Grand Theft Auto III - The Definitive Edition Achievement Guide & Road Map

Grand Theft Auto III - The Definitive Edition
Grand Theft Auto III - The Definitive Edition Achievement Guide

Overview:
- Estimated achievement difficulty: 4/10 [Achievement Difficulty Rating]
- Offline: 28 [1000]
- Online: 0
- Approximate amount of time to 1000

: 30 hours [Estimated Time to 100%]
- Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 1
- Missable achievements: 5: Without a Scratch (40G), Mob Boss (45G), Planned Ahead (40G), Got This Figured Out (45G), Is That All You've Got? (100G)
- Do cheats disable achievements: Yes
- Unobtainable/glitched achievements: Wreckless Driving (25G)

For questions, comments or feedback, please visit the Achievements and Guide Discussion thread

Introduction:
Welcome to Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition, a remaster of the classic game from 2001. Whilst some elements of the game haven’t aged too well, and with resources of a company of Rockstar's size, they could arguably have made a much better “Definitive Edition.” The game has been updated in several regards, making it a good playthough whether you are returning to it or are a new player and want to see where GTA started in the 3D universe.

It's worth noting there are several missable achievements, including the 100% one, so be sure to read the guide early on as you may end up having to replay the whole game again if you miss something.

Also to note is that cheats disable achievements so can’t be used.

Abbreviated Walkthrough:
There are three Islands in the game that become available as you progress through the main story. Once you get to a new island including the one you start on you’ll want to do all the miscellaneous tasks first. This includes:

Collecting all the hidden packages
Doing all the unique stunts
Rampages
Firefighter and Vigilante missions
RC car and Off-Road missions

Once you’ve done them for an island focus on the missions, making sure you complete them in the right order as doing some missions will make others locked and hence lock the 100% achievement. See Is That All You've Got? (100G) for more information.

Mop-Up:
Assuming you’ve gone for the 100% you should have the rest of the achievements. If you are missing some check the guide for details. Worth noting that all the missable story achievements can be earned early on so shouldn’t take too long to get to if you’ve missed one.

Conclusion:
A great game and one all fans of GTA should play even if it's not the best remaster. None of the achievements should prove too difficult especially if everything is done in the right order. I certainly recommend playing this before Vice City and San Andreas so you can see the progress made between the three of them.

Thanks to Gtamen and GTA Series Videos for some of the video guides.

[XBA would like to thank Caramel Cardinal for this Roadmap]

First Day on the Job

15
Complete "Luigi's Girls".
(1)
*Story related and can’t be missed

Simply complete the second mission in the game.
Escape Artist

25
Use 20 police bribes.
(1)
This will likely come naturally as you progress through the game. Police bribes are scattered throughout Liberty City: whenever you have a wanted level just go through one and it will lower it by one star.

You can also get police bribes to appear outside your safehouse by killing 20 criminals on each island during the vigilante mission. See Going Rogue (30G) for more information. This will spawn up to six of them, allowing you to remove a full 6-star wanted level. Once removed, save the game then get another wanted level and repeat to boost quickly.
Disposing of the Evidence

15
Crush a car at the junkyard.
(1)
*Story related and can’t be missed

Whilst you can access the car crusher early in the game, the achievement has been found to only unlock during one of the following missions: 'Dead Skunk in the Trunk' for Joey Leone or 'The Crook' for Marty Chonks (hidden telephone mission).

It is worth noting that 'Dead Skunk in the Trunk' is a missable mission; however, 'The Crook' is not and can be completed at any point
Street Sweeper

25
Waste 100 gang members.
(1)
This will easily come naturally especially if you are completing the rampages. If you want it sooner then head into a gang area (e.g. Chinatown for the triads) and just start killing them until it unlocks.
By a Mile

30
Complete the "Turismo" race in under 180 seconds.
(1)
Turismo is the first mission for El Burro, but unlike most other missions in the game it can be replayed once his remaining missions have been completed so don’t fret if you miss this the first time.

The best option is to get the Banshee from the Car garage in St Marks near 8-Ball's bomb shop, then head to the race. You can start the race instantly by lightly crashing into one of the competitors which can give you a head start and help you lose your competition early on. You can also crash a couple of times without worry as the time isn’t that competitive to beat.
Wreckless Driving

25
Perform a perfect insane stunt.
(1)
This achievement is glitchy in that if you have performed something better than a perfect insane stunt (e.g. double insane stunt) before you perform a standard perfect insane stunt it won't unlock. If this happens just start a new game and quickly complete it on there.

