Grand Theft Auto 3D Trilogy Retrospective

[@nickbangr]

RIP Ray Liotta, love this trilogy. These games were really mindblowing when they come out; one of those games you finish playing and immediately start over. The TV ads are all fresh in my mind. I've always been partial to San Andreas, can always go back to that game; but being Miami born, Vice City holds a special place.

[@Degas93]

if only they were able to make proper remasters...

[@ravirosmarys301]

Well, Miami-Born, you're about to have a blast in about a year. Congratulations!

[@looneyluna96]

He's burning in hell right now.

[@nickbangr]

@@looneyluna96 haha damn

[@itsbreadbin]

Grand Theft Auto 3 is one of the most important video games ever made. Dated by today's standards, sure. But it changed gaming forever.

[@DeadPixel1105]

Classic Doom (1993), Quake (1996), and GTA III (2001). Most important and industry-changing games ever. For sure. People like to throw Halo in there as well, but Halo was a spiritual successor of Marathon, which in turn received a good deal of inspiration from Doom.

[@samuelgeaney7556]

​@@DeadPixel1105 Halo is industry changing in the sense of what it did for console fps. So yeah it's basically the Doom of console fps.

[@CoralCopperHead]

@@samuelgeaney7556 *coughs in Goldeneye*

[@samuelgeaney7556]

@@CoralCopperHead Goldeneye was great but Halo is what changed everything.

[@kutmasterkurt22]

@@CoralCopperHeadyea facts - other 3 but golden eye as well for sure.. popularised/mainstreamed the team death match format.. can’t have cod online without that leap

[@marvinesquibel2625]

The quality of your content is insanely good i cant believe your channel is this underatted i hope this garners more attention

[@acritical]

Thanks for the kind words.

[@dontwasteyourtimehere_]

1:09:29 no, his accuracy is very good. people go too close to the train, which means it's not possible for smoke to hit the enemies. that's why people struggle with this mission, and it's not smoke's fault.

[@croissantrophy.channel]

☝🏻🤓

[@TheGlobeIsADeception]

You are correct. I used to always have trouble with Wrong Side Of The Tracks, however when I started riding my bike further away from the train, Big Smoke could should the Vargos more easily and quicker.

[@avace917]

GTA III is actually my favorite of these. Mostly for nostalgic reasons. Being a New Yorker, Liberty City (both 3D and HD versions) is the environment I related to most. I loved VC, VCS and San Andreas. The simplicity of III is what stood out to me most.

[@LegioXXI]

I like all the classic games, and im glad that you admitted that nostalgia plays a huge role in you favoring GTA 3. Because as much as this game was groundbreaking for its time, its the one GTA that aged the worst and even back in the day had a lot of issues (mainly difficulty, like making some stories/side quests almost impossible after some gangs start to openly attack you). Being just sprayed down within 2 seconds by enemies with M16s also caused so much frustration for me as a kid, like seriously, why are people still meming the actually easy "Follow the damn train" mission from San Andreas, but not the busted GTA 3 M16? I still like it tho, i accept it for what it is but objectively it's the "worst" of classic GTA, even Liberty City Stories show how much better the gaming experience could have been by just having some *minor* improvements. The best thing about GTA 3 are the lessons that Rockstar learned for their future games. I'm glad it existed, but when i feel nostalgic to play old GTA games, i always skip this one.

[@avace917]

@@LegioXXI that's the thing. III hasn't aged that badly to me. I understand why others will say that. Those limitations never bothered me. Plus I had all of the chest codes. 😁😁😁😁 I don't remember how I passed the other El Burro missions but I passed Turismo by using the bulletproof Hummer (Patriot) in order to beat it.

