When Rockstar finally revealed GTA 6 after a decade-long wait, the internet immediately went into detective mode. But the moment I saw Vice City returning in GTA 6, I stopped looking at the graphics. I stopped looking at Lucia. I stopped looking at Jason. Instead, I was fourteen years old again, standing inside a noisy gaming cafe after school.
GTA 6 looks incredible, but my excitement has very little to do with graphics, technology, or even the promise of a bigger open world. For me, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was never just another game. It was a place where I spent a huge part of my teenage years. It was where some of my favorite gaming memories were made.
And this memory triggered even more after GTA 6 pre-orders went live. But where did it all begin? Let me take you to a childhood full of neon lights, city dreams, and a drive into a long, long road.
Vice City and a Gaming Cafe That Turned Into an Obsession
Before GTA Vice City came into my life, Project IGI was my favorite game. I loved the challenge, the stealth, and the feeling of completing difficult missions. Back then, I thought that was the peak of what gaming could offer. I was a child after all, coming out of the hangover of ‘you only play games if you score good marks.’
Then I turned 14 and walked into a gaming cafe for the first time, and saw something unusual. Nearly every computer was running Vice City. People of my age or older were either in a police chase, desperately trying to survive six-star wanted levels, or trying wheelies with a stolen bike. It felt less like a game and more like an event that had taken over the entire cafe.
Naturally, I wanted to know what made it so special, and the answer came within minutes of starting the game. I hopped onto a bike and started driving through the city. There was no mission to complete and no objective pulling me in a specific direction. I simply rode around and explored.
Today, open-world freedom is expected, but back then it felt almost magical. For the first time, I felt like I was inside a living world without being physically present in it. That simple bike ride was all it took. I was hooked.
My Vice City Had Bengali Songs on the Radio
One of the funniest things about my GTA Vice City memories is that the version I grew up with was not exactly the version Rockstar created. It was the Bangla (Bengali) Vice City, which automatically made this game my best GTA game of all time.
Yes, the gaming cafe I used to visit in India had Bengali mods installed on the game, which meant Vice City had Bengali songs playing on the radio and various dubbed dialogues scattered throughout the experience. Looking back, it sounds completely absurd. At the time, however, I thought it was exciting and more relatable.
I had no idea what was official and what was fan-made. If it was on the screen, I assumed Rockstar had intended it to be there. That was the beauty of being a teenager. You never stop to question these things because you are too busy having fun. But the fun was more than just the regional language mods.
Cheat Codes, PANZER Tanks, and Questionable Decisions
Like most kids who played Vice City, I developed an unhealthy relationship with cheat codes. The formula was always the same, just like it is still with GTA 5 cheat codes. Enter a few cheat codes, grab some weapons, raise the wanted level, and see how long I could survive before the city completely turned against me. It was simple entertainment, but somehow it never got old.
My favorite and showstopper was always the PANZER tank. In my teenage mind, the tank was the solution to every problem. If the police were chasing me, I needed a tank. If I were bored, I needed a tank. Teenage me believed every problem could be solved with a PANZER.
Looking back, I spent an alarming amount of time driving that thing through Vice City while pretending I had some brilliant strategy. If I’m honest, I never had a genuine strategy, whether it’s playing the game, or to play the game. Vice City slowly became part of my everyday routine. I even had a favorite computer because my save file was stored on it.
If somebody else was using that machine, it genuinely felt like they had taken over my property. It sounds ridiculous now, but teenage logic is a powerful thing. But you might think, why the addiction, well…
While Everyone Chased Six Stars, I Was Busy Being Tommy Vercetti
Almost everyone who was playing Vice City around me was focused on the freeplay and open-world experience. Even I was at the beginning. But as I dived a little deeper, something else caught me by a chokehold.
Vice City delivered one of the first stories that completely pulled me into the GTA world. Tommy Vercetti was charismatic, ambitious, and constantly finding himself in situations that somehow became worse with every mission. The story felt like a classic crime movie, and I wanted to see every part of it.
It was slowly engulfing me as if I was screaming inside the game, “I am TOMMY VERCETTI, REMEMBER THE NAME!!!” And somehow, I never knew that teenage Vercetti in me would be returning with GTA 6, and well, it did with the arrival of Vice City.
GTA 6 Trailer Woke Up the Fourteen-Year-Old in Me
I expected Rockstar to impress me with their new game. However, I did not expect it to unlock memories I had not thought about in years.
The returning Vice City airport logo immediately caught my attention from the GTA 6 trailer. It was a millisecond of a frame, but it instantly transported me back to those afternoons in the gaming cafe. Suddenly, I could picture the rows of computers, hear my friends arguing in the background, and remember the excitement of loading up my save file for another session.
Then, Rockstar started playing ‘Love Is a Long Road‘ as the track of the first trailer. The song gave me the same feeling that Vice City’s music gave me years ago. Not because the GTA songs are identical, but because they capture the same spirit. They make you want to get behind the wheel and drive with no destination in mind.
The second trailer only strengthened that feeling. Every new screenshot felt like another excuse to zoom in and look for traces of the Vice City I remembered. Even the screenshots Rockstar Games shared to reveal more about the GTA 6 map made me want to look into it further. The neon skyline, the beaches, Ocean Drive, and all the little details scattered throughout Leonida reminded me why I fell in love with Vice City in the first place.
But that hunger of jumping into Vice City unlocked the moment the GTA 6 cover art arrived. Especially, the Cheetah from the cover. I spent countless hours driving that car around the city for absolutely no reason. I simply liked driving it to missions or just listening to the radio while I drove. Seeing a modern version of that iconic car felt like running into an old friend after decades apart.
And if that is not enough, Rockstar Games shared even more shots during the reveal of GTA 6 editions and prices. While at first glance, the Ultimate Edition of Grand Theft Auto 6 seems normal, it was the hidden details. There is a mention of Vercetti Estate, clearly indicating the involvement of Tommy Vercetti in GTA 6.
Not just that. The pre-order bonuses are even crazier. It gives the Vintage Vice City pack, which includes many iconic vehicle skins, customizations, and more, straight from the game I grew up with. And the fact that Rockstar Games uses the theme of the Vice City main menu on the website clearly tells me that they want us (the old schoolers) to hop on. Ohh, that iconic neon Vice City logo.
Vice City Is More Than a Game, GTA 6 Will Be More Than Nostalgia
The funny thing is that GTA 6 is doing two things at once for me. On one hand, it is bringing back memories of crowded gaming cafes, cheat code rampages, power cuts that ruined perfect sessions, and afternoons spent arguing with friends over who was the better Vice City player. Those memories are a huge reason why seeing Vice City in GTA 6 again hits so hard.
But on the other hand, I am genuinely excited about what Rockstar is building. There are many activities in GTA 6 that we have already decoded. For me personally, it will be the story. However, the fact that I will have other things to do while I explore my beloved neon-drenched Vice City is the best gift from Rockstar.
The gaming cafe is gone now. The computers are gone. The save file I guarded like treasure probably disappeared years ago. But for the first time in decades, Rockstar is returning to Vice City again with GTA 6. And I cannot wait to walk back in.
So, when GTA 6 releases, I will be there in my favorite virtual crime city. It is the least I could do for that fourteen-year-old in me. After all, me and the journey of Vice City, we do look hot together!
Ishan Adhikary
