The best portable GTA games, ranked


Highlights

  • Grand Theft Auto handheld games vary in quality, with some being disappointing ports and others showing promise in capturing the essence of the franchise.

  • Grand Theft Auto Advance was the first handheld game worth playing, despite its frustrating controls and mediocre soundtrack.

  • Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars stands out as the best truly portable GTA game, offering stunning visuals and fun gameplay for fans of the series.

With more than 400 million sales since its debut in the late nineties, grand theft car It is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. With this in mind, it shouldn’t surprise us to learn that it’s received its fair share of portable releases over the years, although not all of them have hit the mark.

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The best handheld grand theft car The games manage to capture the excellence of the main titles, allowing players to enjoy the carnage and mayhem even when they are on the move. Others are somewhat below their home console counterparts, but are still fondly remembered by many fans of the series.

Although it was not originally developed as a handheld game, the original GTA The 3D trilogy will be included on this list, as all three games are now available on Nintendo Switch and a variety of mobile devices.

9

grand theft car

Appearances are deceptive

grand theft car

Developer

DMA Design, Tarantula Studios, Visual Sciences

Editor

BMG Interactive, ASC Games, Take-Two interactive software

Platform(s)

PC, PS1, Game Boy Color

Released

November 28, 1997

Given the limitations of the Game Boy Color, Tarantula Games was able to do a surprisingly good job of recreating the world of grand theft car in 8 bits. Unfortunately, that’s where the praise must end. The gameplay is downright atrocious, the music is repetitive, and the lack of gore makes the game feel like a cheap knockoff rather than a true handheld version of the first. GTA game.

8

grand theft car 2

Another disappointing port

grand theft car 2

Released

February 13, 1999

Unfortunately, grand theft car 2 It’s more of the same. It looks like a GTA game from a distance, but a little digging under the hood reveals another empty shell. Perhaps one could argue that the Game Boy Color version of grand theft car 2 It was even worse than the first handheld grand theft car game, but doing so would be like trying to classify a slap in the face and a punch in the stomach. They both kind of stink.

7

Grand Theft Auto Preview

A step in the right direction

Grand Theft Auto Preview

Systems

Developers

digital eclipse

Released

October 26, 2004

Grand Theft Auto Preview It was the first handheld computer GTA game that was actually worth playing, although that’s not to say it didn’t still have its fair share of problems. The controls were incredibly frustrating and the soundtrack was pretty bad. Still, the Digital Eclipse team deserves credit for their vision for the franchise, as their creation at least feels like a grand theft car game in spirit.

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6

grand theft car 3

An aging classic that came too late

Grand Theft Auto Preview It was originally intended to be a portable port of grand theft car 3. However, those plans changed at some point during development, and fans ultimately had to wait another seven years before they could play this hugely influential video game on the go. At this point, it was already starting to show its age, and while the definitive edition that arrived about ten years later helped a bit in this regard, it can still be a bit of a pain to complete due to its clunky controls and fragile vehicles.

5

Grand Theft Auto: Tales of Liberty City

A useful spin-off

Grand Theft Auto: Tales of Liberty City

Third person shooter

Sandbox

Developers

Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar North

Released

October 25, 2005

Grand Theft Auto: Tales of Liberty City was initially released for the PlayStation Portable in 2005. By that time, Rockstar had already finished working on the original 3D trilogy, allowing them to pour everything they had learned into their new handheld. GTA game. This resulted in a version of Liberty City that was as good as the one found in GTA 3 and much smoother gameplay, where the power of the PSP really shines.

4

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

The almost perfect PSP prequel

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Action-Adventure

Third person shooter

Systems

Released

October 31, 2006

Released the following year, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories saw the series return once again to Vice City. The game serves as a prequel to Rockstar’s 2002 title, and this time players step into the shoes of Victor Vance. When it comes to gameplay, Vice City Stories It’s not much better than the previous one. GTA spin-off, but it far surpasses it thanks to its superior setting and story.

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3

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

pico portable gaming

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is possibly the best GTA game that was developed with portable consoles in mind. It was released for both the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable in 2009, with mobile versions coming over the next few years. In the game, players control Triad member Huang Lee as he attempts to recover a stolen family heirloom, with stunning visuals and fun gameplay making it a must-play for fans of the series.

2

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

The original gangster paradise

In many ways, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City It was the perfect sequel to the video game. It improved on virtually everything that had proven popular in the third installment of the series, while giving players a much 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 best in the series.

1

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

An all-time classic that can now be played on the go

Given today’s long development cycles, it’s pretty far-fetched to think that the original 3D trilogy was released over the course of just three years. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas It was the culmination of everything Rockstar had learned over that brief but productive period, resulting in a highly polished masterpiece that still holds up today. Thanks to the release of the definitive edition on Switch and mobile, it’s now the best handheld too GTA I play around.

Further

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