Seriously man. This is the MOST underrated game. Being able to go into actual businesses, and make them your own and build your criminal empire LITERALLY from the ground up. As well as being set during the “Miami Vice” times, it is genuinely a COMPLETE game.
@@erikheijden9828 Because of its general scarcity in terms of its availability for the time as it was mostly played on PSP with ps2 ports made later. So alot of people never even heard 9f the game let alone play it.
This is def the most underrated GTA game. Actually brought elements from each title together. Property ownership with engaging mini games, good hand to hand combat, and a good story. Plus it features IN THE AIR TONIGHT! I mean c'mon
they Do the Same Crap in rdr 2 combat suck balls With a hunting knife story is great i don’t think i wana get into GTA. 6 they Dhould done more to vice city Why Gta 5 it’s messy Vice City has lots of potential they should of focus on Vice City shame on you Rockstar for leting your Baby go to the dumpster .
Lance’s line in Vice City “your greens and my dead brother’s white lady” is a reference to the cocaine lost during the deal. Louise probably wasn’t a concept at that point, much like Dominican accented Vic but it would have been cool if she were
We were truly spoiled back in the day. We got a bunch of iconic games on consoles AND we also got serviceable and sometimes amazing adaptations on portable devices. The early-mid 2000s were my middle school and high school days and I’m so glad that I was able to be a part of the cultural renaissance we were going through around that time. So many era-defining games, movies, shows, and music came from that time period.
@@patrickwilliams9611steam deck is the closest thing imo to getting something like the old psp days, sadly these guys are right, kids these days don’t know the feeling of growing up with iconic media.
Everybody missed out on something man, we both missed out on the freedom of the 60s, the music of the 70s, the partying culture and neon of the 80s (besides all the arcade games you could play on the machines with your friends)... Every single generation missed out on something that the previous had, and every generation now has something that the previous didn't. @@void-master9077
A massive era for single player games, but online gaming was lacking back then, on the consoles. The 360 brought in real console online features. It was all pretty basic before that, or non-existent.
This game was my childhood. The first GTA I beat story wise. But as I got older, I realized that this was the best GTA out of the old trilogy. It had everything put into one last 3D game.
I wholeheartedly agree, GTA VCS is extremely underrated. It has to be one of my favorite GTA games. Great soundtrack, you have the ability to swim, and I just love how almost every single building in Vice City is adorned with neon lights. It’s really a beautiful sight seeing the sunset and all the neon lights flick on… Also, 15:24: “All we had to do, was follow the damn truck, Vic!”
Vic was a tough guy but very short-minded and easy to be manipulated by every villain in the game and even by his own brother. That first got him into trouble and ultimately killed him.
He was too good for the criminal world. He wasn’t as ruthless as Tommy was which is why Tommy was always having the upper hand in his story while Vic is usually being bossed around or picking up after his brother, Tommy didn’t allow Lance to walk over him which is why he betrays him
1:26:01 to add on to this, this game lets you get behind enemies and snap their necks, during the Armando Mendez fight he’s not immune to this and you can instantly kill him. It’s a pretty funny way to go about that fight because of how abrupt it ends.
I love that the abandoned vandalized mansion in Vice City is used in this game , giving a reason for why it's been abandoned for 2-3 years and vandalized.
Buying and upgrading properties was fun as heck when I was a kid, I took over all the businesses before completing the story just to stop my places from constantly getting attacked xD. Plus that mission where you help make a zombie movie was amazing when I first played it
@@jelliott1990 The soundtrack helps too. It feels like less of a greatest hits collection than VC (though I still love that soundtrack) and more like what you'd actually hear on the radio back then; a mix of well-known hits, one hit wonders, and some more obscure songs that didn't climb as high on the charts.
Victor Vance has to be one of the least evil and dangerous GTA protagonist as he doesn’t start of as a criminal or mobster but after making a mistake of working with Martinez he couldn’t go back and was forced into a life of crime to make money to provide for his brother. He clearly hates a lot of the jobs he has to do during the game
He was never forced, he could say no and just move on. The story does not make any sense from a gameplay perspective sadly. Vic has so much money right of the bat, when finishing ambulance missions, etc and he still needs ton of money. It was just annoying to do the missions.
@@jackcravford8744 Vic cares for his family. Says he never had any real opportunities to begin with, which is why he's in the army. Does crime to get cash. There ya go. Makes sense.
@@CyoteBongWater87 it does not make sense, when i have already millions and can buy everything. it was immersion breaking. i was like, why he needs money when i have so much of them?
@@glennmellaerts1831 That's exactly what I was thinking. They've racked up so many dollars with GTA Online, so they should likely be able to afford renewing a license.
I finished Vice City Stories for the first time earlier this year and this was truly a different GTA game than what I was used to (I've played III, VC, SA, LCS, and a bit of V). This game is definitely underrated and I was glad I got to experience it. The sad story, characters, amazing soundtrack, more vibrant look for the city, fight animations, and swimming really made this feel superior to the orignal Vice City. I hope one day Rockstar can re-release on PC. It definitely deserves that for what its worth. Vice City Stories will forever be a memorable game for me
I remember picking this up for £15 brand new (the PSP version a year prior was £30) in Summer 2007 and being blown away by just how good it was. Back then, we were used to pretty much annual releases of these games and this one still stood out. It really was brilliant. Taught me about entrepreneurship too - which I still use to this day at 30 years old.
Something to take note of, you only really pick up corporal if you were in for more than a year and a half, so Vic had to have been in for at least 2 years.
I'm British and also had family work for Cadbury in the past (just as a packer, nothing too fancy). Milk Tray is their assorted chocolate box. The most well-known ad campaign for it involved a James Bond-esque character known as the man in black performing a bunch of crazy stunts in exotic locations. He'd then reach a woman's bedroom and leave the chocolates by her bed with the slogan "All because the lady loves Milk Tray." By a funny coincidence, In the Air Tonight was used in another Cadbury ad campaign not long after this game came out.
idk how the Vance brothers were actually able to “prove” that Martinez was an undercover cop. I mean, how can he be a cop and an army sergeant at the same time? and plus, Martinez is also dressed in military clothes which kinda gives it away so idk how anyone would believe that he’s a cop
Vice City Stories> Vice City I spend so much time with this game from 2008-2010. Like just nonstop playing it to the point where I put it right there with San Andreas as the best of the Classical Era GTA games.
