The following is a list of secrets, easter eggs, and hidden trivia references in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.
General[]
Image | Description |
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Cement Shoes Off the shore of Leaf Links near the Downtown area, the player can find two separate fat men wearing cement shoes at the bottom of the sea. | |
Easter Egg In Downtown Vice City, near the Vice City News building, there is a window on a building where the player can jump through and find the "Easter Egg Room", which is a brown Easter egg on top of a pedestal. | |
Steve Mulholland's Grave In the window of Funeraria Romero, there is a grave stone which reads "Steven Mulholland R.i.P", a reference to Rockstar North map artist Steven Mulholland. This also features in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. | |
Submarine A submarine can be seen in the water off the north coast of North Point Mall. |
Gaming References[]
Rockstar[]
Image | Description |
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Airplanes The tailfins of some airplanes have the Rockstar logo. | |
Gravestones In Funeraria Romero, there are numerous gravestones and pictures with the Rockstar logo on them. | |
Sewer Graffiti In Little Haiti, there is a sewer system which, on the walls, shows the Rockstar logo several times. | |
Store Located in Ocean Beach, there is a shop called Rockster Video Games. The name is an obvious reference to Rockstar Games. It also includes artwork of 8-ball and various GTA characters. | |
Swimming Pool A pool shaped like the Rockstar Games logo can be seen on Starfish Island. |
Previous GTA Games[]
Characters[]
Image | Description |
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Claude In Tommy Vercetti's room at the Ocean View Hotel, there is a poster featuring Grand Theft Auto III protagonist Claude. |
Other[]
Image | Description |
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Loading Screen Music The Commodore 64 is referenced in the Rockstar North loading screen. Not only this, but the music in the background is the Grand Theft Auto theme song, Joyride, by Da Shootaz. It is remixed to sound like that of the Commodore 64. | |
Mission Instructions Avery Carrington's instructions to Tommy Vercetti during the mission "Two Bit Hit" are almost exactly the same as those given by Donald Love to Claude during the mission "Waka-Gashira Wipeout!" in GTA III. Carrington instructs Love to write down what he is saying to Tommy: "Now, nothing brings down real estate prices quicker than a good old-fashioned gang war - 'cept maybe a disaster, like a biblical plague or something, but, that may be going too far in this case". Love, in GTA III, states "Nothing drives down real estate prices like a good old fashioned gang war, apart from the outbreak of a plague, but that might going too far in this case". |
Other Games[]
Image | Description |
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Driver Dick Tanner, from the mission "Autocide", is a reference to Tanner of the Driver series. | |
The Getaway Marcus Hammond, Franco Carter and Charlie Dilson, also from the mission "Autocide", are references to Mark Hammond, Frank Carter and Charlie Jolson from The Getaway. | |
True Crime: Streets of L.A. Nick Kong is a reference to Nick Kang from True Crime: Streets of L.A.. |
Real-World References[]
Image | Description |
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Bloody Apartment Inside Apartment 3c, a large amount of blood and a chainsaw can be found inside the bathroom, an obvious reference to the famous crime movie Scarface. | |
Fake Moon Landing In the film studio, in one of the recording rooms, is a remake of the lunar lander. This is a reference to the conspiracy that the Lunar landing was filmed on Earth, and thus faked. | |
Indiana's Plane The Skimmer plane is similar to a seaplane used in the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. During the mission "Dildo Dodo", it is mentioned that the seaplane was used in "some old indie movie". | |
Mobsters Portraits of Frank Sinatra, Bruno Hauptmann and the Mafia are kept at Saint Mark's Bistro, with copies of the real life newspaper Daily News. | |
Pablo Escobar The Escobar International Airport is named after Pablo Escobar, the real life Tony Montana and probably the biggest drug lord at his time. At the peak of his career, he was smuggling around fifteen tons of cocaine into the United States per day. | |
Vera Stretz In the Definitive Edition, a framed newspaper referencing the 1936 trial of Vera Stretz can be seen on the wall behind Sonny Forelli in the opening cutscene inside Marco's Bistro. |
Characters[]
Image | Description |
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Alex Shrub Alex Shrub may be based on former American president George H. W. Bush and former Florida governor Jeb Bush. A shrub and a bush are both plants, whilst the nickname "Shrub" was given to George W Bush by author Molly Ivins. Shrub's voice is also similar to that of George H. W. Bush. | |
BJ Smith BJ Smith's name is similar to that of OJ Simpson, and they are both former American football players. | |
Gonzalez Gonzalez may be based on Nick the Pig from Scarface. | |
