5 GTA San Andreas facts that are truly amazing

After the success of Grand Theft Auto 3 and Vice City, Rockstar Games took the series leaps and bounds further with GTA San Andreas. This title came out back in 2004, over two decades ago, for the PlayStation 2, and a little later for PC and Xbox. Despite the technological limitations of the time, it was a revolutionary release, and can even give some modern video games a run for their money when it comes to the amount of features.

It is the best entry in the Grand Theft Auto series for many fans and among the top ones for several others. In this article, we will look at five GTA San Andreas facts that are truly amazing.

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Here are 5 facts about GTA San Andreas that are truly amazing

1) It was originally going to have separate maps

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas' map is not only big but also quite diverse as it features three distinct major cities. While players can travel between them seamlessly within the same open-world map, it was originally planned to implement the three cities on separate maps.

Ex-Rockstar Games Technical Director, Obbe Vermeij, revealed this in an X post, further stating that players would have had to take a plane or a train to travel between them. However, the decision to include Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas in the same map was eventually made.

Obbe Vermeij has revealed many intriguing Grand Theft Auto 3 developmental secrets through his X posts as well.

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2) Players can occasionally talk with NPCs

The ability to direct conversations with pedestrians is one of the highlights of Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar's 2018 release. Notably, a rudimentary version of this mechanic exists in 2004's GTA San Andreas too.

Players can react positively or negatively to comments made by an NPC in the open world. Interestingly, if one reacts negatively, the situation can escalate to an attack from the pedestrian. This may seem like a small feature, but helps in bringing the NPCs to life and improving immersion.

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3) Players can switch between different fighting styles

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas' gives importance to melee combat (Image via Rockstar Games)

Melee combat usually takes a backseat in Grand Theft Auto games, thanks to the plethora of weapons available. However, Rockstar was able to make even that worth indulging in GTA San Andreas by providing the option to learn different types of fighting styles.

They can be learned from various gyms across the open world and have varied animations. To think that such a feature existed in the 2004 title but hasn't been seen in the series since is quite interesting.

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4) The protagonist's physique affects certain attributes

Another amazing fact about GTA San Andreas is that its protagonist's physique can affect certain character attributes. Eating at fast-food joints frequently can make Carl "CJ" Johnson overweight. This is not just a visual variation, but also a practical one.

If CJ is too overweight, then attributes like sprint speed, jumping, and even health get affected negatively to an extent. It is truly amazing how Rockstar was able to implement such a complex mechanic in a game that came out over two decades ago. Unfortunately, it hasn't returned in the series so far.

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5) It has the most main story missions out of all GTA games

Some of San Andreas' main characters in its Definitive Edition remaster (Image via Rockstar Games)

Another aspect in which other Grand Theft Auto games are unable to beat GTA San Andreas is the number of main story missions. It has 101 campaign missions (including the introductory sequence).

Needless to say, that is quite a lot, but the characters, the plot, and its unexpected twists and turns make for a deeply enjoyable experience. Not to forget that there are a plethora of optional quests as well.

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Also check: 5 things that made GTA San Andreas so iconic