13:40 - I played VCS when I was younger and don't remember much of the story, but I specifically remember I was stuck on that mission for so long that I gave up on VCS for over a year before finally bringing myself back and finally beating that mission.
The moment R* didnt port GTA Vice City Stories to mobile phones, i knew something was wrong with them. Great game, and this is a great video! I think Chinatown Wars should be next.
I'm lucky enough to have a PSP when I was a child, and VCS is actually the first GTA I ever played, and I spent much more time in VCS than VC! It is sad that this game is never as well-known as VC which I think it deserves to be, probably it is because the game lives in the shadow of SA if you ask me.
This was an incredibly fun game. I played through the PS2 GTA games in chronological order (VCS -> VC -> SA -> LCS -> III), and I recommend people try it out. It's cool to see certain aspects or character's stories progress through the different games (Lazlo surprisingly has an arc through the radio stations of each game)
I, FREAKING, love Vice City Stories! Such a underrated Gem of a GTA game. It takes some of the comedic and 3D style and mixes it with some of GTA IV’s dark and grittier setting and gives us an almost perfect mix of the 3D and HD Universe’s. Kinda like GTA V’s story before GTA V was even a concept.
Played this on the PS2, and likewise loved every second of it. I recommended it to everyone I knew, and no one tried it. They missed out, man. Glad you got to enjoy it! :) Great video, did not expect to find an almost two hour love letter to a game it always seemed no one had played. Digging out the PS2 for sure, cheers.
I played all the PS2 GTA games including this one and I clearly must have been too young to appreciate it as I don't remember it being this good. I'll have to re find it. I think it's because I started on gta3 played that forever then San Andreas came so fast after vice City something that doesn't happen now. I absolutely loved San Andreas and was gutted when there wasn't a dlc for SA. Looks like I'll have to give this game a re play through.
Strange how much love and attention all the PS2 GTA games received especially when you look at where we are in the landscape of videos games. All the Stories has their own charms and were completely overlooked by what was modern day media at the time and probably still Edit : Atlas VPN... WOOO! (this comment is not sponsored)
Rockstar pulled every great idea they had and put it in this game! The empire building, the sweet suttle romance, Phil effen Collins, and Lance ready to mess shit up old school style 😆
Vice City Stories was my childhood i mean i had played other gta games at friends places but Vice City Stories was the first gta game i owned on my ps2 and i played it sooo much. I like seeing it being given the love it deserves ps. Also my headcanon is that Pete is the one that gets killed in Vice City and Vic left the country shortly after the ending of the game i hope we can all agree that Vic deserves a happy ending.
If you really think about it Vic is alot like Niko before Niko was thought up. A tough guy who whos trained by his countries military to kill. Who doesn't enjoy the bad things he's doing.. does crimes out of necessity but would like to find a way out of it, he has an annoying male relative close to his age who is constantly getting them both into more trouble, falls for a girl who isn't a criminal but is related to or heavily involved with his criminal friends and employers.. and it feels like he's found the one for him... his world coms crashing down and takes a dark turn when the person he cares about is killed.. Niko and Vic even more similar if Niko does the revenge ending (which many consider cannon) after the main character works for someone more powerful than anyone he's worked with before this employer betrays him and kills the woman he loves. Depemdimg on certain factors its optional for that party to be the final antagonist you kill (Mendez and Pegorino) or the other option for final antagonistic you kill could be the person you were betrayed, and manipulated by much earlier in the game. The first one to betray you and kinda ruined your life in this new town (Martinez and Demitri)
This game really hits you with Ludonarrative dissonance when going back and seeing the Intro of Vice City. Like yea okay sure Vince would get killed like that lol dude would be strapped ready to kill everyone in the meeting if anything went south. One of the most badass GTA protagonists
A review on the hitman series actually would be something me and I'm sure many more people would love to hear your take on especially if it's in a format like your GTA games. As sadly there aren't many indepth reviews on hitman series like you could certainly make
After watching your whole series this is the one I've been waiting for the most! The soundtrack alone makes this my favourite and lances backstory completely underlined his betrayal in vice City
You've got a good quirky reference-based sense of humor; it really helps the laid-back tone of the video. I would like to see some videos on Hitman, but what'd be really sweet is reviews like this about Alpha Protocol and the Syphon Filter games.
Glad you enjoyed it so much! This is my favorite 3D era GTA (and 2nd overall, right after IV/TLAD). Everytime you mentioned the underdeveloped romances on your previous videos I kept thinking "he's gonna have a surprise in VCS", and indeed it was. This game deserves to have more attention, and after this video, I think a lot more people will look for it Anyways, this was as enjoyable as ever, now I'm looking forward to those SR2 and GTA5 videos. Cheers, mate :) P.S. you should definitely cover Chinatown Wars. Even tho it has horrible controls, it just has so much going for it that makes up for it P.S.S. I also think you should cover GTA Advance because, well, completion :v and the story is kind of ok, and the game is quite fun for a GBA title. Plus, a few characters from GTA 3 appear in it P.S.S.S. IDK if you know this already, but Reni was LCS' Flashback FM's DJ, and in there she talks a bitabout her life b4 that game. I'm only mentioning this because it feels like something you'd talk about in the video, but you didn't, so maybe it's something new
I'm currently almost beating LC Stories on my Vita, and can't wait to jump into this game, after watching your video! It just seems so more full of content, with more meaningfull cutscenes and story in general.
It’s a damn crime that this game was never ported again. Especially with the empire building mechanics. Hope it return even more refined in 6, the 5 property missions were boring and I want to see my businesses get bigger
I think it is as well; it implements many elements and mechanics from San Andreas, except it's 1984 Vice City! I love how bright and colorful the graphics are, empire building, the soundtrack, the missions have a lot of depth, Vic's comments when he points a gun at someone are funny to me, the Vic/Louise love story I dig....I love Vice City, but I love Vice City Stories more.
