POLL: 3D era vs HD era Protagonists.

[Grotti Vigilante]

Of the 3D era and HD era protagonists, which group do you generally prefer as a collective preference? The group consisting of Claude, Tommy Vercetti, Carl Johnson, Mike, Toni Cipriani and Victor Vance, or the group consisting of Niko Bellic, Johnny Klebitz, Luis Fernando Lopez, Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips and Franklin Clinton? When answering this poll question, please note that you should consider all of the protagonist as a whole. For example, don't select HD era if Niko is your favourite protagonist despite you hating all the rest in that era, while also liking more of the 3D era protagonists. I've no doubt most of you will select the HD era, and there's good reason. I'm leaning more towards that preference personally based on the fact that I really liked four of the six available protagonists (the GTA IV trilogy ones and Michael) compared to only really liking two of the six of the 3D era (Tommy and CJ). Not to say I hate the rest of the protagonists, it's just I don't like them as much as the others. Leave your thoughts below and enjoy the inevitable civil war that I expect to emerge in the thread . 

[Algonquin Assassin]

The HD era. I really only dislike Trevor in that group. Luis and Franklin are kinda "meh", but still have redeeming qualities. The rest are cool though. I've always liked Michael the most out of GTA V's protagonists and Niko and Johnny need no explanation why I like them..

 

For the 3D era I really only care for Tommy. I like Claude's mysteriousness though. Never played GTAA so wouldn't have any idea what Mike's like. I don't like CJ and Toni always came across a bit like a momma's boy and Vic's just really dry and dull.

 

 

[Bratva Assassin]

HD era, mainly because of all except Trevor. As for the 3D era, Tommy and Claude are cool, but CJ, Toni, and Vic are kinda meh.

[Male01]

Victor Vance was already a(n easily) dead man before he was a protagonist.

 

Johhny was a tough protagonist who was sinply killed off by Trevor like if he were suddenly nothing.

 

In the 3D universe, protagonists are betrayed and get their revenge while doing all sorts of extreme tasks.

 

In V, the story's problems are all Michael's fault 

 

Niko is great for bowling and Luis is a great man whose journey starts with being a bank robbery victim.

 

3D made our childhoods.

 

HD has my respect but V is the exception.

[TheSantader25]

Tommy, Trevor, Michael, CJ have my respect so it's hard to say. But I'm gonna go with the HD era cause overall it had more likable protagonists. Even Franklin is far better than Claude, Vic and toni for me. 

[Bryce Montrose]

In 3D era I like Tommy, because he's a tough guy and his hair was very cool, in HD era I like Niko, no need explanation for this

[Femme Fatale]

HD era. Tommy and Claude are cool though.

[iiCriminnaaL]

HD era.

 

I'd rank them in the following order:

1. Niko Bellic
2. Johnny Klebitz
   Tommy Vercetti
3. Victor Vance
4. Michael Townley
5. Luis Lopez
   Carl Johnson
   Toni Cipriani
6. Claude
7. Franklin Clinton
8. Trevor Philips

[Rafae S]

HD but only because they had more soul and depth to them, I mean they had to obviously.

[JPFL]

HD era (Except Trevor).

Edited April 22, 2019 by JPFL

[Sunglasses]

Not to keep being a fanboy for the 3D universe or anything but again, I'm going to have to go with them. Loved the IV trio but Michael, Franklin, and Trevor were all very grating and not fun to play as in their own ways. I'll take 'meh' protagonists like CJ, and hell even Mike, over those three any day.

[Fake Lilina]

I like Claude and Tommy, but Niko is my favorite overall. Sadly, I will pick 3D Era.

On 12/14/2018 at 6:13 PM, SonOfLiberty said:

The HD era. I really only dislike Trevor in that group. Luis and Franklin are kinda "meh", but still have redeeming qualities. The rest are cool though. I've always liked Michael the most out of GTA V's protagonists and Niko and Johnny need no explanation why I like them..

 

For the 3D era I really only care for Tommy. I like Claude's mysteriousness though. Never played GTAA so wouldn't have any idea what Mike's like. I don't like CJ and Toni always came across a bit like a momma's boy and Vic's just really dry and dull.

 

 

We meet again.

[Yinepi]

3D era. With the exception of CJ, these protags typically whined less.

Typically the HD protags spend most of the entire game whining about something(s).

Niko - Whining about his past.
Johnny - Whining about his MC.
Luis - Whining about Gay Tony.
Michael - Whining about his family, his friends, his past, his present, and his future.
Franklin - Whining about his money, whining about CGF, whining about his aunt.
Trevor - Whining about Michael.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Yinepi

[iiCriminnaaL]

11 minutes ago, Yinepi said:

Niko - Whining about his past.

