Overrated and underrated characters

[iiCriminnaaL]

Which GTA characters, be it protagonists, side-characters or antagonists, do you find to be overrated? Or reversely, underrated.

 

As for me, the ones that come into my mind at the moment:

 

Overrated:

• Tommy Vercetti, to some extent. Intelligent and cold, sure, but not so much detailed nor really amazingly voice acted. Still pretty fine for a 2002 game, though.
• Carl Johnson. He was R*'s first attempt to create a more humanized and emotional type of protagonists, but he wasn't really that consistent. Most of the attention he receives comes from being the protagonist of the game that is GTA San Andreas, which is rich of customization options, in addition to having the credit of featuring the jetpack (which is also overrated in my opinion).
• The Truth
• Maccer
• Yusuf Amir
• Trevor Philips
• Lamar Davis

 

Underrated:

• Vic Vance, to some extent.
• Armando and Diego Mendez
• Karen Daniels, to some extent.
• Kate McReary
• Phil Bell
• Johnny Klebitz, to some extent.
• Billy Grey
• Terry Thorpe
• Angus Martin
• Tom Stubbs
• Dave Norton, to some extent.

Edited August 14, 2019 by iiCriminnaaL 49

[TheSantader25]

Overrated:

-Niko Bellic: Good but not "that" good that some people think. 

-Eddie Low

-Tommy Vercetti

-Sal Leone

-Sweet Johnson

-Dimitri Rascalov

 

Underrated:

-Carl Johnson

-Malc

-Dave Norton

-Steve Haines

-Asuka Kasen

-ULP Contact

[santosvagos]

Overrated :
- Franklin
- Tommy Vercetti

- Pulaski 
Underrated 
- Niko Bellic
- Luis Lopez
- Johnny Klebitz 

- Carl Johnson 
- Brucie
- U.L contact 

- Michael De Santa . 

 

 

- 

[DOUGL4S1]

Overrated:

- CJ

- Sweet

- Phil Bell (You useless fat cunt)

- Trevor

- Everyone from Michael's Family

- Lester

 

Underrated:

- Toreno

- ULP Contact

- Luis Lopez

- Michael

[LittleJesus]

Overrated:

- CJ (San Andreas is my favourite game of all time but this man is a living meme)

 

Underrated:

- Phil Bell 

- UL Paper 

- Bernie Crane

- Maude 

- Dave Norton 

- Cesar Vialpando 

[Max.pain]

21 hours ago, iiCriminnaaL 49 said:

Carl Johnson. He was R*'s first attempt to create a more humanized and emotional type of protagonists, but he wasn't really that consistent. Most of the attention he receives comes from being the protagonist of the game that is GTA San Andreas

so are you telling us you don’t like cj because he is black?

[watersgta3]

12 minutes ago, Max.pain said:

so are you telling us you don’t like cj because he is black?

You're trolling with this comment, aren't you? This comment of yours is supposed to be a joke, right?

Edited August 15, 2019 by watersgta3

[iiCriminnaaL]

25 minutes ago, Max.pain said:

so are you telling us you don’t like cj because he is black?

Ironically, that's what some people think actually

 

[Max.pain]

32 minutes ago, watersgta3 said:

You're trolling with this comment, aren't you? This comment of yours is supposed to be a joke, right?

no look at the guy’s profile picture it’s a white guy he is basically a racist

[Algonquin Assassin]

Overrated.

 

CJ: If he was a character in another game I bet he would've been forgotten a few months after release. It seems people like CJ more because of the gameplay elements he can partake in. Not because he's a good "character". In the past I probably would've put Trevor here, but atleast Trevor has things going for him character wise. CJ's a forgettable douche. Plain and simple.

 

Underrated:

 

Johnny: I don't know where the idea came from that people only started liking Johnny after what happened to him in GTA V. Even the minor appearances he had in GTA IV there was something I liked about and TLAD tipped it over the edge. He's an awesome guy who's tough, loyal to his brothers and probably some of the best characterisation I've seen in a GTA protagonist besides Niko. 

[El Penguin Bobo]

2 minutes ago, SonOfLiberty said:

CJ's a forgettable douche.

He even dresses like one too, have you seen the clothings on him? lol

[Algonquin Assassin]

6 minutes ago, El Penguin Bobo said:

He even dresses like one too, have you seen the clothings on him? lol

No joke I can remember some of his ridiculous clothing options more than anything he does that would make me think of a great "character" *sigh*. 

