Line #16 VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoAdvance


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/GTA_Advance_Box_Art_5630.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:The lesser-known member of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' family.]]
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4	''Grand Theft Auto Advance'' (as named on the title screen; the box art simply calls it [[RecycledTitle "Grand Theft Auto"]]) is the fifth title in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, released exclusively on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in 2004. Notably developed with little to no involvement by Rockstar North, but by Creator/DigitalEclipse, the game is an eclectic mix of top-down gameplay from early 2D ''GTA''s and stylistic design and gameplay elements from contemporary ''GTA'' games, with other unique features, such as speed indicators and significant variance in on- and off-road performance, added into the mix. The game is also the first ''GTA'' (set in the 3D Universe, anyway) to be released on a handheld console, predating its prequel ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories''.
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6	Taking place a year before ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', the game's plot begins with Mike and Vinnie, two Liberty City criminals, seeking to leave the city and retire from their mob life with what money they have earned from several small-time jobs. Before their planned departure, Vinnie convinced Mike to do one more job for the Mafia, during which he is apparently killed in a car bomb, talking the duo's money with it. The game then centers on Mike's quest to seek out those who have killed Vinnie, working for multiple Liberty City underworld bosses for clues.
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8	''Advance'' was originally conceived as a GBA port for ''III'', before Digital Eclipse settled on the idea of a new {{Prequel}} storyline for ''III''. However, the game's technical issues stemming from the limitations of the GBA (mainly its classic but still clunky top-down gameplay, choppy 3D graphics, and content downgrade), poor publicity, and its near-simultaneous release alongside big-hitting ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', led to the game being poorly-received and falling into obscurity. To this day, none of the characters unique to the game or any plot development in the game are ever acknowledged in succeeding ''GTA'' games, and the game itself is very much [[CanonDiscontinuity non-existent]] in the eyes of the official developers.
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10	Although the official ''GTA'' website makes no mention of this game, its official website is still hosted [[https://www.rockstargames.com/games/grandtheftauto-gba here]].
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12	!! ''Grand Theft Auto Advance'' contains examples of:
13	* ArtificialStupidity: The A.I in the game is absolutely horrid when it comes to obstacles. It gets to the point that it's not uncommon to see [=NPCs=] dying to vehicles even when you're not driving.
14	%%* AffablyEvil: Asuka.
15	%%* BigBadEnsemble: [[spoiler: Vinnie]] and King Courtney.
16	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Mike is able to leave behind the criminal life and start over, but he had to kill his mentor to do it.]]
17	* BodyArmorAsHitPoints: Interestingly, one of the first two ''GTA'' games to start averting this, alongside the concurrently-released ''San Andreas''. Whereas that game only allowed falling damage to bypass your armor, this game - which doesn't ''have'' falling damage because it's a top-down game - instead makes it so armor doesn't protect you from melee hits.
18	* BondOneLiner: Mike is fond of spouting these after injuring/killing an enemy during missions.
19	* CanonDiscontinuity: The game has by large been ignored by the official developers, and is never directly referenced in subsequent games in the series.
20	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite them being one of the most important gangs in ''III'', none of the key members of the Leone Family Mafia appear.
21	%%* DeathFakedForYou: [[spoiler:Vinnie.]]
22	* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler: Vinnie. A majority of the game is spent trying to find out who killed him and then you find out he faked his death. Mike kills him that same mission. There are five missions afterwards where Mike has to deal with King Courtney.]]
23	* {{Expy}}: Mike is one of Claude.
24	%%* FauxAffablyEvil: King Courtney and [[spoiler: Vinnie]].
25	* ForegoneConclusion: Because the game is supposed to bridge itself to the beginning of ''III'', [[spoiler:it's expected that King Courtney survives after his final confrontation with Mike and custody by the police, and 8-Ball becomes Claude's paddy wagon mate in the introduction to ''III'' and escapes.]]
26	* GameBreakingBug: There's a glitch where if the player explodes too many cars at once, glitch cars can spawn on the road. Some of these glitch cars include those that were DummiedOut, where they take on the appearance of a Brit (hatchback based on a Mini), and others can cause the game to softlock if they spawn.
27	* GenreThrowback: To an extent. This game is played in the top-down perspective of the original ''VideoGame/{{Grand Theft Auto\|Classic}}'' and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto2'', and features songs and vehicles that were previously featured in those games.
28	* {{Greed}}[=/=]EvilIsPetty: The motives of the BigBadEnsemble, [[spoiler: Vinnie faked his death to steal Mike's share of their final pay, and when Mike steals it back, King Courtney calls a hit out on Mike for it.]]
29	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: In one mission, Mike abducts Asuka Kasen's niece for the Colombian Cartel. In a later mission, Mike rescues that same girl for Asuka.
30	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: King Courtney is spared by Mike.]]
31	* MinimalisticCoverArt: The cover art itself consists of nothing more than a color-inverted version of the famous ''[=GTA=]'' logo backed by a grey background. It is the only post-''III'' game not to adopt a comic panel-styled cover art.
32	* MoneyForNothing: Much like 'III', money is meaningless late in the game, and there's little to spend it on.
33	%%*ScaryBlackMan: King Courtney.
34	* SeriesContinuityError: The existence of certain plot points from ''Liberty City Stories'', released a year later, led to conflicting continuity errors. For example, none of the {{Canon Foreigner}}s are mentioned in the former game and some story plots conflict with ''Liberty City Stories'' and ''III''.
35	* TankGoodness: The "Tank", which is prominently used in [[spoiler:the final mission to reach Cisco's plane.]]

Context VideoGame / GrandTheftAutoAdvance