What Was GTA Vice City Stories Like?

There are various entries in the Grand Theft Auto series, and while some of them are memorable like San Andreas, which many consider to be the best GTA game of all time, others weren’t nearly as popular. One game that struggled to capture the attention of fans on the scale of other entries was GTA: Vice City Stories.

Despite taking place in the same city as GTA Vice City and even featuring some of the same characters, Vice City Stories wasn’t able to be as popular as it could have, something that was largely thanks to the platform it was released.

Today, we’ll be taking a step back and looking at GTA Vice City as a whole. This includes going through what it was, which platforms it was playable on, how the fans responded to the game, and what lasting impact the game had almost two decades after its release.

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The Plot of GTA Vice City Stories

GTA Vice City Stories was the prequel of the extremely successful game GTA Vice City. It took place exactly two years before Vice City in the same city, which is why so the two games also shared much of the same cast and important NPCs. However, that doesn’t mean the two games feature the same protagonist.

Instead of filling the shoes of Tommy Vercetti, players play as Victor Vance, a Corporal in the army stationed at Vice City’s Fort Baxter. Fans of Vice City might find the name familiar, and for good reason, as Victor is the brother of Lance Vance, a major character and eventual antagonist in Vice City.

Victor’s story in Vice City Stories is one full of betrayals and the turning of tides as the once respected Corporal is backstabbed by his higher-ups and led to a life of crime. Not all is bad for him, as he eventually rises up to become an authoritative figure in his own right. With some of the fastest cars and most dangerous guns, Viktor won’t have a hard time getting what he wants.

What Happened to Victor Vance?

The events of GTA Vice City Stories take place in 1984, two years before Vice City. During that time, Victor presumably gets back into the drug dealing business despite stating that he had no interest in continuing it at the end of Vice City Stories.

Unfortunately, Viktor is later killed by some of Diaz’s men during the events of GTA Vice City two years after he successfully took his revenge against Martinez and Diego. Some fans speculated Lance’s murdered brother may have been Pete, as the game doesn’t specify the name of the brother who was killed, but it was later confirmed that the person killed was indeed Viktor.

GTA Vice City Stories Platforms

Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to play GTA Vice City stories on modern consoles, as the game has not gotten a modern port. This confuses a lot of fans, as GTA Liberty City Stories, which was arguably less successful than Vice City Stories, got a port on mobile devices, allowing fans to revisit the game.

As for which platforms GTA Vice City Stories is playable on, it was first released on the PlayStation Portable, after which it received a polished PlayStation 2 port. Well, the term polished might be a bit of a stretch, as the version was famously bashed for using the same code as the PSP version and fixing very few issues, although fans did like the better lighting the PS2 version had.

GTA Vice City Stories Legacy

Since Vice City Stories was first released back in 2006, most newcomers to the GTA franchise have likely never heard of the game. While the game perfectly represented the 80s and got the Miami setting spot-on, it’s still overshadowed by the more successful Vice City. 

While the fact that the game never got a modern release is definitely a major factor, it’s telling that when people hear of GTA 6’s location, they say “Oh, that’s the same place as GTA Vice City” instead of mentioning Vice City Stories too.

This concludes our little blast from the past with GTA Vice City Stories. Did you ever get the chance to play the game or is this the first time you’ve heard of it? Let us know in the comments below. For more from GamingFlaws, check out Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – Every Difficulty Mode Explained.