So what do you think of the romances in the GTA series?

[Samz707]

A bit of an odd one, I know, but I was thinking about how Rockstar keep fumbling this up.

 

GTA VC: Mercedes is practically a non-character, she for some reason comes onto Tommy literally right after leaving the party and is perfectly okay screwing Love Fist, I forget she's A: In the game and B: Supposdly a love interest, there's dialogue in the files implying some sort of early dating system was present for her so i'm not sure if it's due to cut content or Rockstar being lazy.

 

GTA SA: Haven't done any dating myself yet, but the cutscenes for dating look a little comical in how basic they are, it's like suddenly the game's entire budget vanishe and the dialogue for getting closer is....well, they are something I'd expect out of a mod written by a 13 year old, they're cringy.

 

GTA VCS: Louise is basically the only some-what love interest that feels like Rockstar actually had a writer, She and Vic feel like actual people in their interactions and she actually DOES things with the protagonist that aren't generic cookie-cutter stuff. (Racing with Quad-bikes or beating up Marty's Trailer Trash to get her and her daughters belongings.), she does vanish for a good chunk of the game though, but I wanted to do more with her since beating up trailer Mafia and riding Quad bikes appeals more to me than going bowling, even if her baby wouldn't look out of place in American Sniper.

 

GTA 4: Okay, I never dated anyone but I think Kate once or twice, but the real silly thing is when you don't date Kate, she talks about how it's weird that she and Niko are coming together...but then they seemingly out of the blue hook up later in the exact same car conversation, Kate and Niko don't really interact that much outside of dating so it comes out of nowhere.

 

As for that girl at the start of the game, I forgot her name, I think her fake-name was Michelle? or was that her real one?, never really cared for her and Kinda only some-what remembered her when her betrayal happens, Niko cared alot more than me.

Edited January 11, 2019 by Samz707

[Algonquin Assassin]

I've only ever really enjoyed dating Kate and Michelle because they're the only two characters that feel like they have any depth and impact in any sort of way. I've always disliked the girlfriends in San Andreas because they're boring and converse like they're robots. Didn't care for Mercedes, but was she really a love interest persay? She came off as being flirty granted, but not someone I could see Tommy being in a relationship with.

 

Louise was ok, but the lack of a dating system in VCS kinda made it feel a bit pointless.

[Davao]

The only time where it's worked in GTA is IV for me. It's got real depth to it and you get to know the girls you're dating and you've got a choice. 

[Hmmm nice bike]

Personally, I don't think I've been a fan of any of the romances in any of the games. At least GTA SA and IV had some point to it, because besides Kate, each girlfriend would unlock some sort of outfit or ability that you otherwise wouldn't normally be able to get. Otherwise, the entire girlfriend system is basically just there as something else for the player to do besides the usual missions and causing mayhem.

 

Thanks for reminding me about the thing with Mercedes and Tommy, as well. Unless Tommy was just a huge pervert, then it made no sense how they set her up as an apparent love interest until he just pimps her out to Love Fist and gets her to star in a porn movie. I think the cut phone calls definitely indicate that she was going to have a bigger role as a girlfriend of Tommy's before this was eventually scrapped, and whatever early missions appeared set up the whole romance are clearly just remnants of when they had the girlfriend role for her in mind.

[Bratva Assassin]

Similarly to Miamivicecity, the only women in GTA who I enjoyed dating were Kate and Michelle in IV. This may be an unpopular opinion, but the only woman in SA who I liked at all was Catalina. Miamivicecity doesn’t like her, but oh well, just because we have the same opinions on most stuff doesn’t mean we have to have the same opinions on everything when it comes to these games. I can always point this out to anyone who thinks the two of us are practically clones. However, back on topic, I still don’t like Catalina NEAR as much as Michelle and Kate. The thing I love about Michelle and Kate is that they’re basically the only normal ones in the game, if not the whole series, lol. You’d kinda have to know nothing about the games in order to think Catalina is ANYTHING like Kate or Michelle. I’ve always just kinda liked the “sexy and dangerous” type of Mediterranean, Eastern European, or Latina women!

