History YMMV / GrandTheftAutoIII

** Your GoodOldFisticuffs are the last thing you want to bring to a gun fight. You're better off with the mediocre pistol, which is already the weakest gun in the game. Corrected in ''Vice City'' with a rich assortment of melee weapons like the speedy [[KatanasAreJustBetter Katana]].
** The pistol is out classed by every other firearm in the game. With mediocre rate of fire and only decent damage, it's immediately rendered obsolete by the Micro Uzi, as the latter is also usable from inside a vehicle and boasts more than twice the rate of fire. ''Vice City'' corrected this by offering the Colt Python as a heavy-hitting magnum upgrade over it, in exchange for zero mobility while firing, and a smaller magazine, while ''San Andreas'' allowed the regular pistol to be dual-wielded unlike the Desert Eagle that replaced the Python.

** All the missions requiring a visit to [[spoiler:Mafia]] territory after [[spoiler:killing Salvatore]] are optional, and thank goodness for that. Those easy Marty Chonks missions? You better hope there aren't any shotgunner wiseguys along the way. "Rigged to Blow" by D-Ice luckily averts this, for the most part. While the final destination of the job ''is'' within the [[spoiler:Mafia]] territory, the gang AI for the duration of this job was altered to 'neutral'. This is a good thing, since the rigged sports car you're driving (under a time limit) can't take much damage before blowing up, meaning the job would be practically impossible to complete otherwise.
** The Paramedic mini-game is easily at its hardest in this game, due to the wonky physics and inability to repair or even change the ambulance vehicle (so if you are pulled out by an enemy gang member, your run is over). There is no map, and the island layouts can thus be very confusing. The game also doesn't take the city layout into account, instead only calculating the timer according to their distance from the hospital, meaning that if you're given 30 seconds to reach an NPC who is nearby but can't be reached without a detour, you're pretty much fucked. Because of this system, Portland is probably the easiest island to complete the minigame in, followed closely by Staunton Island which gives you a generous amount of time; but the aforementioned [[spoiler:Mafia]] and the Triads make that impossible if not done right at the start of the game or immediately after Salvatore Leone's final mission.

** The drive-by shooting mechanics. Just get an Uzi and let 'er rip.

* CompleteMonster: [[PsychopathicWomanchild Catalina]] is a sadistic, ambitious, hateful thief and SpreeKiller turned [[TheQueenpin crime boss]], who started her career in [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]], purposefully escalating the violence in her robberies, killing numerous bystanders and cops with glee. Having a history of using and discarding her boyfriends and partners, Catalina shoots protagonist Claude, leaving him to die during a robbery, before rising through the ranks of the Colombian Cartel and abandoning her next partner, Miguel, later killing him. Catalina starts an empire, flooding Liberty City with the especially potent and mentally deteriorating drug, SPANK, [[EvenEvilHasStandards turning even]] the [[Characters/GrandTheftAutoLeoneCrimeFamily Leone Crime Family]] and {{Yakuza}} against her. Among her distribution methods, Catalina spikes SPANK through coffee shops and street vendors across the city. Encountering a vengeful Claude, Catalina drugs multiple addicts into crazed suicide bombers to try to kill him. Out of spite, Catalina then abducts Claude's alleged girlfriend Maria, attempting to lure him into getting executed.

*** "Patriot Playground" has you go off-roading in Portland to hit 15 checkpoints off the coast near Saint Mark's. Each checkpoint adds 20 seconds to the timer. If you do this after [[spoiler:killing Salvatore and becoming enemies with the Leone Family Mafia]], then you'll have to avoid the roads near Saint Mark's. The problem is, one of the checkpoints is right above the tunnel entrance near the el train in Saint Mark's.

*** "Gripped!" has the checkpoints spread near the coast of Shoreside Vale. It's the danger of either accidentally rolling over the Patriot or driving into the water that is the real hazard. Much like the previously-mentioned "Patriot Playground," some of the checkpoints are near cliffs.

** 8-Ball, Claude's partner, has teamed up with Claude at the beginning of the game to escape and take out the SPANK shipment, yet disappears completely after that and is never even heard from. Many fans felt he should have stuck around with Claude for the remainder of the story to continue working as Claude's partner.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Salvatore, of all people, gets this from many. [[spoiler:While his attempt to kill Claude out of paranoia was a pretty bad decision, it has been shown that Salvatore has already been betrayed at least twice (first [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas C.J]], then [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoAdvance Mike]]), in the former case he even lost his casino's money, putting him in the right to be overly cautious and suspicious. Not to mention it was Maria who [[NiceJobBreakingItHero unintentionally caused the whole problem in the first place]] by telling Salvatore about her relationship with Claude in the open, making the subsequent events partially her own fault as well]].

