Mike

Updated 29 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

Mike is the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto Advance, released for the Game Boy Advance in October 2004. A small-time criminal in Liberty City, he sets out for revenge after his partner Vinnie appears to die in a car bombing. The game is set in 2000, one year before GTA III, and ends with Mike fleeing the country.

Who is the main character in GTA Advance?

The lead of Grand Theft Auto Advance is a man called Mike. The game was developed by Digital Eclipse and published by Rockstar Games for the Game Boy Advance. According to Wikipedia, it came out in North America on 26 October 2004 and in Europe on 29 October 2004, the same week as San Andreas.

Mike is a small-time crook. The GTA Wiki says he grew up homeless in Liberty City and was taken under the wing of Vinnie, who became his partner, best friend and something of a mentor. He is not to be confused with the far better known Michael De Santa of GTA V.

When is GTA Advance set?

Wikipedia places the game in 2000, one year before Grand Theft Auto III, which makes it a prequel set in the same city.

What happens in the story?

Mike and Vinnie plan to leave Liberty City with the money they have saved. Before they can, Vinnie seems to be killed by a car bomb that also destroys their cash. Mike swears to find whoever did it.

He starts with 8-Ball, an explosives expert who knew Vinnie and agrees to help in return for work. That leads him to Jonnie, a bartender with criminal contacts, who is murdered while Mike is away on an errand. The trail then points to King Courtney, boss of the Uptown Yardies, who tells Mike that the Colombian Cartel leader Cisco is behind it all.

When Mike goes after Cisco, he realises Cisco is innocent and that Courtney has been using him. He ends up working for Cisco and, as part of that, kidnaps Yuka, the niece of Yakuza boss Asuka Kasen. Asuka in turn hires Mike to get Yuka back, without knowing he took her. Cisco is then murdered, apparently because he got too close to the truth.

Who killed Vinnie in GTA Advance?

Nobody did. Mike catches Cisco's killer and finds that it is Vinnie himself. As both Wikipedia and the GTA Wiki explain, Vinnie had faked his own death so he could keep the money, and he had killed Jonnie and Cisco to cover his tracks. Mike shoots him, and Vinnie dies.

The fallout is messy. The Cartel and the Yardies both turn on Mike, and the GTA Wiki notes that 8-Ball is arrested in a police raid. Mike attacks Courtney's base, the Yakuza fail to back him up and the police arrive. He escapes on Cisco's private jet and finally leaves Liberty City. Wikipedia says he heads to Colombia to start a new life.

Which GTA III characters appear in GTA Advance?

Wikipedia lists three characters who appear in both games: 8-Ball, King Courtney and Asuka Kasen. All three are figures Claude deals with in GTA III, where Asuka leads the Yakuza. Advance shows them a year earlier, with some differences.

Reception

According to Wikipedia, GTA Advance has a Metacritic score of 68, which the site rates as mixed or average. IGN gave it 8.5 out of 10 and GameSpot 6.5. Mike himself never returned, which makes him one of the least known leads in the series.