Twisted Metal 2 remains the high-water mark for vehicular combat games. Whether you are playing the original 1996 PlayStation disc, the PC port, or the modern emulated versions available on PS4 and PS5 via the classics catalog in 2026, the demand for cheat codes has never faded. These inputs allow players to bypass the grueling difficulty curves of the World Tour or simply wreak havoc with boss-tier vehicles that are otherwise inaccessible.

Entering these codes requires a mix of timing and specific menu navigation. On modern consoles, the emulated environment perfectly replicates the original input lag, so precision is necessary. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of every functional cheat code and level password needed to master the game.

Global Gameplay Cheats (PS1, PS4, and PS5)

These codes are entered during active gameplay. They do not require the game to be paused. In fact, pausing the game will prevent the code from registering. For the best results, find a quiet corner of the map like the subway tunnels in New York or the high ledges in Paris before attempting the longer sequences.

God Mode (Invincibility)

This is the most requested code in the game. It grants total immunity to all weapon fire and environmental hazards. Input: Hold L1 + R1 + L2 + R2 and press Up, Down, Left, Right, Right, Left, Down, Up. Note: You must hold all four shoulder buttons throughout the entire D-pad sequence. If performed correctly, a text notification will appear at the bottom of the screen.

Infinite Weapons and Turbo

This code ensures you never run out of specials, fire missiles, or boost energy. It effectively turns your vehicle into a non-stop artillery battery. Input: Hold L2 + R2 and press Up, Down, Left, Right, Right, Left, Down, Up.

Mega Machine Gun

Standard machine guns are usually for chip damage, but this code significantly increases their lethality and rate of fire. Input: Hold R2 and press Up, Down, Left, Right, Right, Left, Down, Up.

Homing Napalm

Standard napalm requires high skill to aim. This code allows your napalm canisters to track targets similarly to homing missiles. Input: Highlight the Napalm icon in your inventory, hold L2 and press Up, Down, Down, Left, Left, Left, Right, Right.

Unlocking Secret Characters

Twisted Metal 2 features two powerful boss characters: Minion (the demon-driven tank) and Sweet Tooth (the iconic ice cream truck). These cannot be selected by default and require inputs at the character selection screen.

How to Play as Minion

At the vehicle selection screen, quickly press: L1, Up, Down, Left. Minion possesses the highest armor in the game and a devastating special weapon that combines a freeze blast with heavy fire damage.

How to Play as Sweet Tooth

At the vehicle selection screen, quickly press: Up, L1, Triangle, Right. Sweet Tooth’s clown car is faster than it looks and his homing napalm specials are legendary for clearing out crowded arenas.

Advanced Combat Moves (Energy Moves)

Unlike the hard-coded cheats above, these are "legal" moves that any player can use as long as their energy bar (the blue bar on the right) is full. These do not require holding shoulder buttons.

  • Freeze Blast: Left, Right, Up (Consumes partial energy to freeze an opponent in place).
  • Shield: Up, Up, Right (Provides a temporary blue energy shield that deflects all damage).
  • Jump: Up, Up, Left (Essential for reaching rooftops in New York or dodging slams from Mr. Slam).
  • Napalm: Right, Left, Up (A basic arcing fire attack).
  • Rear Attack: Left, Right, Down (Fires your currently selected weapon behind you).
  • Drop Mine: Right, Left, Down (Drops a proximity mine).
  • Invisibility: Right, Down, Left, Up (Makes your vehicle transparent for a short duration).
  • Minion’s Special (for any character): While holding the Fire button (usually R2), press Up, Down, Up, Up. This uses a massive amount of energy.

Secret Multiplayer Levels

These codes must be entered at the level selection screen, but they are generally restricted to the 2-player mode. These allow you to revisit tracks from the first Twisted Metal or explore crossover tracks.

  • Cyburbia (Classic TM1 Level): Down, Up, L1, R1
  • Jet Moto Track (Suicide Swamp): Up, Down, Right, R1
  • Rooftops (Classic TM1 Level): Down, Left, R1, Down

Complete Level Password Directory

Before the era of memory cards being universal, Twisted Metal 2 used a password system to track progress. Each character has a unique set of passwords for each stage. If you are struggling to reach the final fight against Dark Tooth in Hong Kong, you can use these passwords in the "Options" menu under "Passwords."