[Rajaraja]

Overrated:

Tenpenny

CJ

Catalina

Trevor Phillips

Mike Toreno

Lester

 

Underrated:

Billy

Ken Rosenberg

Eddie Low

Stubbs

Mallorie

Avery

 

 

 

[Algonquin Assassin]

I didn't do one for NPCs so here's another list..

 

Overrated:

 

Tenpenny: Even ignoring Samuel J Jackson for a moment I just don't think he's that special. At times he just feels like an Alonso Harris ripoff from Training Day and generally I'm not a fan of corrupt law figures being antagonists. The God like status he's given is ridiculous IMO and totally undeserved if you look at the character objectively without being turned on by some man crush for him.

 

Catalina: I didn't mind her in GTA III, but in San Andreas she drove me up the f*cking wall. The way CJ bitches out to her also makes me take him less seriously. Arghh.

 

Lamar: Am I the only one who thought he was a complete idiot? I've seen it plenty of times that he's "funny", but he felt like an annoying hinderance more than anything. Franklin's not the most charismatic character ever, but now I understand why he wanted to be as far away from the hood as possible with tools like Lamar holding him back.

 

Yusuf Amir: Again like Lamar he's deemed as being "funny", but I just don't see it. TBOGT was when I started questioning the direction R* were heading in regards to characters after hitting the ground running with the brilliance of GTA IV and TLAD, but Yusuf didn't help at all. 

 

Underrated

 

Niko (Ok I'm breaking my NPC list here, but I forgot to mention it above): Not in regards to his "character" which is obviously brilliant and he deserves his place as the best protagonist in the series, but more his voice acting. Maybe it's not so much Niko here and more Michael Hollick. His "fake" accent didn't bother me nor did it ruin Niko's character once I knew all the facts yet even after a decade I still see people downgrading Niko like he's a terrible character JUST because R* didn't use a Serbian for the voice work.

 

Eddie Low: I really enjoyed his minor interactions with Niko and whilst it was short lived it was interesting to get a character like him that really hadn't been seen since Manhunt. Though he's intended to be messed up and deranged he has a odd yet soothing charm about him. 

 

Lester: There are very few characters I like in GTA V, but Lester is easily one of the best. I don't know, but he's like the perfect geeky stereotype that holds the trio together in his own "special" way, God speed Lester The Molester Crest. 

 

 

 

[GKZ]

On 8/15/2019 at 3:57 AM, TheSantader25 said:

Underrated:

-Carl Johnson

Sure...

[ThatBenGuy1998]

Like SonOfLiberty, I’ll do a separate list for protagonists and NPCs. So, first up is my protagonist list.

 

Overrated:

CJ: He’s pretty forgettable and for all the reasons which my boss described.

 

Underrated:

Niko Bellic: I know people have said this time and time again, but I agree. He’s an absolutely outstanding character in my mind, and I never understood the nitpicking about how he has a non-Serbian voice actor. His voice actor is named Michael Hollick, and he’s from Brooklyn, NYC. Hey, at least he’s from the city the game takes place in. Am I right or am I right? Who knows? Perhaps the man is actually of Serbian descent himself! (His ancestry is unknown but that’s my honest best guess.)

Johnny Klebitz: Many people didn’t particularly care for him until after Trevor killed him in GTA V. Although I really never played GTA until V came out, if I WERE to have played IV/EFLC back when those games were relevant, I more than likely would’ve liked this guy. He’s a metalhead biker. My type of dude. 🏍

Luis Fernando Lopez: I honestly don’t think he’s QUITE as good as Niko or Johnny, but I still really like him. In regards to IV and EFLC, the ONLY characters I like more than him are Niko, Little Jacob, Roman, Johnny, Clay, Terry, Jim, and Packie. He may not have quite as much characterization as Niko, Johnny, or the others higher on my list, but hey, that doesn’t mean he has NONE. Think about it. Saying someone doesn’t have as much characterization as THEM ain’t saying much, considering they have characterization for all the tea in China. Out of the three GTA IV/EFLC protagonists, in terms of being the weakest, it would be Luis. However, in terms of being the most underrated, he would be #1 in my mind.

Edited September 23, 2019 by ThatKyloRenGuy

[ThatBenGuy1998]

Welp, looks like nobody’s been posting here for a few days so don’t mind if I double post in regards to overrated and underrated NPCs.

 

Overrated:

Catalina: I don’t mind her in GTA III, but in SA, she drove me loopy! tbh, she’s a character who should’ve died 9 years prior to when she did because of her performance in SA alone.

