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The GTA franchise has made a name for itself by capturing the essence of American culture, albeit in a heightened, satirical way. Throughout the series, Vice City, a fictionalised version of Miami, Florida, has held a special place in GTA fans’ hearts.
While GTA VI promises a modern take on the larger region of Leonida, its fictional Florida counterpart, Vice City, has been a cornerstone of the series for decades. What started as a top-down collection of streets later became a sprawling coastal metropolis filled with luxury real estate, criminal empires, cultural satire, and some of the franchise’s most memorable characters.
Why Is Vice City Such An Important Location in GTA?
Vice City has always been more than just a map for players to cause chaos in. Instead, its importance in the GTA franchise comes from its varied landscape and the agency it gives players as they explore. In a series where excess is part of everyday life, Vice City has long served as the cornerstone, letting gamers run wild.
From a storytelling perspective, Vice City is the perfect setting for stories about ambition and corruption, letting gamers experience the American Dream in all its glory, and at times, its complexities. Beneath the sunshine and expensive cars lies a city shaped by organised crime, political influence and people willing to do almost anything to get ahead.
What’s more, Vice City is a fantastic snapshot of the franchise’s evolution. Play through the GTA games set in this location to see how the series has evolved, from 2D to 3D and, with the release of GTA VI, into a leading franchise in open-world exploration and realism.
3 Grand Theft Auto Games to Play Before GTA 6
So before everyone in Australia and around the world takes annual leave to play GTA VI on November 19, we’ve put together a list of games you should revisit. After all, three GTA games offer a closer look at how it all began and provide some context for why Vice City has become such an iconic location across the gaming industry.
1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
Released in 2002, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remains one of the most influential entries in Rockstar’s open-world series. Building on Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City transported players to a colourful, 1980s-inspired metropolis where crime and grandeur went hand in hand.
Like GTA VI is shaping up to embody a modern-day Miami, Vice City expertly captures the city’s essence in the 1980s. Despite the obvious technical limitations of early 2000s hardware, the 2002 title is flooded with beachfront hotels, pastel architecture and a busy nightlife scene that makes it immediately recognisable. We’d be remiss not to mention the in-game soundtrack, a defining feature that brings Vice City to life. Particular highlights of licensed music from the game that really help establish not only the time period but, in particular, its connection to Miami include:
- “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock of Seagulls (Flash FM)
- “Self Control” by Laura Branigan (Flash FM)
- “Out of Touch” by Hall & Oates (Wave 103)
Based on early teases, GTA VI soundtrack and radio stations will be stacked as well, so get excited for some great tunes.
Vice City is essential for anyone who wants to understand the GTA franchise’s identity before diving into GTA VI. With its sharp satire, atmosphere, open-world exploration, and memorable characters, it helped establish a formula Rockstar has continued refining for years. And while plenty of Easter eggs and references already litter early GTA VI footage, revisiting Vice City before this new title might be a great way to refresh your memory and spot hidden clues you’d otherwise miss.
2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
Gamers, it’s time to dust off your PlayStation Portable; there’s never been a better time to replay this hidden gem in the GTA franchise. Released in 2006 exclusively for the PSP before coming to the PlayStation 2 in 2007, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories lets players dive into the iconic location two years before the events of Vice City.
Vice City Stories is particularly interesting because it lets you revisit so many familiar locations in their early days. For example, Ricardo Diaz, a major player in Vice City and Tommy Vercetti’s story, is still under development. Plenty of construction sites and unfinished buildings also offer a glimpse into the criminal empire and thriving locations players will experience not only in Vice City but in GTA VI.
Additionally, Vice City Stories offers a deeper look into the location’s inner workings. It focuses not only on the glitz and glamour but also on the broader landscape. It explores working-class people, different types of neighbourhoods, and how they intersect. With GTA VI aiming to do the same with the city and its outskirts, Vice City Stories serves as a strong blueprint for how Rockstar first brought this dynamic to life 20 years ago.
3. Grand Theft Auto (1997)
While GTA: Vice City might be the game that introduced millions of players to the location, it actually appeared in the original Grand Theft Auto. That’s right, folks. Developed by DMA Design, the 1997 Grand Theft Auto introduced gamers to the franchise’s three most iconic locations: Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City.
Unlike all other 3D versions of Vice City, this version is presented from a top-down perspective. You’ll be hard-pressed to find any beachfront promenades or skylines in this version of Vice City; instead, you’ll get a pretty simple map.
It might seem basic compared with the modern series, but this early appearance is an important part of Vice City’s history. Still, the essence of Vice City, a sandbox for committing crime, completing jobs, and climbing the crime-underbelly ladder, is all there, and it was the first time gamers experienced this in the GTA world.
Going back to the original Grand Theft Auto might feel completely different from what we expect in GTA VI, but it’s worth it for historical context. If nothing else, it shows how far the franchise has come in almost 30 years, and despite obvious changes driven by major advances in graphics and gameplay, the foundations that make its open-world formula so influential have remained from day one.
It also provides an interesting point of comparison ahead of GTA VI. The original game presents Vice City as a compact crime setting, while the upcoming instalment promises a far more detailed version of the same fictional metropolis within the wider state of Leonida. For longtime fans, revisiting the 1997 game offers a chance to appreciate the foundations of a location that has since become one of the franchise’s most recognisable settings.
Final Thoughts
There is no denying that the fictionalised location of Vice City has come a long, long way since its first appearance in Grand Theft Auto. What was once a small, compact top-down location has evolved into one of Rockstar’s most recognisable locations.
While Grand Theft Auto: Vice City remains the definitive introduction to the location, Vice City Stories adds welcome depth to its history, while the original Grand Theft Auto offers a fascinating glimpse at the franchise’s early days. Each game captures a different stage in Vice City’s evolution, making them worthwhile revisits for longtime fans and newcomers alike.
With GTA VI set to feature a modern version of the city, returning to these classics is a great way to prepare and reflect on Vice City’s rich history and how far Rockstar’s open-world series has come. The beaches might look different, the streets will be busier, and the technology will be worlds apart, but Vice City’s mix of glamour, ambition and criminal chaos remains as appealing as ever.
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