Did you have a problem with the GTA V characters?

[Jack Joe Tip Toe]

I personally didn't have a problem with them. The only complaint i have is that they could have inconsistent behavior at times. But I see most people complain about how the characters are dicks. But how else would the game work? You can make them good guys in the story, but what happens during gameplay? It wouldn't work with a "nice" character. When you're robbing banks and slaughtering cops in missions it's hard to make them seem like anything other than dicks. And as for them not learning their lesson in the end, that would also fuck with the relationship with gameplay. When you finish the game you'll probably do side activities and slaughter old ladies in between. I don't think a nice character would work at all in a GTA game. It's gameplay would destroy that nice guy character.

 

[Zhukov]

Well, I found them pretty boring.

Franklin especially was just kinda... there. "I like money. I will now commit crimes for money. I am pretty fucking dull."

I can see the inconsistency thing as well, although it never bothered me that much while playing.

Trevor was good to begin with. I liked that he was actually kind of frightening, instead of just being violent. Unfortunately they overdid his aggression, so he ends up just being cartoonish. A silly character can never be frightening, no matter how many people they kill.

 

[Corven]

My only problem with the games characters is that I don't think Franklin really needed to be there at all, I mean as soon as Trevor was included into the story Franklin's relevance evaporated as the game pretty much became solely about Michael and Trevor's conflict between each other.

 

[Jack Joe Tip Toe]

Well, I found them pretty boring.

I can see the inconsistency thing as well, although it never bothered me that much while playing.

Trevor was good to begin with. I liked that he was actually kind of frightening, instead of just being violent. Unfortunately they overdid his aggression, so he end ends up just being cartoonish. A silly character can never be frightening, no matter how many people they kill.

I didn't find Trevor frightening either. But he was the most entertaining out of the bunch. Michael at a close second. And Franklin at a distant third.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

I don't think a nice character would work at all in a GTA game. It's gameplay would destroy that nice guy character.

EXACTLY! And I have to laugh at the people who try to paint previous characters like Necko as a good guy. I'm pretty sure that Niko took part in the Serb forces that committed genocide against Bosnian Muslims and Croatian, so it's amusing that people want to completely condemn Trevor but give excuses for Niko.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

People keep talking about how inconsistent Michael is, and that said inconsistency makes him a bad character, and I rather disagree, it doesn't make him a bad character, it makes him human. As Yahtzee put it "Michael's eventual goal is to strike it rich through crime and then retire happily in luxury, forgetting that this is precisely what he already did, and apparently it didn't stick" and that supposedly makes him a bad character.

Now I completely disagree with that statement. Think about it this way, all our lives we are bombarded by the idea that rich people are happy and that money makes your life better. Michael has spent his entire life focused on this message, and has done whatever he can to get as much money as he can so that he can retire in luxury and be happy. When that doesn't work Michael can do one of two things, he can reassess his life and learn the lesson that money isn't what makes people happy, and that being rich doesn't mean anything if everyone you know despises you, or he can decide that the reason he isn't happy is just because he hasn't gotten enough money to be happy like all the other rich people. It's extremely human for him to just take the path of least resistance and try to make more money rather than attempt to change the thought process he's spent his entire life developing. This inconsistency is exactly what makes his character believable, because people are driven by emotion just as much as they are logic and rationality, and the fact that Michael isn't acting in a rational manner makes him seem that much more human for it.

To be honest, this is kind of the same problem that I had with Yahtzee's review of The Last of Us, specifically when he talks about the ending, and the fact that he didn't like that it boiled down to Joel saying "fuck you, got mine." The thing is, that character and ending is also very human. Joel doesn't act in a logical manner, he acts in an extremely selfish way, contrary to what's good for the world, and contrary to Ellie's wishes, but his character is made all the more human for it. The fact that he doesn't just hand Ellie over, that he fights to keep her, makes him a more realistic and well written character than just some automaton that doesn't care about anything other than the commands he's given and doesn't question anything (like 90% of all other protagonists in video games).

Real people don't make sense. They're illogical, inconsistent, selfish, and that's what makes them human. When these elements are included in a character it doesn't make them a worse character, it makes them a more realistic one.

 

[Bonk4licious]

The big deal for me is that there was never any real development done with the characters. I think all the interesting character development happened within five minutes of being introduced to each character; we learn Franklin wants more but doesn't have the ambition for anything other than crime, we learn that Michael made it in life but still isn't happy and wants more, and we learn Trevor did not take his life circumstances well, but created a new life to replace his old one, while seemly going absolutely mad.

From there, Franklin continues emulating a less ambitious John Marston in the lifestyle he said he wanted, Trevor rejects and covers his old life and works towards the new, and Michael actually gets a bit of development losing his family, realizing what's really important, earning it back, and finishing what he started so long ago.