 

Underrated:

Chop: He’s a freaking DOG with more characterization than most other GTA V characters! I also think he should’ve gotten FAR more screen time and time to be played as.

 

Pretty much every minor character in GTA IV and EFLC: Characters whom I’d LOVE more than life itself to know more about include (but aren’t limited to) Houssan Ramzy, Katerina, Vera, Mr. Roncero, and Chad. I know exactly what most of you are thinking. Who the f*ck are they? Well, if you’re one who pays a lot of attention to the games, this might just ring a bell and you might as well say to yourself “Oh yeah!” Houssan is the Egyptian guy who was on the ship with Niko coming to America. Katerina and Vera were those two sexy women accompanying Mikhail at Perestroika. Mr. Roncero and Chad were the rehab workers with Billy in TLAD. ALL of them should’ve played a bigger part than they did IMO. It would’ve definitely made the storyline a tad longer but the storylines of IV and its episodes are just so incredible, I’m NEVER ready for them to be over!

Edited August 24, 2019 by ThatKyloRenGuy

[iiCriminnaaL]

45 minutes ago, ThatKyloRenGuy said:

Pretty much every minor character in GTA IV and EFLC: Characters whom I’d LOVE more than life itself to know more about include (but aren’t limited to) Houssan Ramzy, Katerina, Vera, Mr. Roncero, and Chad. I know exactly what most of you are thinking. Who the f*ck are they? Well, if you’re one who pays a lot of attention to the games, this might just ring a bell and you might as well sat to yourself “Oh yeah!” Houssan is the Egyptian guy who was on the ship with Niko coming to America. Katerina and Vera were those two sexy women accompanying Mikhail at Perestroika. Mr. Roncero and Chad were the rehab workers with Billy in TLAD. ALL of them should’ve played a bigger part than they did IMO. It would’ve definitely made the storyline a tad longer but the storylines of IV and its episodes are just so incredible, I’m NEVER ready for them to be over!

I agree. The minor characters of GTA IV are indeed very well written and detailed.

 

I wish Mikhail's bodyguard had a slightly bigger role as well. I was surprised that he was the same hitman who ambushes Roman's wedding in the Deal ending.

[ThatBenGuy1998]

On 8/22/2019 at 3:32 PM, ThatKyloRenGuy said:

Welp, looks like nobody’s been posting here for a few days so don’t mind if I double post in regards to overrated and underrated NPCs.

 

Overrated:

Catalina: I don’t mind her in GTA III, but in SA, she drove me loopy! tbh, she’s a character who should’ve died 9 years prior to when she did because of her performance in SA alone.

 

Underrated:

Chop: He’s a freaking DOG with more characterization than most other GTA V characters! I also think he should’ve gotten FAR more screen time and time to be played as.

 

Pretty much every minor character in GTA IV and EFLC: Characters whom I’d LOVE more than life itself to know more about include (but aren’t limited to) Houssan Ramzy, Katerina, Vera, Mr. Roncero, and Chad. I know exactly what most of you are thinking. Who the f*ck are they? Well, if you’re one who pays a lot of attention to the games, this might just ring a bell and you might as well say to yourself “Oh yeah!” Houssan is the Egyptian guy who was on the ship with Niko coming to America. Katerina and Vera were those two sexy women accompanying Mikhail at Perestroika. Mr. Roncero and Chad were the rehab workers with Billy in TLAD. ALL of them should’ve played a bigger part than they did IMO. It would’ve definitely made the storyline a tad longer but the storylines of IV and its episodes are just so incredible, I’m NEVER ready for them to be over!

I also can’t believe I forgot to mention this in this post. Similarly to SonOfLiberty, I don’t really care for law enforcement official main antagonists. With that being said, Frank Tenpenny is another highly overrated GTA character! He’s voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. Big whoop! On a side note, while I really do like criminal vs. criminal and criminal vs. law enforcement themes, I’m honestly not a huge fan of the law enforcement vs. law enforcement theme. Don’t know why though. Of course, there’s a reason just like there is for everything else in the world. Sometimes, you just don’t know the reason or can’t really put it into words.

[iiCriminnaaL]

27 minutes ago, ThatKyloRenGuy said:

I also can’t believe I forgot to mention this in this post. Similarly to SonOfLiberty, I don’t really care for law enforcement official main antagonists. With that being said, Frank Tenpenny is another highly overrated GTA character! He’s voiced by Samuel L. Jackson. Big whoop! On a side note, while I really do like criminal vs. criminal and criminal vs. law enforcement themes, I’m honestly not a huge fan of the law enforcement vs. law enforcement theme. Don’t know why though. Of course, there’s a reason just like there is for everything else in the world. Sometimes, you just don’t know the reason or can’t really put it into words.

