---
title: 'Revisiting the Original GTA: A 1997 Retrospective'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=gokyI6hHp2g'
video_id: 'gokyI6hHp2g'
date: 2026-09-02
duration_sec: 921
channel: 'GameSpot'
---

# Revisiting the Original GTA: A 1997 Retrospective

> Source: [Revisiting the Original GTA: A 1997 Retrospective](https://youtube.com/watch?v=gokyI6hHp2g)

## Summary

This video is a retrospective on the original Grand Theft Auto game, released in 1997. The creator revisits the game to understand its cultural significance and why it didn't leave a strong impression on him as a child. He explores the game's mechanics, its place in 1997 pop culture, and how it laid the groundwork for the franchise's future success.

### Key Points

- **Introduction to GTA 1** [00:00] — The first Grand Theft Auto game allowed players to steal cars, kill innocent people, and be a thug. It also allowed burping and farting on command. It was edgy and cool 29 years ago and led to the most culturally significant video game franchise of all time.
- **1997 Context** [01:37] — The GTA series has consistently reflected the time of its release through trends, satire, and music. To do a proper retrospective, the creator freshened up on the year of its release, 1997, which was a significant year for pop culture.
- **Physical Media Changes** [02:04] — The creator notes the evolution of game packaging: from manuals and discs to now just a cover. He mentions that the PS6 and Xbox reportedly won't have disc drives, and GTA 6 might be the last game with a physical case.
- **Game Map and Cities** [03:11] — The first GTA included Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City all in one game. The map is huge and includes a question mark, indicating a mystery location.
- **Gameplay Mechanics** [03:38] — The game features four playable characters across three cities. Movement is like moving a car, and the game provides a cleaning car for convenience. The goal is to score points by completing mob jobs, with a target score shown at the start of each city stage.
- **DMA News Chopper** [05:18] — The game uses a news chopper to contextualize the top-down view, which was likely a graphical limitation at the time. It's like having a private helicopter following you at all times.
- **Difficulty and Controls** [06:26] — The game is mechanically difficult to grasp, with the creator failing missions and struggling with controls. He notes that certain characteristics, like the radio stations, have remained true throughout the series.
- **Lack of Narrative** [06:45] — The most surprising absence in GTA 1 is a strong narrative. Even GTA 3, with a silent protagonist, had world-building. GTA 1's narrative is virtually non-existent, which explains why the creator didn't remember much from his childhood.
- **Day Two Progress** [08:05] — On day two, the creator got a better grip on the controls and completed a few missions. His goal is to see all three cities, but he discovers that progress doesn't transfer between sessions, forcing him to start over.
- **No Walkthroughs** [09:19] — The creator avoided using walkthroughs or online guides to experience the game as intended. He acknowledges that cheat codes were part of the game's identity but wanted to meet the game on its own terms, which were not very fair.
- **Giving Up** [10:48] — After losing progress and struggling, the creator used cheat codes to unlock everything but still couldn't bring himself to see the other cities. He officially gave up on the game.
- **1997 Pop Culture** [11:04] — 1997 was a landmark year for pop culture: Titanic, South Park, Final Fantasy VII, GoldenEye 007, and Harry Potter all debuted. GTA, despite being influential, wasn't the most controversial game that year; Carmageddon and Postal were more controversial.
- **GTA's Legacy** [13:42] — The GTA we know today defies cultural norms by setting them. GTA 1 wasn't playing by a rulebook either, but it took iteration to become the GTA we know. Core traits like radio stations, irreverence, and snark existed from the start.
- **Final Thoughts** [14:54] — The creator reflects that GTA 1 didn't leave a strong impression on him as a kid, but he's fascinated by its significance. He notes that GTA 6 will be the last game with a physical case, marking the end of an era.

### Conclusion

The original GTA was a rough, difficult game with a lack of narrative, but it laid the groundwork for the franchise's signature traits: radio stations, irreverence, and attitude. Its cultural significance is undeniable, even if it wasn't the most controversial or influential game of 1997.