I think the story really revolved around Michael balancing a new and old lifestyle, as Franklin didn't do anything other than make more money through the entire game, and Trevor just tried to focus on his new life and get rid of his old life. Franklin's problem was that his character never took any action, never DID anything, and his story suffered for it. Trevor's story just didn't really go anywhere, seeing as his main problem was that he went around killing people that he labeled as enemies, and to solve this, he kills more people with the gang and calls it a day with his money, that he had a business for and didn't need [or express want for] anyway.

Overall, the gameplay is what really took the show, and I feel more like the gameplay controlled the story than the opposite, seeing as the game made a new excuse to hijack a different kind of vehicle every mission, and no two missions felt similar even if the long term objective was the same. So I think the big problem for story is that the atmosphere and gameplay took control of the script and didn't worry about the rest too much. But it's not like I can really complain, the cutscenes were just lengthy intros to ridiculously fun levels, so I put less thought during the game on that than I normally would have with other stock titles.

 

[mokes310]

Trevor = My favorite video game character thus far.

Michael = A bit too stereotypical, but someone I quite enjoyed nevertheless.

Franklin = CJ 2.0

All that being said, I did enjoy the disparity between all of the characters. I wish there would have been a little bit more of a difference in some of the skills, most notably driving, ask it didn't matter who I had, I still drove about the same.

 

[Jack Joe Tip Toe]

The big deal for me is that there was never any real development done with the characters. I think all the interesting character development happened within five minutes of being introduced to each character; we learn Franklin wants more but doesn't have the ambition for anything other than crime, we learn that Michael made it in life but still isn't happy and wants more, and we learn Trevor did not take his life circumstances well, but created a new life to replace his old one, while seemly going absolutely mad.

From there, Franklin continues emulating a less ambitious John Marston in the lifestyle he said he wanted, Trevor rejects and covers his old life and works towards the new, and Michael actually gets a bit of development losing his family, realizing what's really important, earning it back, and finishing what he started so long ago.

I think the story really revolved around Michael balancing a new and old lifestyle, as Franklin didn't do anything other than make more money through the entire game, and Trevor just tried to focus on his new life and get rid of his old life. Franklin's problem was that his character never took any action, never DID anything, and his story suffered for it. Trevor's story just didn't really go anywhere, seeing as his main problem was that he went around killing people that he labeled as enemies, and to solve this, he kills more people with the gang and calls it a day with his money, that he had a business for and didn't need [or express want for] anyway.

Overall, the gameplay is what really took the show, and I feel more like the gameplay controlled the story than the opposite, seeing as the game made a new excuse to hijack a different kind of vehicle every mission, and no two missions felt similar even if the long term objective was the same. So I think the big problem for story is that the atmosphere and gameplay took control of the script and didn't worry about the rest too much. But it's not like I can really complain, the cutscenes were just lengthy intros to ridiculously fun levels, so I put less thought during the game on that than I normally would have with other stock titles.

I think the gameplay is the best in a GTA yet. And Michael was the only character I thought that had some kind of development. Franklin had little to none. Trevor had none. And the mission were extremly fun. Even if there weren't that many this time around. But at least it's not 81 missions of "go here shoot that"

 

[Casual Shinji]

The biggest problem I have is that there's no conclusion to any of their stories. I don't mind them being dicks, but they're the exact same dicks by the end of the game with no change in their personality, whether for good or bad. There's no reason for me to return to the game for the characters without already getting my fill of them within the first 10 minutes.

Other than that, Trevor works as a rogue element, but as a playable character he quickly falls apart.

 

[Roofstone]

Personally I have to disagree with the people above me. Michael had a lot of growth, just look at his family situation. Or how at the end (Ending A and C) he has a job! A real job! Sort of..

And I liked all the characters. Michael is great fun and has a personality I really like, even with the anger issues.

Franklin, while he lacks a bit of emotions, I still quite like him.

Trevor.. Trevor is filthy, evil, discusting and a degenerate. I love him, he is the perfect human.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I found all of them to be compelling enough.

Michael is a bit underhanded, but he looks out for his friends when he can.

Franklin is trying to make something of himself, he's loyal.

Trevor is a psychopath, but has values (he despises racism and apologists).

 

[stroopwafel]

I think all the characters in GTA5 were interesting in one way or another, even if I didn't particularly like any of them. But that was probably never the point anyway. There was a sense of consistency in GTA5 between narrative and gameplay that was often lacking in the previous games. The characters were authentic enough to make me believe they would actually live in a place like Los Santos. True products of their environment and raging impulses if you will. All characters had an internal rationalization for what they did which was sufficiently communicated throughout the game. Like Michael's indecisiveness of what he wanted to do with his life after he attained wealth yet remained unsatisfied. I don't think Michael necessarily returned to crime for money as he was more or less dragged back into it by his past, only acknowledging he missed the thrill of it in his current life. But it was more or less the extortion of the FIB that made Michael a criminal errand boy. A position he tried to wrestle away from at every opportunity.

