Ranking the endings of the mainline GTA games

The GTA franchise has always been at the forefront of single-player narrative-driven games that are also massive open-world titles. The quality of narratives has evolved in the series, with the original titles containing little to no discernable plot.

While ultimately, the stories and narratives are purely subjective, perhaps fans can agree that the franchise has steadily improved with how it handles stories. Nostalgia and personal experience with a game tend to weigh heavily while assessing a game's many aspects. It is impossibly hard for the community to unanimously agree on an arbitrary ranking.

The ending to a story is one of the most critical aspects of the game that writers must nail, as it caps off and contextualizes the title's events. An underwhelming ending will forever create an impression on the player, and either improve the way players look at the game or depreciate its value.

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Ranking the endings of the mainline GTA games

Exclusions: Grand Theft Auto (the original) and GTA 2, since both games had very skeletal stories with little to no discernable plot.

#5 - Grand Theft Auto 3

The game that shot the GTA into the sort of fame that led it to become the multi-billion dollar franchise today was a massive effort from Rockstar Games. While praised for its revolutionary open-world and detail, the title also had a pretty decent plot to go along with it.

After being betrayed and left for dead by his partner-in-crime and girlfriend Catalina, Claude must fight to survive in Liberty City. In the city, he rubs shoulders with the top brass of the mafia and eventually becomes a trusted soldier of the mob.

After a series of violent and dramatic encounters, Claude finds himself caught in a battle between the mob, Yakuza, and the Cartel. After somehow finding his way through, he eventually guns down Catalina and finally gets payback.

The ending is somewhat adequate as the game wasn't exactly representative of the kind of writing that Rockstar later became renowned for.

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#4 - GTA San Andreas

GTA San Andreas is perhaps one of the best time capsules for the 90s, with the rise of gangsta rap and grunge music providing an excellent background for the title's events. The game carries the same sort of kinetic energy of that era's music scene, with a rebellious streak mixed with all kinds of over-the-top moments.

The story starts relatively slowly, with CJ returning to Los Santos to learn the truth behind his mother's murder. Eventually, one thing leads to another, and CJ finds himself in the middle of a gang war, government conspiracies, and a Yakuza power struggle.

The game ends with one of the most epic encounters between CJ and Big Smoke, while Los Santos is quite literally on fire. After a massive shootout, a chase, and a dramatic final encounter, the curtains draw on CJ's story as he makes Grove Street his own.

The story plays it safe for the most part but is adequate enough to be the bookend to what has been an enjoyable entry in the GTA series.

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#3 - GTA Vice City

GTA Vice City, as a story, is pretty clearly derivative and takes enormous inspiration from movies like Scarface and Carlito's Way. The former's influence is felt through GTA Vice City with Vercetti Estate strongly resembling Tony Montana's album.

The game ends with a very Scarface-like shootout at said mansion, where players pretty much get to play out the movie's ending but as Tommy Vercetti. The climax to GTA Vice City is still one of the most exciting bits in the entire series.

With Lance turning heel at the very last minute, the players' shock immediately turns to anger as they must battle Sonny's forces all by themselves. The ending is absolutely epic and ends with Tommy emerging victorious as the undisputed kingpin of Vice City.

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#2 - GTA 5

The argument could be made that GTA V has 2 "last acts," as the Big Score should have probably served as the definitive ending. Instead, the story proceeds and Franklin is forced to decide between killing one of his friends or simultaneously taking on the trio's enemies.

In a very Michael Corleone's baptism-like sequence from Godfather, the trio carry out hits on each of their arch-nemesis: Devin Weston, Steve Haines, and Cheng. The ending then sees the trio quite literally drive off into the sunset and caps off a somewhat light-hearted but thrilling affair.

The conclusion, although satisfactory, does seem weirdly timed as The Big Score feels as definitive as any mission in the game and should have ideally been the title's ending.

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#1 - GTA 4

To this date, Grand Theft Auto 4 remains the highest-rated game on Metacritic from the franchise. Perhaps a lot of it is down to the monumental creative risk Rockstar takes with the game regarding tone and treatment.

A clear departure from the sunny streets of Los Santos, GTA 4's story is wrought with melancholy, deep reflection and moments of quiet that was not characteristic of the GTA franchise until that point.

In a bid to avoid spoilers, both ends of the game are similarly gloomy, with Niko suffering a heavy loss at the cost of his pursuit of vengeance. The title makes a great point regarding redemption, forgiveness and the futility of revenge.

GTA 4 is perhaps one of the best games in the series purely in terms of narrative ambition and writing quality.

Note: This article reflects the author's personal views.