The Best GTA Protagonists & Also The Worst

Each GTA Protagonist has proven to be the most capable of crime committers. However, there is always at least one, or sometimes many, factors setting them apart. All the protagonists differ from each other as each GTA games take place in a different decade. There are many different types of protagonists, and you will find them all here in our list of Grand Theft Auto protagonists.

While we ranked the best GTA games based on the impact each title had in the open-world gaming industry, we've ranked these protagonists based on how successful they were at the end of their endeavors and how memorable they were. Being the "worst" doesn't mean they're not good, it is only a term used in relative terms within this specific list.

11. Toni Cipriani

Toni Cipriani is a mobster first introduced in GTA 3 as a non-playable character and later as a playable protagonist in Liberty City Stories. Liberty City Stories is set three years before the events of GTA 3.

Toni Cipriani was involved in the Italian mafia and rose in rank by staying loyal to the Leone Mob Family. He is especially keen on always protecting Salvatore Leone. His loyalty and trust later earn him the rank of Capo. Toni is extremely loyal but also gets angry very easily. Many people compare Toni to one of the most beloved protagonists, Tommy Vercetti, due to his loyalty.

While not a lot of personality was seen in the early years of the franchise, a lot can be deciphered about Toni simply because he killed a made man of the rival family and fled the country. A made man is a highly ranked, fully recognized mafia member, for those of you who don't know. Not everyone can become a made man as there are several conditions. One of which includes the person being of Italian descent.

Four years later, Toni returned to Liberty City only to destroy two strong rival mafia families — the Sindaccos and the Forellis. This helps the Leone family become the strongest Mafia family in the city.

Unfortunately, Toni Cipriani is nothing short of pathetic when seen in GTA 3. The events of GTA 3 are set three years into the future, and he seems like another forgettable NPC.

10. Victor Vance

Victor Vance is a protagonist of a comparatively lesser-known GTA title, GTA: Vice City Stories. We call it a lesser-known title as it was exclusive to Playstation Portable (PSP) and was later ported over to the Playstation 2 (PS2).

5. Trevor Philips

Talking about personality, Trevor won't disappoint you. Trevor is one of the protagonists in GTA V, and he is the crazy one. Trevor has no limits or boundaries. His explosive personality makes him one of the most memorable GTA protagonists to date. Trevor is always drawn toward violence, one way or another. It is due to his mental instability caused by his upbringing. He is emotionally scarred and finds it difficult to adjust to society.

4. Michael De Santa

Based on Robert De Niro's Neil McCauley, from the hit movie Heat, Michael De Santa is the mastermind behind most of the heists in GTA V's story mode. Michael is Trevor's friend, who he left during a bank robbery. Michael then enrolls in a witness protection deal and moves to Los Santos, where he lives in a mansion with his family.

2. Niko Bellic

Niko is the protagonist of the critically acclaimed GTA 4. Niko has a very depressing and sad background story. The savvy eastern European fought in the Yugoslav War, where he was betrayed by Darko Brevic, one of his fellow soldiers and a friend of Niko. As a result of the betrayal, fifteen men were killed during the war, most of which were Niko's friends from his hometown. Niko and another friend of his, Florian Cravic, survived the ambush.

1. Tommy Vercetti

Finally, the best GTA protagonist on our list is Tommy Vercetti, who starred in one of the most famous GTA games, GTA: Vice City. Tommy Vercetti, voiced by Ray Liotta, is associated with the Forelli crime family in Liberty City. Tommy Vercetti was the first protagonist to get a full-fledged voice actor. He is like an upgraded version of Claude from GTA 3.