Great video man! GTA Vice City Stories is amazing! Glad you liked it. Also, I love your Rockstar retrospects video essays. Keep up the good work they are very well made. Subscribed for more excellent content in the future.
I remember I played this and LCS as my first ever GTA on the psp, I remember later getting San Andreas, 3, and VC later on the laptop through torrent. I remember always being stuck on one mission for all of these, good times.
This and LCS are the GTA games that got me into the franchise back in elementary, and I cannot express how much I love this game. LCS was also good, but honestly cannot stand the replayability and diversity in VCS. As a kid (and until now), I usually play these games only for the story, so I only play the story missions back then. This game is so good with their characters, with Umberto Robina being my most favorite and Reni being second. I can still remember vividly how I really like Reni as a character, especially with their relationship and interaction with Vic, and this was when I was in elementary. Umberto definitely took top place after I replayed this game recently. Replaying VCS made me appreciate the benefits of their side missions, like completing Phil's shooting range gives you discount on Ammu-Nation, the usual ambulance and vigilante benefits, conquering all 30 businesses makes all cars outside your business being bulletproof, and many more. Also, having multiple actions during fistfighting pedestrians was something I only knew as an adult. Man, this game is just so underrated and awesome for all its worth.
Its amazing that RUclips (and greater google in general) knows that VCS is the game of my childhood, thats why this great vid got recommended to me 👍 I still remember how I was searching for VCS cheat codes on 2 kb internet back in 2009...
Thanks for covering the only GTA game I ever beat. Still playing the others on & off here & there. Anyone who is a GTA fan will love this game. This video covered the main aspects you'll run into in order to complete the story, but there's lot of other stuff that went unmentioned. I ran into trouble the first few times I faced Mendez & his flamethrower on the roof & ended up completing the fire engine missions so I could beat him easily. Oh, yes, also this: *helicopter
Hi FuzzySlippers. I discovered your channel a couple of days ago and I’ve really enjoyed watching your content. I’d like to know if you ever heard of a game called LA Noire. It’s a detective sandbox game developed by Rockstar and one of my personal favorite games ever. Knowing your history with GTA and other Rockstar titles I figured you already have heard about it/and or played it. But I figured it’d be worth mentioning it just in case. Anyways thanks again for providing stellar content for the world to enjoy 👍.
i noticed that when waiting for a business to be built you can just drive far enough away for a literally like 30 sec and the business will be built, you don't need to go very far either
I greatly enjoyed playing this back when it originally came out. A great prequel to Vice City, and it brought back Phil (my favorite Vice City character). As to Hitman, why not, it was an enjoyable series and I'd to see your take on it...especially Absolution. And Lance's line in Vice City I always thought was in reference to the lost drugs from the opening.
Yes to hitman videos, yes to a GTA tier list, yes to China Town wars. And also throw in something on your workout routine because that interests me as a fellow gym goer.
I used to have a long bus ride home, I’d sit with my homie and we’d take turns playing this on my PSP. It will always hold a special place in my gaming library, and it’s one of the only games I can still remember the cheat codes by heart
This is also my first GTA and the best GTA so far. I have played San Andreas but the businesses are fixed and you cannot do anything whereas in GTA: VCS you can start the business from scratch and you can choose what type of business you want. And the money you get from the business are so satisfying I don't even care to do missions to make money. And you get paid daily in the game, way better than GTA V, where you are paid weekly or VIce City and San Andreas where you have to physically pick up the money yourself.
In addition to it being my absolute favorite of the 3D era, I feel that it STILL has the best soundtrack of any GTA as well, and I _love_ the soundtracks to every one of 'em. The fact that most people either never played this one or don't even know it exists, and the lack of acknowledgment it gets from those who try to analyze the entire series, is a complete shame.
Exactly man, this GTA is so underrated and one of my favorites because of the empire building. Also, yes I would like videos about the Hitman franchise especially Absolution since I liked that game when I was a kid.
Swimmable VC, Story as good as IV and an actual business empire which have to be the best late game content in GTA. Just sad that only limited amount of people can play this.
Nice to see VCS get some much needed love! I have to point out though, that the glitch with the hovercraft seems to be exclusive to emulators, at least thats the only place I encountered the issue
As an avid game collector I was shocking during covid to find GTA VCS on PS2 was $80cdn. I guess I was lucky to have owned it first on PSP then on PS2 later. Loved the game, still do. And also happy I got my 3 PS2 copies before the price shot up.😅😅
I will say this…. The PS2 port of GTA: Vice City Stories runs a whole hellva lot better that the horrible PS2 port of its predecessor Liberty City Stories. That one had constant frame drops while Vice City Stories had a more solid frame of 30fps with less slowdown. Play Liberty City Stories on the PSP is still preferable same with Vice City Stories in some cases. However the PS2 port of Vice City Stories is still good.
For me personally, I always thought Vice City was heavily overrated. I think Vice City Stories was the second best 3D era GTA game, only being beat by San Andreas. SA and VCS were actually the only 2 GTA games I played until like 2010, when my brother got his Xbox and I played GTA 4 for the first time. I really think VCS should've been ported to PC, or at least to Mobile like LCS. Vic Vance will go down as the most underrated GTA protagonist.
Thanks for the video, helped me fill voids made by skipping the cutscenes hahah. I remember a classmate bringing PSP in third grade with VCS on it and it was fun, glad to know it stayed that way.
I remember this mostly for being the first game I played on the PSP and for 99 Luftballons. It didn't age as well as Vice City in my opinion but I'll always cherish the memories.
This was always my personal favorite gta of the 3d era... the empire system gave this game tons of replay value on top of being back in vice city... lance was a riot throughout the game 😂 the soundtrack... i even find myself being fond of the lighting in this game, smething abt it i cant explain.. still alot of fun to play today.. great game.. and VERY underrated.