Hilary King Hilary King may be based on Neil McCauley from the film Heat, as both are involved in the criminal underworld and both live a solitary existence that forbids attachment and stresses mobility. | |
Jimmy Jimmy, an actor appearing in "Just the Five of Us", may be based on Gary Coleman and Emmanuel Lewis, both of whom look much younger than their actual age. | |
Ken Rosenberg Ken Rosenberg is likely based on David Kleinfeld from the film Carlito's Way. The two characters have a similar appearance and both are rendered increasingly paranoid and incoherent due to their cocaine addictions. The offices of both characters are also almost identical. | |
Ronald Reagan If the player has an RPG, they can go to the Ammu-Nation in Downtown Vice City and stand on the helmets on the counter, aim the RPG to the street, and turn the RPG around so it's facing the wall. A picture of Ronald Reagan shooting a picture of Mikhail Gorbachev will be visible. | |
Sonny Forelli Sonny Forelli's temper is similar to that of Santino "Sonny" Corleone from The Godfather trilogy. Corleone has the idea of becoming involved in the heroin trade, whilst Forelli has the idea of becoming involved in the drugs trade in Vice City. | |
Steve Scott Steve Scott is a parody of Steven Spielberg, as are the films he directs at the InterGlobal Studios lot. | |
Tommy Vercetti Tommy Vercetti is heavily based on Tony Montana from the film Scarface; the two both end up in exile, both rise to power in Miami using great amounts of violence, both build an empire from a large estate and mansion, both have short tempers and are prone to violence, both work as contract killers, and both killed their collaborators and took their ex-bosses' empires, and both engage in a battle with large groups of assassins at the end of their stories. However, Tommy survives his final gunfight with his enemies, while Tony is killed. The appearance of Tommy Vercetti is likely based on Mr. Blond from the film Reservoir Dogs. The two characters also share the fact that they both spent time in prison for their bosses. | |
Umberto Robina Umberto Robina's appearance may be based on his voice artist, Danny Trejo. |
Missions[]
Image | Description |
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Hog Tied Mitch Baker, leader of the Vice City Bikers, agrees to provide security for the Love Fist concert in Vice City during the mission "Hog Tied". This is a reference to the Hells Angels providing security at the Altamont Speedway Free Concert, which was headlined by The Rolling Stones. | |
Keep Your Friends Close... The events of "Keep Your Friends Close..." is similar to the ending of Scarface, involving a shootout in the protagonists mansion, although Tommy Vercetti survives the shootout, while Tony Montana is killed. | |
Publicity Tour The mission "Publicity Tour", where Tommy Vercetti drives a limousine whilst Love Fist deactivates a bomb in the back, is based on the film Speed where Officer Jack Traven is forced to drive a bus at over 50 mph to stop a bomb from detonating. | |
The Job The death of Hilary King and possible death of Cam Jones during "The Job" may be a reference to the film Heat, in which a shootout with police results in the deaths of Michael Cheritto and Donald Breedan. |
Adult Humor[]
Image | Description |
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Cherry Poppers On the roof of the Cherry Popper Ice Cream Factory and its vehicles, there are two dome-shaped scoops of ice cream topped with cherries, which resemble breasts. Also, the name cherry poppers is a slang term for the loss of virginity of a woman. | |
Female Figure Pool Located on Starfish Island, a pool can be seen in the shape of a female body. | |
Genitalia Lights Between 23:00 and 00:00, a pattern of lights can be seen on the Vice Point Langer building. When viewed from certain perspectives, the pattern resembles a penis. Every 15 in-game minutes during this time, a fountain on the top of the building is activated to give the impression the penis is ejaculating. |
Others[]
Image | Description |
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Adult Videos The film Bite, starring Candy Suxxx, is a parody of the film Jaws series. The film Closer Encounters, starring Candy Suxxx, is a parody of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. | |
Hidden Songs The song "Freaks Come Out at Night" by Whodini is played in the background during the mission "The Job", although it does not appear on any of the game's radio stations. The song does, however, appear on Fresh FM in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. On the original PS2 version, the song "In a Big Country" by Big Country is played during the opening cutscene of "The Driver", which doesn't feature on the game's soundtrack. In later versions, the song is replaced by "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, which is played on Wildstyle. The song "Burnin' for You" by Blue Oyster Cult is played in the background during the mission "Boomshine Saigon", although it does not appear on any of the game's radio stations. | |
Vercetti Estate The interior of Ricardo Diaz' mansion, later taken by Tommy Vercetti after the mission Rub Out, is similar in appearance to the mansion owned by Tony Montana from Scarface. |