* EvilIsSexy: ''Grand Theft Auto III'' stands out from most games in the series in that it has not one, but two major female crime bosses in Asuka and Catalina. Both are also very attractive, with the latter receiving a FanservicePack by way of a revealing top and visible thong in the Xbox and mobile ports.

* ThatOneLevel:
** "Bomb Da Base Act II" is an early mission taking place a bit before unlocking Staunton Island. You have to snipe the Cartel and help 8-Ball plant the bomb inside a freighter. Granted, it's not that hard once you know which gang members to shoot at, but a first-time player will most likely fail this mission once or twice. That said, this mission's difficulty drops significantly once you realize [[spoiler:there is [[BulletTime an Adrenaline pickup]] hidden amongst the mobile trailers that are located near the mission site.]]
** "Espresso-2-Go!" is another timed mission with its nine targets all over Liberty City and a strict time limit. One of which [[spoiler:is in Mafia territory and they ''will'' shoot at you, but thankfully only have 9mm pistols for this mission]] If your car catches fire and it's a fast car or you have a wanted level, you might as well forget it and restart the mission. Made a lot easier if you use the bulletproof Patriot given to you by Ray or a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAPHogcCNA multiproof Cheetah from El Burro's Turismo mission]], to get around. It can become a complete breeze if you make sure to check out all the coffee stalls because the timer starts ticking only ''after'' you ram one down. [[GuideDangIt Not that the game gives you such a clue though]].
** "Waka-Gashira Wipeout!", in which you need to waste [[spoiler:Kenji]]. The problem is that not only is he heavily guarded, but you have to kill him and his guards without ever leaving a car, rendering your body armor and any weapon other than Uzi useless in this mission. This does however become a lot easier when you realise that you can kill him using the splash damage of a rocket launcher through the roof below him, although one isn't normally accessible at that stage of the game. In the [=PS2=] version, several [=NPCs=] had [=M16s=], so if they spotted you first, your car was pretty much dead. This was toned down beginning with the PC port, where they have weaker weapons instead.
** "Pay Day for Ray" can be a very hard mission, considering that it is not only time limited, but you have to go to several pay phones far from each other around Staunton Island. The game doesn't feature any map to help you with that so if you bought the game second-hand or digitally, you're going to have to look up a map online. If you're unlucky, you could end up failing because of how the game's traffic spawn mechanic works.
** "Silence the Sneak" has a lot of FakeDifficulty in the [[ScrappyMechanic maligned grenade throwing system]] since it requires you to throw a grenade in a precise spot which is several stories above ground. It is even harder to accomplish on mobile devices. Aside from potentially forcing the player to waste a lot of grenades just to blow up the damn window, it can be very easy to get killed by the splash damage. And then there come the target himself (who is in a pretty fast Sentinel) and his two bodyguards which carry AK-47's. Oh, and you get a three star wanted level too, which means that many cop cars will try to obstruct you from completing the mission.
** "Escort Service" has you guard the Old Oriental Gentleman's armoured truck as it makes its way to Shoreside Vale from Staunton Island. Sounds easy, right? You and the van will get harassed by the Cartel cruisers, though they are the least of your problems. The true nightmare is the gunmen which are placed in such a way you will not be able to reach them with your Uzi before they attack, and they shoot very precisely, whittling the truck's health points down in no time at all. It also does not help that the truck takes a long detour through the underground tunnel, and the Colombians won't stop pursuing you even there.
** "S.A.M." is a mission in which Claude need to take down a plane using a rocket launcher. You have two options to do it, get a boat and take down the plane by the sea (which makes it very hard to aim, considering the distance and speed of the plane) or head straight to the landing strip in the airport, where several heavily armed mooks wait for you. After the plane is destroyed, Claude's wanted level will raise a lot and he will have to go back to the construction site with law enforcers after him. It may get a little easier after you get Ray Machowski's bulletproof Patriot, but this is still a pretty hard mission.
** Portland as whole becomes flat out dangerous after you beat the Staunton Island missions. Out of the three gangs that reside there, [[spoiler:all of them turn on you at one point or another, including the infamous Mafia goons with shotguns that hit like a truck. Mafia mobsters in particular occupy the area north of where the hospital and the police station are]].

** In the final mission from Salvatore, [[spoiler:the car left for Claude is booby-trapped courtesy of Salvatore himself wanting to kill him. It is amiguous on whether or not 8-Ball was aware of Claude being the target or if 8-Ball ever were the one who planted the bomb to begin with, especially since he will always be available to rig any car Claude brings with explosives even after Salvatore's death]].

* CommonKnowledge: It's commonly known that Claude betrays everyone he works with who doesn't betray him first, but this just isn't the case. Over the course of every single mission, he only betrays a single person: Kenji. And that's on Donald Love's orders. Beyond that one instance, all the betraying is done to Claude, and he leaves numerous mission chains either on friendly terms, or with something happening to the mission giver that renders them unable to have a further relationship.

