Line #30 VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories


1	!! Spoilers for all 3D Universe entries of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series preceding this one, including ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' may be left unmarked. Also, due to the game being a prequel to ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', expect major {{Late Arrival Spoiler}}s pertaining to that game. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!
2	[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gta_liberty_city_stories.jpg]]
3	The first of the two [[GaidenGame "Stories" games]] in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series, which were both made for the Platform/PlayStationPortable and later ported to Platform/PlayStation2. The story takes place in 1998, a few years before the events of ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII III]]'', and follows a younger, slimmer Toni Cipriani's rise to power in the Leone crime family. And it's not easy. Things get messy, with uncooperative mayors and families from the Old Country wanting in on the action.
4	----
5	!!Tropes of this game:
6	* AccidentalMisnaming: As Salvatore warms to Toni, he starts calling him "Anthony" out of endearment. He never does get it right.
7	* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: A biker gang appears in the game and its leader appears as Maria's lover. However, it is unknown what happened to them after the city had banned motorcycles in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''.
8	* ArchEnemy: The Sindaccos and the Forellis are this to the Leone Crime Family.
9	* ActionizedSequel: it's actually an Actionized prequel to GTA 3 but you get the idea, and there's also more highlights as well.
10	* AffablyEvil: Massimo Torini and Salvatore's uncle. "It was {{nothing personal}}."
11	* AllElectionsAreSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: After Mayor R.C. Hole's death]], Liberty City holds an election to select its new mayor, causing both Donald Love and Miles O'Donovan to enter the race and fight for the position. However, the election is Mafia-rigged, with the former being affiliated with the Leones and the latter being affiliated with the Forellis. Toni is ordered several tasks by Love to ensure his victory in the election. [[spoiler:O'Donovan eventually wins the election after Love being deemed unfit for the position due to his affiliation with Toni, a member of the Leone Family.]]
12	* AssassinationAttempt: Many missions in the game involve Toni protecting several people from assassinations attempted by many gangs, though Toni himself is also the target during a certain stage of the game.
13	** In ''No Son of Mine'', Toni's mother pays several hitmen to kill her own son so he would die like a real man.
14	** In ''Salvatore's Salvation'', The Sindaccos attempt to kill Salvatore by crushing the car with him trapped in its trunk at a crusher.
15	** In ''Love & Bullets'', the Forellis attempt to assassinate Donald Love to ensure that Miles O'Donovan win the mayoral election.
16	** In ''The Shoreside Redemption'', the Sicilians attempt to assassinate Salvatore by destroying the police van that transports him to his court hearing.
17	* AttackOfThePoliticalAd: O'Donovan supports compulsory buggery, hates America, and will sell your childrens' organs.
18	* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Much like the Colombian Cartel in ''III'', the rival mobs are always hostile and will shoot at you.
19	* AxCrazy: Salvatore Leone grows steadily more paranoid as the events of the game progress.
20	** Toni himself is this in ''Dead Meat''. Literally, with a meat axe.
21	* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:Avery Carrington is killed in a late-game mission.]]
22	* BadHabits: The end of the Church missions, [[spoiler: where you find out that the "priest" you spoke to is actually a reporter for the local newspaper that desperately wanted stories to cover.]]
23	* BattleInTheRain: A thunderstorm rolls in during the final lighthouse shootout.
24	* BeardOfSorrow: [[spoiler: Donald Love has one after losing both the election and his empire.]]
25	* BigBad: Massimo Torini, the enforcer for the Sicilian Mafia who are manipulating the three families to destroy each other so they can take over Liberty City for themselves.
26	* BlackComedy: Almost every scene with Donald Love has this, veering into CrossesTheLineTwice territory.
27	--> ''Donald Love'': (while eating human flesh) “My God, this is good. It tastes just like chicken but somehow more... uh, sentient.”
28	* BlatantLies: Mayor Donovan promises the ferries will continue running in [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII the future]].
29	* BloodierAndGorier: It's bloodier, gorier, and a lot more brutally violent than ''III''. Just see "Dead Meat" as for why.
30	* BrokenBridge: At the start of the game, the bridge to Staunton Island is still under construction (and remains so for the entire game -- eventually, enough of the bridge is completed for you to drive across it), the drawbridge to Shoreside Vale is stuck in the "up" position (as it was in ''III''), and the ferry between the three islands is closed due to a strike.