## Transcript

The first Grand Theft Auto game. It let you steal cars, it let you kill innocent people, it let you be a no good thug.
It also let you burp and fart on command. 29 years ago, it was edgy, it was cool, it led to the most culturally significant video game franchise of all time,
and it was also, um, not too impressionable on this guy when he was younger. Did I make that jump? My first in the series was actually Grand Theft Auto 2, and that is where my love for the series started.
And yeah, it also had a part in Birdfightin'. So, when I saw this in the bargain bin as a kid, obviously I had to have it. But the thing is, I don't remember getting all that far in it, and um...
Maybe there's reason for that. Are you f***ing kidding me? Oh my god, I don't care! Now with the franchise being as culturally important as it is, and with GTA 6 already being the most disruptive video game release to date, I figured now is the time to go down memory lane and revisit where it all started.
Who knows, maybe actually make some progress on the game. We'll see. Now, I can jump right into this. But, before we do that, let's take a detour to 1994.
GQ as a series has consistently reflected the time in which an installment was released. often through trends, satire, and, of course, its music. So if I was going to do a proper retrospective,
that would mean freshening up on the year of its release. A year that I realize now a lot happened. With my 1997 goggles on, I started where I would have all those years ago, with the physical game in hand.
It's funny considering what you used to get in cases versus what you'll be getting now. At one point we stopped getting manuals, and then at some point we stopped getting discs.
And now, this is how you'll be getting GTA 6? Nothing but a cover. Oh yeah, and while we're on the topic, take a bite of these, since the PS6 is reportedly not having disc drive as well as the Xbox.
Now if I'm going to do this properly, and experience it as I would have in 1997, I need to do what I would have done when I was a kid, which was read the manual back-to-back.
Oh my god! Wow, times have changed! God! Are we getting a map with GT6? If there's at least one thing they could put in that case to make it worth it, we could put a map.
GT5 had a map, right? Ironically, I got rid of all my cases when I moved to San Francisco, so I ended up getting rid of that. I did not get rid of...
Wow, this is huge! This has a question mark, so I'll just put this in. And, look at that! The first game had Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City all in one game.
Wow. Okay, I'm very well aware that what I'm doing is extremely boring, but I just can't help myself. This is who I am? Maybe. I'm a boring guy.
Okay, now we can jump back into it. Before you get down to the action choose a play of the parts of one four funky solos This is my brother name so I don think I want to start as that do you Bubba Killoff God Killoff is terrifying Three cities four playable characters
I remember it was acting like GTA V. I was like, holy shnikes, you can play as three dudes? Press X to move, I forgot about that. So moving you is like moving a car. Wow. The game used to be art. What happened?
For your convenience, a cleaning car is provided. There's more to GTA Life than stealing cars, driving over innocent pedestrians,
shooting cops, and evading a long arm of the law. Very odd job for the mob to speed your rise from lowly junior joyrider to a member of the largest most powerful family in the city.
You have the balls to go all the way. Alright, that's enough. At the start of each city stage, you are told how many points you need to win.
The best way to score is to complete mob jobs. Is that 100,000? Is that a million? Do you need a million points? Your nefarious behavior is brought to your screen courtesy of the DMA news chopper flying high above the city.
That's actually kind of neat. contextualizing the what I'm assuming was a graphical limitation at the time top down view less surrender all that jazz but you know it's like a
your own little private helicopter following you at all times apparently and that's it I guess okay got page for notes just in case I always like the notes page shit
I'm so This is real rough. Oh my god.
I don't even know what the hell just happened. Oh my god. I'm a kill guy. Oh my god. The first mission I did, I thought I completed. But it turns out I had to get to another clone booth. In which I didn't make it in time.
So I failed that mission. I failed a couple other missions. Mechanically and control-wise, the game has been difficult to grasp.
Oh my god. Oh my god. Deep breath. I can't see. What's fascinating, however, is certain characteristics of the game that are still, that have remained true throughout the entire series, particularly the radio stations.
The writing is very snarky and sharp. I think the most surprising absence of GTA 1, playing all these years later,
having now gone through the entire series, is the absence of a very strong narrative. Even GTA 3, even though the main protagonists didn't speak in that game, there was still world-building of characters and relationships and how people interact with one another.
And yeah, while GTA 2's narrative really wasn't there, it at least felt like it was trying to build a universe of some kind. For that, it's virtually non-existent from what I can tell so far. Yeah, I remember not loving this game when I was a kid,
but I played it anyways because I think I was just excited to run people over and shoot stuff. Now having played it again I convinced I didn even do any of the missions I don know if I seen any other city other than Liberty City because I think I just took it as an opportunity to wreak havoc because I having a real hard time
