The third Grand Theft Auto, Vice City and San Andreas are set in the same universe. The prequels Vice City Stories and Liberty City Stories also belong to it. In this article, we will talk about the points of intersection of the early projects of the GTA series with each other.
Chronology of the 3D GTA Universe
If we arrange the games according to the time of each part, we will get a complete chronology;
GTA: Vice City Stories — 1984. The main character is Victor
Vance;
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City — 1986. The protagonist is Tommy
Vercetti;
GTA: San Andreas — 1992. The protagonist is Carl Johnson;
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories — 1998. The
protagonist is Toni Cipriani;
GTA 3 — 2001. The protagonist is Claude Speed.
Next to each game, we have indicated the year in which its main events unfolded. Further, we will consider individual people and entire mafia clans that were encountered in several parts of the series at once.
Forelli Family (Vice City Stories, Vice City, San Andreas,
Liberty City Stories, GTA 3)
We'll start with the big mafia families. The story of the fall of the Forelli family from Liberty City unfolds throughout all five games in the 3D universe. Moreover, the first mention of it dates back to 1971, when Tommy Vercetti kills eleven people in Harwood. Initially, they wanted to give him the death penalty, but in the end, the death penalty was replaced by 15 years in prison. It is worth noting that both Tommy himself and the people he eliminated belong to the Forelli family. The ambush was set up by Sonny.
In GTA: Vice City Stories, we encountered Forelli mercenaries who came for the head of musician Phil Collins. He borrowed $4 million from Giorgio Forelli, Sonny's cousin, but was unable to return it on time. The thugs were eliminated by Vic Vance. Later, Giorgio will have problems with the jury in Vice City, which Tommy will successfully resolve. By the mid-80s, the Forellis reached the peak of their power and influence. Sonny, who by that time had become the leader of the family, decided to expand to the south. Just at that time, Tommy Vercetti was released from prison, and the new boss sent him to Vice City to make a deal with Victor Vance. The purchase of goods was thwarted by Ricardo Diaz. Judging by the money and substances on Sonny's desk, he was aware of the setup and received his share. However, Vercetti himself remained indebted to him. As the head of the Forelli clan expected, Tommy quickly took over all the illegal business of Vice City. But the guy did not want to share. Then the boss of the Forelli family personally came to Vice City and took a bullet from a former subordinate.
After Sonny's death, his brother Marco took over the leadership. From 1986 to 1992, he led the clan and continued attempts to expand the business beyond Vice City. His plans included taking the Las Venturas casino under his wing. For this, he was ready to cooperate with the Sindaco and Leone families. However, Salvatore stabbed him in the back when he ordered Carl Johnson to eliminate Marco. The guy flew to Liberty City and killed the head of the Forelli clan along with his most loyal people. From 1992 to 1998, the family's affairs were run by Franco, the brother of Sonny and Marco. He no longer tried to build business in other cities, but focused on Liberty City. At that time, the city's mayor was Roger S. Hole, who was associated with the Forelli clan. However, in 1998, before the new elections, he was killed by Toni Cipriani. Miles O'Donovan, who went over to the Leone family, became the mayor. Meanwhile, Donald Love ordered an explosion in the Fort Staunton area. Almost all the establishments in its territory belonged to the Forelli family. Most likely, Franco himself died in the process. After this event, the clan ceased to be considered a serious force in the city.
By 2001, the remnants of the family were led by Mike, nicknamed Big Lips, the last brother of Franco, Sonny and Marco. He was killed by Claude Speed on the orders of Salvatore Leone. By that time, Forelli's influence was limited to a few establishments, and the leader of another Italian mafia decided to finish off his former rival.
The Leone Family (San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, GTA:
Advance, Grand Theft Auto 3)
The Leone Family first appeared in the mid-80s, when Salvatore became its leader. It is known that his brother died before that. But we do not know if these events are connected with Sonny's death and the first crisis in the Forelli clan, which occurred around the same time.
By 1992, the Leones, like other mafia organizations in Liberty City, tried to expand their business in Las Venturas. Together with the Sindacco and Forelli families, they owned Caligula's Palace, one of the largest casinos in the city. However, after the robbery carried out by Carl Johnson, the losses exceeded the expenses, so it was decided to leave Las Venturas. At the same time, Salvatore struck a blow to the main competitor in the person of Marco Forelli.
After 6 years, an open war began on the streets of Liberty City between the three main crime families — Leone, Sindaco and Forelli. At first, Salvatore had difficulties, he even managed to go to prison. However, capo Toni Cipriani was able to resolve the main issues, negotiated for the boss to be released, and carried out several explosions in the territory of hostile gangs. As a result, the Leones emerged victorious from this confrontation.