31	* BrooklynRage: Much like its chronological successor, this game runs on it.
32	* TheCartel: The Colombian Cartel makes an appearance here, doing business with both the Leones and later Avery Carrington.
33	* CallForward: Salvatore's safehouse is the future site of the Triad Fish market. The Triads clear the land by detonating the existing building.
34	** Toni helps the Yakuza gain control of the casino, which is still mob-owned in this game.
35	** Ray Machowski is still an honest cop at this point, for which his partner Leon gives him no small amount of grief.
36	** Mayor Donovan assures us on the radio that his tunnel project [[BlatantLies won't put the ferry out of work]].
37	** Donald Love "acquires" Fort Staunton by blowing the existing neighborhood to bits.
38	** One of the housing projects in Hepburn Heights where [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII Claude picks up Misty]] is still under construction at the time.
39	** In Phil Cassidy's cameo, he says that he does so much business by the ferry terminal that he should set up there permanently.
40	** In this game, only the Shoreside Vale portion of the Porter Tunnel is operational, while the Staunton portion is still under construction, and the Portland portion has not started yet. At the time, the Portland's exit is occupied by a ferry terminal.
41	** The mobile version uses textures from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and as a result adds more, such as the new Liberty City Police Department logo.
42	%% * CementShoes
43	* ChainsawGood: Toni gets ambushed by an army of chainsaw-wielding psychos sent in by [[spoiler:Vincenzo]], hence the ShoutOut mission name of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin ''The Portland Chainsaw Masquerade'']].
44	* ClarkKenting: "Lionel", the lawyer who visits Salvatore in prison. (AKA Toni wearing glasses).
45	* {{Confessional}}: Toni visits one of these during The Church missions. [[spoiler: The priest is actually a corrupt reporter who manipulates Toni into committing several atrocities that he can create news headlines for.]]
46	* TheComicallySerious: Much of the humor in this game comes from Toni's understated reactions to the absurdity that goes on around him.
47	* CommunityThreateningConstruction: The construction of the Callahan Bridge and Porter Tunnel caused several ferry workers to stage a strike at the ferry terminal in Harwood. The Portland Harbor is also closed down by the harbor workers, who showed sympathy with the ferry workers. When the Staunton Island is unlocked, several ferry workers who refused to back down also staged a strike at the entrance of the Shoreside Lift Bridge. They finally back down when Miles O'Donovan is elected and he assures that [[BlatantLies the ferries will continue to be operational]].
48	* ConspicuouslyPublicAssassination: The mayor of Liberty City, Roger C. Hole, is assassinated by Toni during his morning jog under Salvatore's orders for trying to have him arrested and being a puppet by the Forellis.
49	* ConspiracyTheorist: Salvatore Leone. It seems that the only person he doesn't distrust is Toni, and even then, he holds him at gunpoint once. Given that the [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas last guy]] he trusted [[spoiler:betrayed him, robbed his casino and killed a dozen of his security guards on the way out...]]
50	* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Both Toni Cipriani and [[TheMafia the Leone Crime Family]]. Their main role in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories'' is a huge contrast to the [[EvenEvilHasStandards Grove Street Families]] from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''. Unlike them, they have no problem with things such as drug trafficking, torture and supporting {{sociopath}}s like [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Donald Love]].
51	* CrapsackWorld: Liberty City is once again set with this in mind. See below EvilVersusEvil.
52	* DarkerAndEdgier: Storyline-wise compared to ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' anyway. Almost every character in the game, including Toni himself, is a completely unsympathetic JerkAss and sociopath and the city is an even bigger CrapsackWorld than it was in III. Though the game does balance this by having tons of BlackComedy and generally being far more DenserAndWackier (especially when compared to ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories Vice City Stories]]'').
53	* DeadpanSnarker: Toni has his moments.
54	* DenserAndWackier: Rockstar, what have you done with Donald Love? And who is this Creator/DavidCross soundalike who eats human torsos on a silver platter?
55	-->"[[TheJeeves Humphries!]] Bring out the offal!"
56	* DistressedDude: Salvatore lands in more than his fair share of trouble, resulting in Toni constantly having to bail him out.
57	** DistressedDamsel: Maria doesn't do much better in this regard - literally every mission for her is the same basic "Toni drives Maria to buy drugs, [[NotMyDriver the dealers are invariably linked to the Sindaccos]], Toni has to give chase without destroying their vehicle and save Maria".
