5 rarely utilized features found within the GTA series

As great as some GTA features are, it's always surprising to see them only appear in a single game before seemingly vanishing from the rest of the series.

It doesn't matter how well-received the features are, either. Sometimes, they just disappear because they might not fit in with the direction of the next game. Either way, these features are rarely utilized within the GTA series, often being confined to just a single game.

Sometimes, these features don't even have a clear replacement. Something like CJ being either fat or muscular is never truly replicated in another GTA game. Customization options still exist, but that particular subset of features is a good example of something that's practically gone from the series nowadays.

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Five features that are seldom seen within the GTA series

5) A map that doesn't only involve islands (GTA 3)

GTA 3's map (Image via Rockstar Games)

Gameplay-wise, GTA 3 isn't much different from other GTA games when it comes to its location. However, what makes it different is that GTA 3 doesn't just take place on a series of islands.

Instead, it's more realistic in the sense that there are some islands that connect to a larger mainland elsewhere. Every GTA game thereafter seems to make the main location one large island or a series of islands (which don't resemble their real-life counterparts in that way).

4) Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball (GTA Vice City)

This is the beach ball that Tommy Vercetti can bounce on his head (Image via Rockstar Games)

Most GTA games have some interactable minigame that doesn't appear often (or ever again) in another GTA title. Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball is a good example of that. It's essentially a minigame where Tommy Vercetti can try to keep a beach ball bouncing on top of his head for as long as possible.

GTA Vice City even saves what a player's record is. It briefly showed up in GTA San Andreas's beta as part of some leftover data from GTA Vice City. Other than that, this minigame hasn't returned to the series since, with several others taking its spot.

3) Fat & muscles (GTA San Andreas)

Fat CJ, as he appears in GTA San Andreas (Image via Rockstar Games)

Many of GTA San Andreas's features were lessened in importance or dropped outright in later GTA games. It wasn't until GTA 5 that most of the character customization options came back.

However, one notable feature didn't return. That feature was the ability for the protagonist to get fat or become muscular. As an off-shoot of this feature, it also means that gyms were only relevant in a single GTA game, as there is no muscle stat in other games.

2) Ferry (GTA Liberty City Stories)

Methods of travel that don't involve the protagonist driving are seldom seen within the GTA series. Interestingly enough, GTA Liberty City Stories allowed players to pay for a ferry ticket and go across the sea to get to another island.

Players cannot control the ferry, and they can't travel with it all of the time anyway. Instead, Toni Cipriani has to wait for a ferry to stop nearby and enter a mission marker to buy a ticket. Afterward, they can see a cut-scene where the ferry goes from one location to another.

Alternatively, players can skip the cut-scene altogether.

1) Picking up small objects (GTA 4)

Niko Bellic, throwing a brick in the mission, Bull in a China Shop (Image via Rockstar Games)

One of the most interesting parts of GTA 4's new engine was how players could pick up small objects and throw them. Stuff like coffee cups and bricks could be picked up, which made the game feel more immersive and realistic compared to other titles in the series.

Unfortunately, GTA 5 scrapped this feature altogether. As a result, it's only present in the GTA 4 games. It's not the most useful feature in the game, but it was a small-time addition that could be useful in a pinch.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.