Axel

  • Moscow: Cross, Triangle, Cross, Cross, Blank, Blank
  • Paris: Circle, Triangle, Square, Blank, Triangle, Blank
  • Amazonia: Triangle, Triangle, Square, Circle, Circle, Blank
  • New York: Blank, Triangle, Square, Square, Cross, Blank
  • Antarctica: Cross, Cross, Triangle, Square, Triangle, Circle
  • Holland: Circle, Cross, Circle, Triangle, Circle, Circle
  • Hong Kong: Triangle, Cross, Circle, Cross, Cross, Circle
  • Dark Tooth: Triangle, Square, Triangle, Square, Blank, Square

Mr. Grimm

  • Moscow: Triangle, Triangle, Cross, Cross, Circle, Blank
  • Paris: Circle, Cross, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Cross
  • Amazonia: Cross, Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle
  • New York: Triangle, Blank, Blank, Circle, Cross, Circle
  • Antarctica: Circle, Triangle, Cross, Triangle, Cross, Blank
  • Holland: Cross, Cross, Triangle, Blank, Circle, Cross
  • Hong Kong: Blank, Cross, Circle, Triangle, Square, Square
  • Dark Tooth: Blank, Square, Triangle, Circle, Circle, Triangle

Shadow

  • Moscow: Square, Blank, Blank, Triangle, Triangle, Blank
  • Paris: Cross, Cross, Circle, Blank, Triangle, Cross
  • Amazonia: Cross, Triangle, Cross, Square, Circle, Triangle
  • New York: Cross, Blank, Blank, Cross, Circle, Square
  • Antarctica: Circle, Cross, Circle, Circle, Cross, Circle
  • Holland: Circle, Triangle, Square, Triangle, Square, Blank
  • Hong Kong: Circle, Blank, Triangle, Blank, Square, Cross
  • Dark Tooth: Circle, Triangle, Blank, Triangle, Circle, Blank

Thumper

  • Moscow: Circle, Blank, Blank, Triangle, Cross, Blank
  • Paris: Cross, Square, Square, Circle, Circle, Triangle
  • Amazonia: Triangle, Cross, Circle, Blank, Square, Blank
  • New York: Cross, Cross, Triangle, Triangle, Cross, Triangle
  • Antarctica: Triangle, Triangle, Square, Blank, Blank, Blank
  • Holland: Cross, Triangle, Cross, Blank, Square, Triangle
  • Hong Kong: Triangle, Blank, Blank, Square, Triangle, Blank
  • Dark Tooth: Triangle, Blank, Triangle, Triangle, Square, Triangle

Warthog

  • Moscow: Blank, Blank, Blank, Square, Triangle, Blank
  • Paris: Triangle, Blank, Blank, Circle, Square, Blank
  • Amazonia: Circle, Blank, Blank, Square, Triangle, Blank
  • New York: Triangle, Circle, Blank, Blank, Square, Triangle
  • Antarctica: Triangle, Cross, Triangle, Blank, Square, Triangle
  • Holland: Blank, Square, Triangle, Blank, Square, Triangle
  • Hong Kong: Cross, Square, Triangle, Blank, Square, Triangle
  • Dark Tooth: Blank, Triangle, Square, Blank, Square, Triangle

Spectre

  • Moscow: Circle, Triangle, Cross, Cross, Triangle, Blank
  • Paris: Blank, Triangle, Square, Circle, Circle, Cross
  • Amazonia: Circle, Cross, Triangle, Square, Triangle, Cross
  • New York: Blank, Cross, Circle, Cross, Cross, Triangle
  • Antarctica: Cross, Blank, Blank, Blank, Circle, Triangle
  • Holland: Triangle, Blank, Square, Cross, Square, Blank
  • Hong Kong: Cross, Triangle, Cross, Triangle, Circle, Square
  • Dark Tooth: Cross, Circle, Circle, Circle, Blank, Triangle

Hammerhead

  • Moscow: Blank, Triangle, Cross, Cross, Cross, Blank
  • Paris: Blank, Cross, Triangle, Square, Cross, Triangle
  • Amazonia: Triangle, Blank, Blank, Blank, Cross, Circle
  • New York: Triangle, Triangle, Cross, Triangle, Cross, Cross
  • Antarctica: Triangle, Cross, Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square
  • Holland: Triangle, Square, Square, Cross, Square, Blank
  • Hong Kong: Circle, Triangle, Circle, Square, Square, Triangle
  • Dark Tooth: Circle, Circle, Circle, Blank, Triangle, Cross