Not really whining actually. He rarely brings up his past when nobody asks him about it, like when Roman and Kate asked him about the war. His conversation with Ilyena Faustin is probably the only time he talks about his past without being asked about it, and it doesn't feel like he's whining even then in my opinion.

 

12 minutes ago, Yinepi said:

Johnny - Whining about his MC.

Only about Billy's reckless decisions. But yeah, I get your point.

[H-G]

I'll stick with 3D-era main characters, they're quite well-written. But there are two exceptions:

 

Carl Johnson - He's kinda likable, but there's only one flaw in him: In one scene he's all "Oh, no, don't kill me!" and in the next he's burying a man alive, jumping between two airborne planes and what-not.

 

Mike (from GTA Advance) - Totally dull character, no explanation needed.

Edited May 22, 2019 by The Eddo

[Algonquin Assassin]

Vic's probably the whiniest protagonist in the whole series. Even more than CJ and that's saying something coming from me. Tommy was the peak of the 3D era and the rest of them that followed got worse and worse.

 

Thank God R* redeemed themselves with a clean slate with the HD era and Niko.

[Guest]

Even though the 3D era has my favourite protagonist in Tommy, I only really like Tommy and CJ from the 3D era whereas in the HD era I like all of them except maybe Luis and I'm even warming up to his character as well. So the HD era protagonists get my vote 

[Yinepi]

50 minutes ago, SonOfLiberty said:

Vic's probably the whiniest protagonist in the whole series. Even more than CJ and that's saying something coming from me. Tommy was the peak of the 3D era and the rest of them that followed got worse and worse.

 

Thank God R* redeemed themselves with a clean slate with the HD era and Niko.

How was Vic the whiniest? I only recall him ever complaining about getting kicked out of the army and about Lance. Both are legitimate complaints as he was wrongfully discharged and Lance was a complete idiot.

I see Michael as the whiniest. He complains about nearly every f*cking thing, many of which are trivial, and walks around with this mid-life crisis angst against the world like the world did him wrong and owes him something. Modern movies? Suck. First Person shooters? All the same. Trevor's truck? It's crap. Trevor's trailer? Disgusting. Sandy Shores? It's too sandy, hot and dry. Getting high on Jimmy's weed? Gotta complain about how he feels instead of enjoying it like Franklin and Trevor.

Not his exact words, but his attitude can be summed up into that.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Yinepi

[Algonquin Assassin]

25 minutes ago, Utopianthumbs said:

Even though the 3D era has my favourite protagonist in Tommy, I only really like Tommy and CJ from the 3D era whereas in the HD era I like all of them except maybe Luis and I'm even warming up to his character as well. So the HD era protagonists get my vote 

To be honest I don't think Luis is that bad even if I like Niko and Johnny more. He has his moments.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, SonOfLiberty said:

To be honest I don't think Luis is that bad even if I like Niko and Johnny more. He has his moments.

Yeah I remember mentioning this in another post, while I initially thought Luis was a major asshole,  he does have a lot of sympathetic qualities as well- he takes care of his mom when her other children abandoned her, doesn't forget his childhood friends, is loyal to Tony even under pressure from the Ancellotis,  stands up for Brucie against his bullying brother etc. He's really one of the more humane protagonists actually but the thing is first impressions tend to stick, and my first impression of Luis was that he was an asshole. But I am warming up to the character, also it kinda helps that he's surrounded by bigger assholes lol, so I kinda see where his attitude comes from, even if I don't find it entirely agreeable

[iiCriminnaaL]

4 minutes ago, Utopianthumbs said:

...also it kinda helps that he's surrounded by bigger assholes lol, so I kinda see where his attitude comes from...

I would act like him if I was surrounded by people like Armando, Evan, Mori and Rocco .

[Sayonara Arigatou Sniper]

3D Era (Tommy, Toni and Vic)

[Fidzy]

It's a hard one. The 3D era had superhero protagonists. Claude was a mysterious hitman working for all the top syndicates in Liberty City. Tommy had a bit of a backstory but his endgame was to dominate the drug trade in Vice City. CJ just became a billionaire entrepreneur gang leader who had stakes in Fierro and a casino in Venturas. Mike was pretty much just on a vengeance path the same as Claude, Toni was trying to redeem himself to Salvatore Leone and Vic Vance was on a mission of god knows what.

