CJ, Claude, and Tommy Vercetti: How do the 3 GTA protagonists compare?

Claude, CJ, and Tommy Vercetti are three completely different protagonists by GTA standards.

That's partially because of how each of the three games is played. The Grand Theft Auto series has many similarities throughout the three titles, but that doesn't mean they're identical experiences. Take GTA San Andreas, for example. In this game, CJ is vehemently against the drug trade. By comparison, GTA Vice City's Tommy Vercetti supports it.

Each GTA protagonist lives a different life with distinct goals. Not only that, but the features associated with all of them differ from a game-to-game basis. This article will cover some of the contrasts between all three characters.

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How do the 3 GTA protagonists CJ, Claude, and Tommy Vercetti, compare?

Claude as a GTA protagonist

Claude is a gritty character (Image via Rockstar Games)

Whether GTA 3's Claude is the same as GTA 2's Claude Speed is unknown. However, fans know for a fact that GTA 3's Claude is mute. He doesn't speak, which makes analyzing him as a character less interesting than looking at the other two protagonists.

Claude also has the least amount of gameplay features associated with him. For example, he can't:

• Crouch
• Bail out of a moving vehicle
• Swim
• Willingly change into a different outfit

He betrays most of the people he comes into contact with, and it seems as though his main goal is getting revenge on Catalina. Claude and CJ interact with one another in GTA San Andreas, including some brief lore for Claude. He used to live in San Fierro, so he has that similarity with CJ.

GTA 3's main story took place in 2001.

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Tommy Vercetti as a GTA protagonist

Tommy Vercetti is more complex than Claude (Image via Rockstar Games)

GTA Vice City is the first Grand Theft Auto game with a single protagonist that speaks. As a result, it's substantially easier to look at Tommy Vercetti's character. Compared to Claude, Tommy Vercetti doesn't betray everybody.

He maintains his loyalty to trusted allies and only goes against Sonny and Lance after they betray him. Ricardo Diaz was always an enemy to Tommy since the start of the game, and he was tricked into working with Auntie Poulet.

Tommy Vercetti has more freedom in terms of what he can do, as he's capable of bailing out of moving vehicles and crouching. Sadly, he still can't swim. On the bright side, Tommy Vercetti has a few costumes to wear.

Claude, Tommy Vercetti, and CJ all have ties to Liberty City. Out of the three, only Tommy Vercetti has connections in Vice City. He became the kingpin of Vice City, and his entire story took place in 1986.

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CJ as a GTA protagonist

CJ has a few enemies, with Officer Tenpenny being his notable one (Image via Rockstar Games)

Carl Johnson is radically different from the previous two GTA protagonists. Whereas the first two Grand Theft Auto games have numerous similarities, GTA San Andreas plays entirely differently. It has some RPG elements, which makes CJ the most customizable protagonist of the three characters.

He has several other unique traits, such as:

• Different fighting styles
• Can dual-wield some weapons
• Swim
• Dive underwater
• Crouch and move at the same time
• Keep weapons after being Wasted and Busted

CJ is a more empathetic (but still brutal) character compared to Tommy Vercetti. He's less selfish than Tommy, ensuring that he isn't the sole leader like Tommy was in GTA Vice City.

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All three protagonists are absent from the HD universe. Hence, it's unknown what the fate of every protagonist is in the current day. What is clear is that all three GTA protagonists succeeded in their goals.