[@TheDuneDovah]

Such fond memories with these games. The first game I remember playing was Vice City in 2004

[@TheCFD_Dude]

For those wondering about the FPS limit, at least in the case of GTA SA on PC, it's default lock is actually 25 FPS. Having a high frame rate breaks an undernoted amount of game physics. Examples include permanant vehicle breaking, limited mid air vehicle control, reduced swim speed, inability to dive underwater as the dive animation ends before the player is dived enough, dying instantly while mounting fences, reduced input needed to turn on siren (essentially, you can't hold the key to switch for more than like milisecond, otherwise it will just honk the vehicle,) etc. Silent, a very reputable modder, made a modpack that ups the limiter to 30 FPS and fixes a majority of the FPS tied bugs. It's the Silentpatch. It includes stuff like increased render distances as well, and in 2023, is the most optimum way of playing GTA San Andreas.

[@BIGwillTHEGAME]

San Andreas is my favorite video game since childhood.

[@LBTennis]

Grove Street 4lif

[@MPS72192]

I really wish more content on KZbin were long form like this, instead of shorts and small video clips.

[@DudiestPriest]

One thing about the obeying driving laws in the games is that in LA Noire, they push the player to drive this way rather than how you would see the average player drive in GTA.

[@l3wismoreman9227]

Toni sounds like Travis Bakers from Crime Boss.

[@tgirlswagspacecow]

Great video, I’m glad I finally got around to watching it! You especially did a great job displaying the evolution of this trilogy as it goes along, as well as managing to mix talking about the gameplay and story in great synchronicity. Awesome video, liked :3

[@a.j.9359]

Actually in III if you know the weapon spawns there's no need to spend any money in gun stores. There is a flame thrower on top of the Head Radio HQ, a shotgun in the alley of Saint Marks, also an AK, an SMG on top of the Sawmill in the harbor with an armor pickup. Also you can get 30 packages for few extra guns.

[@acritical]

Ah, that's true. I didn't think of that at the time of making this video. Still, that seems like it would quickly get irritating if you had to do it over and over. Oh well.

[@LegioXXI]

But you get so much money in GTA 3 anyways, and since there is not really much to do with money besides buying guns, you really need to die a lot before the scavenging for wild guns becomes necessary.

[@njnjnnj100]

A real treat of a video, your war 3 vid brought me to your channel, lovely long form retrospectives man. Also, Toni's voiced by Michael Madsen in 3, who's also a pretty big star, you didn't mention him with the other, figured you might not know and find it interesting.

[@acritical]

Cheers mate. I appreciate it.

[@cattrucker8257]

It's almost weird to see such well-done retrospectives and reviews with so little attention. I hope the algorithm wakes up for you. Speaking as a lifelong singleplayer GTA enjoyer, it's pretty nicely done from a more general, less deeply-involved point of view, it's more accessible to a regular viewer who's not a GTA fanatic that's "in" on everything. We're already at a time when that kinda retrospective you gave to the 3D trilogy is warranted simply to introduce more people to them because by now they're no longer a near-universal gaming memory, a whole generation grew up that never partook in them. I personally find GTA 2 also worth thinking about, remembering the experience I had playing it early on, but it is indeed true that the 3D series was the out-of-the-park hit and a near-revolutionary expansion of what GTA could amount to with every step. It's a common sorta shakeup between VC and SA for people's favourite GTA game; I personally lean more towards SA but I spent many a schoolboy afternoon having fun in VC.

[@acritical]

Thank you very much. I'm sure views will come in time. I did wonder about a deep dive into each game, going through every mission and all that, but I felt a more general retrospective would be more appropriate in the end. Initially this video was meant to incorporate GTA 1 and 2 as well but I had trouble getting them to run properly so I scrapped the idea. Thanks again for this comment and the various others you have made across separate videos as well.

