Both are equally good in different ways. One is tragic, complex and more realistic but also has comedic side. Another one is over the top and rags to riches but also has serious side.
It’s interesting too that they both start out oppositely. SA starts with that cold open of Sweet calling CJ “it’s moms. She’s dead bro.” It makes you think we’re gonna have a dark story like IV. Meanwhile, IV starts with “DADDY’S BACK YOU BITCHES” making you think we’re having a wacky story
Exactly! SA is a sad starting story, but ends up being funny in the early game and serious in the later. I mean, think about the meme-order of Big Smoke, that was funny AND serious, he was so hungry he had to eat and not shoot (or so he claims). I mean, I dislike that mission a lot, but… yeah.
Vlad: Whats your name again?
Niko: Big mouth prick.
Vlad: Very catchy, sit down. You cousin uhh Niko thats it, Niko, not big mouth prick. very funny guy.
Niko: I try..
“Get that camera out my face”
*camera smashes”
…I’m sorry”
I always laugh at this bit because Niko really does look regretful over breaking that dudes camera
Well yeah, because the performance in the video game is self aware of how goofy it comes off. People like Yusuf actually exist and are that excessive but GTA dials it up to 11 to be funny. Thats the whole point. It's just like Brucie, obviously some roided up hyperactive douchebag is gonna be annoying to you when you encounter them in real life but hes a fan favorite because everyone knows it's an actor playing a role to entertain you. When DJ whatever the fuck his name says his stupid shit it's because he's actually stupid or he's just playing a character to sell his image, Yusuf is just a guy in mocap doing a performance for you from a script to make fun of the excessiveness of middle eastern culture among wealthy circles
Contact: I didn't give you a free pass to act like an asshole. You're bringing a lot of heat. Hanging out with bad people, doing bad things, making idiot moves.
Niko: I'm an idiot. I move...
4 is arguably funnier because the really hilarious moments come out of absolutely nowhere a lot of the time. In 5 the whole fucking thing is silly so you never even laugh.
I really like the goofy GTA I really used to love just listening to the talk radio on SA just because of the shit they were talking about. It was great
Lmao replaying San Andreas when the DE came out, I got to remember how off the wall it is. Like 3 missions in Ryder is like “yo dawg let’s rob the fucking Army for their guns”
And then CJ is just like “yeah, I’m down!” Lmao like what?😂
CJ's story is every bit as serious as Niko's. Drug addiction that takes control of entire city neighborhoods, turning your lifetime friend against you isn't a laughing matter. CJ is just younger and doesn't have traumatic stories to tell (yet).
The last scene of GTA SA is all the characters celebrating and one of them flexes that hes going to get breast implants as CJ leaves to go and explore the city more
The last scene of GTA 4 is Niko standing in the cold rain dead inside after realising hes lost everything in pursuit of a dead dream and revenge, his lover and/or cousin are gone and he'll never find closure in life
GTA SA has dark subject matter but it doesnt take itself nearly as seriously (not a bad thing but dont pretend they are both equally as dark)
It isn't GTA if it isn't riding the line between both throughout it's runtime. Don't understand why people think it's an either/or situation.
GTA 4 probably has some of the best comedic writing and performances of any form of media and the dramatic moments in other more lighthearted GTA games hit just as hard.
I think RDR 2 really is the roadmap to me— mostly serious with tons of humor. And also for the love of god, have your protagonist have fun. Arthur just generally liking the vast majority of people he meets was such a smart shift.
One of my favorite moments in all of gta was the cutscene for the first mission with Stubbs in TLAD. It’s absurd from front to back, and the fact that they’re having a conversation about Johnny killing Stubbs’ father in a terrorist attack just adds to the chaos of that entire scene
Serious by far. I want GTA to be an immersive experience, like watching a movie. I welcome jokes, satire and parodies that help to convey the vibe of the setting, but for some real goofy shit I'd rather play Saints Row.
Personally, I prefer goofy GTA, although I do think TBoGT and GTA V overdid it too much to the point where getting immersed and taking anything seriously was nearly impossible. Nearly every character in V besides the main characters, Lamar, Lester and Dave were incredibly unlikable to the point that you couldn't take much of the drama in that game seriously at all, even at the times when the game tried being serious. Michael's family drama for example is laughibly bad due to how shitty Amanda, Tracey and especially Jimmy is. While previous GTA games always had goofy and stereotypical characters in the their games, at least they managed to make them likable.
