5 GTA San Andreas features that were strangely absent from its sequels

GTA San Andreas had several features that were sadly absent from some of its sequels. Many video game series tend to add and remove mechanics, so it is not something exclusive to the Grand Theft Auto series. Still, it is worth looking at some examples where GTA San Andreas had a feature that most of the later games removed.

It is especially notable when comparing this game to some of the later 3D Universe games like Liberty City Stories. Even the HD Universe is lacking in some of these notable mechanics.

Note: This list is not about features that were gone from every game after GTA San Andreas (like body fat). It's just about some notable mechanics that were strangely absent from some sequels.

---

Five GTA San Andreas features that vanished from some of its sequels

5) Moon Easter egg

There was an Easter Egg in all of the 3D Universe games (except GTA Advance) where players could use a sniper rifle and shoot at the moon to change its size. It was not groundbreaking by any means, but this feature is no longer present in the HD Universe, with GTA San Andreas being the last mainline title to have it.

No other firearms worked when performing this Easter Egg, as it had to be a sniper rifle that could zoom in. The moon could also only get so big before looping back to its smallest size. Though its absence from future sequels might not be the most significant, it was a charming little feature that old-school fans would appreciate seeing once again.

---

4) Gang Warfare

An example of a player getting into a battle with a rival gang (Image via Rockstar Games)

Gangs have always been a major part of the Grand Theft Auto series, yet only GTA San Andreas seemed to capitalize on it. Taking over individual territories allowed players to remove Ballas and Vagos' influence, as well as have more GSF members on the streets whom the player could recruit.

In GTA San Andreas, players could also get more money from Johnson House based on the number of territories they have. Despite gangs having a prominent place in the game's sequels, only Vice City Stories has something similar known as Empire Building.

Some players might have found defending their territory to be a time-consuming endeavour, but they could always conquer everything in Los Santos to prevent it from ever happening again. Likewise, the idea of losing territory through a mission could be exasperating, yet that did not mean the feature was bad by itself.

On a related note, recruiting gang members is another feature that never came back.

---

3) Various minigames

Let's Get Ready to Bumble was a fun minigame (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA San Andreas had a plethora of minigames that seemingly vanished from most of its sequels. Examples include:

• Lowrider Challenge
• Dancing
• Various old-school video games

The first two minigames were rhythm-based, whereas the last one consisted of several different games with different objectives. These minigames were a nice breath of fresh air but were largely cut out before returning to some of the more recent titles.

They were also scattered across GTA San Andreas, which helped give the gaming world plenty to do when used in conjunction with the game's numerous other features. The Lowrider Challenge never returned to Grand Theft Auto.

---

2) Climbing

An example of CJ climbing over a wall (Image via Rockstar Games)

One of the greatest quality-of-life features introduced in GTA San Andreas was the ability to climb objects via jumping. It made getting around the map a lot more convenient than in previous games, not to mention more fun. However, it was noticeably absent from some later games in the series, such as Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories.

This feature being absent from some of the later games greatly hampered the player's ability to get around the map. Even something as novice as a small fence is now difficult to get around. One could still park their car, jump on it, then leap over it, but that is too much work for something that does not always work.

---

1) Individual customization

One of GTA San Andreas's greatest strengths was its customization. Players could change the following aspects of CJ:

• Hairstyle
• Shirts
• Pants
• Accessories
• Tattoos

Players could make any number of possible combinations with customization options, ranging from a snobby design to something embarrassing. Yet, it might surprise some players to know that it was removed from some of the game's sequels.

Some of the later games would only have pre-planned outfits (like Liberty City Stories) or no other outfits (like The Lost and Damned).