The thing I remember most from this game is the rival gangs having crazy accuracy and could kill you in secs. Besides that I really enjoyed this addition a lot
Victor being the guy in the opening of the original Vice City still makes no sense to me, and I feel the Vice City Stories team were actually trying to retcon it, but once someone at rockstar said "Yeah, I guess that's the same guy" in an interview, all was said and done. The character is unnamed in VC, and while the character files did have him labeled as Victor, I feel like the VCS writing team introduced Pete to act as that character going forward. Victor is almost like if Walter White from breaking bad actually did the things he did for "family" Vic is the only GTA protag who is actually just doing what he does out of necessity because the world failed him (CJ kind of is the same, but I think San Andreas kind of proves he could have been successful without crime). At the end of VCS, the game makes it very clear that with vice city crumbling around him, him having money, his revenge satisfied, and nothing really left to tie him to the town outside of Phil, I hope he moved to like Liberty City and raised Mary Beth as his own or something. I choose Liberty City as Phil moves there in the next handful of years after VC and it would make sense that he would go to live with family after his accident in VC. On the flipside, Lance is eagerly wanting to be in the criminal empire business (almost like the Heisenburg to Vic's walter white, although lance isn't nearly as intelligent). I think Lance would rope in their other brother Pete to help out. This just makes the most sense. The only other thing that could have happened is that Vic got uber depressed and Lance got him to take a ton of drugs transforming him into what we see at the beginning of VC in less than 2 years. I think that is far less likely, and they wrote Pete in the fill the hole, but people who do interviews that just say things so they become canon for no reason, and it just feels silly to me. So, in my brain, I'm just gonna stick to my happy little head canon.
Super underrated, I forgot all about this game lol. So happy you are doing this one. Also yes, Spirited Away is the best out of the SG movies and my all time favorite too.
Funny you had trouble on the exact same missions I did as a kid, that damn forklift and quad bike. At least the sniper was fun shooting people in the head and Phil's concert is one of my favourite moment in gaming, blasting that concert in my earphones during summer in my father's trailer made me a Phil Collins fan to this day. It's the best gta to me everything is good, fun, driving, guns, vehicles, soundtrack, 80s Miami, crime empire, side missions, protagonist, tragedy it hits all the spots.
42:52 little fun facts: Vic Vance are actually the shortest male GTA protagonist. he was around 5'7 feet. and little nod to Umberta he was small compare to Tommy in VC but in VCS he still towering Vic it really show you how tall Tommy is. the guy is around 6'3 feet
@1:01:30 Technically there are several radio hosts who played themselves.. DJ Stretch Armstrong & MC Codebreaker were in GTA 3.. Mr. Magic in Vice City.. Julio G in San Andreas.. & DJ Clue in LCS.. the hip hop hosts in GTA 4 are also played by themselves, DJ Mister Cee, DJ Green Lantern, & DJ Premier..
I wish they ported this to PC.... I only played a mod which I think was put on San Andreas engine but the guys who did it never finished the whole game. Overall it's a pretty cool game and a warming return to Vice City.
Seriously man. This is the MOST underrated game. Being able to go into actual businesses, and make them your own and build your criminal empire LITERALLY from the ground up. As well as being set during the “Miami Vice” times, it is genuinely a COMPLETE game.
Right?
8.6 on metacritic, how is this "underrated" exactly?
@@erikheijden9828 Because of its general scarcity in terms of its availability for the time as it was mostly played on PSP with ps2 ports made later. So alot of people never even heard 9f the game let alone play it.
@@Merlin_From_Shrek_3 That's not what underrated means.
@@erikheijden9828 This game is a gem.
I’ve always loved how insanely strong Vic is, he literally picks Lance up with one hand lol
Yeah for real lol he can even snap people's necks effortlessly in game play
I mean he was a ex-soldier after all. of course he has strong physique and competent fighter
2y later he lost all the muscles
@@J4ckKundrugs my friend
@@leehanishrak8999 and Louise's death had a huge impact
This is def the most underrated GTA game. Actually brought elements from each title together. Property ownership with engaging mini games, good hand to hand combat, and a good story. Plus it features IN THE AIR TONIGHT! I mean c'mon
they Do the Same Crap in rdr 2 combat suck balls With a hunting knife story is great i don’t think i wana get into GTA. 6 they Dhould done more to vice city Why Gta 5 it’s messy Vice City has lots of potential they should of focus on Vice City shame on you Rockstar for leting your Baby go to the dumpster .
@@benquirobiequiratman4646 Mister illiterate, stop polluting the YT comment section any more with your horrible ungrammatical filth!
And it was portable too. A shame that this game is kinda lost because you can get liberty city stories but not this one
Who's the artist that drew your profile photo@@adrianmartinez8125
Lance’s line in Vice City “your greens and my dead brother’s white lady” is a reference to the cocaine lost during the deal. Louise probably wasn’t a concept at that point, much like Dominican accented Vic but it would have been cool if she were
I didn't know cocaine can be referred to as a white lady lmao
@@anthonyt1t5 or just "blanca" to save time. But don't do it, it's not as fun as the game makes it seem!
I loved the 99 red balloons scattered throughout the game to shoot down as a reference to the 1983 Nena song.
Which the song is also featured in GTA Vice City
But not on this game? I was wondering if it had the German original instead, but I don't think it had either version. Great soundtrack.
@@goatlps I think the German version actually was on Vice City's soundtrack.
@@goatlps the song is featured in the Wave 103 station in Vice City.
I thought it was based on a kid named Elliot who live for 99 days.
We were truly spoiled back in the day. We got a bunch of iconic games on consoles AND we also got serviceable and sometimes amazing adaptations on portable devices. The early-mid 2000s were my middle school and high school days and I’m so glad that I was able to be a part of the cultural renaissance we were going through around that time. So many era-defining games, movies, shows, and music came from that time period.
These kids don't even understand, Young scallywags.
@@kevingomez-johnson4194 they got asus ally rog and steam deck lol
@@patrickwilliams9611steam deck is the closest thing imo to getting something like the old psp days, sadly these guys are right, kids these days don’t know the feeling of growing up with iconic media.
Everybody missed out on something man, we both missed out on the freedom of the 60s, the music of the 70s, the partying culture and neon of the 80s (besides all the arcade games you could play on the machines with your friends)...
