Claude Speed doesn’t say a word. He just nods, takes a pager message, and starts driving. That’s the vibe of Liberty City. If you’re looking for a list of missions in GTA 3, you’re likely trying to figure out how far you are from the credits or why that one paramedic mission is ruining your life. It's a short game by modern standards—about 77 story missions in total—but every one of them feels like a fight for survival because the controls are, let’s be honest, kinda janky now.
Liberty City is split into three distinct islands: Portland, Staunton Island, and Shoreside Vale. You can't just cross the bridge whenever you want. You have to earn it. Back in 2001, DMA Design (now Rockstar North) didn't have the "checkpoints" we take for granted today. You fail? You drive back. You die? You lose your guns. It was mean. It was gritty. It changed everything.
The Portland Chapter: Dirty Streets and Industrial Grime
Portland is where the nightmare begins. You start with the mission "Give Me Liberty," which is basically just a tutorial on how to drive a car without hitting a wall. From there, you meet Luigi Goterelli. Luigi is low-level. He wants you to pick up girls or beat up pimps. It’s simple stuff.
Then you move up to Joey Leone. Joey is a mechanic who spends all day under a car. His missions, like "Mike Lips Last Lunch," introduce you to the concept of car bombs. You have to take a car, rig it, and park it back perfectly. If you scratch it? Too bad. Go fix it at the Pay 'n' Spray. The tension in these early missions comes from the timer and the fragile car physics.
The real meat of Portland is Salvatore Leone. He’s the Don. He’s paranoid. His missions, culminating in "Last Requests," are iconic. But before you get there, you have to deal with "Sayonara Salvatore," which actually happens once you move to the second island. The transition is brutal. Once you betray the Leones, every Mafia member in Saint Mark’s will shoot at you with shotguns on sight. This makes finishing side activities in Portland nearly impossible later on. Do your hidden packages early. Seriously.
Every Story Mission in Portland
- Give Me Liberty (The escape)
- Luigi's Girls
- Don't Spank Ma Bitch Up
- Drive Misty For Me
- Pump-Action Pimp
- The Fuzz Ball
- Mike Lips Last Lunch
- Farewell 'Chunky' Lee Chong
- Van Heist (The first big armored car job)
- Cipriani's Chauffeur
- Dead Skunk in the Trunk
- The Getaway
- Taking Out the Laundry (War with the Triads begins)
- The Pick-Up
- Salvatore's Called A Meeting
- Chaperone
- Triads and Tribulations
- Blow Fish
- Cutting the Grass
- Bomb Da Base: Act I
- Bomb Da Base: Act II (The sniper mission that everyone remembers)
- Last Requests (The big betrayal)
The Triad war is a huge part of the list of missions in GTA 3. You aren't just a freelancer; you are actively dismantling a gang. When you blow up the fish factory in "Blow Fish," you feel the weight of it. Portland feels lived-in and disgusting. It’s perfect.
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Staunton Island: The Corporate Jungle
Staunton is where the scale expands. Suddenly, you aren't in the slums anymore. You’re working for Asuka Kasen and the Yakuza. The missions here get weirder and more political. You meet Donald Love, a media mogul who is probably a cannibal. He asks you to do things like "Grand Theft Auto," where you have to steal three specific sports cars in a very tight time limit.
Staunton Island also introduces Ray Machowski. He’s a corrupt cop hiding in a bathroom. His missions are some of the hardest in the game. "Arms Shortage" requires you to defend a one-armed veteran named Phil Cassidy from a literal army of Cartel members. You get access to the Rhino tank later through Phil, but at this point, you're just trying to survive with an M16.
The list of missions in GTA 3 on Staunton Island includes:
- Sayonara Salvatore (Killing your old boss)
- Under Vigilance
- Paparazzi Purge
- Payday For Ray
- Two-Faced Tanner (A cheeky dig at the game Driver)
- Kanbu Bust-out
- Grand Theft Auto
- Deal Steal
- Shima
- Smack Down
- Silence The Sneak
- Evidence Dash
- Gone Fishing
- Liberator
- Waka-Gashira Wipeout
- A Drop In The Ocean
"A Drop In The Ocean" is a nightmare. You're in a boat, picking up packages dropped from a plane, while the police are swarming you in their own boats. The water physics in GTA 3 are heavy. The boat handles like a bathtub. If you miss a package, turning around takes an eternity while the FBI is shredding your hull with SMGs.