58	* TheDon: Salvatore Leone, once again, assumes this role. Besides him, there is also Paulie Sindacco and the unseen Franco Forelli.
59	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Toshiko at the end of her final mission, after killing her husband for her.]]
60	* DroppedABridgeOnHim: For someone who was such a major character in ''Vice City'' [[spoiler: Avery’s]] death is extremely abrupt. He doesn’t even have any dialogue when you confront and kill him.
61	* ElvisImpersonator: Toni himself, when wearing the "King" outfit that you win by completing the final mission. Although he doesn't imitate Music/ElvisPresley as much as just dress like him.
62	** Paulie Sindacco, one of Toni's more prominent enemies, is definitely this trope. You can even visit his tombstone after his death, which have the words “Viva Las Venturas, Baby” engraved on it.
63	* EscortMission: In the penultimate mission, Toni steals a police car to protect Salvatore, who is transported in an armored truck with a police escort, however, the convoy is attacked by the Sicilian Mafia, who want him dead.
64	* EvilVersusEvil: In case you have doubts, everybody (protagonists, antagonists or minors) is either a villain, [[JerkAss jerk]] or [[TheSociopath sociopath]]. Toni is a ruthless and somewhat insane mobster who does not hesitate to commit atrocities for his own benefit or to satisfy his bosses or even earn his Ma's respect, Salvatore is extremely vindictive and shows traits of paranoia and narcissism, and Donald is a corrupt cannibal.
65	* FatBastard: J.D O'Toole, the perverted and creepy owner of the Sindacco-backed Paulie's Revue Bar, who is implied to have previously spent time in jail for statutory rape charges.
66	* {{Flanderization}}:
67	** Maria is really shrill and ditzy here.
68	** Salvatore is a lot more paranoid here, to the point of waving a gun in Toni's face which can probably be ascribed to Carl Johnson's betrayal years prior and the intense gang war in the city.
69	** Donald Love is a lot more depraved here. His taste for human flesh was hinted at before, but here we actually ''see'' what he's eating.
70	* {{Futureshadowing}}: This game runs on it. Perhaps most significantly, Salvatore's uncle mutters under his breath, "Every dog has day...", suggesting that the Leones' days are numbered. This indeed happens when Salvatore is later killed by Claude.
71	* {{Gayngster}}: Kazuki Kasen, to hear his wife tell it.
72	* GetOnTheBoat: The game features a ferry system between Portland and Staunton Island, since the Callahan Bridge and Porter Tunnel depicted in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' aren't finished yet.
73	* GlitchEntity: Helicopters ''can'' be flown in LCS, they just aren't lying around. Through exhaustive effort, you can hijack one in midair during the ''False Idols'' mission. It can even be crammed into a garage.
74	* GreaserDelinquents: The Sindacco Family, and also Dan Sucho from the mission ''Grease Sucho''
75	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Toni simply gets a one-star wanted level for killing the mayor of Liberty City.
76	* GuideDangIt: Like most other GTA games, many of the side quests, hidden package pickups, etc. are not immediately apparent.
77	* HeKnowsTooMuch: Ned Burner's ultimate fate.
78	* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Donald Love wastes his massive fortune on the mayoral campaign, which ends up backfiring on him. When we meet him again he is sleeping in a bug-infested flophouse.
79	** The Forellis have gone from the most powerful mafia family in Liberty City to minor crooks, especially after the destruction of Fort Staunton, the only neighborhood still owned by the family.
80	** The Sindacco Family is about as big as the Leone family at the start of the game, despite the death of Johnny Sindacco in ''San Andreas'', and they, together with the Forellis almost took over Liberty City. By the end of the game, Paulie Sindacco is dead, the gang has lost all their influence, and Sindacco gang members don't even spawn anymore.
81	* ImAHumanitarian: Clarification is given of what goes on at Donald Love's 'morgue parties'. See what we mean by weird?
82	* ImpersonatingAnOfficer:
83	** In ''L.C. Confidential'', Toni pretends to be an FBI agent to kill an informant and retrieve his briefcase.
84	** In ''The Shoreside Redemption'', Toni steals a police car and enters the convoy transporting Salvatore to the courthouse, however the convoy is ambushed by the Sicilians, forcing him to protect Salvatore from their attacks.