Every single generation missed out on something that the previous had, and every generation now has something that the previous didn't. @@void-master9077
A massive era for single player games, but online gaming was lacking back then, on the consoles.
The 360 brought in real console online features. It was all pretty basic before that, or non-existent.
This game was my childhood. The first GTA I beat story wise. But as I got older, I realized that this was the best GTA out of the old trilogy. It had everything put into one last 3D game.
Definitely not the best, u can’t beat San Andreas, but a pretty solid entry.
@@StraightEdgeKnight19 San Andreas is so overrated
@@xDrezi nah that game was way ahead of its time, it ages better and better. It’s still the best Gta game of all time.
He's right. San Andreas is still the greatest GTA game
I beat San Andreas as my first, this was my second beaten GTA
I wholeheartedly agree, GTA VCS is extremely underrated. It has to be one of my favorite GTA games. Great soundtrack, you have the ability to swim, and I just love how almost every single building in Vice City is adorned with neon lights.
It’s really a beautiful sight seeing the sunset and all the neon lights flick on…
Also, 15:24: “All we had to do, was follow the damn truck, Vic!”
Vic was a tough guy but very short-minded and easy to be manipulated by every villain in the game and even by his own brother. That first got him into trouble and ultimately killed him.
He was too good for the criminal world. He wasn’t as ruthless as Tommy was which is why Tommy was always having the upper hand in his story while Vic is usually being bossed around or picking up after his brother, Tommy didn’t allow Lance to walk over him which is why he betrays him
1:26:01 to add on to this, this game lets you get behind enemies and snap their necks, during the Armando Mendez fight he’s not immune to this and you can instantly kill him. It’s a pretty funny way to go about that fight because of how abrupt it ends.
I love that the abandoned vandalized mansion in Vice City is used in this game , giving a reason for why it's been abandoned for 2-3 years and vandalized.
Buying and upgrading properties was fun as heck when I was a kid, I took over all the businesses before completing the story just to stop my places from constantly getting attacked xD. Plus that mission where you help make a zombie movie was amazing when I first played it
Yup
I wish the zombie mission was a mini game you can play over and over
*Just like I've said Vice City stories is even more 80s - esque (than the original VC)* ❤️
*It's an underestimated classic*
i mean it makes sense 1984 was a iconic year mgs5 also take place in 84
I agree. The 80’s theme is much heavier in this game than the original Vice City.
the amount of neon in this game makes it even more 80s
@@jelliott1990 The soundtrack helps too. It feels like less of a greatest hits collection than VC (though I still love that soundtrack) and more like what you'd actually hear on the radio back then; a mix of well-known hits, one hit wonders, and some more obscure songs that didn't climb as high on the charts.
shame of the lack of pc port...
Victor Vance has to be one of the least evil and dangerous GTA protagonist as he doesn’t start of as a criminal or mobster but after making a mistake of working with Martinez he couldn’t go back and was forced into a life of crime to make money to provide for his brother. He clearly hates a lot of the jobs he has to do during the game
He was never forced, he could say no and just move on.
The story does not make any sense from a gameplay perspective sadly.
Vic has so much money right of the bat, when finishing ambulance missions, etc and he still needs ton of money. It was just annoying to do the missions.
@@jackcravford8744the story is fine. Good lord..
@@CyoteBongWater87 i don´t agree, but thats alright.
@@jackcravford8744 Vic cares for his family. Says he never had any real opportunities to begin with, which is why he's in the army. Does crime to get cash. There ya go. Makes sense.
@@CyoteBongWater87 it does not make sense, when i have already millions and can buy everything. it was immersion breaking. i was like, why he needs money when i have so much of them?
I think the reason this has never been ported to IOS is due to the phill Collins appearance.
Yes most likely, Rockstar doesn't like renewing licenses although they have the money to do so 😂
It's literally THE reason lol
Man I was so bummed that they didn't port VCS on android but LCS did.
@@glennmellaerts1831 That's exactly what I was thinking. They've racked up so many dollars with GTA Online, so they should likely be able to afford renewing a license.
Phill was in good conversations with them, and they have those licenses. They just didnt port it and thats it. No big reason for that.
I finished Vice City Stories for the first time earlier this year and this was truly a different GTA game than what I was used to
(I've played III, VC, SA, LCS, and a bit of V). This game is definitely underrated and I was glad I got to experience it.
The sad story, characters, amazing soundtrack, more vibrant look for the city, fight animations, and swimming really made this feel superior to the orignal Vice City.
I hope one day Rockstar can re-release on PC. It definitely deserves that for what its worth. Vice City Stories will forever be a memorable game for me
You haven’t played 4?
@Kosorou, I recommend people play 4 regardless, the story is really a gem among them all, and it was a great introductory game to the 3D universe.
I remember picking this up for £15 brand new (the PSP version a year prior was £30) in Summer 2007 and being blown away by just how good it was.
Back then, we were used to pretty much annual releases of these games and this one still stood out.
It really was brilliant.
Taught me about entrepreneurship too - which I still use to this day at 30 years old.
Something to take note of, you only really pick up corporal if you were in for more than a year and a half, so Vic had to have been in for at least 2 years.
Lance’s line in VC about his dead brother’s “white lady” was the cocaine that was stolen.
I'm British and also had family work for Cadbury in the past (just as a packer, nothing too fancy). Milk Tray is their assorted chocolate box. The most well-known ad campaign for it involved a James Bond-esque character known as the man in black performing a bunch of crazy stunts in exotic locations. He'd then reach a woman's bedroom and leave the chocolates by her bed with the slogan "All because the lady loves Milk Tray." By a funny coincidence, In the Air Tonight was used in another Cadbury ad campaign not long after this game came out.
idk how the Vance brothers were actually able to “prove” that Martinez was an undercover cop. I mean, how can he be a cop and an army sergeant at the same time? and plus, Martinez is also dressed in military clothes which kinda gives it away so idk how anyone would believe that he’s a cop
Vice City Stories> Vice City
I spend so much time with this game from 2008-2010. Like just nonstop playing it to the point where I put it right there with San Andreas as the best of the Classical Era GTA games.