[Algonquin Assassin]

Just now, ThatKyloRenGuy said:

Miamivicecity doesn’t like her, but oh well, just because we have the same opinions on most stuff doesn’t mean we have to have the same opinions on everything when it comes to these games.

You're supposed to be my mini me and agree with me on everything.

 

*De-friended.

[FadeAway]

Maria was fun, met through a mission and was throughout the story in missions until the end. That and in IV with Kate and Roman and Niko and ''Michelle.'' I found Brucie romantic as well.

[FadeAway]

3 hours ago, Samz707 said:

As for that girl at the start of the game, I forgot her name, I think her fake-name was Michelle? or was that her real one?, never really cared for her and Kinda only some-what remembered her when her betrayal happens, Niko cared alot more than me. 

Yes, her real name is Karen. Eventually she betrays Niko I think.

[Bryce Montrose]

Bully is the most romance game in GTA series

[Bratva Assassin]

1 hour ago, Miamivicecity said:

You're supposed to be my mini me and agree with me on everything.

 

*De-friended.

You're just joking, right?

[TheSantader25]

Personally I think R* always fails in this aspect. I came close to liking Kate and that's the closest it has ever gotten but it's still awful. 

 

Not only that but we barely had even good female characters in the series let alone Girlfriends. I think they need to step up their writing in the next game. I would love to have a supportive badass Girlfriend like Mona Sax for one of the protagonists in the next game. I wouldn't mind if they only give you ONE option for a girlfriend as long as she's good and plays a major role in the story. 

[Zello]

I think IV was the best when it came to dating. All of them were interesting and unique my favorites were Michelle/Karen and Alex yes I liked Alex lol I never really liked Kate at all.

 

If they introduce a love interest again I want them to do something like Heat where Eady was innocent and didn't know anything about Neil McCauleys criminal activities until the end. It would be a nice twist on things imo.

Edited January 12, 2019 by Zello

[Sinner!]

 

The greatest love story ever told. 

[Femme Fatale]

8 hours ago, Sinner! said:

-niptuck

 

The greatest love story ever told. 

That and this.

 

 

[Laker23]

Would prefer if it didn't exist, honestly. Never cared for it and doubt I ever will unless they drastically improve upon it in future releases.

[RDR2Fan101]

Yeah I think the romance system can work as long as it’s executed right.

 

Gta Vice City : Tommy and Mercedes had chemistry, but maybe to constraints of some sort Rockstar decided to scrap it.

 

Gta San Andreas : While the romance system was another thing to do it didn’t add enough to the story to justify the need of it. And yes we know CJ banged Millie to get the keys.

 

Gta VCS : The romance definitely feels like it has an affect on the story, but there should’ve been a dating system as well. But it feels realistic.

 

Gta 4 : The dating options were pretty interesting. I think it was a good idea for Packie to introduce Niko to his sister.

 

So I think in the next Gta game it would be interesting if there were 2 Protagonist each of the opposite gender. Then when the story starts it might be with them meeting each other and throughout the story you can see complications through the relationship. I’m not saying to have every mission revolve around their relationship, but more so to see each of their perspectives and motivations. 

 

My my idea would make for interesting character development and a lot of possibilities, but who knows what rockstar has up their sleeves.

[Copcaller]

I wish there was more FranklinXTracy in V

[Grotti Vigilante]

As someone who absolutely despises romance, they never really mattered to me in the GTA series and I'd rather do without them. The San Andreas dating system was total rubbish aside from the fact you get rewarded with special outfits that don't really add much aside form aesthetics. Good for role-playing like but objectively it was too laborious for little reward. GTA IV it sucked too even though the girlfriends had more personality, and to be honest Niko really wasn't so lucky in love. Michelle/Karen wasn't really into him, Kate was frigid as hell, Carmen was full of herself to the point of irritation, Kiki was a creepy stalker who needed too much attention, and Alex? Well, I actually didn't date her, so I can't comment. Vic and Louise I cannot remember very well, and Tommy and Mercedes didn't really have much development. It seemed like they had more of a casual fling than anything.

