Gangs in GTA San Andreas have played a crucial role in the storyline. These gangs have been a part of GTA games since the very beginning. GTA San Andreas had numerous distinct gangs spread throughout the vast open-world map.
There will be times when players have to work for one gang or the other in the game. Some gangs in GTA San Andreas are extremely hostile and will attack players if they visit their territory.
Developers studied the behavior of real-life gangs to develop the gangs in GTA San Andreas. While there are numerous small and big gangs, this article will rank the eight prominent gangs in GTA San Andreas based on their popularity and overall importance.
These gangs in GTA San Andreas are a core element of the gameplay
1) Grove Street Families
Out of all the gangs in GTA San Andreas, the Grove Street Families is the most popular one. They used to be the most powerful gang in Los Santos, but due to internal disagreements and drugs, they have gotten weaker. CJ, the playable character, was a senior member of the gang along with his brother Sweet.
Grove Street is massively against drug dealing and is involved in gang banging, gang warfare, and murder, to name a few.
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2) Ballas
They are the largest and most powerful street gangs in GTA San Andreas and are based in Los Santos, known for their rivalry with GSF. Other rivals include Vagos and Varrios Los Aztecas. To defeat Grove Street Families in GTA San Andreas, Ballas spread crack cocaine into their territory, supplied secretly by Big Smoke. Ballas is also one of the oldest gangs in GTA San Andreas
3) Varrios Los Aztecas
The gang is relatively small when compared to Ballas or Grove Street Families and is well-known for its rivalry with Los Santos Vagos, San Fierro Rifa, and also the Grove Street Families.
They do not support narcotics and are massively involved in the lowrider culture, as seen in the Cesar Vialpando mission. Even though their leader Cesar is CJ's friend, the gang will attack CJ if he goes into their territory.
4) Los Santos Vagos
Los Santos Vagos or the Vagos are a large and powerful Mexican Los Santos street gang that controls the preponderance of the far north and eastern areas of Los Santos. Their enemies are the Varrios Los Aztecas, Grove Street Families, and Ballas. Vagos attacks in large numbers and involved in the drug trade (especially crack cocaine), street violence, arms dealing, to name a few.
5) San Fierro Rifa
Among all the gangs in GTA San Andreas, these are the least harmful ones and are a major player in the international drugs trade under the leadership of T-Bone Mendez. They usually carry 9mm pistols or are mostly unarmed. The gang will run away if they see CJ walking around. During the start of the game, they acted as protection for the Loco Syndicate but were killed.
During the end of the game, Big Smoke hired San Fierro Rifa to protect his crack empire in exchange for drugs.
6) San Fierro Triads
There are not a lot of Chinese gangs in GTA San Andreas. Led by Ran Fa Li, the San Fierro Triads is a Chinese San Fierro-based gang against drugs. The gang is helped by Wu Zi Mu, a blind nobleman in GTA San Andreas whom players will remember from numerous missions.
They are at war with the Da Nang Boys, a Vietnamese street gang. The San Fierro Triads are associated with gang warfare, murder, illegal street racing, among other things.
7) Da Nang Boys
Not much is known about this Vietnamese street gang other than the fact that they dominate the dockland/bay area in the Easter Basin and parts of Esplanade North. The gang members are notably violent and are involved in protection, smuggling, gang warfare, arms dealing, and other things. Compared to other gangs in GTA San Andreas, they are the smallest ones preparing a full move to expand and occupy the areas.
8) The Mafia
Lastly, The Mafia is a gang run by three Italian mob families, namely The Sindacco Family, The Forelli Family, and The Leone Family. They jointly own Caligula's Casino. The Mafia is the least popular of gangs in GTA San Andreas, and they don't play a major role. Players would not see them on the streets like other gangs.
Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinion of the writer.
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