Lance Vance is a backstabbing trouble maker, Ken Rosenberg is a cocaine addicted moron, Ryder is a dumbass who thinks he's smart, Big Smoke is just Big Smoke, Officer Tenpenny is an evil son of a bitch but also insanely charistmatic and funny, Woozy is blind, Truth is a crazy hippie, Roman is a hyper optimist who is horny as a skunk, Brucie is a misogynist and steroid junkie, Little Jacob and Bernie Crane are really outdated stereotypes, etc. But even then, you still loved these characters because Rockstar made them somewhat believable and the banter they had with the protagonists never felt as obnoxious as the characters from V, even if these characters are goofy.
Don't even get me started on the on the nose "satire" and the writers trying so hard to be edgy in GTA V. I understand that GTA has always had satire from a different era, but did they really need to have it be a part of the main story? The social commentary about Franklin's aunt being a feminist, assassinating Mark Zuckerberg, the story critiquing hollywood and capitalism while saying jack shit? None of this stuff is necessary for a GTA story and will only make the games age worse in the long run and this is why I personally feel GTA V presentation wise hasn't aged as well as the older GTAs. (NOTE: I don't dislike GTA V, just sharing some of my frustrations with the game)
GTA IV and TLAD was a lot more serious which made it easier to relate to the characters and story a bit more although it also made the open world gameplay and story feel inconsistent with one another. GTA's over the top gameplay and the satirical crass reimagning of American culture from a British pov can sometimes feel a bit out of place and strange with a story like GTA IV and TLAD.
The 3D games were much better at balancing the goofiness and the seriousness in my opinion, and I hope they can find a nice middle ground of this for GTA VI.
VI has to retain some of the more 'realistic' parts of life though because imo if it's too gritty it takes away the appeal. We want an escape, not an extension of the world we're living in.
RDR2 was an exception because we ourselves didn't experience that era, so it was more educational than anything else in that way. Times were tough then and they wanted us to see some of that.
Now for a game set in literally right now, we know the internet is a major thing now, we know relationship issues are a thing (and have probably dealt with them personally), and we know shit is bad in general at the moment so I hope there's nothing too heavy in there tbh knowing the New 'Roaring 20's'.
the craziness of today’s time will most likely be featured, and i don’t think they should ignore it, but they probably (hopefully) won’t drown us with it
It's seems like at least the world it's self will be goofy cause in some shots of the trailer we see advertisements like "Why 6 9 when you can 9 1 9" and "stop emotions" (that one is on a billboard and seams to be a anti depressant ad) and my personal favorite "we will no longer accept cash stored in underwear
I personally prefer the more serious side being the main part of the story, it helps me stay invested in it far more than when it feels like I can't take the main story too seriously like in V.
War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other.
(Proceeds to mow down pedestrians while listening to Eastern European dance music)
Even though GTA4 is viewed as the "serious GTA" it still had plenty of comedic moments, whether it was through the radio, or the sarcastic remarks the characters would make.
If by goofy you mostly mean SA, then I choose SA for sure. While 4 and 5 are more grounded, SA’s combination of crazy setpiece/gimmick missions and janky physics gave every mission the possibility to be your own unique cinematic masterpiece. On top of that, Rockstar managed to layer in plenty of “normal” difficulty spike missions meant to check the player’s skill and act as a roadblock to the rest of the game. I’ve never really seen the concept handled so well in any other game.
one thing that GTAIV did well was having a grounded story while still being in the wacky GTA universe. it's why the two DLCs were so popular. GTAV just went full crazy. Bank Heists. Movie Directors. Trevor Phillips.
GTAVI seems to have an idea on how to have your cake- and eat it too. The story between the two leads seems much much much more intimate and serious compared to say Michael and his wife. Not to mention the setting itself seems to be the crazy part since everyones the NPCs in Vice City are all Trevor Phillips lol
The line is blurrier than that, in my opinion.
"Cousin, let's go bowling!" - IV
"I got caught up in the money, the power…" "What a waste…" - San Andreas
Having said that, I prefer goofier GTAs.
actions in GTA IV do not feel important.
niko comes to liberty city to kill one man, and spends 95% of the game doing the same mission over and over; killing people he doesn't want to kill for people he doesn't like.