13:40 - I played VCS when I was younger and don't remember much of the story, but I specifically remember I was stuck on that mission for so long that I gave up on VCS for over a year before finally bringing myself back and finally beating that mission.
The moment R* didnt port GTA Vice City Stories to mobile phones, i knew something was wrong with them. Great game, and this is a great video!
I think Chinatown Wars should be next.
It’s better that they didn’t cause Grove Street Games would’ve massacred it
Chinatown Wars on PSP at that...best graphics extra missions more radio stations easier controls
@@Florida_Cracker they actually did a good job on the gta3 vice city and LCS ports san andreas is a buggy mess tho
you can still play it by using the ppsspp emulator on android but you need a strong ass phone
@@andrewtatereal3168 you need a good phone from 2017, any mid range phone today will be as good and enough to play ppsspp full speed.
I'm lucky enough to have a PSP when I was a child, and VCS is actually the first GTA I ever played, and I spent much more time in VCS than VC! It is sad that this game is never as well-known as VC which I think it deserves to be, probably it is because the game lives in the shadow of SA if you ask me.
This was an incredibly fun game. I played through the PS2 GTA games in chronological order (VCS -> VC -> SA -> LCS -> III), and I recommend people try it out. It's cool to see certain aspects or character's stories progress through the different games (Lazlo surprisingly has an arc through the radio stations of each game)
I, FREAKING, love Vice City Stories! Such a underrated Gem of a GTA game. It takes some of the comedic and 3D style and mixes it with some of GTA IV’s dark and grittier setting and gives us an almost perfect mix of the 3D and HD Universe’s. Kinda like GTA V’s story before GTA V was even a concept.
Played this on the PS2, and likewise loved every second of it. I recommended it to everyone I knew, and no one tried it. They missed out, man. Glad you got to enjoy it! :) Great video, did not expect to find an almost two hour love letter to a game it always seemed no one had played. Digging out the PS2 for sure, cheers.
I played all the PS2 GTA games including this one and I clearly must have been too young to appreciate it as I don't remember it being this good. I'll have to re find it. I think it's because I started on gta3 played that forever then San Andreas came so fast after vice City something that doesn't happen now. I absolutely loved San Andreas and was gutted when there wasn't a dlc for SA. Looks like I'll have to give this game a re play through.
This is a really great retrospective and I feel your love of this game is just as strong.
Strange how much love and attention all the PS2 GTA games received especially when you look at where we are in the landscape of videos games. All the Stories has their own charms and were completely overlooked by what was modern day media at the time and probably still
Edit : Atlas VPN... WOOO! (this comment is not sponsored)
Brings back so many memories since this was my first GTA game, i miss those days
The consistency that your putting these videos up is super impressive. Keep it up!
Rockstar pulled every great idea they had and put it in this game! The empire building, the sweet suttle romance, Phil effen Collins, and Lance ready to mess shit up old school style 😆
& neck snapping
Vice City Stories was my childhood i mean i had played other gta games at friends places but Vice City Stories was the first gta game i owned on my ps2 and i played it sooo much. I like seeing it being given the love it deserves ps. Also my headcanon is that Pete is the one that gets killed in Vice City and Vic left the country shortly after the ending of the game i hope we can all agree that Vic deserves a happy ending.
If you really think about it Vic is alot like Niko before Niko was thought up. A tough guy who whos trained by his countries military to kill. Who doesn't enjoy the bad things he's doing.. does crimes out of necessity but would like to find a way out of it, he has an annoying male relative close to his age who is constantly getting them both into more trouble, falls for a girl who isn't a criminal but is related to or heavily involved with his criminal friends and employers.. and it feels like he's found the one for him... his world coms crashing down and takes a dark turn when the person he cares about is killed.. Niko and Vic even more similar if Niko does the revenge ending (which many consider cannon) after the main character works for someone more powerful than anyone he's worked with before this employer betrays him and kills the woman he loves. Depemdimg on certain factors its optional for that party to be the final antagonist you kill (Mendez and Pegorino) or the other option for final antagonistic you kill could be the person you were betrayed, and manipulated by much earlier in the game. The first one to betray you and kinda ruined your life in this new town (Martinez and Demitri)
It really is the proto-GTA 4 come to think of it lol
I think Liberty City Stories is also one that's heavily underrated, Chinatown Wars too
The true villain of the game is Lance, he's the one that drags Vic down
True!!
STOP YELLING AT ME ITS NOT MY FAULT!!!!!!!!!
This game really hits you with Ludonarrative dissonance when going back and seeing the Intro of Vice City. Like yea okay sure Vince would get killed like that lol dude would be strapped ready to kill everyone in the meeting if anything went south. One of the most badass GTA protagonists
Yup. Literally the only theory we've got is Vic falling deep into cocain (unlikely) and depression (more plausable) after Louise's death
A review on the hitman series actually would be something me and I'm sure many more people would love to hear your take on especially if it's in a format like your GTA games. As sadly there aren't many indepth reviews on hitman series like you could certainly make
After watching your whole series this is the one I've been waiting for the most! The soundtrack alone makes this my favourite and lances backstory completely underlined his betrayal in vice City
6:04 I don't think I ever wanted to hug someone in my life as Vic. His situation is just fucked up and you gotta love him for doing his best.
You've got a good quirky reference-based sense of humor; it really helps the laid-back tone of the video. I would like to see some videos on Hitman, but what'd be really sweet is reviews like this about Alpha Protocol and the Syphon Filter games.
