The Grand Theft Auto Trilogy is a classic set of games that people have loved over the years. Thus, it is easy to understand why developer Rockstar Games went above and beyond to remaster these titles. After all, there's a lot of demand for these classics, even in 2021. Excitement was through the roof when Rockstar Games announced the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was coming in November. Sadly, upon release, many people who picked it up felt that The Trilogy was nothing but a quick cash-grab. The remastered version of these 20-year-old games lacked the polish of most modern remasters, and had quite of few glitches to boot. On top of this, many fans felt that the developers halfheartedly followed the art style of the classics, ruining the design and ambiance of the original games. Needless to say, this disappointment has led to a wide array of memes surrounding the game, the best of which can be found below.
9 Cousin, It's a Remaster
Not many games receive the honor of a user score lower than one on Metacritic, but Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition has done it. A large part of this is probably angry consumers, bombing Rockstar Games for butchering their beloved classics. However, it's mind-blowing how the PS2 version of GTA San Andreas is close to 9.1/10, while its remaster is rated 0.9/10.
Could it be possible that the games are truly this bad? Well, probably not. The biggest problem here is that these games are almost two decades old, and the remaster does not do much to bridge that gap — hence the low score for the remaster.
8 Easter Egg It is Not
Many agree that the quality of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is pretty questionable. There are multiple issues in the game, and one such issue is the texture work. The above image is not just a meme, but also a symbol of work by the developer that fans find lazy.
It shows a texture mismatch, where the bump map on the model says seven and the diffuse map has nine. In simpler terms, it's just an avoidable rookie mistake that probably belongs in an android game.
7 Should We Do That?
Rockstar Games outsourced this project to Grove Street Games, a developer that has mostly worked on mobile titles. This could be one of the reasons why Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition lacks that console quality. The character models in this game look similar to Sims 2 avatars, or assets from a stock-free website.
It's hard to believe that Rockstar Games were not aware of the issues with the game before releasing it. Fans feel that they were aware, this would betray a lack of interest in the classics that made them popular.
6 Developers Be Like
While most fans would like to think this is a meme, it could also be a reality. The GTA modding community is one of the most passionate on the internet, and have helped keep the games alive. Without them, nobody would remember the older Grand Theft Auto games as profoundly as they do now.
Over the years, the modders have helped make the games look better, be more accessible, and be more fun. Many in the community are disappointed that instead of rewarding them, Rockstar Games tried shutting them down.
5 Michelle Or Youchelle
Undoubtedly, this is the reaction of most gamers playing the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. While time has not been forgiving to the classic trilogy, people have still grown to love the style and ambiance of the titles. So it is understandable why Rockstar Games decided to stick to their old style — except they didn't.
Other than some aspects of the design, everything about the classics that was good is gone. The amazing blue and hazy orange weather from San Andreas is no longer available. The dark yellow tone of GTA III is gone. Something as simple as the distant fog is not available in the trilogy. What were they thinking?
4 GTA Then Vs Now
This trilogy meme is another look at how the Rockstar Games have changed over the years. Back in the PS2 era, Rockstar released over five Grand Theft Auto games, aside from releasing many unique titles such as Max Payne, Manhunt, Midnight Club, and Bully. Between 2001 to 2010, Rockstar became one of the most beloved companies with hits after hits. First, they released Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, then Vice City, then San Andreas, and amplified the collection with Liberty City Stories and finally Vice City Stories in 2006. That's five GTA games in five years.
3 High As A Kite
To many fans, it's clear that the remaster trilogy is just nostalgia bait. Rockstar Games lured in passionate fans and people who love the classics, charging 60 dollars games that these gamers probably already own on multiple systems. The first trailer of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was nothing but motion graphics, and the gameplay trailer showed selected scenes where the games looked bearable.
Though it might have sounded like a good idea remaster these classics, all that the developers needed to do for the community was patch the older games. Most players don't feel that enough was done or changed to improve these games, to warrant the price charged.
2 Sims, GTA or Some Mobile Game?
The facial expression, the animation, the overall world — almost everything looks and feels outdated in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition, which defeats the whole purpise of a remaster. The only good thing this game has is the obvious advantages of Unreal Engine 4, which includes lighting and shadows.
As fans point out in memes like this one, not much in these games can really be called better. What's more, there are various spelling mistakes, and the pizza shop advertises hot dogs for some reason.
1 What A Remaster
Jokes aside, many long-time fans of the series are genuinely sad to see it go down this path, as this last meme shows. Players feel that Rockstar Games doesn't care about games that truly put them on the map, or the fans that made those game big.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was one way for the developers to show they care for their community of players. Instead, they outsourced the opportunity and paid for it. Some might think that these bad scores justify Rockstar's mistake. However, nothing right now can make the original fans of the series feel better.