** Portland as whole becomes flat out dangerous after you beat the Staunton Island missions. Out of the three gangs that reside there, [[spoiler:all of them turn on you at one point or another, including the infamous Mafia goons with shotguns that hit like a truck. Mafia mobsters in particular occupy the area where the hospital and the police station are]].

** The game also has a BeingEvilSucks theme going on, as Claude is [[ChronicBackStabbingDisorder betrayed on multiple occasions]] and betrays people in turn on his quest for revenge against Catalina. By the end of the main story, he's wanted dead by most of the gangs and there isn't [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty much a of sense of victory]] besides getting a net $500,000 cash reward and easy access to a Rhino Tank at Phil's army surplus base.

** The game also has a BeingEvilSucks theme going on, as Claude is [[ChronicBackStabbingDisorder betrayed on multiple occasions]] and betrays people in turn on his quest for revenge against Catalina. By the end of the main story, he's wanted dead by most of the gangs and there isn't [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty much of sense of victory]] besides getting a net $500,000 cash reward and easy access to a Rhino Tank at Phil's army surplus base.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Asuka for her dominating personality and being one of the very few bosses who shows respect to Claude, most fans wished she was involved in the other 3D era games.

* GoddamnBats:

* GoodBadBug:

** The Flamethrower is nothing like the one from the 2D games. For one, its range is greatly nerfed, meaning you're more than likely to accidentally set yourself on fire than trying to set enemies on fire. This becomes more evident that it will likely get you killed if you use it too close to a crowd of enemies. Unlike future ''Grand Theft Auto'' games, there's no fireproof bonus.

** "Pay Day for Ray" can be a very hard mission, considering that it is not only time limited, but you have to go to several pay phones far from each other around Staunton Island and the game doesn't feature any map to help you with that.

** "Waka-Gashira Wipeout!", in which you need to waste [[spoiler:Kenji]]. The problem is that not only is he heavily guarded, but you have to kill him and his guards without ever leaving a car, rendering your body armor and any weapon other than Uzi useless in this mission. This does however become a lot easier when you realise that you can kill him using the splash damage of a rocket launcher through the roof below him, although one isn't normally accessible at that stage of the game. In the [=PS2=] version, several [=NPCs=] had [=M16s=], so if they spotted you first, your car was pretty much dead. This was toned down in the PC port, where they have weaker weapons instead.

** Parked police cars and ambulances have a seemingly 50/50 chance to be locked, and thus inaccessible without breaking off their doors (which is easier said than done). There isn't particularly any reason for why these vehicles specifically have this quirk when nothing else does, and all it does deny you from using two of the faster vehicles in the game at complete random. Not a game-ruiner, but certainly annoying, and future games scrap this quirk.

** For a game that created a lot of controversy, there is a very strong anti-drug message in that all of the gangs besides the Colombian Cartel and the Purple Nines want the drug SPANK destroyed instead of duplicated, and one mission has you face SPANK-addicted suicide bombers who are too strung out to even know what they are doing. Some other missions have you partaking in a civil war between subfactions of the Southside Hoods and siding with the group who opposes the distribution of SPANK (the Red Jacks).

* WTHCastingAgency: The AxCrazy BigBad Catalina is voiced by soul singer Cynthia Farrell in her first acting role outside advertisement jingles and voiceovers. Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad however, as Catalina turned out to be one of the most memorable characters in the franchise and her voice acting is easily one of the highlights in this game.

** [[Film/{{Scarface}} "You want the chainsaw, gringo?"]]

** Claude's character in general is extremely open to interpretation given his status as a SilentProtagonist. This may be intentional as according to WordOfGod, Claude's character is deliberately vague as they are an AudienceSurrogate, and that whatever is there for Claude is up for the player to project onto.

** [[spoiler:Mafia goons]] earn this distinction with flying colors once you have earned their eternal vendetta against you. They all have [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotguns]] and [[TheAllSeeingAI even if you're in a vehicle]], they'll immediately recognize you and open fire. Two solid shots will [[MadeOfExplodium end your drive in a deadly explosion]], unless you are in a Rhino tank [[spoiler:or have unlocked special vehicles that are bulletproof]]. Additionally, if you're on foot, their shotgun blasts will likely [[ScrappyMechanic knock you down]] [[CycleOfHurting and prevent you from moving while they close the distance]]. They will probably knock you down again if the shots don't kill you. Simply put, after you [[spoiler:kill Salvatore]], you'll never be able to set foot in [[spoiler:the Saint Mark's district]] ever again. For this reason it's absolutely imperative that you finish all of Portland's side missions (e.g. Ambulance, Taxi, and Vigilante) before you unlock Staunton Island. You can see how bad it is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzRS403BB68 here]].

