Why is GTA Vice City’s soundtrack so iconic?

One of the most common praises for GTA Vice City is its outstanding music and soundtrack.

Everybody has different musical tastes, but there are some valid reasons why GTA Vice City's music stands out more compared to the soundtracks found in similar games.

Other than having popular music for its time, it's vital to remember that GTA Vice City was released on October 27, 2002.

GTA Vice City was released nearly 20 years ago. At a similar timeframe, the game took place almost 20 years before that. A great deal of many fans' love for the game's soundtrack is due to nostalgia.

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Why the soundtrack in GTA Vice City is so memorable

GTA Vice City's soundtrack tends to be at or near the top when it comes to Google SEO results. People love to look up the game's music, and it's easy to see why. Most GTA games have phenomenal audio, but one reason why GTA Vice City stands out is because of how distant in the past it was relative to the modern era.

Of course, some GTA fans love nostalgia. Perhaps there was a catchy song like Quiet Riot - Come on Feel the Noise that they loved to listen to.

Even if a certain song wasn't to a person's particular taste, the game had a good variety of music.

There were several genres of music to entertain players in various radio stations, such as:

• Emotion 98.3 (Power Ballads, Soft Pop, and Soft Rock)
• Flash FM (Pop)
• Fever 105 (Disco, Funk, R&B, and Soul)
• Radio Espantoso (Latin Funk, Latin Jazz, Mambo, Salsa, and Son Cubano)
• Wave 103 (Post-Punk, Synthpop, and New Wave)
• Wildstyle (Hip Hop and Electro)
• V-Rock (Hard Rock and Heavy Metal)

The 80s

GTA Vice City feels distinctly 80s, but that time period is a long time ago for most players (Image via LibertyCity.Ru)

One thing that stands out about the 80s is how distant it is now. It's been nearly 40 years, which can make some of the music seem like it was a lifetime ago. Predictably, this also means that several fans of GTA Vice City were not alive when the music was culturally relevant and considered "modern."

Many other GTA games tend to take place in the modern era, which often means that most gamers would be familiar with such a soundtrack. That's one of the main differences between GTA Vice City and the later games in the series.

The same can be said about playing any GTA game after its release date a decade or so later. However, GTA Vice City is always going to take place before the vast majority of other GTA titles, which will always make it seem the most distant and foreign to some players.

Popular songs

Of course, it isn't just blind nostalgia that makes GTA Vice City's soundtrack stand out so much. Many of the songs in the game were legitimate hits for their time, like Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. If these songs were considered great to legendary for their time, it's no surprise that some gamers today would love them as well.

DJs and commercials

One underrated aspect of GTA Vice City's soundtrack is how good the DJs and commercials are in the game. The humor is well-written (for the most part), and the DJs are fun characters to listen to from time to time.

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