 

I think that if you're going to add a romance element then it needs to be part of the story and needs to be important. GTA protagonists who participate in it though are really the polygamist type given the fact CJ and Niko could have multiple girlfriends (albeit it was actually a cheating relationship rather than polygamy/polyamory), and they all love prostitutes, so romance doesn't really make much sense in the games in my opinion. I can see a Bonnie and Clyde style relationship working, but then you'd have to remove prostitutes, which has always been a crime in GTA. Having said that, I wouldn't personally be too bothered if it was gone or you cheated like Michael did with Amanda.

 

So all in all, not even GTA, a video game series I ever so love, can make me like romances. They don't fit the games the way they are set up, and they are often so laborious for so little rewards. I'm not saying that relationships in real life should bring you rewards (though I am not the kind who participates in them and thus cannot say what they should bring) but this is a video game. You need an incentive to take part in these activities, and GTA doesn't offer me anything much in the way of dating girls when I could just be going on crazy endeavors or just actually doing something different and actually drive while following actual traffic laws. That's my personal take on the romances in GTA.

[RDR2Fan101]

On 1/28/2019 at 1:19 PM, Grotti Vigilante said:

 

I think that if you're going to add a romance element then it needs to be part of the story and needs to be important. GTA protagonists who participate in it though are really the polygamist type given the fact CJ and Niko could have multiple girlfriends (albeit it was actually a cheating relationship rather than polygamy/polyamory), and they all love prostitutes, so romance doesn't really make much sense in the games in my opinion. I can see a Bonnie and Clyde style relationship working, but then you'd have to remove prostitutes, which has always been a crime in GTA. Having said that, I wouldn't personally be too bothered if it was gone or you cheated like Michael did with Amanda.

 

So all in all, not even GTA, a video game series I ever so love, can make me like romances. They don't fit the games the way they are set up, and they are often so laborious for so little rewards. I'm not saying that relationships in real life should bring you rewards (though I am not the kind who participates in them and thus cannot say what they should bring) but this is a video game. You need an incentive to take part in these activities, and GTA doesn't offer me anything much in the way of dating girls when I could just be going on crazy endeavors or just actually doing something different and actually drive while following actual traffic laws. That's my personal take on the romances in GTA.

Yeah I’m not to sure why Roxkstar doesn’t just make the romances crime partners. All Amanda in GTA 5 just complains and argues with Michael for no reason. Amanda just sits all day and cheats on Michael, so it just made Michael’s family lifeless assholes. 

 

Again like I mentioned above I hope Rockstar makes the protagonist’s love interest maybe like Catalina or at least has criminal background. If that isn’t the case all the love interest will do is complain that the protagonist is too violent and all that. Or at least make it like Kate who doesn’t care as much about Niko’s actions.

[AlexGRFan97]

On 1/28/2019 at 6:19 PM, Grotti Vigilante said:

As someone who absolutely despises romance, they never really mattered to me in the GTA series and I'd rather do without them. The San Andreas dating system was total rubbish aside from the fact you get rewarded with special outfits that don't really add much aside form aesthetics. Good for role-playing like but objectively it was too laborious for little reward. GTA IV it sucked too even though the girlfriends had more personality, and to be honest Niko really wasn't so lucky in love. Michelle/Karen wasn't really into him, Kate was frigid as hell, Carmen was full of herself to the point of irritation, Kiki was a creepy stalker who needed too much attention, and Alex? Well, I actually didn't date her, so I can't comment. Vic and Louise I cannot remember very well, and Tommy and Mercedes didn't really have much development. It seemed like they had more of a casual fling than anything.