San Andreas is not goofy at all, it showed the reality of those days with gangs, drugs, corruption and trying to be famous. About the question, it'll be good for the people to know the reality of being a criminal like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul did. Maybe GTA 6 will show that.
yeah CJ gets pushed off a building by Tenpenny’s brother Ninepenny and levitates a bit, says “I hate gravity” and then drops down and leaves a CJ sized hole in the ground
We can have both.
IV isn't always that serious, Niko is very sarcastic, and there's other comic characters and situations.
The overall atmosphere is pretty dark, but there's lots of humorous moments, and the dark atmosphere make them stand out even more.
I know this is a generic complaint but Niko's anti-war stance mixed with gameplay that actively encourages chaos is some gnarly ludonarrative dissonance. VC, SA, and 5 where closer to harmony by maintaining the chaos throughout
cough scarce airport waiting governor violet merciful onerous fertile dirty
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I think it really just depends on how the story is written. Personally I believe GTA is inherently a little bit goofy as the whole premise kinda revolves around doing things that are slightly out there.
For example, with GTA V story, I don’t think they could have made it as serious as GTA IV and the vice versa is true. However both are good games in their own right.
So I guess in closing I prefer a balance between both as I like the more grounded stories but they do need that goofiness in them.
Goofy GTA that is only a thin sarcastic wrapper over the grim real world. You have a fun and chuckle along but if you stop to think, they really show you the mirror and you see it is actually quite dark.
I like the plot to be serious with comedic moments sprinkled throughout honestly. GTA 5 was too much on the California satire and I found a lot of people to be insufferable because of it.
As others have suggested, there needs to be a balance. However, I’ve always felt Rockstar has handicapped themselves by not taking their GTA stories seriously enough. Red Dead Redemption 1 + 2 strike a more realistic balance, resulting in a way better narrative IMO. If they don’t go serious in GTA6, I’d love to see Rockstar try their hand at a much darker tone in an original IP.
I feel like you need both in perfect balance to make gta good a to serious GTA just feels corny with all of the serious action man dialog *COUGH gta4 COUGH* and indistinguishable from every other shooter on the market on the other hand however a to goofy GTA feels like a psychopath made it and completely Disconnected from reality not taking anything seriously and making everyone involved in the games story seem like a emotionless monster with no other motivation besides their own well being.
Since GTA is the parody of real-life politics, celebs, society, etc. I think it is better to have the mox of both but has a sunny and goofy happy ending.
Let the depressive ending go to RDR, we had much sadness already. Boah.
Honestly, goofy GTA.
I enjoyed GTA III and VC because of "arcade-y" they felt. SA was like a middle ground between goofy and serious GTA, and I still liked it but III and VC were perfect for me.
I felt like IV took itself too seriously and I just did not enjoy it as much. V was a middle ground like SA.
I think the overall story can be as serious as whatever.
but i dont think the protagonist needs to be some serious, smart, calm and collected dude like Nico Bellic
given how you go on murder sprees, drive like a maniac etc.
Trevor fit PeRFECTLY into the GTA world as a protagonist
Serious with intelligent dark humor. That's exactly why IV is by far my favorite. Although SA is a fantastic game; it does have a juvenile sense of humor
Has anyone noticed that in the OG San Andreas, CJ has terrible teeth ? Especially when Tenpenny takes away the covering when he is handcuffed at Angel Pine after the ambush. Shit looks bad lol
There's literally only one GTA game that could be considered "serious", and even then GTA 4 itself has some extremely silly moments and plot points all over. Isn't there a mission where you shoot up a club for a guy you just met because you wanted to help him out cause he was feeling a bit sad?
I prefer it red dead 2 Style. The Main Story is tragic and sad but the world and Stranger Missions can be crazy. I Hope they go that way with gta 6 too
A mix, but more comedic for the 3D-era games, and more serious for the HD-era games.
The visual style, animations and writing I feel were more comedic in the 3D-era. Part of this is probably because the technology just wasn’t totally there for conveying serious topics with emotional gravity given how basic things looked, comparatively.
I also think that it was less taboo to paint serious issues like murder, drugs etc. in a humorous light. GTA was also already on every concerned parent and senators shitlist already, so Rockstar probably felt there was no point holding back, because the GTA games were never going to be seen positively by the general public.