I guess I get what you mean. Criminal vs criminal should be the main focus in GTA IMO, while criminal vs law enforcement should be just a small part. As for law enforcement vs law enforcement, it feels more like a COD thing than GTA.

 

Merryweather is obviously not a law enforcement, but being a private military, it doesn't really feel different from fighting the armed forces anyway.

Edited August 24, 2019 by iiCriminnaaL 49

[sabitsuki]

underrated:

 

wade heston.

He's basically dave norton, but actually useful and helpful in your quest to avenge your father's killer. also one of the only bent cop characters in the series (other than ray machowski, another underrated character for similar reasons) to not actually snitch on you and/or make you do their dirty work for them just because they can.

 

asuka kasen

she helps claude go after catalina despite not knowing that it was him that killed her brother, and turns up dead without finding out. pretty tragic character if you ask me especially for an early gta.

 

billy grey

manipulative, selfish egomaniac and psychopath, with the perfect voice actor to compliment his role as a two-timing yet charismatic biker leader. it's a shame that TLAD was just an expansion pack and not a full game because i would definitely be up for seeing more of him. (GET. MY. BIKE!!!)

 

the mendez brothers

for the most part they actually feel like a threat to the vance brothers, and they are pretty realistic potrayals of 80s drug barons, who act civilised but do unspeakable things, especially armando.

 

jerkov (gta2)

he turns people into hot dogs to feed his gang/community, for christ's sake. and he has a pretty funny motive for going after the zaibatsu (jealous of american goods, wants to ship them back to russia).

 

overrated:

 

trevor phillips

he's everyone's go-to when people talk about GTA protagonists now. personally i just find him painfully edgy as a character with a poorly-defined reason (loyalty apparently, but he disregards this in parts of the storyline, especially in his betrayal of the lost, the aztecas and the o'neils and his treatment of floyd at the port) for not being completely evil.

 

big smoke

sure, he has good lines (that dead horse cluckin' bell order that everyone seems to quote for some reason), and he's one of san andreas's most well known antagonists. but i knew right from the start that he was going to betray the gsf, and for really sh*tty, poorly-written reasons too.

Edited August 25, 2019 by DownInTheHole

[Officer Ronson]

Overrated: 

- Trevor, I don't hate Trevor but I can see how many times 

- CJ, at this point he's f*cking god in non-english speaking countries

NPCS 

- El Grandio Smokio, the meme is overdone

- Eddie Low, a serial killer, hooray. 

 

Underrated: 

- Dave Norton, one of the few cop characters who's actually a nice guy

- The Mendez Brothers, felt like they actually managed to damage the protagonist more than just physically (the bastard even got fat too because he couldn't handle louise being ded :(¨)

- Marnie, nice gal 

 

[Copcaller]

Overrated- Tommy vercetti folks on here and in general swear this guy can hang the moon. He's certainly a badass and doesn't take any sh*t from anyone but the man crushes do elicit some eye rolling. 

 

Trevor- people seem to forget Trevor wasn't like Niko or Vic Vance and never completed his military or pilot training due to mental health issues so he gets hyped up more than he should . Plus his personality is too inconsistent 

 

 

Underrated

 

Claude- I've always been a fan of the stoic type characters and his motivations are simple yet realistic and effective. 

 

Cj (kind of)- lot of people don't appreciate his character arc imo but the memes as amusing as they are can be a bit annoying sometimes. Also ridiculous how people get mad at him for killing some random construction ( lol) foreman who sexually harassed his sister yet don't mind Tommy or Toni killing Innocents. 

 

Real badman

 

Asuka 

 

Huang Lee played ctw on psp loved having a triad protagonist and his wit is amusing to read

 

Edited September 7, 2019 by Copcaller

[El Penguin Bobo]

Overrated: CJ. Bland, boring, bland, boring...did I forget to say bland? 

 

I've said in similar topics before, but the main reason why people praise him is because he can ride a jetpack and just the overall gameplay in general. Not because of his character. (it's not like it even existed anyways) He's also very inconsistent with his character.

 

Tenpenny: Yes, he's a great antagonist. He has excellent dialogue and quotes. But let's be honest, people only praise the sh*t out of him because he's voiced acted by Samuel L Jackson. (who is a very good actor IMO)

 

Big Smoke: Mainly because of his overused "memes".

