Summary
With more than 400 million sales since its debut back in the late nineties,Grand Theft Autois one ofthe best-selling video game franchises of all time. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise to learn that it’s been treated to its fair share of handheld releases over the years, although not all of them have quite hit the mark.
The best handheldGrand Theft Autogames manage to capture the excellence of the mainline titles, allowing players to get their fix of carnage and chaos even when they’re on the go. Others fall some way short of their home console counterparts but are still fondly remembered by many series fans.
Although not originally developed as handheld games, the originalGTA3D trilogy will be included on this list, as all three games are now available on the Nintendo Switch and an assortment of mobile devices.
Given the limitations of theGame Boy Color, Tarantula Games was able to do a surprisingly good job of recreating the world ofGrand Theft Autoin 8-bit. Unfortunately, that’s where the praise must end. The gameplay is quite frankly atrocious, the music is repetitive, and the lack of blood and gore makes the game feel like some cheap knockoff rather than a true handheld version of the firstGTAgame.
Sadly,Grand Theft Auto 2is just more of the same. Itlooks like aGTAgame from a distance, but poking around under the hood a little reveals yet another empty husk. It could perhaps be argued that the Game Boy Color version ofGrand Theft Auto 2was even worse than the first handheldGrand Theft Autogame, but to do so would be like trying to rank a slap in the face and a punch to the gut. They both kinda suck.
Grand Theft Auto Advancewas the first handheldGTAgame that was actually worth playing, although that’s not to say that it didn’t still have its fair share of problems. The controls were incredibly frustrating and the soundtrack was pretty bad. Still, the team over at Digital Eclipse deserves credit for their take on the franchise, with their creation at least feeling like aGrand Theft Autogamein spirit.
Grand Theft Auto Advancewas originally intended to be a handheld port ofGrand Theft Auto 3. Those plans changed at some point during development, though, with fans ultimately having to wait another seven years before they could play thishugely influential video gameon the go. By that point, it was already starting to show its age, and although the definitive edition that arrived some ten years later did help a little in this regard, it can still be a bit of a chore to get through due to its clunky controls and fragile vehicles.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Storieswas initiallyreleased for the PlayStation Portablein 2005. By that point in time, Rockstar had already finished work on the original 3D trilogy, allowing them to pour everything that they’d learned into their new handheldGTAgame. This resulted in a version of Liberty City that was every bit as good as the one found inGTA 3and much more fluid gameplay, with the power of the PSP really shining through.
Released the following year,Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Storiessaw the series once againreturn to Vice City. The game serves as a prequel to Rockstar’s 2002 title, with players this time placed into the shoes of Victor Vance. When it comes to gameplay,Vice City Storiesisn’t all that much better than the previousGTAspin-off, but beats it by a country mile thanks to its superior setting and story.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Warsis arguablythe bestGTAgamethat was developed with handheld consoles in mind. It was released for both the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable in 2009, with mobile versions arriving over the course of the next few years. The game has players controlling Triad member Huang Lee as he attempts to recover a stolen family heirloom, with impressive visuals and fun gameplay making this a must-play for series fans.
In many ways,Grand Theft Auto: Vice Citywasthe perfect video game sequel. It improved upon pretty much everything that had proven popular in the series' third installment, while also providing players with a far more exciting sandbox in which to cause carnage. The eighties setting and gangster movie-inspired narrative are perfectly executed, while the soundtrack is one of the series' very best.
Given thelong development cyclesthese days, it’s pretty wild to think that the original 3D trilogy was released over the course of just three years.Grand Theft Auto: San Andreaswas the culmination of everything that Rockstar had learned throughout that short but productive period, resulting in a highly polished masterpiece that still holds up well today. Thanks to the release of the definitive edition on Switch and mobile devices, it’s now also the best handheldGTAgame around.