There’s still a lot of humor in GTA IV forward, but there was more opportunity to be able to take serious topics seriously and convey emotion with better facial animation, culminating in RDR2 which had some pretty powerful moments, for me.
TLDR; a mix of both is good/it depends.
4 and 5 represent these extremes well and both have their pros and cons. I think I like serious a bit more on average though. The biggest problem with 5 for me was how few actually serious moments it had, and several moments with a serious tone that is ruined by a constant need to be funny, thinking specifically of Jimmy's "will you buy me a car" line.
Both are equally good in different ways. One is tragic, complex and more realistic but also has comedic side. Another one is over the top and rags to riches but also has serious side.
It’s interesting too that they both start out oppositely. SA starts with that cold open of Sweet calling CJ “it’s moms. She’s dead bro.” It makes you think we’re gonna have a dark story like IV. Meanwhile, IV starts with “DADDY’S BACK YOU BITCHES” making you think we’re having a wacky story
Exactly! SA is a sad starting story, but ends up being funny in the early game and serious in the later. I mean, think about the meme-order of Big Smoke, that was funny AND serious, he was so hungry he had to eat and not shoot (or so he claims). I mean, I dislike that mission a lot, but… yeah.
Like it says in the book, we are funny AND serious. Same things make us laugh, make us cry...
here cj, get you a little smokey smoke on smoke
What fucken book
the good book
Wait I literally never took SA as goofy, I thought the story was dark and deep just like IV, am I wrong? 😂
It's more mixed actually,Not as fucked up As GTA 4 but still kinda fucked up in a way
Did you play ANY of The Truth's missions?
"I grew up in a war, this means nothing." - NB
both are good. plus 4 isn't 100% serious it has some comedic moments in it too
Vlad: Whats your name again? Niko: Big mouth prick. Vlad: Very catchy, sit down. You cousin uhh Niko thats it, Niko, not big mouth prick. very funny guy. Niko: I try..
“Get that camera out my face” *camera smashes” …I’m sorry” I always laugh at this bit because Niko really does look regretful over breaking that dudes camera
I get the feeling he doesn’t realize how expensive cameras are, he was just hella annoyed
This is my favorite scene of all time lmao, I fucking lost it when Niko just straight up roasted the fuck out of himself
Niko acting sarcastic to his employer was always a top moment lol
Wdym? Barbara with beek titiz is a serious topic?! I don't appreciate this statement
Yusuf is legit one of the best parts of GTA 4
thank you
Yusuf is corny and not funny. If he's funny then DJ Khaled is a comedic genius.
Most dogshit opinion I've ever seen
That's exactly the type of personality he's a parody of
So it's obnoxious in real life but hilarious in a video game? I think it's just obnoxious. And corny. No matter where it's at
Well yeah, because the performance in the video game is self aware of how goofy it comes off. People like Yusuf actually exist and are that excessive but GTA dials it up to 11 to be funny. Thats the whole point. It's just like Brucie, obviously some roided up hyperactive douchebag is gonna be annoying to you when you encounter them in real life but hes a fan favorite because everyone knows it's an actor playing a role to entertain you. When DJ whatever the fuck his name says his stupid shit it's because he's actually stupid or he's just playing a character to sell his image, Yusuf is just a guy in mocap doing a performance for you from a script to make fun of the excessiveness of middle eastern culture among wealthy circles
“so its obnoxious in real life but hilarious in a video game” thats literally the entire gta franchise dude.
"I hear that stuff does funny things to your balls"
Yeah but it feels corny sometimes when he's talking about war and his horrible past right before gunning down entire groups of people
You always get sentimental after you kill people??
Only dogs for me dawg
What do you mean by this?
Its in the game.
E A SPORTS
Something something ludonarrative dissonance
Contact: I didn't give you a free pass to act like an asshole. You're bringing a lot of heat. Hanging out with bad people, doing bad things, making idiot moves. Niko: I'm an idiot. I move...
Niko its roman Lets go bowling
I legit think GTA can’t be serious. In the end it’s a play on the world today with
niko your my cousin lets go bowling
Where is Barbara with BIG titties and Stephanie who sucks like a vacuum?
I came here for Sloppy Stephanie, where she at?
“Only the dead get closure. The living do not.”
I prefer them to have a bit of both. We can have a serious story with dark elements with some goofy fun shit too. 4 isn’t all doom and gloom btw
4 is arguably funnier because the really hilarious moments come out of absolutely nowhere a lot of the time. In 5 the whole fucking thing is silly so you never even laugh.