By 2000, Salvatore had problems with the yakuza. His men killed Kazuki, one of the leaders of the Japanese bandits. But this led to unexpected consequences — Asuka Kasen appeared, on whose orders Italian mafiosi were kidnapped and sent to Asia as slaves. And by 2001, the Leones encountered Chinese triads and a Colombian cartel. The family managed to deal painful blows to competitors. However, Salvatore was let down by his own paranoia — he began to be jealous of his cheating wife Maria for Claude Speed. An attempt to kill him failed, and a short time later the guy eliminated the leader of the Leone clan on the advice of Asuka. It is not known exactly who took over the reins of power. Most likely, the new boss was not Salvatore's son Joey, but Toni Cipriani.
Sindacco Family (San Andreas, Liberty City Stories)
We first learned about this organization only in 1992. Apparently, it remained little known before. By the early 90s, it, led by Paulie, was one of the owners of Caligula's Palace in Las Venturas and controlled a number of establishments in Liberty City. At that time, the Sindaccos wanted to unite with Leone into a single organization. But after the robbery, their plans changed.
By 1998, they focused on influence in Liberty City and began to attack the territory of other gangs. This led to open warfare with other families, first in Chinatown and then on Staunton Island. At some point, the Forellis and Sindaccos tried to make peace, but this was not in Leone's interests, so Toni Cipriani set up some gangsters in front of others, and the war broke out with renewed vigor. It ended only after Paulie's death. By 2001, nothing was known about the Sindaccos. Most likely, they lost the last of their influence in Liberty City, and the surviving mafiosi from this family moved to Las Venturas.
Avery Carrington and Donald Love (Vice City, Liberty City
Stories, GTA 3)
We learned about Avery in 1986, when he started doing real estate business in Vice City. To achieve his goals, the Texan used any methods, from blowing up competitors' construction sites along with all the workers to starting wars between gangs.
At that time, Donald Love was Avery's student. By 1998, he had moved to Liberty City, where he tried to become mayor. Like his mentor, the man does everything, from destroying incriminating evidence to physically eliminating competitors. However, due to his connection with the Leone family, Donald lost and ended up bankrupt. It was then that Avery Carrington arrived in Liberty City. He wanted to start construction on Staunton Island and needed the support of the Colombian cartel as the most influential force in the city. However, his plans were not destined to come true. Donald Love ordered Avery to be killed and the construction plans to be taken away. After that, he and Toni Cipriani set off an explosion in the territory controlled by the Forelli family. However, due to problems with the Colombians, Donald decided to leave Liberty City.
By 2001, Love had become a successful businessman who buys yachts, opens casinos and even changes laws to suit his needs. He even managed to bribe the cartel, as a result of which the Colombians forgot old grievances and agreed to cooperate. However, Donald continued to play his own game. On his orders, Claude kills Kenji Kasen, one of the leaders of the Yakuza, so that a war between the Japanese and Colombians begins. However, Love was unable to reap the benefits of this, because he had to urgently leave the city. Perhaps federal detectives realized that he was the one to blame for the monstrous explosion on the territory of Fort Staunton. The businessman's further fate is unknown.
Brothers Lance and Victor Vance (Vice City Stories, Vice City)
By 1984, Victor was a corporal in the US Army. He performed illegal services for the commander, which is why he was kicked out of the armed forces. The only person the guy knew was arms dealer Phil Cassidy. He introduced Vic to the criminal world of Vice City. Together with his brother Lance, the man began to build his criminal empire. In the process, they had to eliminate undercover cops, negotiate with other clans, primarily the Mendez, as well as the Gonzalez and Ricardo Diaz. After a series of deaths, including those of loved ones, Victor wanted to lie low and even leave the criminal business. But Lance had another proposal. He stole a large batch of substances and wanted to sell it profitably.
Two years later, an ill-fated deal took place on the Vice City docks. Diaz's men let Tommy Vercetti go, but shot Vic. Thus, Ricardo got rid of a competitor and a man who knew too much. Lance, however, offered Tommy cooperation. Together, they killed Diaz and took control of Vice City's illegal business. But over time, Lance stopped fulfilling his duties, began to complain about unfair treatment, and eventually went over to Sonny Forelli's side. As a result, Vercetti killed him on the roof of his mansion.
Ken Rosenberg (Vice City, San Andreas)
By 1986, lawyer Ken Rosenberg opened his small office in Vice City and began actively cooperating with the Forelli family. He was one of the organizers of the drug deal between Tommy and Victor. However, Ken did not know that they would be ambushed. Later, the man helped Vercetti establish connections with the city's largest crime bosses and, ultimately, take over Vice City. When Sonny came to Tommy, Rosenberg remained on Vercetti's side. However, their friendship began to crumble due to Ken's addiction.
