5 features that were in GTA Vice City but not in GTA San Andreas

GTA San Andreas introduced many great features, but it also dropped a few from GTA Vice City.

This article is about five features in GTA Vice City that weren't in GTA San Andreas. Documenting features present in a prequel, yet absent in a sequel is always a fascinating topic.

GTA San Andreas can have similar features, but they ultimately lack the five unique ones listed in this article. Of course, GTA San Andreas has many features absent in GTA Vice City, but this article isn't about that.

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Five features in GTA Vice City that were absent in GTA San Andreas

5. Earning money as a bus driver

Many GTA Vice City fans aren't aware that they can earn money by driving a Coach through select bus stops. It's a terrible way to make money, but it is still a feature. In GTA San Andreas, players can still do the activity, just without earning any money.

This feature is different from "Taxi Driver" in the sense that the player doesn't manually activate like other vehicle-based missions. Instead, they just drive the Coach to various bus stops, netting the player $5 for each passenger that enters it.

The player doesn't have to drive the passengers anywhere, as they don't leave the Coach (they despawn beforehand).

4. Good Citizen Bonus

GTA protagonists helping cops out is a strange concept. More often than not, it is law enforcement that chases the protagonist. If the player tries to help law enforcement out in most games, including GTA San Andreas, they will gain a Wanted Level.

Surprisingly, GTA Vice City circumvented this by introducing the "Good Citizen Bonus" feature. If a player uses their fists, nightstick, brass knuckles, or a baseball bat on criminals running away from a cop, they will get $50. Using other weapons will give the player a Wanted Level instead of the $50 bonus.

The $50 can stack in some instances, which can make it an okay money maker if a player takes advantage of it.

3. Robberies

GTA San Andreas players cannot rob various stores as a side hustle. However, GTA Vice City players can do so (it is the game that introduced the feature, after all). More specifically, there are 15 stores players can rob in GTA Vice City.

CJ does perform some robberies in the main storyline of GTA San Andreas with Catalina, but it isn't a feature like it was in GTA Vice City. After the player does those missions, they won't be able to do rob stores like in GTA Vice City.

In GTA Vice City, there is no limit to how often a place can be robbed. There is a cooldown so a player cannot rob the same store infinitely without leaving the location, but there are plenty of stores near one another for a player to visit anyhow.

2. Creating skins

This feature is exclusive to the PC version of GTA Vice City, but it's still a feature that is absent from GTA San Andreas. Technically, players can easily mod GTA San Andreas however they'd like, but it's not the same as creating a skin in GTA Vice City.

The PC port of GTA Vice City allows players to easily import skins officially (emphasis on the word "officially"), which is something GTA San Andreas doesn't technically do. Players would have to use photo-editing software to alter whatever it is they wish to alter about Tommy's default outfit.

It is important to note that this only works with Tommy Vercetti's default outfit. Players won't be able to edit his other outfits via this method.

1. Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball

GTA Vice City had a lot of interesting features, with the Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball being one of them. It's a strange name, but that is the official name of the minigame as seen in GTA Vice City's screen statistics (being referred to as "Highest score with Keepie-Uppy beach ball").

Obviously, GTA San Andreas has no such minigame. In GTA Vice City, players would have to hit a beach ball upward to try to get as many bounces on their head as possible. If it hits the ground, then that's the end of the minigame.

Restarting it is easy, as a player just has to hit it upward once again. There is no reward for doing so, but it can be fun for GTA Vice City players seeking to pass the time.

Note: This article reflects the writer’s personal views.