85	* InnocentAwkwardQuestion: A seven-year-old child calls into ''Chatterbox'' on LCFR. The call goes innocently at first, then the child asks, "Lazlow, do you know what 'fuck me harder' means?" It turns out they overheard it from their mother.
86	* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Toni can't climb, and often needs a car to give him a boost. Considering that [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas the last GTA game averted this]], it's rather annoying. Especially since many of the hidden packages are in high places, requiring you to get creative with vehicles to get them. [[spoiler:One of them requires blowing up an entire section of the city.]]
87	* IntrepidReporter: Ned Burner the star reporter of Liberty Tree who impersonates a priest to trick Toni into causing chaos around the city that he can report on. He is later killed by Toni after witnessing the murder of Avery Carrington by him and Donald Love.
88	* {{Jerkass}}: Nearly everybody, including Toni himself sometimes, but especially his own mother, who constantly berates Toni for not being man enough or living up to his late father's reputation no matter what Toni does. This reaches its zenith when she calls a hit out on Toni, though eventually she calls it off once Toni gets made. And for other examples, J.D. O' Toole, Vincenzo Cilli and Paulie Sindacco.
89	* KarmaHoudini: Toni Cipriani, oh boy. [[spoiler:In a later mission, Toni blows up Fort Staunton to help with Love's land-grab, leading to the deaths of countless innocents. Most of the blame was put on the Forellis for storing illegal weapons underground.]]
90	* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: Ned Burner manipulates Toni into committing several high-profile heists and murders all in the name of 'exclusive' reports.
91	* LighthousePoint: The final battle takes place here. There's also a hidden package set on the island where the lighthouse is.
92	* MafiaPrincess: Maria, smack right in the middle of it.
93	* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Massimo Torini.
94	* MayorPain: [[PunnyName R.C. Hole]].
95	* MidlifeCrisisCar: At one point, Salvatore Leone shows off a "fully loaded, top of the line" sports car to Toni. Maria, riding shotgun, humorously responds by claiming to "smell" Salvatore's mid-life crisis. The car is later found wrecked not far from where Salvatore showed it off.
96	* MissionPackSequel: While the controls are different from those of ''GTA III'' (similar to ''San Andreas''), Liberty City is largely unchanged.
97	* MobWar: A three way version between the Leones, the Sindaccos and the Forellis that is being manipulated by their Sicilian precursors. Several other gangs such as the Diablos, the Triads and the Yakuza eventually manage to get involved as well. Your goal is to help the Leones crush their enemies and reign triumph over the city, [[spoiler: which they eventually do by the end of the game.]]
98	* MommasBoy: Toni, and he's [[WellDoneSonGuy constantly trying to get her approval.]]
99	* NoFairCheating: With this and ''Vice City Stories'', using any cheats will dock you 1,000 points on your criminal record.
100	* NonIndicativeName: The mission ''Sindacco Sabotage'' has no Sindacco members appearing at all, instead it involves Toni defending Hepburn Heights from the Diablos.
101	* NoodleIncident: Apparently the FBI searched J.D's hard drive for [[{{Squick}} something]]...
102	* NotMyDriver: Toni pretends to be the chauffeur of a union boss to scare her into submission by driving her limousine erratically around the city so she would allow Salvatore to use the harbor for a drug deal.
103	* TheNineties: The game is set in 1998, and while the late 90's atmosphere isn't as blatant as Vice City's take on the 80's, there are a lot of shout outs to the late 90's such as CD's, [[MillenniumBug [=Y2K=]]], and the early days of the Internet.
104	* NothingPersonal: Massimo Torini's last line. Salvatore [[ItsPersonal disagrees]].
105	* TheOldCountry: The Sicilian mafia.
106	* OneHitKill: The katana in this game will always behead an opponent it hits resulting in this.
107	* OutrunTheFireball: After detonating the bombs underneath Fort Staunton, Toni's vehicle speeds out of an exploding subway entrance.
108	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
109	** Toni and Toshiko uses the Forelli family's views regarding mixed-race interactions to stage an ambush.
110	** The primary reason J.D. defected to the Leones was the Sindacco family's refusal to have him made due to his mixed Irish-Italian heritage.
111	* PlayingBothSides: It's made clear early on that Massimo Torini is uniting the city's small-time gangs against the Leones.
