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GTA 4 was the first game in the series to feature random characters that you can meet in the game world. They offer a minor objective where Niko has to help them out. Some can reappear up to three times, continuing with their individual storyline. Rockstar continued with this feature in GTA 5 but renamed it to Strangers and Freaks. Their side missions are slightly more complex and can be as long as the story missions.
GTA 4 also introduced choice-based outcomes where players can decide the fates of some characters, and as such, some random NPCs will only appear if they were spared during the main story.
With all that in mind, here's a complete list of all random characters in GTA 4, ranked according to how interesting they were.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of its writers.
GTA 4 random characters ranked
14) Clarence Little
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The encounter with Clarence Little serves no purpose other than to kill him. You'll find him as a random character only if you spared him during "Holland Nights." He tries to kill Niko as revenge and is pretty easy to dispose of.
13) Cherise Glover
Cherise is another random character in GTA 4 who only appears if you spared her in a previous mission. In her case, this pivotal decision has to be made during "Ruff Rider". She's Dwayne Forge's ex-girlfriend who needs Niko's help because her latest boyfriend is abusive.
You can choose to beat up this boyfriend to teach him a lesson. However, if you kill him instead, it results in Cherise being angry at Niko.
12) Sara
Sara is an obnoxious woman who is obsessed with her appearance. Her missions aren't the most remarkable, and you'll need a lot of patience to deal with her demands. Sara has two missions — the first one involves beating up her ex-husband while the second one involves going to Perseus and picking up a package for her. In conclusion, she comes across as an annoying character who you'd rather see dead.
11) Gracie Ancelotti
Gracie Ancelotti's mission is nothing more than an ambush as she recognizes Niko as her kidnapper and alerts the mob enforcers to his location. You simply have to fend off your attackers and survive. There is no interaction with Gracie at all, as you've probably had enough of it when Niko and Patrick kidnapped her earlier.
10) Mel
Mel is a regular at Comrades Bar who you'll meet once as a random encounter. He simply needs protecting from a group of people who he had wronged in the past. Once the mission's done, Mel is never seen again, making him pretty forgettable in terms of the storyline.
9) Brian Meech
Brian Meech is the first random character you'll meet in GTA 4. His first mission simply involves him paying Niko $100 for no reason while being high on coke. The next two missions involve protecting him, but you'll only encounter some trouble in the last one. Brian simply serves as an introductory character to the random encounters feature.
8) Hossan Ramzy
Hossan Ramzy is the first character you meet in GTA 4, as the introductory cutscene shows him and Niko stepping off the Platypus and into the Liberty City docks. During his random encounter, you simply need to accompany him to a meeting, but as the guy who owes Hossan money runs off, you must chase and kill him and bring back his wallet to Hossan.
7) Ivan Bytchkov
Ivan is the first character you get to spare in GTA 4, and if you decide to do so during "Ivan the Not So Terrible," he will reappear in Alderney. Ivan seems grateful to Niko for sparing his life and is in high spirits. Like with many other random encounters, you simply need to protect him in a meeting gone wrong and kill all the attackers.
6) Ilyena Faustin
Mikhail Faustin's widow appears as a random character who needs your help in saving her daughter. Niko is eager to help her as he feels guilty about his part in Mikhail's death. Ilyena is someone Niko confided in about his war experience, and it's heartbreaking to see her in such dire straits. This encounter serves as a good example of facing the consequences of your actions in the storyline.
5) Real Badman
Real Badman and Little Jacob are some of the most entertaining characters in GTA 4. Niko barely understands what they're saying because of their heavy accents, and yet they're among his most loyal allies. As such, tagging along with Real Badman is always a fun way to spend your time in-game. You simply need to accompany him to go kill some Russian thugs.
4) Pathos
Pathos is a struggling rapper whose name is quite apt for his situation. He's a pitiful character who is heckled by thugs at every moment. In his first encounter, you simply have to beat up or kill the goons attacking him. In his second encounter, when he gets shot by another groop of goons, you need to take him to a hospital.
3) Marnie Allen
The encounters with Marnie Allen reveals another side to Niko. He's willing to help a degenerate junkie and accompanies her during her highs and lows, eventually succeeding in pointing her toward the right direction. Marnie also reappears in the GTA 5 and even GTA Online, but as an Epsilon cultist, indicating that she somehow ended up in a worse situation than before.
This is why Rockstar needs to bring this Strangers and Freaks character back to GTA 6, to finally give her some much-needed closure.
2) Eddie Low
Eddie Low's first encounter is quite memorable, as the game repeatedly hints that he is a serial killer. Despite this, Niko ends up assisting this strange character and does not question his suspicious actions or unusual behavior. In the second encounter, however, Niko ends up killing him in self-defense.
In Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar added a far more despicable serial killer called Edmund Lowry Jr, which seems to be a reference to Eddie Low.
1) Jeff Harlingford
Jeff is a paranoid man who believes his wife is having an affair, and asks Niko to help spy on her. During the second mission, he reveals that he ended up killing her after an argument, and Niko, surprisingly, helps him dump the body.
In the third encounter, he claims to have married again but wants Niko to kill his new wife. As Niko declines, he storms off to do the deed himself and is run over by a car.
Check out our other GTA 4 articles below:
Little details in GTA 4 || GTA 4 remake on Nintendo Switch 2 || Underrated features || Most impactful characters || Relevant mods for the game || Reasons to remaster the game ||