To get a perfect insane stunt your best option would be to double up with a unique jump (see Wheels Up (50G) for more info on them). There’s one almost opposite your first safehouse on the other side of the road, just follow the grass verge to the train station then use the jump there to get air. Try to hit the jump straight on as this will give more likelihood of achieving exactly what you need.
Wheels Up

50
Complete 20 unique jumps.
(1)
Each island has several unique jumps that require you to get in a fast car, hit the jump at the right angle and land in the right area. It’s recommended that you use something like the Banshee as most jumps you can't over jump, then get a good run up before hitting the ramp and landing in the right zone.

Completing all 20 jumps will reward you with $1,000,000 as well as being required for 100% completion. The GTA wiki has an excellent guide for locations or follow the video below.
Come Out to Play-y-y-y

25
Kill 25 gang members with melee weapons / fists.
(1)
Can be done at any time but easiest early on when gangs don’t attack you as much. Behind your first safehouse is Diablo territory. Just take a baseball bat and start beating them up (they wear hoodies) and once you’ve killed 25 the achievement will unlock.
Where To?

50
Complete 100 taxi fares.
(1)
Once you enter a taxi it will say press to start the vehicle mission. If you start this, you’ll be tasked with picking up passengers and delivering them to their location. I found it best to do this early on whilst still in Portland. Once you have dropped off 100 passengers (it's cumulative so doesn’t have to be in one go) the achievement will unlock.

This is also required for 100% completion.
Liberty City Minute

50
Survive with less than 10 hp for 1 minute.
Best done early on in the game. Save your game beforehand in case you go too far, then start a fight with someone and let them beat you up until you're either below or nearly at 10hp. Once there make sure you kill them then go somewhere safe and just stand there for 1 minute until the achievement unlocks. You can even jump down the stairs near your safehouse in Portland to do minor damage to yourself (1 or 2hp a time) to get yourself just below 10hp.
Full Artillery

25
Use every weapon in the game at least once.
This will come naturally and can be obtained before you leave the first island, especially if you have completed the rampages and collected the hidden packages. Simply cycle through all the weapons and use them. There are 13 in total including your fists and the remote detonator for a car bomb.
A Marked Man

25
Complete "Last Requests".
*Story related and can’t be missed

This is the final mission for Salvatore Leone, before you complete this just make sure you have completed all missions for Joey and Luigi because after this they will become unplayable and you won't be able to get 100% completion.
Offshore Delivery

25
Complete "A Drop in the Ocean".
*Story related and can’t be missed

This is the third mission for Donald Love, however before you complete his second mission “Waka-Gashira Wipeout!” make sure you have completed all 5 of Kenji Kasen's mission otherwise they will become unavailable and you will be unable to obtain 100% completion.
Not So Fast

25
Complete "The Exchange".
*Story related and can’t be missed

This is the final mission in the main story.
A Gift from the King

25
Complete the "Kingdom Come" mission.
Kingdom Come is the fourth and final Telephone mission for King Courtney. His phone is located near the university to the north of Staunton Island.

Most of the missions are easy enough, however the final one can be a bit of a headache. You are ambushed when you get in the car. Depending on the weapons you have available this may be quite hard. Your best bet it to pick a van and kill the enemy near it. The enemies will explode if they die or if they get close to you. Once one van is destroyed focus on the other.
Man Toyz

30
Complete every RC Toyz mission.
Located around the islands are four vans that when you enter them will give you a remote control car and task you with killing a certain type of gang car. You only have to actually destroy one to pass the mission. Their locations can be found below but there are two on Portland and then one each on Staunton island and Shoreside Vale.
Splish Splash

30
Extinguish 15 fires during a single Fire Truck mission.
Get in a fire truck - they will either come to you if you start a fire with the flame thrower/Molotov’s or can always be found at the fire stations.

Once in, start the side mission with and you will be tasked with putting out a burning vehicle. Simply drive around and put out the cars on fire with your water cannon. You normally have a good amount of time. For the achievement you will need to put out 15 in a row without quitting or failing, however this is easily done at the start of the game when no gangs are hostile to you.