112	* {{Prequel}}: This takes place three years before ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII''.
113	* PunkInTheTrunk: The Sindaccos attempt to kill Salvatore by driving a car into the crusher at Harwood with him being trapped inside its trunk. Fortunately, Toni manages to prevent them from reaching the crusher.
114	* RagsToRiches: [[spoiler:Donald]]'s (albeit temporary) fate after going bankrupt.
115	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The mission "Hot Wheels" has Toni, having just evaded a police trap that Vincenzo ''conveniently'' forgot to tell him about, hit Vincenzo with a small but effective one of these while the latter rants about how, since he set Toni up with a safehouse and all that, he oughta be "grateful" to the stuck-up prick. Said speech also has a dash of BadassBoast about it.
116	-->'''Toni:''' Oh yeah, I understand, Vinnie! I understand that as long as I work for you, I'm gonna get treated like a bitch! Well, I was taking scores while you were still looking up girls' skirts! Have your bitch job back, ''boss''! I quit!
117	* RecycledInSpace: The mission ''Karmageddon'' (the one given by [[spoiler:Ned Burner]], not the side-mission you can do after that) is similar with ''Vice City'''s "Messing with the Man", except WITH A FIRETRUCK! Yeah, your main objective is to cause mayhem around the city and fulfill the "rating" meter by committing as many crimes as possible while behind the wheel of a firetruck, driving crazy enough to complete the mission. Both are also done for petty reasons: while "Messing with the Man" is done ForTheEvulz, "Karmageddon" is done for GoingForTheBigScoop.
118	* {{Retcon}}: The introduction video for ''San Andreas'' (set in 1992) features a shot of Luigi's Sex Club 7 in Liberty City. However, this game features Paulie's Revue Bar at the start. The usual club wasn't established until the Leones took it over.
119	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: [[spoiler:J.D. is killed by Mickey under orders of Salvatore after being tricked into thinking he was to be made, as he was considered untrustworthy for turning on the Sindacco family for the Leone’s.]]
120	* SecretPolice: In ''Caught in the Act'', Salvatore and Toni kidnap R.C. Hole's assistant to interrogate him into giving them information, however, they are followed by the late mayor's secret service, forcing Toni to get rid of them.
121	* TheSecretOfLongPorkPies: After his death, Giovanni Casa is dismembered and sold at his own butcher's shop as sausage meat.
122	* [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen She Who Must Not Be Seen]]: Ma Capriani. Like in ''III'', her voice is only heard through a window, though this time she's also heard through a car.
123	* SleazyPolitician: They don't call him [[PunnyName R.C. Hole]] because he's a great communicator.
124	** Miles O'Donovan, the new mayor is a puppet of the Forellis and is apparently no stranger to scandals.
125	* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Avery Carrington, poor old guy.]]
126	* SuicideIsPainless: [[spoiler: Toshiko kills herself by sliding off the window of her apartment, dying when she lands on a car]].
127	* SuperDrowningSkills: Back in Liberty and the water is still about as good for you as a heart attack.
128	* SurroundedByIdiots: Early on Vincenzo asks why he's surrounded by idiots. Toni says "I don't know. Birds of a feather?" Naturally, Cilli is not amused.
129	* TakeThat: [[spoiler:Avery Carrington quickly getting killed by Toni and his subsequent HumiliationConga are one giant jab at Creator/BurtReynolds, who voiced the character in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' and was said by the crew to have been very difficult to work with.]]
130	* TankGoodness: In ''Shogun Showdown'', Salvatore orders Toni to steal and destroy a tank which belongs to the {{Yakuza}}.
131	* UnwittingPawn: Toni being tricked into creating news stories for Ned Burner to 'scoop'.
132	* VigilanteMan: Aside from the normal Police Vigilante missions there are also several “Avenging Angels” missions that you can start by wearing the Avenging Angels outfit and interacting with any member of the gang that wanders around the city.
133	* VillainProtagonist: Toni and Salvatore fill this role.
134	* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: The game provides you with a katana during the final duel with Kazuki, but you can use the quicker and more effective method of just shooting him and the mooks.
135	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
136	** Luigi Goterelli, the Leone pimp, is nowhere to be seen this time around.
137	** Salvatore's son Joey only gets a few brief mentions, although it appears that he already owns the auto shop.

Context VideoGame / GrandTheftAutoLibertyCityStories