 

I think that if you're going to add a romance element then it needs to be part of the story and needs to be important. GTA protagonists who participate in it though are really the polygamist type given the fact CJ and Niko could have multiple girlfriends (albeit it was actually a cheating relationship rather than polygamy/polyamory), and they all love prostitutes, so romance doesn't really make much sense in the games in my opinion. I can see a Bonnie and Clyde style relationship working, but then you'd have to remove prostitutes, which has always been a crime in GTA. Having said that, I wouldn't personally be too bothered if it was gone or you cheated like Michael did with Amanda.

 

So all in all, not even GTA, a video game series I ever so love, can make me like romances. They don't fit the games the way they are set up, and they are often so laborious for so little rewards. I'm not saying that relationships in real life should bring you rewards (though I am not the kind who participates in them and thus cannot say what they should bring) but this is a video game. You need an incentive to take part in these activities, and GTA doesn't offer me anything much in the way of dating girls when I could just be going on crazy endeavors or just actually doing something different and actually drive while following actual traffic laws. That's my personal take on the romances in GTA.

Dude, are you me? I'd hate to insinuate anything, especially if my suspicions are incorrect, but it'll turn out to be a small world after all if I've just found a fellow AA on this website of all places.

 

Anyway, my opinions are basically the same as this guy's. I get there are some people out there, in fact, many people out there who are interested in that sort of thing, but for me, 9 times out of 10 it's just a hinderance to the main storyline to pad out any actual length. The only way it could ever interest me is if it helps to open up a sub-plot, like in the case of Millie wherein CJ's relationship with her leads you to rob Salvatore blind. Other than that? No. They barely belong in action movies as they are, shoehorning them into action video games is strictly unnecessary. If I wanted that sort of thing I'd go play Super Seducer or some other trash. I shouldn't really be one to judge though, you know you're different when you put in Hot Coffee merely to uncensor San Andreas and never actually play the minigame since it doesn't interest you in the slightest.

[Grotti Vigilante]

1 hour ago, AlexGRFan97 said:

Dude, are you me? I'd hate to insinuate anything, especially if my suspicions are incorrect, but it'll turn out to be a small world after all if I've just found a fellow AA on this website of all places.

Your suspicions would depend on what you mean by the term AA. If by it you mean Alcoholic Anonymous then I'm afraid that I don't drink. 

[hogei]

I like the relationship between Trevor and Patricia. I think this is the most pure romance in gta history

 

 

[iiCriminnaaL]

I only liked it in GTA IV. It's not perfect, but was done pretty well IMO, even though it could've been better.

 

The relationship between Niko and Karen, a.k.a. Michelle, had a pretty good role in the story. Even during "The Snow Storm", you can see that she actually liked Niko. Kate did get a fair share too. Many people consider it underdeveloped, but I disagree. Niko's first impression on her, as well as the interactions between him and her in most of her appearances during the McReary brothers' part show the connection between the two. The dialogue between her and Niko changes depending on the dating progress between the two, but their relationship seems well developed even without dating. Another sign lies post the mission "One Last Thing", when Niko finds her the only person he wants to take an advice from.

[Officer Ronson]

 

 

carl was a stupid perro for not taking in this beautiful woman 

[Rafae S]

GTA IV handled it perfectly. SA not so much.

[Sunglasses]

1 minute ago, Rafae S said:

GTA IV handled it perfectly. SA not so much.

I really only dated girls in SA for the benefits.

y'know, much like in real life.

 

I don't think Tommy's relationship with Mercedes was supposed to be anything substantial, I'm pretty Tommy didn't even really see her as a love interest or anything like that, I'm sure something would have come out of it had Mercedes' phone calls to Tommy had not been cut.

I quite liked the relationship in VCS, though sadly Louise seemed to be absent once you unlock the eastern island for the most part.