[@cattrucker8257]

@@acritical I recall someone else doing a pretty chonky GTA overview, and going into plenty of detail on 1 and 2 (exactly the "for those already initiated into the trivia" approach that can be kinda hit or miss). Going from what I know of the games myself and from what I've seen talked about them, I'd think it'd be best to go with 1 and 2 in one go just as you did the 3D-era "main" trilogy. Just taking 2 by itself, while it's an interesting quirky game, can get a bit flat - remarking more on differences and evolution from the first generation would give a lot more meat to such a review, and for that, the first generation gotta get looked into as well. Honestly I kinda miss GTA2 sometimes, it was a unique little experience too that nothing really recreated since. Like weird late-90s low-scifi cyberpunk more than anything else, really cool in that way. I hope you might find a way to run those games - I know speedrunners can run 2 well, could use looking into how they do it.

[@Coco-Don]

I grew up with San Andreas. I played it EVERYDAY. I LOVE how the planes control. You can do some wild stunts with them.

[@Ardeesv]

Bro this video was edited and put together perfectly man! Looking forward to the videos on the newer grand theft auto & im looking forward to seeing what the rest of your channel has to hold! Good luck with KZbin man. Based on this video alone, you definitely deserve to blow

[@CoralCopperHead]

My favourite thing about the 3D timeline is the fact that the first game released in it is the chronological ending of the overarching narrative.

[@noobamooba]

And the last one (gta vcs) is the begining

[@Wadey229]

wow, just wow, I expect this quality from a channel with millions, this standard of both quantity and quality is just breath taking, crushing it dude! Earnt a sub.

[@aclockworkreview]

Wasn't Tony from flash fm in vice city also Tony from flashback 95.6 in gta 3 I noticed that when I was a kid thinking its nice that we finally get to hear what she was like in the past

[@youreprettygood2603]

Donald Love is probably the most degenerate character in the trilogy, he is a cannibal and a necrophile. I know this video is specifically about III/VC/SA and not LCS/VCS, but in LCS he is seen eating human ribs during the cutscene for the mission Cam Pain, saying that it tastes like chicken. He has Tony steal the remains of Avery Carrington (from Vice City, his business rival in the real estate market) and Ned Burner (who tried to expose his degeneracy) from the morgue so that he can "eat one and fuck the other" for his enjoyment. In GTA3 he is more tame but still admits to throwing morgue parties on a regular basis and having dead bodies delivered directly to his table. In 2009 series writer Dan Houser said that Donald Love left Liberty City in a hurry to escape from law enforcement after crossing the line one too many times even given his wealth and influence, considering this he probably also left the United States altogether.

[@LegioXXI]

I sill can't forgive Rockstar for killing off Avery Carrington. Bothers me more than Johnnys death. Especially since the characters death is just a middle finger towards the voice actor.

[@NureinBeobachter]

great review, 'enjoyed the watch :)

[@acritical]

Thank you.

[@banaresali]

I remember getting GTA3 and feeling I would never ever again get bored...lol

[@kegleo]

my first gta was gta3 even tho gta 4 was out but i didnt know cause my parents didnt allow me to be on internet for long, and before that i had ps1 and this shit blew my mind, i played it nonstop it was funny then to realise there so much better gtas out there and i was already impressed by third game. Thank u for retrospective, brings a lot of memories and thoughts.

[@hoosiernative9668]

I feel like the gta trilogy progressed so well because the games were 1-2 years apart from one another, that’s why it felt like the games kept getting better, they would give us a brand new game while fixing everything about the previous ones. now in days it’s takes them 6-10 years! GTA 5 was released late 2013! We’re about to enter 2025 in a couple weeks and still no gta 6.

[@powcod7455]

It seems we won't be getting gta 6 till at least bare minimum 2026 meaning us pc players aren't getting it until 2028 or 2029

[@fuyu848]

Grand theft auto 3 has such nostalgic memory. Such important of its time

[@officialneverfar]

underated asf

[@DrLazyCreature]

Great video. I love those types of analysis. I can't wait for GTA 4 (my fav) and GTA5. Maybe in the future Fallout or Mass Effect? :)

[@acritical]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Mass Effect is potentially on the cards in the future but I cannot say when.