By the early 90s, Rosenberg had completed a rehabilitation course, but lost the right to practice law. And Vercetti no longer wanted to see him. However, Ken found another field of activity — first he helped three families from Liberty City manage the Caligula's Palace casino, and then joined the team of rapper Mad Dog. It is known that from 1998 to 2001, Salvatore Leone was summoned to court four times on charges of tax evasion. His interests were represented by a certain Maurice Goldberg, about whom there is no specific information. There is a convincing fan theory that this man is Ken Rosenberg, who was forced to change his name due to the ban on legal activity.
Phil Cassidy (Vice City Stories, Vice City, Liberty City Stories,
GTA 3)
Phil is known as the man from whom you can buy the most powerful weapons, from six-barreled machine guns to grenade launchers. He creates the image of a brutal soldier who went through Vietnam and Nicaragua, but in reality, Cassidy was kicked out of the army for alcoholism.
In 1984, he helped Vic Vance get his bearings in the criminal world of Vice City. The Mendez brothers perceived Phil as a competitor and killed his sister Louise. This upset Cassidy greatly, so he did everything to avenge her death. Two years later, Tommy Vercetti contacted him, who needed help with a bank robbery. Phil took part in this case, and then offered Vercetti to work for him. In the process, he not only eliminated competitors, but also lost his arm due to the detonation of homemade explosives. By the end of the 90s, Cassidy moved to Liberty City. In 2001, he had to fight off well-armed Colombians. Fortunately, mercenary Claude, who by that time was waging a full-fledged war with the cartel and its leader Catalina, came to the rescue.
Catalina (San Andreas, GTA 3)
In San Andreas, we learned the backstory of the main villain of the third Grand Theft Auto. This Latina is the cousin of Cesar Vialpando, who introduced her to CJ in 1992. He and Catalina began a romantic relationship that can be called unhealthy. At the same time, they rob banks, bookmakers and stores. But in the end, the girl leaves Carl and shows him her new lover Claude. With him, Catalina goes on a journey across the United States. For nine years, the couple commits daring crimes in a variety of cities.
In 2001, they ended up in Liberty City. The girl established connections with the Colombian cartel and began to be friends with Miguel, one of the leaders of this organization. During another raid on the bank, Catalina shoots Claude. However, the guy did not die, but went to prison. By chance, he manages to escape. He carried out various assignments for mafia clans, but at a certain point he crossed paths with Catalina again. The girl killed his ally Asuka from the yakuza and Miguel himself, and also kidnapped Maria, who sympathized with Claude. During the final shootout, Catalina's helicopter was shot down with a grenade launcher, and the girl died.
Ricardo Diaz (Vice City Stories, Vice City)
By 1984, Ricardo had tasked Lance and Victor with eliminating the Martinez brothers. As a result, Diaz became the leader of the drug trade in Vice City. Thanks to Juan Cortes' man named Gonzalez, the man learned of a deal between the Vances and Forelli. Most likely, they wanted to sell the powder that Lance had stolen from Ricardo. The meeting, as we have already said, ended in a shootout and Victor's death.
Later, Diaz tried to make a deal with the Cubans, but the Haitians found out about the deal and raided him. With the help of Tommy Vercetti, he managed to survive. The protagonist of Vice City began working for him to get to know the city's criminal structures better. However, Lance could not stand it and attacked Ricardo. The assassination attempt failed. Tommy saved Vance from certain death, and then killed Diaz and took his business for himself.
Kent Paul (Vice City, San Andreas)
In the mid-80s, Kent acted as an informant for Tommy. In particular, when Lance was captured by Diaz's people, Paul informed Vercetti about it. After the murder of Diaz, he took up production activities and actively promoted the rock band Love Fist. Then the guy went to the UK, where he supervised the musical group Gurning Chimps.
In 1992, the producer came to Las Venturas with them, where he encountered the aggressive actions of the Leone family. To escape the Italian mafia, he had to fake his death. Later, Paul began working with rapper Mad Dog.
Meetings of the main characters of different parts of the GTA
series
I would like to separately mention the scenes of meetings of the main characters of the Grand Theft Auto games with each other. Victor Vance and Tommy Vercetti crossed paths during a drug deal at the very beginning of Vice City. CJ saw Claude Speed, who was introduced as Catalina's new lover. It's also worth noting that the main character of GTA 3 worked for Toni Cipriani, the protagonist of Liberty City Stories, for some time.
*** What connections between the different parts of the Grand Theft Auto series have you noticed? Share your opinions in the comments!