Unanswered Questions About GTA: Vice City (That GTA 6 Needs To Answer)
The release of "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" in 2002 is still seen as something of a watershed moment in gaming history. The '80s-set entry expanded upon the open world formula that worked so well in its predecessor, "Grand Theft Auto 3," blowing critics and fans out of the water with its gameplay and storytelling. "Vice City" tells the story of Tommy Vercetti, a crook who takes charge of his own criminal empire after serving a 15-year prison sentence. As Tommy rises up through the ranks of the criminal underworld, the player gets to learn more about his history with the Forelli crime family, who are likewise not quite what they seem.
Despite its strong script, however, "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" is not without its minor plot holes, as well as a few narrative threads that aren't quite tied up by the end of the game. "Grand Theft Auto 6" is set to bring fans back to Vice City in a big way, so it feels like a great time to look back on these loose ends. Who knows? Maybe "GTA 6" will finally provide answers to questions that fans have been asking for over 20 years.
Was Victor Vance a kingpin or not?
"Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" really kicks off with the murder of a man named Victor Vance. In the midst of a drug deal with Tommy Vercetti and the Forellis, Vic is suddenly assassinated. His death and the subsequent theft of both Tommy's money and the cocaine supply is the moment that sets Tommy on his path to becoming the kingpin of Vice City. While Vic seems to be in more of a middle management position in "Vice City," his storyline gets a bit more confusing if you've 100% completed a playthrough of spin-off title "Vice City Stories."
Set two years before "Vice City," this game sets Vic on a similar trajectory to Tommy's, allowing players to take over territories all over the city. Fans have pointed out that this seems to be at odds with how Vic is portrayed at the beginning "Vice City," in which he's clearly working under the villainous Mendez Brothers and other cartels. This would suggest that either "Vice City Stories" is a mostly non-canonical entry in the franchise or some serious shake-ups occurred in Vice City's hierarchy of criminal power during that two-year gap. Maybe "GTA 6" can settle this debate for good by giving our new main characters a history lesson on "Vice City" crime. If a line or two of dialogue can make sense of the super-quick rise and fall of Victor Vance, then maybe fans will be satisfied with this apparent continuity flub.
What happened to Tommy Vercetti?
The most obvious questions lingering from the "Vice City" end credits till today center around what happened next for Tommy Vercetti. In the world of the games, it's been nearly four decades since the death of Sonny Forelli and Tommy's ascendancy to the throne of organized crime in the South. The games that followed have made occasional references to Tommy and his empire, but all we know for sure is that he cut his partner Ken out of his life after the latter's cocaine habit became untenable. Even "GTA 4," which takes place in Liberty City, doesn't so much as check in on Vercetti's whereabouts.
"GTA 6" offers the first real opportunity for the series to reveal how Tommy Vercetti changed Vice City forever. Players have already spotted the Ocean View Hotel, where Tommy famously hung out between missions during the early parts of "Vice City," in the first trailer for "GTA 6." Sure, Tommy would be pretty old at this point, but maybe fans will still get to see him as an elder statesman in the underworld. If not, perhaps the game will at least tell us where he ended up. This leads us to another question: Who could possibly voice Tommy Vercetti after the untimely death of actor Ray Liotta, who brought the character to life in "Vice City?"
Did the Haitian gang ever rise again?
A lengthy subplot in "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" concerns an ongoing gang war between the Haitian and Cuban street gangs. Tommy uses the destabilized underground to his advantage, taking missions for both sides at various points in the game and even playing them against one another when it suits his needs. Things come to a head when the leader of the Haitians, Auntie Poulet, drugs Tommy and sends him off on a rampage against the Cubans. After falling out with the Haitians, Tommy agrees to help the Cubans make their greatest strike yet against their rivals. He blows up a factory the Haitians had been using to manufacture drugs, seemingly making the Cubans the victors in the long war.
However, it's worth noting that this attack doesn't wipe out the gang entirely. Not only do several members survive (those who were not in the explosion, of course), but Auntie Poulet is still at large and presumably capable of building her ranks once again. "GTA 6" could introduce players to her successor and show the Haitians as a restored power in Vice City and the surrounding areas. Then again, considering how much trouble Rockstar got into for its portrayal of Haitians in the original game — up to and including an anti-discrimination lawsuit — it would also make sense for the developer to leave this story thread dangling in the wind.