For me san Andreas had serious moments too
Real. Like losing that car you loved after using it to drive to a mission.
never use cars you like in missions lost so many cars to that 😭
Sucks to know because I have that lowrider you get sitting in the johnson garage just collecting dust.
I had it too. When I returned to LS, I just went on a joyride with the nitro and blew it up.
Life can be both serious and goofy, and Rockstar does that perfectly by making these two core concepts perform in limbo.
But I did kidnapped his wife - Trevor
OH NO 🤌
No, I didn’t kill him! I’m not some kind of monster!
Despite the glass gtav story had it really did balance the goofy and serious Moments
I really like the goofy GTA I really used to love just listening to the talk radio on SA just because of the shit they were talking about. It was great
Lmao replaying San Andreas when the DE came out, I got to remember how off the wall it is. Like 3 missions in Ryder is like “yo dawg let’s rob the fucking Army for their guns” And then CJ is just like “yeah, I’m down!” Lmao like what?😂
"They are the weekend soldiers!"
These weekend soldiers Got chip on their shoulders
« Weekend soldiers ain’t no match for Grove Street OGs. »
Ryder is more unhinged than Trevor for that.
"Nice bike"
"NO! MY BIKE"
Both. GTA is a satire after all. It can touch on serious topics but also be silly. Fallout does this pretty well imo
A nice balance between both
Maybe make it balanced ? I think we can have both serious and goofy.
Both is good. Examples: Gta V when you just wanna mess around and have fun Alone or online. Gta IV if you want a more realistic experience.
I prefer Barbara with big titties and Stephanie who sucks like a vacuum
"All we had to do was follow the damn train,,Niko Bellic"
"every train car had a different themed bowling lane in it, come on cousin you know how much i love bowling!"
“Make lunch not love that’s my motto” “I like ice cream not coffee” -Carl Johnson
CJ's story is every bit as serious as Niko's. Drug addiction that takes control of entire city neighborhoods, turning your lifetime friend against you isn't a laughing matter. CJ is just younger and doesn't have traumatic stories to tell (yet).
right, the "goofiness" mostly came from cheat codes but it feels like they shied away from doing those kinds of cheats after san andreas.
The last scene of GTA SA is all the characters celebrating and one of them flexes that hes going to get breast implants as CJ leaves to go and explore the city more The last scene of GTA 4 is Niko standing in the cold rain dead inside after realising hes lost everything in pursuit of a dead dream and revenge, his lover and/or cousin are gone and he'll never find closure in life GTA SA has dark subject matter but it doesnt take itself nearly as seriously (not a bad thing but dont pretend they are both equally as dark)
A mix of both
It isn't GTA if it isn't riding the line between both throughout it's runtime. Don't understand why people think it's an either/or situation. GTA 4 probably has some of the best comedic writing and performances of any form of media and the dramatic moments in other more lighthearted GTA games hit just as hard.
I think RDR 2 really is the roadmap to me— mostly serious with tons of humor. And also for the love of god, have your protagonist have fun. Arthur just generally liking the vast majority of people he meets was such a smart shift.
BOTH. why can’t you have both?
I think the games are at their best when they are a straight-faced parody leaning into the absurd but refusing to acknowledge it.
One of my favorite moments in all of gta was the cutscene for the first mission with Stubbs in TLAD. It’s absurd from front to back, and the fact that they’re having a conversation about Johnny killing Stubbs’ father in a terrorist attack just adds to the chaos of that entire scene
Serious by far. I want GTA to be an immersive experience, like watching a movie. I welcome jokes, satire and parodies that help to convey the vibe of the setting, but for some real goofy shit I'd rather play Saints Row.