Outlaw 2

  • Moscow: Blank, Cross, Circle, Blank, Triangle, Blank
  • Paris: Triangle, Triangle, Cross, Circle, Triangle, Blank
  • Amazonia: Triangle, Square, Square, Square, Triangle, Blank
  • New York: Circle, Cross, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Blank
  • Antarctica: Cross, Triangle, Circle, Cross, Triangle, Blank
  • Holland: Cross, Square, Square, Blank, Triangle, Blank
  • Hong Kong: Blank, Triangle, Cross, Square, Cross, Cross
  • Dark Tooth: Blank, Circle, Cross, Blank, Triangle, Blank

Roadkill

  • Moscow: Circle, Cross, Triangle, Square, Square, Blank
  • Paris: Triangle, Blank, Triangle, Blank, Blank, Circle
  • Amazonia: Cross, Cross, Triangle, Circle, Square, Triangle
  • New York: Circle, Blank, Blank, Cross, Blank, Cross
  • Antarctica: Blank, Triangle, Square, Cross, Circle, Blank
  • Holland: Cross, Blank, Blank, Triangle, Blank, Square
  • Hong Kong: Triangle, Square, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle
  • Dark Tooth: Triangle, Circle, Cross, Triangle, Square, Cross

Mr. Slam

  • Moscow: Cross, Cross, Triangle, Square, Cross, Blank
  • Paris: Cross, Blank, Blank, Circle, Cross, Square
  • Amazonia: Circle, Triangle, Square, Blank, Square, Cross
  • New York: Triangle, Cross, Circle, Square, Blank, Circle
  • Antarctica: Triangle, Blank, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Triangle
  • Holland: Blank, Circle, Blank, Blank, Circle, Blank
  • Hong Kong: Square, Blank, Blank, Triangle, Blank, Triangle
  • Dark Tooth: Square, Blank, Square, Triangle, Circle, Cross

PC-Specific Cheat Codes

The PC version of Twisted Metal 2 uses a different activation system. Instead of controller combinations, players must type the word "glorious" followed by specific phrases.

  1. Activate Cheat Mode: During gameplay, type "glorious".
  2. God Mode: Type "divine".
  3. Infinite Ammo: Type "holy smokes".
  4. More Weapons: Type "gimmemore".
  5. Powerful Machine Guns: Type "cusucka".
  6. Double Down (Stronger Weapons): Type "doubledown".
  7. Unlock Minion (Character Select): Type "glorious big boy".
  8. Unlock Sweet Tooth (Character Select): Type "glorious ice cream".

Modern Platform Considerations: PS4 and PS5

Playing Twisted Metal 2 on 2026 hardware via the PlayStation Store brings back the classic experience with higher resolution and save states. However, the use of these cheat codes has specific implications for the Trophy system.

Trophy Compatibility

Generally, enabling God Mode, Infinite Ammo, or Mega Machine Guns will disable the ability to earn trophies for the remainder of that session. If you are aiming for the Platinum trophy, it is advisable to use the Level Passwords instead. Level passwords do not count as "cheats" in the same way, as they were the original method of saving progress. You can jump directly to the Dark Tooth fight using a password and still earn the trophy for beating the game with that specific character.

Tactical Use of God Mode for Bosses

If you find the second phase of Dark Tooth impossible, some players suggest lowering his health to roughly 10% while God Mode is active, then re-entering the code to disable it before dealing the final blow. While this is a common strategy, the internal tracking of the emulated version may still flag the session. The safest route remains mastering the Freeze Blast and Shield energy moves, which never disable trophies.

Summary of Best Practices

To ensure every code works correctly:

  1. D-Pad Only: Do not use the analog sticks to enter directional codes. The classic engine only recognizes D-pad inputs.
  2. Speed Matters: The codes must be entered quickly and fluidly. If you hesitate for more than half a second between button presses, the sequence will reset.
  3. Confirmation Sounds: Listen for a subtle sound effect or look for text at the bottom of the screen. In the case of character unlocks, the portraits of Minion or Sweet Tooth will simply appear if you are on the correct screen.

Twisted Metal 2 is a game that rewards both skill and the occasional use of hidden advantages. Using these cheats can turn a frustrating difficulty spike into an enjoyable tour of destruction through Paris, Amazonia, and beyond.