* PortingDisaster:
** The Trilogy Definitive Edition... On one hand it backported almost all of the Polished Port features detailed above. On the other hand... See the YMMV page for the whole series for details.

** [[spoiler:Maria.]] [[spoiler:She is [[TheMillstone the source of many trouble for Claude.]] Overlaps with DamselScrappy in the finale, and it doesn't help that she was [[KickTheDog Kicking the Dog]] right before that by assisting Asuka in torturing Miguel (who was blamed for Kenji's death due to Claude killing him under Donald Love's orders). Some fans are even thankful Claude might have [[TakeThatScrappy shot and killed Maria]] during the credits.]]

** "Escort Service" has you guard the Old Oriental Gentleman's armoured truck as it makes its way to Shoreside Vale from Staunton Island. Sounds easy, right? You and the van will get harassed by the Cartel cruisers, though they are the least of your problems. The true nightmare is the gunmen which are placed in such a way you will not be able to reach them with your Uzi, and they shoot very precisely, whittling the truck's health points down in no time at all. It also does not help that the truck takes a long detour through the underground tunnel, and the Colombians won't stop pursuing you even there.

** The version available on Android and [=iOS=] devices has completely customizable controls (both touch interface and external controllers are supported), visuals comparable to the Xbox port, adjustable graphics for ease of use on a large range of devices, minimal loading, improved graphics on the higher settings, and new to the Android and [=iOS=] version, the ability to move the camera around freely while driving, plus a freely accessible in-game map of Liberty City with makers of important locations such as the safehouses, Ammu-Nation, and Pay 'n' Spray shops, which the previous versions lack.

** "Espresso-2-Go!" is another timed mission with its nine targets all over Liberty City and a strict time limit. One of which [[spoiler:is in Mafia territory and they ''will'' shoot at you, but thankfully only have 9mm pistols for this mission]] If your car catches fire and it's a fast car or you have a wanted level, you might as well forget it and restart the mission. Made a lot easier if you use the bulletproof Patriot given to you by Ray or a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAPHogcCNA multiproof Cheetah from El Burro's Turismo mission]], to get around.

** Claude's character in general is extremely open to interpretation given his status as a SilentProtagonist.

** "Silence the Sneak" has a lot of FakeDifficulty in the [[ScrappyMechanic grenade throwing feature]] since it requires you to throw a grenade in a precise spot which is several floors above ground. Aside from potentially forcing the player to waste a lot of grenades just to blow up the damn window, it can be very easy to get killed by the splash damage. And then there come the target himself (who is in a pretty fast Sentinel) and his two bodyguards which carry AK-47's. Oh, and you get a three star wanted level too, which means that many cop cars will try to obstruct you from completing the mission.

** The Paramedic mini-game is easily at its hardest in this game, due to the wonky physics. There is no map, and the island layouts can thus be very confusing. The game also doesn't take the city layout into account, instead only calculating the timer according to their distance from the hospital, meaning that if you're given 30 seconds to reach an NPC who is nearby but can't be reached without a detour, you're pretty much fucked. Because of this system, Portland is probably the easiest island to complete the minigame in, followed closely by Staunton Island which gives you a generous amount of time; but the aforementioned [[spoiler:Mafia]] and the Triads make that impossible if not done right at the start of the game or immediately after Salvatore Leone's final mission.

*** "Patriot Playground" has you go off-roading in Portland to hit 15 checkpoints off the coast near Saint Mark's. Each checkpoint adds 20 seconds to the timer. If you do this after [[spoiler:killing Salvatore and becoming enemies with the Leone Family Mafia]], then you'll have to avoid the roads near Saint Mark's. One of the checkpoints is right above the tunnel entrance near the el train in Saint Mark's.

** "Turismo" is one of the most troublesome missions in the game. It’s a street race, but there are several factors that combine to make it frustrating. First, traffic continues as usual and it is all too easy to hit the other cars. Your opponents also have Cheetahs, the fastest cars in the game, and they tend to deliberately crash into you to slow you down, though they are not immune from ArtificialStupidity. It becomes very difficult, if not impossible to do [[spoiler:after you kill Salvatore, because the Leone Family Mafia's shotguns will destroy your car in seconds. As the racing course goes through Saint Mark's, you're better off doing this earlier than later on in the story.]]

** The Paramedic mini-game is easily at its hardest in this game, due to the wonky physics. There is no map, and the island layouts can thus be very confusing. The game also doesn't take the city layout into account, instead only calculating the timer according to their distance from the hospital, meaning that if you're given 30 seconds to reach an NPC who is nearby but can't be reached without a detour, you're pretty much fucked. Because of this system, Portland is probably the easiest island to complete the minigame in; but the aforementioned [[spoiler:Mafia]] makes that impossible if not done right at the start of the game or immediately after Salvatore Leone's final mission.