 

The HD era is where things got much better. I really love Niko's story to this day and enjoy playing GTA4 just for the story. Johnny was struggling to cope with a band of brothers that were constantly infighting and Luis was literally just a watered down version of CJ. Huang was pretty much the same as Claude and Mike from 3D.

The V protags were a bit weird to be honest. Frank was trying to get out of the game by hopping into another game, Michael is the epitome of mid life crisis but to top things off his family f*cked him over and blamed him for it all the time. Trevor is just wacky but they all do have much more of a backstory than the 3 era chars.

[KingAJ032304]

1 hour ago, Fidzy said:

It's a hard one. The 3D era had superhero protagonists. Claude was a mysterious hitman working for all the top syndicates in Liberty City. Tommy had a bit of a backstory but his endgame was to dominate the drug trade in Vice City. CJ just became a billionaire entrepreneur gang leader who had stakes in Fierro and a casino in Venturas. Mike was pretty much just on a vengeance path the same as Claude, Toni was trying to redeem himself to Salvatore Leone and Vic Vance was on a mission of god knows what.

 

The HD era is where things got much better. I really love Niko's story to this day and enjoy playing GTA4 just for the story. Johnny was struggling to cope with a band of brothers that were constantly infighting and Luis was literally just a watered down version of CJ. Huang was pretty much the same as Claude and Mike from 3D.

The V protags were a bit weird to be honest. Frank was trying to get out of the game by hopping into another game, Michael is the epitome of mid life crisis but to top things off his family f*cked him over and blamed him for it all the time. Trevor is just wacky but they all do have much more of a backstory than the 3 era chars.

In like what way, shape, or form? CJ was for the most part all about gang sh*t and killing people (I mean sometimes he's inconsistent and whats little to do with it but still), Luis was never really in a gang and had a stable source of income from the start. They're similar in a way that they care about their loved ones, loyal, and can do seemingly impossible tasks but that's it. Also I guess their both professional fighters and flyers (however the former is optional). Luis is one of the best (if not than THE BEST excluding Claude of course) protagonists at staying calm no matter the situation and has a more sarcastic sense of humor. Also unlike CJ he isn't really afraid of death and even made fun of people trying to kill him (Ex. The phone call with Ray). Luis is also a much more skilled shooter and is overall smarter while also being just as street smart.

Edited May 22, 2019 by KingAJ032304

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, KingAJ032304 said:

Also unlike CJ he isn't really afraid of death and even made fun of people trying to kill him (Ex. The phone call with Ray)

Actually even CJ makes fun of Salvatore when he threatens to kill him in the phone call after the casino heist. Agree with your overall point though

[DirtCheap]

Don't know really.

 

The 3D era has Tommy and CJ, and the HD era has Niko and Trevor.

 

Those 4 are my only favorites because:

• Claude is too quiet and blank
• Toni is a bitchy lapdog
• Vic is too much of a serious hypocrite
• Johnny had good qualities, but V made them go down the drain
• Luis was extremely boring
• Michael was a c*cked rat
• Franklin was so blank, it was aggravating

 

So with each era having at least 2 good protagonists, its difficult to say which is better in terms of protagonists now.

[Lemoyne outlaw]

the hd era of course. thats when rockstar really started making great protags. the only two protags i liked in the 3d era was cj and vic. everyone else was either meh or crappy. for the hd era i like all the protags except luis. he never really stood out to me. i did like all the fun and unique missions from tbogt. but im not a fan of luis. and the way he treats women is terrible. i also loved the gta 5 trio.

[Grotti Vigilante]

3 hours ago, confederatestatesgta said:

but im not a fan of luis. and the way he treats women is terrible. 

How so? Far as I remember he treats them no worse than any other of the protagonists in the series. 

[billiejoearmstrong8]

I don't think Luis treats women badly at all. The women he sleeps with casually know that's all he's interested in and that's all they're interested in too. And any time a woman wants to pursue a relationship he makes it very clear to them that isn't what he wants. He doesn't string any women along or cheat on them (since he never gets in a relationship in the first place), and he's generally polite and respectful to any women he speaks to. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by billiejoearmstrong8

[Sunglasses]

On 5/22/2019 at 1:59 AM, The Eddo said:

Mike (from GTA Advance) - Totally dull character, no explanation needed.

In defense, and I know I called him a 'meh' protagonist earlier, but I'm not really expecting a deep, well written character for Rockstar's first portable outing. I really can't think of any good way to write a well written character in a game that uses a top down perspective, you're very limited with what you can do with that.

 

Also, I never found Vic to be too whiny but I guess that's just my bias for VCS showing.