Why is Vice City So Beloved?
Video Overview & Insights
Hey there! It's Doug!
My father’s favorite game. rip Dad
I've been pondering a question for quite a while. Despite being so fundamentally similar to GTA 3, why exactly is Grand Theft Auto Vice City such a beloved game, even over 20 years after its original release? In this video, I aim to answer this question for myself, as well as those of you who may have wondered the same thing. Enjoy!
Huge thanks to https://www.youtube.com/@1DERER1 for the background music in this video. If you like GTA music, check out his channel!
The 80s.
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It's beloved because it was the first one most 90's kids played.
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Happy Saturday ☀️
Here's my opinion. GTA Vice City is my favorite GTA but I've only played GTA 2, GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas. GTA 2, I haven't played since I was a kid in like 99 or 2000. It is a top down game and not like 3, Vice City, or San Andreas. Fun but not the same. Then GTA 3 came out. This game was fun at the time, but not because of the story. I remember taking turn with my brother and our friends to see how long we could last until we died while pissing off the cops. We put in the all weapons cheat code and just starting shooting everything until we died to the cops. I did eventually play the story but never beat it.
Vice City, this was my game and I just started playing it a couple of weeks ago for the first time since like 2002 or 2003. From memory, I loved the game because it takes place in the 80's, it's very much like Scarface. I loved 80's music because that's what my dad listened to so that's what I listed to the majority of the time. I loved the style of the cars. I didn't remember the weapons being clunky because but damn, that's taking some getting used to. But, to all that say you had to be there at that time, we didn't have the polished games like today. This was 2002, they were just figuring things out. But I loved the story. Now, I didn't do every little thing for the game but I remember buying all properties and beating the main story. All in all, it was just a fun game.
San Andreas, I haven't played this game since 2004 or 2005. I will probably try it again since it's been so long. I do remember some improvements and cool features of the game. I loved that you could swim. Not being able to swim on 3 and Vice City always frustrated me. I like that they made it to where you can change how you look in that you can work out and get muscled up. I like that they added a girlfriend feature. That was kind of a fun mini game in itself. But, I didn't finish the story. I think maybe I outgrew that kind of game? I mainly played Madden and NCAA football back then. 05/06 was my senior year in HS. Then the 360 and ps3 were coming out and so I just never picked up San Andreas back up since I had a better console.
So why do I like Vice City, nostalgia is the biggest part. The story is the next reason.
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Vice city Stories was the better vice city. Change my mind
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It’s not fundamentally similar to GTA3, I’ve never been able to play past 2 missions in GTA3.
There’s so many things you could do in vice city that you could not do in GTA3.
Vice city laid the foundation for San Andreas and the whole GTA series. It was the transition for all GTAs to come, and the most alive game, it had a atmosphere that no game had at that time, for a game that came out in 2002, it was at another level.
0:00 - Introduction
1:40 - The Ultimate Power Fantasy
My first GTA game is GTA vice City. ❤ I growing up playing it.❤
15:26 - Nice City
19:44 - Rockin' the '80s
I grew up on it. It was my very first gta game I properly played. But Nico is the best written chacter out of the series.
24:51 - Vices of the City
28:00 - Virtues of the City
Cuz its a great game
33:41 - Legendary Legacy
Vibe
More User Perspectives
Hey man I need some advice as the mission death row is giving me trouble any ideas?
@KyranRicardsVice City biggest issues was that it is short and it should have way more missions
@joimumu14:39 know what other mission isn’t hard? Supply Lines.
@PMB827it's my only GTA game I completed for 100% even two times. It's just fun game to play , and it's Miami settings is just pure vibe.
@hellblazer_czThis is my first video of yours I've seen but thanks YouTube algorithm. And I've subbed since you're a based Rhea Ripley enjoyer.
@FutureOverYouThe real ending was lance and tommy taking care of the angry fat man. The other ending is more like a bonus and it was even better
@OrielAdirTheGamingILDont forget 10:00 T Curt. dated Kevi de Bruynes girl. That goalie is a rat.
@ZeferinoGuzmanHernandezIt’s what I imagined the 80s in Miami to be like.
@benjaminlin8151Vice city is my favorite!!! The soundtrack is phenomenal
@TampaSlasher813Love to y'all str8 from Jamaica 🇯🇲
@giddygadzilla9315As a kid, it was hard to get a $60 game. They had to last for weeks, more like months.
So buying property was a huge plus. I loved selling "ice cream"
I hate the word, vibe. It was the entire aesthetic coupled with the fun gameplay that resignated with GenX and others who miss that era. It was like playing the villain in Miami Vice.