[Rafae S]

Just now, LCLegend said:

I really only dated girls in SA for the benefits.

y'know, much like in real life.

 

Touché

[KingAJ032304]

On 1/28/2019 at 1:19 PM, Grotti Vigilante said:

As someone who absolutely despises romance, they never really mattered to me in the GTA series and I'd rather do without them. The San Andreas dating system was total rubbish aside from the fact you get rewarded with special outfits that don't really add much aside form aesthetics. Good for role-playing like but objectively it was too laborious for little reward. GTA IV it sucked too even though the girlfriends had more personality, and to be honest Niko really wasn't so lucky in love. Michelle/Karen wasn't really into him, Kate was frigid as hell, Carmen was full of herself to the point of irritation, Kiki was a creepy stalker who needed too much attention, and Alex? Well, I actually didn't date her, so I can't comment. Vic and Louise I cannot remember very well, and Tommy and Mercedes didn't really have much development. It seemed like they had more of a casual fling than anything.

 

I think that if you're going to add a romance element then it needs to be part of the story and needs to be important. GTA protagonists who participate in it though are really the polygamist type given the fact CJ and Niko could have multiple girlfriends (albeit it was actually a cheating relationship rather than polygamy/polyamory), and they all love prostitutes, so romance doesn't really make much sense in the games in my opinion. I can see a Bonnie and Clyde style relationship working, but then you'd have to remove prostitutes, which has always been a crime in GTA. Having said that, I wouldn't personally be too bothered if it was gone or you cheated like Michael did with Amanda.

 

So all in all, not even GTA, a video game series I ever so love, can make me like romances. They don't fit the games the way they are set up, and they are often so laborious for so little rewards. I'm not saying that relationships in real life should bring you rewards (though I am not the kind who participates in them and thus cannot say what they should bring) but this is a video game. You need an incentive to take part in these activities, and GTA doesn't offer me anything much in the way of dating girls when I could just be going on crazy endeavors or just actually doing something different and actually drive while following actual traffic laws. That's my personal take on the romances in GTA.

Incorrect she states multiple times that she genuinely liked him but she just had to do her job. 

[KingAJ032304]

In my opinion you can't do romances correctly if you haven't even fully establishes the concept of connection and actually wanting to know a person with everybody having full depth to them like they ACTUALLY have been alive for 20+ years rather than being born yesterday. In free roam when killing cops most people do not actually feel bad. Why? Because there is no reason too. I think it is about time Rockstar actually introduce a system of morality that doesn't really affect gameplay but how the player it's self will continue playing the game. For example, lets say you aim a gun at a npc at close range. This npc is a common girl who dresses fancy in let's say vinewoods. This npc then begs for her life and says something like "Please no. I got a meeting tomorrow and a family that loves me." or "No I'm not ready to die yet! I still got a lot of years left! Don't do this please don't shoot" or "No! Please I'll do whatever you want! You want money? Here have this! Just don't shoot!" and "she" will be sobbing all along the way while giving you money. See that? That's a REALISTIC reaction which may actually put guilt into what you are doing. Why? Because even though "she" is not real you now relate to her on some real everyday life issues and feel empathetic. "She" no longer feels like a walking cutout or something but a real person. Why did I bring this up? Because if npcs can do that and set the bar and connecting with video game characters than ACTUAL side characters in the game should feel like ACTUAL people in the game. In this case I'm referring to the romances having a connection to them rather than just being this "task full" filler feature presented to make the game seem bigger than what it actually is. 

[The Time Ranger]

I liked the system in IV as there was a decent amount of depth and personality to the potential partners, and I still remember some of them quite well despite dating  being a feature I didn't use often.

 

San Andreas was more simplistic, but I enjoyed the mini game that would occur where if you were cheating on your gf she might catch you with the other girl, you then had to escape her in a car chase before she could positively id you.

 

Cheaters: San Andreas Edition