Shoreside Vale: The Final Stretch
Shoreside Vale is the suburbs, but don't let the trees fool you. It’s the most dangerous part of the map. The elevation changes make driving a Cheetah or an Infernus a death sentence because you’ll catch air, flip, and explode.
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The missions here are few but intense. Catalina, your ex-girlfriend who shot you in the opening cutscene, is the main antagonist. You work for Donald Love until he literally vanishes into thin air—one of the strangest "unresolved" plot points in gaming history. Then you’re back with the Yakuza until the final showdown.
The Shoreside Vale Missions:
- Markedman
- Grand Theft Aero
- Escort Service
- Decoy
- Love's Disappearance (Just a cutscene, really)
- Bait
- Espresso-2-Go!
- S.A.M.
- Ransom
- The Exchange (The finale)
"Espresso-2-Go!" is widely considered the most hated mission in the entire list of missions in GTA 3. You have to destroy nine coffee stalls scattered across all three islands. There is a timer. The stalls aren't on your map until you get close to them. It forces you to memorize the layout of the entire city or use a map from a strategy guide. It’s a test of patience. It’s also where many players just give up.
The Side Stuff: Why 100% Completion is a Myth for Most
If you just look at the story, you're missing half the game. GTA 3 is packed with "off-mission" content that is arguably harder than the main plot.
- Phone Missions: There are payphones scattered around (Marty Chonks, El Burro, King Courtney, D-Ice). These aren't required for the story, but they are required for that 100% stat.
- Vehicle Challenges: Patriot Playground, A Ride in the Park, Multi-Storey Mayhem. These are checkpoint races that require precise driving.
- Emergency Services: Paramedic (Level 12), Firefighter, Vigilante, and Taxi Driver. Doing the Paramedic mission in Portland early is the "pro move" because you get infinite sprint. Doing it after the Mafia hates you? Impossible.
The Problem with the Definitive Edition
If you're playing the 2021 "Definitive Edition," the list of missions in GTA 3 remains the same, but the "vibe" is different. The rain used to be a thick gray curtain that hid the technical limitations of the PS2. Now it's clearer, which actually makes the world feel smaller. However, the addition of a weapon wheel and "Restart Mission" button makes the brutal difficulty of the original much more manageable. Honestly, purists hate it, but for a casual run, being able to restart a mission without driving back to the quest giver is a godsend.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
The final mission, "The Exchange," requires $500,000. Many players get to the end and realize they've spent all their cash on ammo and armor. You have to go grind taxi missions or find hidden packages just to see the credits roll. It’s a very "old school" gatekeeping mechanic.
When Claude finally kills Catalina and the screen fades to black, you hear a gunshot during the news report. For years, fans argued about what that shot meant. Did Claude kill Maria to shut her up? Rockstar later confirmed in a Q&A that, yeah, Claude just wanted some peace and quiet. He isn't a hero. He’s a guy who gets the job done and wants to be left alone.
How to Handle the Missions Effectively
If you're starting a fresh save, follow this order. It'll save you hours of frustration.
- Do Paramedic Level 12 immediately. Go to the hospital in Portland. Don't touch a single story mission yet. Get that infinite sprint. It is the most valuable upgrade in the game.
- Collect the Hidden Packages. There are 100. Every 10 packages, a new weapon spawns at your safehouse. By 70 packages, you have a rocket launcher waiting for you every time you wake up.
- Finish Portland side missions before "Last Requests." Once you kill the Triad leaders or cross the Leones, Portland becomes a war zone. You cannot drive a taxi through Saint Mark’s without getting blown up.
- Use the Rhino for Vigilante missions. It makes getting the "bribe" pickups at your safehouse trivial.
GTA 3 doesn't hold your hand. It's a relic of a time when games were meant to be mastered, not just experienced. The list of missions in GTA 3 is a gauntlet. It's frustrating, the physics are weird, and the voice acting is delightfully campy. But there’s a reason we’re still talking about it 25 years later. It’s the blueprint.
Next Steps for Players:
If you're stuck on "Espresso-2-Go!", stop driving aimlessly. Start in Shoreside Vale, hit the two stalls there, then move to Staunton, and finish in Portland. Use a bulletproof Patriot if you saved one from Ray’s missions; it'll keep you from being pulled out of the car by gang members. Once you clear the story, check your stats page—if you aren't at 100%, look for the "Toyminator" RC van missions, as they are easily missed.