The other characters are well developed as well. Trevor is somewhat of an enigma whose moral compass seem to oscilate between nihilism and misantrophy. Yet there is an intelligent wit in his dialogue that makes this character almost seem like a self-aware commentary on much of the excess and hypocrisy that happens in the real world. The 'torture scene' for example was a brilliant critique on a nefarious method to obtain information which in the end is useless anyway. Simply b/c torture can't compensate for sloppy guess work from government operatives or prevent a totally innocent person from confessing anything when exposed to enough pain. The cynicism when Trevor drives that dude to the airport says it all basically. And then, among things, there is also the survivalist nutjob and crazy civilian border patrol Trevor encounters.

Franklin is much the next-generation that tries to escape his dead-end friends and make a life for himself through the 'opportunities' given to him by a career criminal such as Michael. Their relation is an interesting one. Franklin is the protagonist with the least thematic depth but his dialogue with and place among the other characters make him a relevant one.

I consider not so much the story but rather the characters and the situations they face exemplary of truly excellent writing. I found them interesting and intriguing without really liking any of them, which just shows how well developed they were.

 

[lionsprey]

The only problem i had with the characters was that Trevor felt weird in his killing of people.
one minute he's killing people just couse they pissed him off the other he's taking orders like a lapdog.

 

[erbkaiser]

I liked Michael. Basically a good guy, just with issues. And he is taking steps with them.

Franklin is your generic gangbanger. If Michael hadn't adopted him, he'd likely end up shot by the Ballas at one point. Still might actually, he seems self destructive. Other than that he is too bland a character for me.

Trevor is a monster. I didn't mind him offing Johnny K. or any of the others he kills in missions, but as the game progresses you learn he is apparently a cannibal as well, and I definitely didn't want to play with him any longer after he moved out of Floyd's place. If you played the game you know what I mean.
On the plus side, according to a line of late dialogue he basically slaughtered Wade's buddies, which given that Wade seems to be an ICP fan and they were juggalos as well, is a good deed for humanity.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Yeah, they were all boring as shit. Trevor had a chance of being interesting but then he turned into clown car levels of silly, and that ruined it.

 

[Smeatza]

As characters Michael and Trevor are interesting and a lot of fun. Franklin is okay.
It's their stories that are a bit crap.

 

[EternallyBored]

As characters Michael and Trevor are interesting and a lot of fun. Franklin is okay.
It's their stories that are a bit crap.

That's about how I would sum up my opinion, I've been thinking about why I loved their characters but found the overall GTA V story to be lukewarm.

Michael, Trevor, and Franklin are well written, insofar as they have really snappy lines, hilarious dialogue, and their interactions with each other and other characters are also entertaining. It's just the actual story arc of the game that doesn't do anything for me. As Yahtzee stated, they don't seem to have any consistent motivations, and the motivations they do show will change at the drop of the hat to suit the scene. Admittedly, this is probably partially because the game tries to focus on all 3 characters, it just doesn't spend a ton of time developing any of them, so we're left with something closer to a 3 stooges movie, with the 3 main character only serving to set up the comedy in each individual scene, rather than trying to weave everything together into an interesting whole.

Franklin is basically CJ without the gang loyalty, and spends the whole game wrestling with that tired old cliche of, "I want to make something of myself, but I'm trapped in the hood". We see Franklin get money and basically get out of the hood, but nobody else, least of all Franklin, really reacts to this. He gets his new place and new life, and all we get in reaction to it is a text message from his aunt and a call from Lamar, if Franklin had been the only character we would have gotten a few missions where we see Franklin struggling with trying to cut his old connections and maintaining his new ones. As it exists now all we get is one scene where the old flame we've never seen until she shows up to have us rescue Lamar, and that's it one mission and Franklin has one conversation about choosing between his dreams of wealth and his homies (which is pretty much only Lamar). The ending fleshes him out a bit more, but his overall motivations and character seem to change depending on what ending you pick.

Michael seems to have the most character development, but even then it gets truncated so we can focus more on Franklin and Trevor. The arc with his family leaving and coming back is probably the most interesting bit of story, beyond the massive chunk of the game where your just doing different errands for various douchebags. Even then though, michael loses his family and gains them back over the course of 2 missions, he also gets them back seemingly just so they can be threatened and provide the motivation for two of the ending choices. His fallout with Trevor is also pretty shallow, after he's rescued, Michael and Trevor just seem to whine at each other, although this is partially due to Trevor's wildly inconsistent character.

Trevor himself is hilarious, but his scenes and story are 90% pointless. Just when it looks like we might get some legitimate confrontation between him and Michael, they immediately go to making snarky comments to each other, so they can get their big job out of the way and usher in the abrupt ending. The game spends too long just having you do random missions for the FIB and the billionaire douche, by the time the story decides to move anywhere, its got to do it for 3 different characters, and it just doesn't have the time to make any of the 3 of them anything beyond characters for an individual scene rather than the story as a whole.