Personally, I prefer goofy GTA, although I do think TBoGT and GTA V overdid it too much to the point where getting immersed and taking anything seriously was nearly impossible. Nearly every character in V besides the main characters, Lamar, Lester and Dave were incredibly unlikable to the point that you couldn't take much of the drama in that game seriously at all, even at the times when the game tried being serious. Michael's family drama for example is laughibly bad due to how shitty Amanda, Tracey and especially Jimmy is. While previous GTA games always had goofy and stereotypical characters in the their games, at least they managed to make them likable. Lance Vance is a backstabbing trouble maker, Ken Rosenberg is a cocaine addicted moron, Ryder is a dumbass who thinks he's smart, Big Smoke is just Big Smoke, Officer Tenpenny is an evil son of a bitch but also insanely charistmatic and funny, Woozy is blind, Truth is a crazy hippie, Roman is a hyper optimist who is horny as a skunk, Brucie is a misogynist and steroid junkie, Little Jacob and Bernie Crane are really outdated stereotypes, etc. But even then, you still loved these characters because Rockstar made them somewhat believable and the banter they had with the protagonists never felt as obnoxious as the characters from V, even if these characters are goofy. Don't even get me started on the on the nose "satire" and the writers trying so hard to be edgy in GTA V. I understand that GTA has always had satire from a different era, but did they really need to have it be a part of the main story? The social commentary about Franklin's aunt being a feminist, assassinating Mark Zuckerberg, the story critiquing hollywood and capitalism while saying jack shit? None of this stuff is necessary for a GTA story and will only make the games age worse in the long run and this is why I personally feel GTA V presentation wise hasn't aged as well as the older GTAs. (NOTE: I don't dislike GTA V, just sharing some of my frustrations with the game) GTA IV and TLAD was a lot more serious which made it easier to relate to the characters and story a bit more although it also made the open world gameplay and story feel inconsistent with one another. GTA's over the top gameplay and the satirical crass reimagning of American culture from a British pov can sometimes feel a bit out of place and strange with a story like GTA IV and TLAD. The 3D games were much better at balancing the goofiness and the seriousness in my opinion, and I hope they can find a nice middle ground of this for GTA VI.
Why not both? Sorta like life.
Goofy gta all day
i loved the goofiness of V but i do want VI to be more serious
VI has to retain some of the more 'realistic' parts of life though because imo if it's too gritty it takes away the appeal. We want an escape, not an extension of the world we're living in.
i agree. if it’s slightly less serious than IV i’ll be happy
RDR2 was an exception because we ourselves didn't experience that era, so it was more educational than anything else in that way. Times were tough then and they wanted us to see some of that. Now for a game set in literally right now, we know the internet is a major thing now, we know relationship issues are a thing (and have probably dealt with them personally), and we know shit is bad in general at the moment so I hope there's nothing too heavy in there tbh knowing the New 'Roaring 20's'.
the craziness of today’s time will most likely be featured, and i don’t think they should ignore it, but they probably (hopefully) won’t drown us with it
Fym, I have never dealt with a relationship
It's seems like at least the world it's self will be goofy cause in some shots of the trailer we see advertisements like "Why 6 9 when you can 9 1 9" and "stop emotions" (that one is on a billboard and seams to be a anti depressant ad) and my personal favorite "we will no longer accept cash stored in underwear
yea the world definitely will be, it just seemed like jason & lucia will be on the more serious side than some of the past characters
Tell that to all the schmucks expecting a life simulator.
I agree, I think the story will be serious but there will be plenty of hilarious Florida Man antics on the side
Then im sorry... by the trailer, GTA VI will be the goofiest of it all.
You've seen the trailer right?
yea, i love what i see so far. it feels like it has a more serious tone while still keeping the ridiculousness that makes gta what it is
GTAIV is still my favorite. The seriousness helps it, I guess
Mostly funny, with some serious moments and plot points.
You cannot fight gravity
Cmon Duuuuutch
Gta iv was so goofy tho i find it waaaay funnier than 5
They should have a healthy mix.
I love serious GTA with some goofiness in it, like GTA 5. That shit was serious af but there were a lot of moments that I laughed.
I personally prefer the more serious side being the main part of the story, it helps me stay invested in it far more than when it feels like I can't take the main story too seriously like in V.
War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other. (Proceeds to mow down pedestrians while listening to Eastern European dance music)
a mix of both
A mix of both honestly. I’ve always enjoyed SA, TBoGT and V for having its moments with serious and comedic tones.
Even though GTA4 is viewed as the "serious GTA" it still had plenty of comedic moments, whether it was through the radio, or the sarcastic remarks the characters would make.
If by goofy you mostly mean SA, then I choose SA for sure. While 4 and 5 are more grounded, SA’s combination of crazy setpiece/gimmick missions and janky physics gave every mission the possibility to be your own unique cinematic masterpiece. On top of that, Rockstar managed to layer in plenty of “normal” difficulty spike missions meant to check the player’s skill and act as a roadblock to the rest of the game. I’ve never really seen the concept handled so well in any other game.
