Spanning over 16 titles, the Grand Theft Auto collection has garnered fairly a fame throughout its time as one in every of gaming’s seminal franchises. Irrespective of which entry you go to, you’ll discover a sprawling open world crammed with high-speed automobile chases, daring heists, intense gunfights and an enormous metropolis to discover. However whereas carnage and police pursuits are largely Grand Theft Auto’s bread and butter, it’s not the one factor followers depend on Rockstar to supply (apart from a GTA 6 launch date).
Alongside a totally interactive sandbox, Grand Theft Auto video games are lorded for his or her tales. Throughout over 20 years of releases, the franchise has remodeled into against the law saga like no different, telling the tales of an array of formidable criminals finishing seemingly unattainable scores, intercepting seedy prison underworlds and usurping feared crime lords. And in consequence, the protagonists of those Rockstar video games have change into iconic.
Whether or not it’s Niko’s silent reflections concerning the cycle of revenge or Trevor’s uncanny skill to get up in random locations butt bare, GTA’s roster of main thieves and gangsters have struck a chord with followers, turning into synonymous with each the franchise and the online game house as an entire. So, let’s check out the very best of the bunch. Under, we’ll rank Grand Theft Auto’s finest protagonists, supplying you with a rundown of the franchise’s most notable playable characters forward of GTA 6.
10. Vic Vance
A former soldier expelled from the ranks after being framed by his superior officer, shortly after we meet Vic Vance in Vice Metropolis Tales, he’s out on the streets with no job or house. In search of work, he begins to make use of his abilities as a soldier to take the prison underworld of Vice Metropolis by storm, allying together with his brother, Lance, and teaming with numerous crime households to construct his empire.
As he does, Vic begins to develop into one in every of Vice Metropolis’s foremost gamers, studying to struggle for fortune and ascend via the ranks of the metropolis’ numerous prison households. A loyal pal and brother, Vic’s sense of morality and honor set him other than different Grand Theft Auto protagonists. Whereas he understands he has to enter the prison underworld to outlive on the streets of Vice Metropolis, he leans closely on his values as a soldier, serving to these round him and remaining devoted to his pals. It makes him a novel Grand Theft Auto protagonist, and one which cares extra about doing what’s proper than making a fast buck.
9. Luis Lopez
The principle character of the Ballad of Homosexual Tony growth, Luis Lopez is a former prison turned bodyguard working for legendary evening membership proprietor, Homosexual Tony. Fiercely loyal and a household man at coronary heart, Luis spends nearly all of the Ballad of Homosexual Tony’s runtime making an attempt to cease mortgage sharks from monitoring down Tony, who owes a big sum of cash to the Ancelotti Crime Household.
Luis is rather more than only a bodyguard to his eccentric boss, nevertheless, with the pair’s partnership turning into an in depth friendship. Whereas Tony makes rash, impulsive choices, Luis grounds his boss, turning into his voice of purpose and a key advisor. Though Luis is commonly overshadowed by Tony’s high-energy persona, his steadfast friendship together with his boss and love for his mom and sister make him an endearing lead and a worthy addition to the collection’ host of playable characters.
8. Claude
The primary protagonist of Grand Theft Auto’s 3D period, Claude could also be fully silent, however his lack of quips or dialog characterize him as an environment friendly, lethal killer who will get the job finished. After his girlfriend, Catalina, leaves him for lifeless, Claude swears vengeance, teaming with numerous gangs to trace down his former flame and get retribution.
The result’s a protagonist that, whereas not oozing with charisma, has a slick demeanor with a easy aim that’s simple to get behind. Claude is, in some ways, single-mindedly enveloped by his must get revenge, to the purpose the place he’ll do something and associate with anybody to trace Catalina down. As a lot as an incredible efficiency or a hard-hitting backstory could make a protagonist simple to narrate to, that characterisation alone is sufficient to make Claude probably the greatest characters in Grand Theft Auto’s roster.