[@rolandswamp]

22:12 this bug relates to too much high FPS, with the limiter on or fps manually lowered this bug is no more. same in GTASA, when you try to climb roofs, but get smacked by something to death

[@brojep8297]

Great video And the stairs problem is I think due to the higher refresh rates could be something else tho

[@acritical]

Thanks for watching.

[@WinstonBuford]

yup

[@Leafsfanforever]

I read somewhere that Ryders voice actor said that was all they wanted him to do. It still seems off how you kill him and everything

[@riccardomallardo7779]

49:25 don't forget about toni

[@SupplementalSense]

San Andreas is a masterpiece. It was so good that GTA 4 was a bit of a disappointment to me. It's still very enjoyable today.

[@weareoutbreak89]

Same here. San Andreas was one of the last Games in the GTA-Franchise that..... didn't feel too dark and gritty. the original Trilogy went from one Extrem to the next, mixing normal every day tasks with hillarious shit like messing with the Army or using rc-toys to get shit done. 4 on the other hand...... felt like a complete restart of the series. No more Army, no insane melee-weapons like the chainsaw, no more recruiting gangmembers or taking over enemy territories..... and the missions felt like less fun and all too much focused on being an angry, cold blooded killa without the often hillarious conversations between the protagonist and the other npc's..... it felt like take two wanted to erase the past and set a new course for the future. I had way less fun playing 4 to a point where i stopped playing it all together and went back to the OG-trilogy. It's not bad by any means, but the design-changes and story-telling was simply not to my likings.

[@SupplementalSense]

@@weareoutbreak89 I agree on all points you made. I never finished GTA4. I went back to it once and it still didn't do it for me. I have completed San Andreas a few times since then.

[@Haxinatoralus]

Another fun fact about GTA:SA radio, K-DST is hosted by Tommy Smith, which is voiced by Axl Rose.

[@leonbell5141]

Just noticed Wang-Cars is “Wankers” classic 😂

[@princegroove]

San Andreas is my favorite because it symbolized that magical 90’s West Coast hip hop culture and urban setting that I was exposed to while growing up in L.A.

[@thepaintedwoodsmanshow3842]

I have nostalgia for these games

[@katoahirou8151]

Will you be making a retrospective for the gta stories duo?

[@NStarX9]

For me GTA is like going to the alternative earth of our own so it’s exciting to see what they do that’s similar to our own and I enjoy the history it’s cool to discover the Easter eggs and lore

[@Josh-cm9jw]

My only experience of the 3D universe had been GTA SA up until the part where CJ gets exiled to Whetstone (and general open world shenanigans), but when the GTA VI trailer came out, I decided to do a marathon of the 3D trilogy and the current HD releases. Just got to the end of San Andreas and can honestly say the 3D games have really impressed me in just how enjoyable it's been to get through them. Only one I wouldn't return to to complete 100% is GTA 3, but VC and SA were absolute game changers.

[@S-69888]

Acritical: Ryder i never care for 1:21:44

[@pyro934]

2:42 True, but you can also be bad as a (fake) cop. Hopefully they will implement something like this in GTA 6

[@wedasantika6079]

Fortunately in PC version there's mod to view the entire map. This is really lifesaver.

[@GeorgeValentineIV]

From what I've noticed in GTA IV, when you get to Alderney it's the same deal as in GTA III with Shoreside Vale... The missions are fewer than in the other 2 islands until the game is over, or at least that's how I remember it... Also, personally, for continuity sake (I know that they are in a different universe), I try imagining that Shoreside Vale is in fact somewhere close to Hove Beach and the airport, only not shown in THIS version of the map (as if the "movie" isn't taking part in this portion of the island and that it exists, only not shown), thus Red Light District and Portland in General could be somewhere in Alderney or Alderney in Portland... We'll never know 😂🤭 Hopefully, however, someone in Rockstar could make a connection between each universe... To me it would be better than a remake or even than a AAA game with lots of new characters... IF Rockstar could make a new game with 20% of the "cast" being new characters (main characters included) and the rest consisted of old ones that reappear to show us what happened to them after we left them (perhaps some of them being MC's too), I'd be extremely happy... Like Imagine that fanart wallpaper which shows all the GTA protagonists inside an apartment. When I first saw it, I was like "YES! This scene in a GTA game would be AWESOME!"