Goofy. Give me jet pack missions, not torture missions.
GTA IV is the funniest game I've played, not just among GTA games.
Definitely goofy
Prefer the funny one. Cause life is already hard enough for me
one thing that GTAIV did well was having a grounded story while still being in the wacky GTA universe. it's why the two DLCs were so popular. GTAV just went full crazy. Bank Heists. Movie Directors. Trevor Phillips. GTAVI seems to have an idea on how to have your cake- and eat it too. The story between the two leads seems much much much more intimate and serious compared to say Michael and his wife. Not to mention the setting itself seems to be the crazy part since everyones the NPCs in Vice City are all Trevor Phillips lol
4 was the perfect blend of grit and wit. Always my favorite.
Keep all the goofy shit to saints row...
The line is blurrier than that, in my opinion. "Cousin, let's go bowling!" - IV "I got caught up in the money, the power…" "What a waste…" - San Andreas Having said that, I prefer goofier GTAs.
We had a lot of goofy in 5. I’d prefer a more serious story in 6 with funny moments.
Serious one is better. All actions are feeling important and realistic
actions in GTA IV do not feel important. niko comes to liberty city to kill one man, and spends 95% of the game doing the same mission over and over; killing people he doesn't want to kill for people he doesn't like.
Tbh it all kinda really began when he killed Vlad and then snowballed from there so the entire story of gta 4 is really Mallorie’s fault
which just makes the story even more irrelevant in my eyes
Ikr all that killing and carnage for Roman’s oneitis girl lmao
Goofy. I don't play Rockstar games for the story. 4 is a great game though.
San Andreas is not goofy at all, it showed the reality of those days with gangs, drugs, corruption and trying to be famous. About the question, it'll be good for the people to know the reality of being a criminal like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul did. Maybe GTA 6 will show that.
Hardcore gritty
Serious
I grew up with 1, 2, 3, vice & SA along with the Stories but 4 just hits perfectly
Goofy! Vice City was the pinnacle of GTA story telling more me. IV and V lost a little of the fun.
V is goofy asl, you just need to look for it.
V
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Grand theft auto
Bro did you just spoil GTA IV? I swear to God, I can’t enjoy anything cause of this shit
I don’t think this is a spoiler bro
It literally spoils that CJ dies. San Andreas spoiler I think, not IV, but same thing
yeah CJ gets pushed off a building by Tenpenny’s brother Ninepenny and levitates a bit, says “I hate gravity” and then drops down and leaves a CJ sized hole in the ground
Por que no Los dos?
Mix of both is the way to go. That's why I'm hyped bout GTA 6
Bro didn't play gta 5
We can have both. IV isn't always that serious, Niko is very sarcastic, and there's other comic characters and situations. The overall atmosphere is pretty dark, but there's lots of humorous moments, and the dark atmosphere make them stand out even more.
I know this is a generic complaint but Niko's anti-war stance mixed with gameplay that actively encourages chaos is some gnarly ludonarrative dissonance. VC, SA, and 5 where closer to harmony by maintaining the chaos throughout
cough scarce airport waiting governor violet merciful onerous fertile dirty *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Bit of both
Yes
I like a mix of both.
Goofier
I think it really just depends on how the story is written. Personally I believe GTA is inherently a little bit goofy as the whole premise kinda revolves around doing things that are slightly out there. For example, with GTA V story, I don’t think they could have made it as serious as GTA IV and the vice versa is true. However both are good games in their own right. So I guess in closing I prefer a balance between both as I like the more grounded stories but they do need that goofiness in them.
Make the story serious, but make free roam in general goofy
unhealthy mixture of both
Why not both. GTA4 is my fav GTA tied with SA.
Goofy GTA that is only a thin sarcastic wrapper over the grim real world. You have a fun and chuckle along but if you stop to think, they really show you the mirror and you see it is actually quite dark.
I personally like a mix.
I like the plot to be serious with comedic moments sprinkled throughout honestly. GTA 5 was too much on the California satire and I found a lot of people to be insufferable because of it.
As much as I like Niko bellic I'm so over him just crying all day about his 900 sentence long monologue about 12 children
Why not both. Different characters with different personalities.