7. Johnny Klebitz
The lead of GTA 4’s The Misplaced and Damned spin-off, Johnny Klebitz is one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s finest facet characters. Pushed purely by his oath of brotherhood and loyalty to his gang, the Misplaced MC, Johnny finds himself within the middle of a civil conflict between the gang’s members after the return of its chief, Billy Gray. Hellbent on recklessly driving the group to destruction, Johnny involves blows with Billy, stepping as much as assist his brothers and preserve the gang from implosion.
Nevertheless, Johnny’s sense of unconditional loyalty ultimately places him again within the orbit of his troubled ex-girlfriend, Ashley. Hoping to assist his former associate, Johnny’s left in numerous tough conditions, making an attempt to maintain the gang collectively whereas getting Ashley the assistance she so desperately wants. Stretching all through Grand Theft Auto 4 and into Grand Theft Auto 5, Johnny’s facet story is one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s most tragic, showcasing a deeply loyal chief making an attempt to carry collectively a sinking ship earlier than it is inevitably submerged. His character is proof that GTA is simply pretty much as good at telling mature, critical facet tales as they’re foolish ones.
6. Franklin Clinton
A street-raised Los Santos repot man with a coronary heart of gold, Franklin is a giant fish in a small pond. With ambitions to make a reputation for himself, he finds himself within the tutelage of Michael De Santa, rapidly turning into a profession prison who makes his fortune via the whole lot from petty crime to financial institution robberies, assassinations and extra.
Franklin acts because the extra archetypal Grand Theft Auto lead in the course of the occasions of Grand Theft Auto 5, however that certainly not makes him a weaker character. With Michael and Trevor locked in a bitter feud, Franklin usually finds himself trapped between each of his tutors, rapidly studying that a lifetime of crime comes with penalties. Not solely that, however his fast rise to energy within the metropolis’s underworld results in a compelling story about how wealth and affect don’t at all times provide you with what you need. Ultimately, Franklin is one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s best-written leads and a simple inclusion within the higher echelon of the franchise’s roster of protagonists.
5. Trevor Phillips
Essentially the most infamous of Grand Theft Auto 5’s three protagonists, Trevor Phillips is, to place it mildly, an ‘eccentric’ character. A former financial institution robber and member of Michael De Santa’s crew, Trevor has spent years dwelling within the desert simply outdoors of Los Santos, the place he’s shaped a small crime syndicate referred to as Trevor Phillips Enterprises. After we meet Trevor, he decides to go to Los Santos searching for Michael, who he learns faked his loss of life to make a take care of the FIB.
In essence, Trevor is the embodiment of how Grand Theft Auto followers play every recreation. He’s loud, violent, vulnerable to bursts of damaging rage and acts purely on impulsive intuition. All through GTA V’s marketing campaign, his storyline veers from wacky to downright sadistic on a whim, whether or not he’s eradicating a biker gang as a result of he feels prefer it or stealing an ambulance full of medication to appease a hallucination of his mom. However via all of it, there’s a wierd sentimentality to Trevor. He’ll exit of his method to free an FIB torture sufferer as a result of he sympathises with him and can transfer mountains to save lots of his former pal, Brad, out of sheer loyalty.
All of it creates one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s strangest however most intriguing characters, which is kind of the achievement for a person that, at one level, may be seen making an attempt to violently flush a dismembered foot down a rest room.
4. Michael De Santa
In plenty of methods, Michael De Santa experiences the usual Grand Theft Auto story in reverse. Residing in an opulent mansion within the Los Santos hills, Michael begins the story having fun with a lavish retirement, spending his days ingesting costly whiskey in a lounger subsequent to his pool. Nevertheless, after assembly Franklin, his life begins to unravel, reawakening the monster inside as he robs banks, murders indiscriminately and rapidly turns into a foremost participant within the Los Santos crime scene.