Helping Phil Collins then getting to watch his concert was a big moment in my teenage years hahaha
Glad you enjoyed it so much! This is my favorite 3D era GTA (and 2nd overall, right after IV/TLAD). Everytime you mentioned the underdeveloped romances on your previous videos I kept thinking "he's gonna have a surprise in VCS", and indeed it was. This game deserves to have more attention, and after this video, I think a lot more people will look for it
Anyways, this was as enjoyable as ever, now I'm looking forward to those SR2 and GTA5 videos. Cheers, mate :)
P.S. you should definitely cover Chinatown Wars. Even tho it has horrible controls, it just has so much going for it that makes up for it
P.S.S. I also think you should cover GTA Advance because, well, completion :v and the story is kind of ok, and the game is quite fun for a GBA title. Plus, a few characters from GTA 3 appear in it
P.S.S.S. IDK if you know this already, but Reni was LCS' Flashback FM's DJ, and in there she talks a bitabout her life b4 that game. I'm only mentioning this because it feels like something you'd talk about in the video, but you didn't, so maybe it's something new
GTA Chinatown Wars on PSP emulator / regular PSP that is ...the controls are very good
I'm currently almost beating LC Stories on my Vita, and can't wait to jump into this game, after watching your video! It just seems so more full of content, with more meaningfull cutscenes and story in general.
Fantastic video! I genuinely look forward to these videos and I’m looking forward to the HD era games being covered.
It’s a damn crime that this game was never ported again. Especially with the empire building mechanics. Hope it return even more refined in 6, the 5 property missions were boring and I want to see my businesses get bigger
I loved the video! You’re making me wanna give these older games a shot.
Also, I appreciste the Persona 4 music during the sponsor segment.
Can we just start to acknowledge that this game is better than og Vice City?
I think it is as well; it implements many elements and mechanics from San Andreas, except it's 1984 Vice City! I love how bright and colorful the graphics are, empire building, the soundtrack, the missions have a lot of depth, Vic's comments when he points a gun at someone are funny to me, the Vic/Louise love story I dig....I love Vice City, but I love Vice City Stories more.
Yes! Because Victor is more mature!
I wouldn't go that far
Great video man! GTA Vice City Stories is amazing! Glad you liked it. Also, I love your Rockstar retrospects video essays. Keep up the good work they are very well made. Subscribed for more excellent content in the future.
GTA San Andreas is the best GTA
But, GTA Vice City Stories is my favorite GTA. No other GTA can beat Phil Collin in vice city stories
Oh wow Gary Busey is actually a really good voice actor, he should be in more games.
Just came across my algorithm the other day.. bro you too underrated
I remember I played this and LCS as my first ever GTA on the psp, I remember later getting San Andreas, 3, and VC later on the laptop through torrent. I remember always being stuck on one mission for all of these, good times.
This and LCS are the GTA games that got me into the franchise back in elementary, and I cannot express how much I love this game. LCS was also good, but honestly cannot stand the replayability and diversity in VCS.
As a kid (and until now), I usually play these games only for the story, so I only play the story missions back then. This game is so good with their characters, with Umberto Robina being my most favorite and Reni being second. I can still remember vividly how I really like Reni as a character, especially with their relationship and interaction with Vic, and this was when I was in elementary. Umberto definitely took top place after I replayed this game recently.
Replaying VCS made me appreciate the benefits of their side missions, like completing Phil's shooting range gives you discount on Ammu-Nation, the usual ambulance and vigilante benefits, conquering all 30 businesses makes all cars outside your business being bulletproof, and many more. Also, having multiple actions during fistfighting pedestrians was something I only knew as an adult. Man, this game is just so underrated and awesome for all its worth.
This game was incredible. First GTA game I completed 100%
Its amazing that RUclips (and greater google in general) knows that VCS is the game of my childhood, thats why this great vid got recommended to me 👍
I still remember how I was searching for VCS cheat codes on 2 kb internet back in 2009...
Thanks for covering the only GTA game I ever beat.
Still playing the others on & off here & there.
Anyone who is a GTA fan will love this game.
This video covered the main aspects you'll run into in order to complete the story, but there's lot of other stuff that went unmentioned.
I ran into trouble the first few times I faced Mendez & his flamethrower on the roof & ended up completing the fire engine missions so I could beat him easily.
Oh, yes, also this: *helicopter
Hi FuzzySlippers. I discovered your channel a couple of days ago and I’ve really enjoyed watching your content. I’d like to know if you ever heard of a game called LA Noire. It’s a detective sandbox game developed by Rockstar and one of my personal favorite games ever. Knowing your history with GTA and other Rockstar titles I figured you already have heard about it/and or played it. But I figured it’d be worth mentioning it just in case. Anyways thanks again for providing stellar content for the world to enjoy 👍.
Idk how your channel doesn’t have more subscribers man. Keep doing your thing. All your videos are great.
i noticed that when waiting for a business to be built you can just drive far enough away for a literally like 30 sec and the business will be built, you don't need to go very far either
I love this game. Definitely the most underated GTA. The music alone is incredible.
I greatly enjoyed playing this back when it originally came out. A great prequel to Vice City, and it brought back Phil (my favorite Vice City character). As to Hitman, why not, it was an enjoyable series and I'd to see your take on it...especially Absolution. And Lance's line in Vice City I always thought was in reference to the lost drugs from the opening.
Yes to hitman videos, yes to a GTA tier list, yes to China Town wars. And also throw in something on your workout routine because that interests me as a fellow gym goer.
I used to have a long bus ride home, I’d sit with my homie and we’d take turns playing this on my PSP.
It will always hold a special place in my gaming library, and it’s one of the only games I can still remember the cheat codes by heart
Same
31:52 this is why family getting involved in protagonist business always doesn’t end well 😂
This is also my first GTA and the best GTA so far. I have played San Andreas but the businesses are fixed and you cannot do anything whereas in GTA: VCS you can start the business from scratch and you can choose what type of business you want. And the money you get from the business are so satisfying I don't even care to do missions to make money. And you get paid daily in the game, way better than GTA V, where you are paid weekly or VIce City and San Andreas where you have to physically pick up the money yourself.
I played this GTA game really late after it came out, but I really enjoyed it!. I love the way you cover the GTA series. Happy belated birthday.
In addition to it being my absolute favorite of the 3D era, I feel that it STILL has the best soundtrack of any GTA as well, and I _love_ the soundtracks to every one of 'em. The fact that most people either never played this one or don't even know it exists, and the lack of acknowledgment it gets from those who try to analyze the entire series, is a complete shame.
