Fans have been waiting forGrand Theft Auto 6for 12 years now, and considering the wait, it’s tempting to replay Rockstar’s pastGrand Theft AutoandRed Dead Redemptiongame to 100% completion. I’ve been grinding on this goal for the past couple of years, and since I’ve now completed it, I can say it’s not worth it.
Some of theGTAgames are brutally hard to 100% complete, and the rewards often don’t match the effort required. A few games are still enjoyable to 100%, but most aren’t very fun and are best played normally.100% completion means reaching 100% on the in-game completion stat. This is not about getting all the trophies/achievements, which would be far worse, asGTA 5has one of thehardest achievements in gaming.
100% Completing The Classic GTA Trilogy Wasn’t That Fun
Feels Like A Job
It took me a whopping 163 hours to 100% the classicGTAtrilogy, withVice Citytaking the shortest amount of time at 36 hours, andSan Andreastaking the longest at 84 hours.These are the games I most recommend skipping when completing the 100% journey. Most of the activities required to 100% complete these games are actual work, as each title has its share of job activities, like Firefighter, Taxi Driver, Vigilante, and the worst of all: Paramedic.
Thankfully, Paramedic was removed fromGTA 4onward.
Paramedic, in particular, takes around 50 minutes to an hour to complete all 12 levels, andif you fail, you must start all over again.GTA 3is the hardest of these games, in part because of the Paramedic job, as the enemies are quite aggressive and will try to pull you out of your vehicle. An enemy once pulled me out of the ambulance on level 12, and I was furious. To boot,GTA 3has the hardest story missions, as there are no checkpoints, and the enemies are the most aggressive in the series.
GTA Vice Citywas pretty easy, butSan Andreastook a lot of time. The export car lists, whichGTA 6should bring back, are the most tedious here, as the export location is incredibly inconvenient. The Chiliad Challenge races can also be quite tricky, and I had to restart them several times. Despite how unenjoyable these games are to 100%,you at least get solid rewards forVice CityandSan Andreas, with unlimited ammo and double vehicle strength. Sadly, you get nothing inGTA 3, andGTA 4doesn’t prove much better in this regard.
All For Nothing
WhileGrand Theft Auto 4is a more enjoyable 100% experience,this game is themost pointless to 100% complete. It took me a total of 48 hours, and there were only a few sticking points when completing the side content. One of them is beating the high score in QUB3D, which can take a few tries if you’re not good at puzzle games, but the worst has to be killing all 200 pigeons. 200 is way too much, and it’s a bore spending hours to kill them all while following a guide.
Surprisingly, the hardest part ofGTA 4is the story itself, as it includes the hardest story missions, which are the most complex but still lack any checkpoints.I actually quit this game at one pointdue to the mission, Pegorino’s Pride, as Pegorino kept dying, forcing me to restart the mission over and over again. The worst part, however, is the 100% completion reward.
All you get for 100% completion is the ability to buy unlimited amounts of ammo. You don’t even get true unlimited ammo for your guns, and the ammo isn’t free. That’s such a useless reward, you might as well turn on cheats to give yourself ammo instead. Thankfully, afterGTA 4, Rockstar improved the 100% experience immensely.
GTA 5’s 100% Was Awesome
Rockstar Finally Made A Game Worth It To 100% Complete
Not only wasGrand Theft Auto 5a significantly better 100% experience, but Rockstar also delivered with the rewards. The 100% completion took me 77 hours, and therequirements were streamlined quite a bit fromGTA 4. You didn’t need to do nearly as many tasks this time around. Engaging with the activities, completing side quests, and even finding all the collectibles were a blast. The only bad part was the final Triathlon, which will really strain your thumbs due to the constant button-mashing.
Sadly, the hold option to run is only available inGTA Online, not inGTA 5.
The best aspect ofGTA 5’s100% journey was the rewards. You unlock an exclusive side quest that’s a great callback toSan Andreas, andcompleting it allows you to do an entire Easter egg questlineending with more Director Mode skins. Awesome UFO Easter eggs now appear in three specific spots as well. Who doesn’t love Easter eggs? Sure, you don’t get unlimited ammo, but more content will always trump a feature like that in my book.Red Dead Redemptionalso improved the 100% journey.
Doing Side Content The Right Way
100% completing the firstRed Dead Redemptionwas short and easy, but the second game proved to be an entirely different story. At 140 hours, 100%ingRed Dead Redemption 2took the longest out of any Rockstar game for me.It’s a lengthy 100% journey, but thankfully, most of it is enjoyable, minus some exceptions. The side missions have to be the most enjoyable and well-written of Rockstar’s games, and the majority of collectibles were easy to find with solid ending cutscenes as a reward.
I was very satisfied after 100% completingRed Dead Redemption 2.
Unfortunately, you also had to find a ton of bird plumes, which were a pain to mass-collect, and spottingrare three-star animalsfor hunting requests can also seem like pure luck.Studying and skinning every animal isn’t required for 100% completion, thankfully, but it will net you separate achievements/trophies.
Those achievements are a nightmare, so I would suggest you avoid them. Most of the challenges were fun, althoughGambler 9 is particularly brutal, and it’s essential to read up on it beforehand, as there are a few key tricks. I was very satisfied after 100% completingRed Dead Redemption 2, and I wish I had stopped there, as going for all the animal-related achievements ruined my experience a bit.
Before 2025, I had already 100% completedGTA 4,5, andRed Dead 1and2, with only the originalGTAtrilogy left to finish. Frankly, 100%ing the classic games and evenGTA 4isn’t worth the time and effort. It’s not a fun experience, and you’re best off simply completing the story. If you want to 100% complete Rockstar games beforeGTA 6, just go forGTA 5andRed Dead Redemption 2, not the olderGrand Theft Autotitles.