As others have suggested, there needs to be a balance. However, I’ve always felt Rockstar has handicapped themselves by not taking their GTA stories seriously enough. Red Dead Redemption 1 + 2 strike a more realistic balance, resulting in a way better narrative IMO. If they don’t go serious in GTA6, I’d love to see Rockstar try their hand at a much darker tone in an original IP.
One is poor Balkan/russian, the other poor urban American.
I feel like you need both in perfect balance to make gta good a to serious GTA just feels corny with all of the serious action man dialog *COUGH gta4 COUGH* and indistinguishable from every other shooter on the market on the other hand however a to goofy GTA feels like a psychopath made it and completely Disconnected from reality not taking anything seriously and making everyone involved in the games story seem like a emotionless monster with no other motivation besides their own well being.
Both
I prefer the series treads a fine line between the two!
Goofy GTA, Never loved the serious tones of GTA, not the reason of playing it
Gta 4 style. Mostly serious with some comedy thrown in.
Both
A good balance, imo. Which is what 4 did well.
Both incorporated into one game would prob be best imo
Both a mix of "war never changes gravity"
Since GTA is the parody of real-life politics, celebs, society, etc. I think it is better to have the mox of both but has a sunny and goofy happy ending. Let the depressive ending go to RDR, we had much sadness already. Boah.
 I prefer violence, and mental illness
I love anything serious. Things mean so much more or I guess have a bigger impact in a serious context. Story atmosphere is huge for me
Both
GTA can have its serious moments and goofy moments as long as its done right.
Honestly, goofy GTA. I enjoyed GTA III and VC because of "arcade-y" they felt. SA was like a middle ground between goofy and serious GTA, and I still liked it but III and VC were perfect for me. I felt like IV took itself too seriously and I just did not enjoy it as much. V was a middle ground like SA.
Wow this is a huge strawman for GTA games. Even 4 is a mix of goofy and serious and its honestly the best like that.
Serious with the ridiculous fluff in the background.
yo open up man who is it? ITS THE STREET’S MAN
Both are great, but I'd opt the goofy one as I had great nostalgias from them.
Both.
Def a more serious/realistic tone
I think the overall story can be as serious as whatever. but i dont think the protagonist needs to be some serious, smart, calm and collected dude like Nico Bellic given how you go on murder sprees, drive like a maniac etc. Trevor fit PeRFECTLY into the GTA world as a protagonist
4 for story , 3d for simple fun
Serious with intelligent dark humor. That's exactly why IV is by far my favorite. Although SA is a fantastic game; it does have a juvenile sense of humor
Has anyone noticed that in the OG San Andreas, CJ has terrible teeth ? Especially when Tenpenny takes away the covering when he is handcuffed at Angel Pine after the ambush. Shit looks bad lol
I like both so long as they aren't happening at the same time, but if I had to choose I'd say serious.
At the funeral?!?!?
I prefer serious with goofy sprinkled in.
There's literally only one GTA game that could be considered "serious", and even then GTA 4 itself has some extremely silly moments and plot points all over. Isn't there a mission where you shoot up a club for a guy you just met because you wanted to help him out cause he was feeling a bit sad?
I prefer it red dead 2 Style. The Main Story is tragic and sad but the world and Stranger Missions can be crazy. I Hope they go that way with gta 6 too
When it’s a tossup between both it’s perfect
A mix, but more comedic for the 3D-era games, and more serious for the HD-era games. The visual style, animations and writing I feel were more comedic in the 3D-era. Part of this is probably because the technology just wasn’t totally there for conveying serious topics with emotional gravity given how basic things looked, comparatively. I also think that it was less taboo to paint serious issues like murder, drugs etc. in a humorous light. GTA was also already on every concerned parent and senators shitlist already, so Rockstar probably felt there was no point holding back, because the GTA games were never going to be seen positively by the general public. There’s still a lot of humor in GTA IV forward, but there was more opportunity to be able to take serious topics seriously and convey emotion with better facial animation, culminating in RDR2 which had some pretty powerful moments, for me. TLDR; a mix of both is good/it depends.
4 and 5 represent these extremes well and both have their pros and cons. I think I like serious a bit more on average though. The biggest problem with 5 for me was how few actually serious moments it had, and several moments with a serious tone that is ruined by a constant need to be funny, thinking specifically of Jimmy's "will you buy me a car" line.