GTA Trilogy Music List: Songs Missing from the Original Games

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Significance of Grand Theft Auto's Radio Stations

Songs Missing from Vice City

Songs Missing from San Andreas

After being leaked, then confirmed, and then associated with worrisome decisions on Rockstar’s part, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition was released to one of the most notable cases of negative reception in recent gaming history. To many Grand Theft Auto fans, especially those on Metacritic, the remastered versions of three of the most popular and important video games of all time are remastered in name only.

The disdain felt by fans for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy — The Definitive Edition is mostly related to technical reasons, such as streamlined “polishing,” cartoonish character models, and glitches that were never in the original games to begin with. One iconic aspect of the games absent in the remastered trilogy is the removal of several songs from the radio stations. Not only are players unable to consistently explore the world as they please without encountering performance issues, they are also deprived from several classic songs that used to be present in each Grand Theft Auto soundtrack.

Significance of Grand Theft Auto's Radio Stations

Grand Theft Auto 5 Changing Radio Station

If playing as a morally ambiguous, if not downright depraved criminal is Grand Theft Auto’s bread and butter, listening to the various radio stations while driving a stolen vehicle is the series’ equivalent to fine wine. Despite the trashy nature of most of the radio hosts and their content, the radio stations that were spearheaded by Grand Theft Auto 3 are a recurring element in the series that enriches the overall experience.

Until Grand Theft Auto 5, original tracks had limited use in this series. San Andreas’ iconic title theme song was the exception to the rule. One of the reasons why the Grand Theft Auto series, particularly the third game in this context, was so innovative is because of the risk it took with its soundtrack. Original pieces were the gaming norm before Grand Theft Auto 3 came out, and twenty years later, they still are. However, Grand Theft Auto 3 took a huge risk that ultimately paid off.

A Grand Theft Auto soundtrack that mostly consists of licensed songs from a plethora of artists is difficult to secure the rights for, but the costs of licensing music have a chance of jeopardizing the work’s budget. Grand Theft Auto 3 showed that such a feat was not only possible, but sometimes necessary to shape a game’s identity.

The licensed songs accompanied a posse of hosts with their unique quirks and desires. Most of them seldom appear in person, if they even have a physical appearance, but their monologues were enough for players to get a kick out of them. Some of the hosts, such as Fernando Martinez and Lazlow Jones, eventually became recurring characters in their own right.

Calling the Grand Theft Auto games realistic is a stretch, especially with the games’ occasionally ridiculous physics and Easter eggs, but the radio stations were a form of immersion unlike anything else at the time. They grounded the games in reality to an extent, and made the series’ fictional universe relatable through tracks players might have listened to themselves. This is especially important for Vice City and San Andreas: These games aimed to be period pieces with a few creative liberties taken. The radio stations’ songs were one of the best ways to live to Rockstar’s intentions.

Songs Missing from Vice City

Grand Theft Auto Vice City Radio Station Logos

Thankfully for Grand Theft Auto 3 fans, the remastered version kept all the same songs. The same thing can’t be said for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or San Andreas. The removal of songs from Vice City is especially disappointing due to the soundtrack’s acclaim as one of the best in the medium.

Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force - Looking for the Perfect Beat
Herbie Hancock - Rockit
Irakere - Añunga Ñunga
Kate Bush - Wow
Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
Tyrone Brunson - The Smurf

Songs Missing from San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Radio Station Logos

If the treatment that Vice City's soundtrrack received was disappointing, then Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas suffered due to the sheer number of songs that were removed.