In consequence, Michael is one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s most unusual protagonists so far. Whether or not it is having to take care of the whims of his spoiled kids, appease the particular brokers threatening to revoke his witness safety deal or use his wealth of data to expertly execute petty crimes, he’s a criminal who escaped the prison world unscathed and is determined to revisit it. His storyline stands out as Grand Theft Auto 5’s best possible, particularly when considering his feud with Trevor and the secrets and techniques about his previous he’s desperately making an attempt to maintain buried.
3. Tommy Vercetti
An old-school gangster via and thru, Tommy Vercetti appears like he’s ripped straight from a Scorcese film. He’s good, formidable and has no downside taking down anybody that will get in his approach, no matter how influential or vital they’re to Vice Metropolis’s crime syndicates. In plenty of methods, Vercetti is Rockstar’s tackle Scarface’s Tony Montana, incomes respect and his place atop the prison underworld via his ruthless drive to change into essentially the most highly effective man in Vice Metropolis.
Vercetti’s story begins after concluding a fifteen-year jail sentence in Liberty Metropolis, making his method to Vice Metropolis on the orders of his boss, Sonny Forelli. Despatched to supervise a drug deal, Tommy’s life descends into chaos after the deal is ambushed and he’s tasked with reclaiming the cash misplaced throughout his escape. As he tracks down the money, we see Tommy’s need to change into greater than an assault canine for the mafia, establishing himself with different native crime households and buying a number of companies round Vice Metropolis.
Tommy is a hustler, and his fearless drive to succeed in the highest of the pile makes him one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s most beloved protagonists. It additionally doesn’t damage that he’s voiced by the late, nice Ray Liotta, with the Goodfellas actor lending a contact of authenticity to Vercetti’s charming however ruthless persona.
2. Carl ‘CJ’ Johnson
Returning to the streets of Los Santos after his mom is killed in a drive-by capturing, CJ’s story is arguably one in every of Grand Theft Auto’s best possible. A street-raised hustler and former member of the Grove Road Households, his story sees him rejoin his brother and try to take again the streets from a rival gang referred to as the Ballas, solely to be betrayed and exiled from the town by his former pals.
CJ is just not solely one of many collection’ extra charismatic protagonists, however his backstory and motivations in GTA: San Andreas are among the many most participating within the collection’ historical past. Leaving his household and the prison underworld for good after the loss of life of his youthful brother 5 years prior, CJ enters the story as an outsider, compelled to return to road shootouts and aiding corrupt cops to assist his household and restore the fame of his former gang.
In comparison with the standard GTA protagonist on the lookout for fortune and fame, CJ’s rise to the highest of the Los Santos crime scene is about fame and a fierce loyalty for his household, making him one of many collection’ most likable leads.
1. Niko Bellic
Coming to Liberty Metropolis impressed by his cousin’s promise of a land of wealth and alternative simply to sleep on a sofa in a tiny, rundown residence, Niko Bellic is just not solely essentially the most compelling tackle the archetypical rags-to-riches Grand Theft Auto protagonist however the collection’ finest lead character. An Jap European immigrant and ex-soldier, he’s haunted by the horrors of conflict and guided by his willpower to hunt revenge on those that wronged him by any means crucial.
Niko’s rise via Liberty Metropolis’s underworld in Grand Theft Auto 4 is well the darkest and most morally probing journey any of the collection’ protagonists embark on, performing as a dissection of the American Dream and the continually revolving cycle of violence. However this extra mature story by no means turns Niko into an atypical, grizzled lead with a single-minded want for revenge. He’s loyal to a fault, witty and introspective, usually reflecting on his previous and doling out sage knowledge concerning the futility of violence and battle.
In plenty of methods, Niko begins out with the perception and readability most GTA protagonists earn as they conclude their story, and his journey stands as essentially the most distinctive and gripping of the bunch in consequence.
Callum Williams is a freelance media author with years of expertise as a recreation critic, information reporter, guides author and options author.