 

 

 

Underrated: Franklin. Yes, I also think he's better than CJ too IMO. He actually knew what he wanted. He wanted to make cash, and get out of the hood.

 

Victor Vance: Recently been playing VCS, and I'm starting to like him. Idk, but I kinda like his character a little bit.

 

Toni Cipriani: Same for Vic.

Edited September 6, 2019 by El Penguin Bobo

[Algonquin Assassin]

14 hours ago, Copcaller said:

Cj (kind of)- lot of people don't appreciate his character arc imo but the memes as amusing as they are can be a bit annoying sometimes. Also ridiculous how people get mad at him for killing some random construction ( lol) foreman who sexually harassed his sister yet don't mind Tommy or Toni killing Innocents. 

She brought it upon herself for dressing up like a hooker (In person I really don't have time for women like that) and all I can think about when she goes back to CJ whining about it is the Nick Cage "you don't say?" meme as my reaction. 

 

[Jeansowaty]

Overrated: Salvatore Leone. Useless old piece of sh*t with 0 redeeming character values and people only love him so much because he's a lazy rip-off of the Godfather. Same for the entire Leone mafia who is so f*cking caricatural it's a joke. If you want a real portrayal of the Mob, the Forellis and the Sindaccos were done more faithfully, heck the Mafia families in IV too.

 

Underrated: Mike from GTA Advance. Pretty solid protagonist for a rather poor game. Also Ray Boccino from IV and Asuka Kasen from III.

[Max.pain]

i can’t call cj overrated or underrated, mostly i don’t see many people talking about him, he’s an alright protagonist to me.

underrated

•huang lee, he’s like niko. loyal to what he believes, he’s mostly underrated due to the game he’s in.

[Algonquin Assassin]

47 minutes ago, Max.pain said:

-huang lee, he’s like niko. loyal to what he believes, he’s mostly underrated due to the game he’s in.

To be fair most people have probably never played CTW much like the top down GTAs. I have to admit sometimes I forget CTW is even part of the HD era and one could be forgiven for not rating him very highly because of the Anime presentation and the fact it's written dialogue making it harder to get a gauge of his personality.

 

I like to imagine if he was a spoken protagonist he'd have traits very similar to Niko with the cockiness of Luis (That's the impression he gave me). . 

[Tao Cheng]

Underrated: 

- Triad 1 from The Lost and Damned has the potential to be in a future GTA game, his artwork for Chinatown Wars is seen in trailers but ended up being a cut character. 

- Sammy Bottino, games suggest he's the Tommy Vercetti of the HD era, but a spy. 

- Yours Truly, Tao Cheng prior to the casino DLC. R* made him easily forgotten in front of players. 

 

Overrated: 

- Tommy Vercetti, I hope a box of pizza iced him! 

 

17 hours ago, SonOfLiberty said:

To be fair most people have probably never played CTW much like the top down GTAs. I have to admit sometimes I forget CTW is even part of the HD era and one could be forgiven for not rating him very highly because of the Anime presentation and the fact it's written dialogue making it harder to get a gauge of his personality.

 

I like to imagine if he was a spoken protagonist he'd have traits very similar to Niko with the cockiness of Luis (That's the impression he gave me). . 

Huang is basically Niko but 100x funnier because he subtly puts his bosses on blast for being stupid and gets away with it every time since they think he's complimenting them when he's really being sarcastic.

 

Chan: I've got leadership in my genes. 

Huang: I'm sure you've got a lot of things in your genes. (drugs lol)

Chan: Definitely! 

Edited September 6, 2019 by Tao Cheng

[Gtaman_92]

Overrated: 

 

Tommy Vercetti- He’s very intelligent and don’t take crap from anyone but he’s also too one dimensional and somewhat bland compared to later protagonists.

 

Trevor 

 

Franklin

 

Micheal De Santa

 

Yusuf Amir

 

Brucie 

 

Gay Tony

 

Luis Lopez- He’s was a huge asshole throughout TBOGT. 

 

 

Underrated:

 

CJ- He doesn’t get enough credit for being R* first protagonist that actually feels humanized and not some unstoppable killing machine.

 

Johnny Klebitz- He was really one of the few sane members of the lost and I liked how he stuck by his morals and didn’t run out on the gang and remained with them until the very end.

 

Little Jacob

 

Ray Boccinno- He always stuck by his word.

 

Dwayne Forge

 

Huang Lee- Very funny dude. 

 

Billy Grey

 

Elizabeth Torres 

Edited September 6, 2019 by Gtaman_92