even now wanting to do another mission and I only played the game for like maybe four years.
Alright, day two. I was able to play a little bit last night. I started getting into grips with things, with how this game controls. And I completed a few missions.
So we're good. My goal now isn't necessarily to beat the game 100%, but at least see all Three cities.
Wait. Do you need to do this in one run? It turns out the project I thought I made the night before didn't actually transfer over. Because, are you f***ing kidding me?
You need to do this in one run. No f***ing way. I... So yeah, apparently I have to start all over again.
oh man so yes at this point I could have used a walkthrough or I could have gone online to
see what the best strategy was but that would have just felt like a shortcut to see other cities rather than actually try and play Granted Auto the way it was intended to be played Of course, you could argue that cheat codes of the time were a part of the identity of
the game, and I agree, but I couldn't help but try to meet the game on its own terms. Terms in which were not very fair. So it looks like we get a game over, which I did.
I lost my progress. I was out about, like, almost 500,000 points. It was only halfway. Now imagine if I played this emulated. I could use safety. I can rewind. I can fix the mistakes I made
for playing it this way on PlayStation 1. How it was meant to be played. Oh. But hey, at least it's got this going for it.
I may have spoken too soon this morning when I said I'm just gonna get to the next level. I'm just gonna get to Sanjay. I'm just gonna get to Vice City. Just, I owe it to my younger self. I owe it to my present self.
I don't think I owe younger Kurt anything. I think I completely understand why he does not recall anything other than just driving around. Still, I couldn't quite quit, so I kept trying to play, even though I knew in my heart I was done.
I even used the cheat codes and unlocked everything. But even then, I still couldn't bring myself to see the other cities, so I pulled the city inside. I think I'm officially done.
Okay, let's pause it right there and rewind back to 1997. Now, to reiterate, 1997's importance of pop culture cannot be understated. We're talking Titanic. The winner of the Levin Academy Awards.
The debut of South Park. Final Fantasy VII. GoldenEye 007. Harry Potter All of these things had in fact or at least helped inform the zeitgeist of 1997 many of which did for years even decades to follow In fact there certainly a case for a few of these things still having an impact today
It's just, you know, funny that DTA, which is probably the most influential thing of any of these things in our culture, at least in games media, I just wouldn't put this first iteration of Grand Theft Auto on a list for Influence in a year.
Just saying. Now, I can at least give the first GTA an ounce of credit for something it did in 1997 that has since become synonymous with the franchise, and that has stirred up a little bit of controversy. But interesting still, it was not the most controversial game that year.
Not even the second most controversial game. Probably the biggest offender of 1997 was Karmageddon. The Death Race 2000 inspired one pedestrian over to win games, which were censored in Germany and the UK.
Also, just like, straight up banned in Brazil. And the second being Postal, which co-opted a term associated with the rising trend of mass shootings caused by United States postal workers. Now, funny enough, I'm digging into all this and actually trying to find articles on the controversies surrounding this game.
The most I could find was actually from Prank Media. And there was one particular magazine that dedicated an entire page spread to both Postal and GTA, just putting the controversial games together. Even when observing GTA and how it fit into American culture when it finally came to the states in 1998,
GTA was a blip in comparison to what is considered by many, the included, among the greatest years in video games. Ocarina of Time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, Grimmson & Dango, Tekken 3,
Pokemon's North American release. It is truly absurd every time I look at that list. When looking at this window in time, media was undergoing several revolutions, not to mention that the internet was just becoming something in every single household.
And in the midst of that, GTA just sort of coasted by. Because little did anyone know at the time just how big this crude criminal sin would lead to the most disruptive game release of all time.
The Grand Theft Auto we know today has managed to defy cultural norms by setting them. It's a series that chose not to adapt trends, but make them.
It is what has set this franchise apart since Grand Theft Auto 3. Which is why it is amazing to return to the first game with that perspective in mind. Because GTA 1 really wasn't playing by a rulebook either.
It's just that it took iteration for it to eventually become the GTA we know it as today. Yes, I had a very hard time playing this.
But there was something there, and I cannot deny that. There were core traits in this very first game that have existed in all the games to follow. The radio stations, its irreverence, its snark.
It had attitude, and I'll give it that. So, while I'm not surprised to return to the game and absolutely realize why I did not leave much of an impression on me when I was younger, I can't help but be fascinated by its significance by understanding how seemingly insignificant it was when it came out all those years ago.
Yeah. Scranton's Auto. 29 years later. well at least
also I just realized that GTA 6 was going to be the last game with an actual physical case man what a world we live in what a world we live in