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Grand Theft Auto is one of the most iconic video game franchises of all time. There is plenty to admire about each and every game in the series, from its chaotic violence to its emphasis on building criminal empires. The characters in each of these games also add a lot, whether they be as major as Carl Johnson or as minor as Bernie Crane.
More importantly, in lieu of a traditional soundtrack, each and every GTA game sets the tone with their theme songs. They can be as rambunctious as San Andreas’s theme or as subtle as GTA 5’s theme. Even when subtle, the themes still reflect the franchise’s intense nature.
10
GTA Advance’s Theme Is Better Uncompressed
GTA Advance, officially released as Grand Theft Auto, is a prequel to GTA 3 and deals with main protagonist Mike’s quest to avenge his friend, who was apparently killed in a car bombing. The game was tailored well for the GBA’s limited hardware, making for a compact yet enjoyable GTA experience.
This fact is best exemplified by the game’s title screen music, “This Life” by Slumpussy, which is fittingly groovy even with its obvious compression. Hearing the uncompressed version of the game’s theme is a whole different vibe altogether, with the song’s lyrics fitting the game’s urban setting.
9
Chinatown Wars Has a Fitting Theme
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is set a year after the events of GTA 4 and sees Triad member Huang Lee arriving in Liberty City from China. He is here to deliver a precious sword to his uncle, who is the patriarch of the Lee family. Unfortunately, this sword ends up stolen, and Huang has to investigate why it is.
GTA: Chinatown Wars, as with GTA Advance, provides a comparable handheld GTA experience and, more importantly, has themes of family honor and betrayal. The game’s theme song, Chinatown Wars by Ghostface Killah with MF Doom, wraps these ideas together, with it fitting both the game’s overarching themes and its presence on handheld systems, including the DS and PSP.
8
GTA 5’s Theme Is Smooth Yet Intense
Grand Theft Auto V is almost like a Hollywood action film, as it’s so action-packed. There are heists, there are betrayals, there is revenge, and so much more. The game’s characters, especially the likes of Trevor Phillips, help to exemplify the game’s chaotic nature.
There is then the game’s theme, Welcome to Los Santos by Oh No, which may sound easy to listen to at first glance. However, it does subtly underscore how wild things will get in GTA 5, a game so jam-packed that players will never be able to truly catch their breath.
7
GTA 3’s Theme Fits the Gloomy Tone
Grand Theft Auto III sees Claude escaping from police custody and doing odd jobs for Liberty City’s many criminal kingpins. His ex-girlfriend, Catalina, is now running the Colombian Cartel, a dangerous criminal organization that is pushing SPANK, a drug that is all the rage in Liberty City. Claude, who was betrayed by Catalina, ultimately has to stop her.
GTA 3 has a considerably more dreary tone compared to even GTA 4, a fact that is underscored by the former’s theme song. Composed by Stuart Ross and Craig Conner, the tune is a blues-esque jazz piece, one that sounds very noir and gloomy compared to the intensity or bounciness of Vice City and San Andreas’s songs.
6
Liberty City Stories Has a Gangsta Tune
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories has Liberty City mobster Toni Cipriani returning home after spending years away following his murder of a rival mobster. Given the length of time he’s been away, Toni must regain the good graces of his boss, Salvatore Leone, and also try to get his mother’s respect as a reputable gangster.
More than any other GTA game, Liberty City Stories spends plenty of time dealing with the internal affairs of the Mafia, along with the shady dealings and corruption between each individual member. The game’s theme, A Dark March by Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley fame, sets the tone with a rambunctious gangster tune based on March Popakov by John Cacavas.
5
The First GTA’s Theme Started It All
The first Grand Theft Auto game has players choose from a selection of eight up-and-coming criminals. From there, they perform jobs for criminal organizations in cities such as Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas. They will work hard for their respective bosses.
The first GTA hasn’t aged well in many respects except for one: the theme tune. The song, Grand Theft Auto by Da Shootaz, not only sets the tone for this game, but also the rest of the GTA franchise. It is incredibly upbeat and bouncy, and it helps exemplify what the series is all about in general.
4
Vice City Stories’ Theme Sounds Like Something From a ‘80s Action Flick
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, which is set two years before Tommy Vercetti’s escapades in the city, sees main protagonist Victor Vance and his brother Lance building a drug empire, making plenty of enemies along the way. Victor has a special interest in getting even with his former military commanding officer, Jerry Martinez, who runs a drug enterprise of his own.
Unlike Vice City, Vice City Stories is considerably more hardcore in tone, almost resembling a ’80s action film. This tone is underscored by the game’s theme song, Vice Squad by Stuart Hart, Steven Stern, and Thomas Hirschmann. The tune takes itself very seriously, and helps demonstrate what stakes there are here compared to any other GTA game.
3
GTA 4’s Theme Has Grit
Grand Theft Auto IV sees Niko Bellic, a Serbian war veteran of the Yugoslav Wars, arriving in Liberty City to start his life anew. He initially had plans of staying out of the city’s organized crime scene, but one thing led to another and he is now working for groups like the Russian Mafia and Irish Mob.
GTA 4 is arguably the darkest game in the entire GTA franchise, combining the worn-down grit of modern-day Liberty City with its many criminal organizations. It makes sense then that the game’s theme, Soviet Connection by Michael Hunter, sounds as gritty as possible, and it is both intense and emotionally draining.
2
Vice City’s Theme Signifies the ‘80s
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City sees gangster Tommy Vercetti released from prison after serving fifteen years for his killings of rival mafioso. His first job following his release was to go to Vice City for an illegal drug transaction. It sounds simple enough, but unfortunately, the drugs and the money he was going to pay for them with end up stolen by one of Vice City’s shadowy forces.
Vice City wastes no time boasting its nature as a ’80s period piece, with the in-game radio stations playing all sorts of ’80s hits. Even better than the radio stations is the game’s synth-heavy theme song, composed by Lex Horton, which doesn’t sound far off from what could be heard in shows like Miami Vice.
1
San Andreas’s Theme Is Just Iconic
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sees Carl Johnson all over San Andreas. It starts with him in Los Santos, where he tries to help his street gang, the Grove Street Families, regain control of territory that had lost over the years. By the end of the game, he is in contact with all sorts of criminal organizations, from the Triads to the Mafia.
Given how much goes on in San Andreas, there is no doubt that its theme, which was composed by Michael Hunter, represents the game the best. It has clear ’90s gangster rap undertones, but with the addition of certain instruments that give one the impression of the game being more than a single-setting GTA game.
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