@Steve-s3q2y0:32 It's that vibrant pink skin. The feeling of being scarface snorting mountains of cocaine. The V-rock station. While mechanically the game is primitive, I simply love the 80's vibe over San Andreas ghetto hood.
@artur6912The problem is that people ignore the side missions, when in reality, those missions are NOT side missions. They ARE the main content. Vice City is a Scarface plot, you're building your empire before the Forellis catch up to you. That process is the main content. The fact that the game offers you choice which ones to do, doesn't mean they're unimportant side missions.
@Pasijutau_lietuviu_esąs18:20 little hait crimes 💀💀
@terryjones9784Yeah. I haven’t gone back to Vice City since about 2006.
@WilliamAllikzanderThe music man the music
@yogeshkumbamJapanese Boy by Aneka is goated because of this game
@JSuave99Just beat it again this past week. It was sooooo freaking good. I'm playing through San Andreas but think vice City is better
@lshaffer1980I just wish the new game was set in the 80s
@shaunhawkins44Taking more time to take out a heavier weapon is not a game problem, it's a feature. Maybe cuz you're not meant to use a minigun against some guy 1-2 meters away from you?
@SimbaBrank23Weird but I still GTA VC more than other franchise even San Andreas
@Rajivsince2002The asset missions aren't "Side content" the game is literally about how you are a relative nobody who's taking over the town so of course you're gonna fucking buy major assets in the town and take over
@petermitter1125If you weren't around, specifically as a teenager, for the release of GTS III and VC, then you'll never fully understand
@rickc303Vc was really affordable & really had more colors & was fun.
@akhilmichael2255The whole point of vice city was the fact that you could buy businesses and property it was also the first gta where you could buy safe houses.
And becoming the best mob boss/drug kingpin, you can be
I wish you made this an hour long video. Great recap and fun watch. Well done
@djl5323You can tell you're young 😂😂
@babe9961Vuce city and vcs are my personal favs. Never liked San andreas ,apart from the early missions.the rest of the game was boring.. specially the woods area...dayum. gta 4 was the bmb
@max7even284It had the perfect atmosphere, strong gameplay and missions and the best helicopter. It was perfect except for Tommy not being able to swim
@philcollins7269Everyone goes on and on about the 80s vibe of the Vice City soundtrack with the rock and pop, and yes I agree it is amazing. But there’s a part of the soundtrack that I don’t see a lot of people praising: the Latin music. Since the game is set in a fictionalized Miami, I really appreciate Rockstar’s selection of Latin American music, from salsa to rumba to mambo. The best songs by far are Maracaibo Oriental by Beny Moré, Jamay by Xavier Cugat and Mambo Gozón by Tito Puente. All top tier Latin artists in their own right and I can tell the devs did their homework.
I’m Cuban and Puerto Rican myself and I actually knew of some of these songs even before playing Vice City as I grew up with some of these artists so I really got down to Radio Espantoso (ironic name lol). All they were missing was some Celia Cruz and it would’ve been perfect. I hope Rockstar does the same with GTA 6 and introduces a whole new audience of white people and other non Hispanics to my culture!
I understand if it’s not your thing or you’re not Latino so you may not have that cultural connection like me but I implore you to give the songs I mentioned a chance if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it!
🇨🇺🇵🇷
I have only played GTA vice City and GTA IV but gta vice and it's bike are best
@b4nykhtdar-hnkgkihjhkhu8hgjYou played it wrong
@GregNotCraig88The script of the radio stations esp. VCPR was hilarious to my 13 year old brain.
@arlo9841So much detail in vice city tho than 3
@uwaisaslam6072Playing this game right now on ps2
@uwaisaslam6072San Andreas and vice city are two of the best games ever released, but I loved the gyms, fighting styles, body and weight modifications, etc that San Andreas brought in, and the cast was just epic, if you experienced San Andreas and vice city first hand on launch you were one of the lucky ones, being a kid and getting that for Christmas was the best day ever, just reading the booklet that came with it was a feeling all on its own
@Spacecowboyy69vice city was the first the character spoke, had bikes and a cool funny story. It was what 3 failed to be
@rafaelodaI absolutely love 80s music I was born in the 90s my parents always listened to all these songs when I was little so I think they did an amazing job capturing the 80s. I asked my mom what she thought and she’s like yeah honestly the cars the music the lights the big ass cell phone the drugs the Hawaiian shirt all definitely scream 80s 💀🤣
@Bugg420The vibe is always so good in this game.
@sol9231