud! Turn around! There it is!!!". That's what happens when a movie is so damn good: You believe it's real.
But I love Knights of the Old Republic's twist cause they give you so many hints about it and you can still be amazed.
Oh and obviously The Sixth Sense. I never saw that coming I had to see it again to totally get it. Good acting, good directing good script.
I was biased towards the game. I heard dissapointing stories about the first one and wasn't looking that forward to playing 2. But a friend insisted and borrowed me his copy.
Owh man, what a twist near the ending and the actual ending is one of the most epic climaxes and cliffhanger endings ever.
Finding out the Joker is
I just hope you got to see the uncut version.