[@d.fortner6653]

When are you going to do the gta 4 and gta 5 videos?

[@peter-w]

Hope this gets more views 🙂

[@ItsAnGoose]

What version of the games were you playing? The ps2 originals are hard to go back to now due to frame rate issues and low resolution but the better alternatives have been removed from stores by Rockstar 😢

[@AronHallan]

And that's why GTA SA is the GOAT.

[@MrUKRAINEC]

Why you just dont save between missions to keep all your ammo?

[@peconi47]

you shouldve played with silentpatch, makes the experience so much better and fixes a lot of bugs in each game

[@AyoKeyloGaming]

the base pc version are downgrades, like for example - GTA SA pc not having the orange sky, missing object, mission changes, missing or changed objects, car reflections, etc. i suggest the essentials pack from mixmods before really reviewing these bad pc ports

[@Coco-Don]

Wrong side of the tracks was SO hard when I was a kid. I’m currently playing through right now on PC and it was SO much easier.

[@Xegethra]

You're meant to see that the strip club is open, go in and see if it does anything. If us kids at the time could figure it out, people don't have an excuse today. It's a lame "job" I'll admit. They could have at least had you watch the poles for a little bit but not for a mission or 100% just to keep it function as a strip club. They could have given you missions involving protecting or acquiring strippers instead. 48:39 That's not true. Only Lips 106 and Head Radio has original music. Everything else is licenced.

[@bouncingbluesoul5270]

Could you cover the two stories games ?

[@Scaley_Reptile]

Collect all the hidden packages to get all the weapons for free at your base. Push vehicles from missions back to garage to see which ones are bulletproof or unique in some way,, get 6 stars and steal a tank.. then continue your rampage .. or keep the tank.. things your just had to do in thee older gta games to have fully experienced it.

[@lornbaker1083]

I grew up in a city that was used in movies to replicate newyork for cheaper then actually filming there. so for me liberty city will always have my heart. both in 3 and 4. i was never to places like miami or la so as amazing as those game areas are. they dont have the deeper connection to me that the grime and rain slick streets of Liberty City.

[@Max_Mustermann]

Vice City probably works so well because the somewhat cartoonish graphics of the 3D universe games fit the stylized aesthetic of the game perfectly, while GTA 3 and San Andreas are trying to be gritty and realistic. Both are good games in their own right, but they feel a bit more dated graphics wise.

[@john_marstonof1911]

Also gta 3 was delayed cause of 9/11 cause their offices were at ground 0 and also didnt want people too buy a violent video game right after a terrorist attack and had too change alot of things too make it less like new your and no 9/11 similarities

[@justaloadofash]

6:04, 30:33, My mind: America, land of the free, home of the brave, and the stupid, and the criminally insane, On tonight's episode od grand theft auto biographies.

[@MrRhysReviews]

I feel sorry for the kids these days that only get to play GTA V or GTA V Enhanced or GTA V BLOODY AGAIN 😂 When my friends and I were growing up it was during PEAK Rockstar Games, not only did we get like 6 GTAs with most being really awesome Period Pieces (GTA VC/SA/LCS/VCS) but we also got stuff like Bully, Red Dead 1 & 2 (Revolver and Redemption 1 for all you babies out there 😅) Max Payne Trilogy, Midnight Club, Manhunt 1/2 and so many more amazing games. I miss old Rockstar 😢

[@KingOf603HQ]

Vice city is still the only one I've never beaten and now I know why lol never knew you needed to invest in businesses

[@WinstonBuford]

you meet phil cassidy in both gta3 and Vice City

[@Pimpgamer101]

Ah GTA, the only series where the original trilogy started with 3.