Exactly man, this GTA is so underrated and one of my favorites because of the empire building. Also, yes I would like videos about the Hitman franchise especially Absolution since I liked that game when I was a kid.
Swimmable VC, Story as good as IV and an actual business empire which have to be the best late game content in GTA. Just sad that only limited amount of people can play this.
Nice to see VCS get some much needed love! I have to point out though, that the glitch with the hovercraft seems to be exclusive to emulators, at least thats the only place I encountered the issue
I bought this game for my psp a long time ago it cost me €60. I couldn’t believe how great the game was.
Yes! This is the review Ive been waiting so long for. My absolute favorite 3d era GTA game
As an avid game collector I was shocking during covid to find GTA VCS on PS2 was $80cdn. I guess I was lucky to have owned it first on PSP then on PS2 later. Loved the game, still do. And also happy I got my 3 PS2 copies before the price shot up.😅😅
I will say this…. The PS2 port of GTA: Vice City Stories runs a whole hellva lot better that the horrible PS2 port of its predecessor Liberty City Stories. That one had constant frame drops while Vice City Stories had a more solid frame of 30fps with less slowdown. Play Liberty City Stories on the PSP is still preferable same with Vice City Stories in some cases. However the PS2 port of Vice City Stories is still good.
Vance says “my dead brother’s white lady”. He’s talking about the coke, not Louise.
loved this review. watched it throughout a week and it kept me entertained. keep it up!
Fun fact: Reni became a radio DJ from Flashback FM in gta lcs
For me personally, I always thought Vice City was heavily overrated. I think Vice City Stories was the second best 3D era GTA game, only being beat by San Andreas. SA and VCS were actually the only 2 GTA games I played until like 2010, when my brother got his Xbox and I played GTA 4 for the first time. I really think VCS should've been ported to PC, or at least to Mobile like LCS. Vic Vance will go down as the most underrated GTA protagonist.
Thanks for the video, helped me fill voids made by skipping the cutscenes hahah. I remember a classmate bringing PSP in third grade with VCS on it and it was fun, glad to know it stayed that way.
Played through every GTA game , one could say it's a big part of my life.
I remember this mostly for being the first game I played on the PSP and for 99 Luftballons. It didn't age as well as Vice City in my opinion but I'll always cherish the memories.
Great video as always. When vice city stories came out I never played it. It looks like I need to play this now.
This was always my personal favorite gta of the 3d era... the empire system gave this game tons of replay value on top of being back in vice city... lance was a riot throughout the game 😂 the soundtrack... i even find myself being fond of the lighting in this game, smething abt it i cant explain.. still alot of fun to play today.. great game.. and VERY underrated.
Your narration is pretty good. Calming
The thing I remember most from this game is the rival gangs having crazy accuracy and could kill you in secs. Besides that I really enjoyed this addition a lot
Victor being the guy in the opening of the original Vice City still makes no sense to me, and I feel the Vice City Stories team were actually trying to retcon it, but once someone at rockstar said "Yeah, I guess that's the same guy" in an interview, all was said and done. The character is unnamed in VC, and while the character files did have him labeled as Victor, I feel like the VCS writing team introduced Pete to act as that character going forward. Victor is almost like if Walter White from breaking bad actually did the things he did for "family" Vic is the only GTA protag who is actually just doing what he does out of necessity because the world failed him (CJ kind of is the same, but I think San Andreas kind of proves he could have been successful without crime). At the end of VCS, the game makes it very clear that with vice city crumbling around him, him having money, his revenge satisfied, and nothing really left to tie him to the town outside of Phil, I hope he moved to like Liberty City and raised Mary Beth as his own or something. I choose Liberty City as Phil moves there in the next handful of years after VC and it would make sense that he would go to live with family after his accident in VC. On the flipside, Lance is eagerly wanting to be in the criminal empire business (almost like the Heisenburg to Vic's walter white, although lance isn't nearly as intelligent). I think Lance would rope in their other brother Pete to help out. This just makes the most sense. The only other thing that could have happened is that Vic got uber depressed and Lance got him to take a ton of drugs transforming him into what we see at the beginning of VC in less than 2 years. I think that is far less likely, and they wrote Pete in the fill the hole, but people who do interviews that just say things so they become canon for no reason, and it just feels silly to me. So, in my brain, I'm just gonna stick to my happy little head canon.
This game is truly amazing but I couldn’t get passed that one part when Lance comes from the airport
Love watching these videos while doing cardio at the gym makes time fly
i love the grab and guard parts in the fight mechanics hahaha i love it when u grab someone at the back and end their life in 1 move.
0:30 this ad is an assault
Super underrated, I forgot all about this game lol. So happy you are doing this one. Also yes, Spirited Away is the best out of the SG movies and my all time favorite too.
Funny you had trouble on the exact same missions I did as a kid, that damn forklift and quad bike. At least the sniper was fun shooting people in the head and Phil's concert is one of my favourite moment in gaming, blasting that concert in my earphones during summer in my father's trailer made me a Phil Collins fan to this day.
It's the best gta to me everything is good, fun, driving, guns, vehicles, soundtrack, 80s Miami, crime empire, side missions, protagonist, tragedy it hits all the spots.
42:52 little fun facts: Vic Vance are actually the shortest male GTA protagonist. he was around 5'7 feet. and little nod to Umberta he was small compare to Tommy in VC but in VCS he still towering Vic it really show you how tall Tommy is. the guy is around 6'3 feet
This game definitely has one of the best story lines for a GTA game.
@1:01:30 Technically there are several radio hosts who played themselves.. DJ Stretch Armstrong & MC Codebreaker were in GTA 3.. Mr. Magic in Vice City.. Julio G in San Andreas.. & DJ Clue in LCS.. the hip hop hosts in GTA 4 are also played by themselves, DJ Mister Cee, DJ Green Lantern, & DJ Premier..
Thank you for this, sincerely. VCS is an absolutely fantastic game! It’s my 2nd favorite GTA easily
I wish they ported this to PC.... I only played a mod which I think was put on San Andreas engine but the guys who did it never finished the whole game. Overall it's a pretty cool game and a warming return to Vice City.