[@Supreme-AMVs]

No gta 3 has the most difficult missions of any gta game

[@wolfpackwarriors]

Zero

[@JaimeAndreiHeramizArnado]

one time i was playing gta sa on mobile and i heard freebird on the radio.💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@Melta-h6b]

How is that cool or funny at all?

[@croissantrophy.channel]

💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@louie480]

GTA is definitely the PICASSO Of game design

[@aftrthejake6843]

I like GTA 3 more than vice City. 😅😐

[@Melta-h6b]

Wow that's some terrible taste. Nice job

[@Fatih_M177]

​@@Melta-h6b That's just their opinion, nothing wrong with that. Vice City is objectively the better game, but subjectively some enjoy GTA 3 more, some enjoy San Andreas more. I enjoy the trilogy equally! Everyone's got their taste!

[@AlryFireBlade]

How influencial GTA 3 was, is easy seen when looking at Jak and Daxter especially Jak II. Yes it needed change, but it is obvious where the Open World Mission based structre comes from. They did a target group test back then with a basic Version of Jak II that was like Jak 1. What did the kids say? "It is nice, a great game for my little brother". How old where these kids? 8... fukcing 8 years old. Answer to the question what they play? "GTA III" It changed the Gaming industry so hard it is nearly unbelievable.

[@kutmasterkurt22]

We did learn his name mate - he was called Miguel 🤓

[@BIGwillTHEGAME]

48:51 HEE HEE

[@patmakesperfect]

Actually gta was made because of a glitch in race n chase that made all the police attack the bad guy outta nowhere

[@2011multisam]

I remember my first time playing Vice City I had to look up how to complete the game, even then it took me forever to find the print works, then I had to get enough money to purchase it because I hadn't done so prior to this. One of the reasons I tend to not go back to it in all honesty

[@memazov6601]

you forgot vcs and lcs there 3d games

[@At-px6rm]

Aw shit. Here we go again

[@stupid90able]

You're supposed to be saving after every mission so if you die you can load a save instead of wasting time and money going to buy your weapons again.

[@artcrime2999]

HIDDEN PACKAGES Who cares about losing ammo when you get it all back at home for free

[@abbasraza2493]

Great vid. But I could not sit and enjoy the footage with the slow swimming, slow boats, the rapid fire weapons, the back swinging cars and fast AI. You should have done a bit of research as to the best way to play these games. The stock, unmodified games from steam on PC are one of the worst ways to play these games. Now I'm not saying to load up the defective editions or mobile ports either. And although emulating the PS2 versions is a option, the best way to play these games is on PC with a bit of modding. These mods add nothing to these games which make them anything else but enhanced vanilla, instead they bring them to the PS2 original visuals, adding widescreen, restoring some music and fixing all the bugs. Some add weather effects from the PS2 and re-enable the 2DFX that had made the orange hue possible on the PS2. It enhances all these games greatly. And if you weren't interested in modding completely, just add reIII and reVC for gta 3 and vc. They are just single .exe files that greatly improve that broken default experience. Unfortunately, you do have to manually mod GTA SA to get it into a good, unbroken playable state. Great vid tho.

[@KipChipperlyJr]

Yappinator over here

[@croissantrophy.channel]

Most people are casual players. Casual players don't modd. This is how 99.99999% will experience these games. So nothing wrong, if anything adding modds would set unrealistic expectations and make this video less accurate.

[@S-69888]

Bollas

[@EisensteinPrime]

Hidden packages.

[@Melta-h6b]

Hidden packages.

[@TheGlobeIsADeception]

Hidden packages.

[@YoungBasedChefBeezy]

A retrospective leaving out 2 titles from the 3D era is lazy