For 100% completion, you are required to put out 20 fires on each island; however, these are cumulative so you don’t have to do 20 in one go. If you get 20 on each island you’ll be rewarded with a flamethrower at your hideout.
Playing Doctor

35
Complete Paramedic level 12.
Probably the hardest of the emergency vehicle missions as it requires you to do it in one sitting. I did this on Portland at the start of the game as I found it easiest.

Once you get in an ambulance (you can either find one at the hospital or can normally get one to come to you if you kill a couple of people close to each other) hit to start the mission. It will task you with picking up patients and taking them back to the hospital. On level 1 you will have 1 patient, level 2 gives 2 patients etc. The ambulance can only hold 3 patients at a time as a maximum so bear that in mind.

Once each level starts, I found it best to pause and examine the map to find the best route to patients, making sure to remember that there can be at most three in one collection before you have to return to the hospital. Each patient you collect will reward you with additional time that level. Normally after the first few you can take your time a bit more. Try to avoid hitting things with the ambulance or going around corners too quick as it can easily tip over or set on fire and you’ll fail the mission.

Completing level 12 is required for 100% completion but only has to be done once.
Going Rogue

30
Kill 15 criminals during one Vigilante mission.
The Vigilante mission can be started by hitting while in a law enforcement vehicle such as the police Car, Enforcer or Rhino (tank).

For this achievement I found the police car the best on Portland early on. You’ll first want a load of uzi ammo (getting 20 hidden packages will get you one for free at your hideout). From there steal a police car and go after the criminals. Do drivebys on their cars or ram them until they get out. Just be careful if you drive by not to be too close in case their car explodes and takes you out with it. If your car is getting damaged you can actually exit the vehicle for up to 60 seconds so if passing the police station it may be worth stealing a new police car if yours is damaged.

The Enforcer is a good vehicle but can be a bit slow for this achievement so you may run out of time, particularly if you have a fast criminal. It could be used for the completion of the mission required for 100% though.

The FBI car has the advantage of being able to use the pay and spray to repair it, however it is hard to get one requiring a 5 star wanted level.

The Rhino is hard to obtain and is slow so isn’t recommended for this.

For 100% completion, you need to kill 20 criminals on each island but these don’t have to be consecutive. You will know you have completed this as you will have 6 bribes outside your hideouts.
Dirty Money

30
Amass a fortune of $1,000,000.
This will come naturally as you progress through the game. Pretty much every action you do such as completing missions, collecting hidden packages, rampage and unique stunts, side missions like Paramedic gets you money. You can even have this before you leave Portland if you have done all the side quests required for 100% on that island. And completing all the unique stunts or collecting the hidden packages will both award you $1,000,000 for getting them all.
Right-hand Man

25
Earn a criminal rating of 2,500.
Every criminal activity in the game can raise your level, so killing people, destroying vehicles, gaining money, etc. You should have no problem getting this naturally before the end of the game, especially if going for 100% completion.
Furious First Responder

55
Complete Paramedic, Firefighter, Vigilante.
Completing the three side missions shouldn’t be an issue.

See Playing Doctor (35G), Splish Splash (30G) and Going Rogue (30G) for tips on each of the three. It’s worth noting that this achievement has slightly different requirements. To complete the missions you must do the following.
- Complete level 12 in Paramedic on any island
- Put out 20 fires on each island for firefighter, though these are cumulative and can be done over any number of goes.
- Kill 20 criminals on each island for Vigilante, again these steps cumulative and can be done over any number of goes.
Liberty City Secrets

60
Collect 100 hidden packages.
There are numerous guides on the Internet for the locations of the 100 hidden packages and most aren’t too difficult to collect. It’s recommended that every time you get to a new island you collect all the ones you can as doing so will unlock several rewards including.
- 10 packs - Pistol
- 20 packs - Uzi
- 30 packs - Grenades
- 40 packs - Shotgun
- 50 packs – Body Armor
- 60 packs - Molotovs
- 70 packs - AK-47
- 80 packs - Sniper Rifle
- 90 packs - M16
- 100 packs – Rocket Launcher
For a guide for all 100 you could use the GTA wiki one found here.
Is That All You've Got?

100
Achieve 100% completion.
*This achievement is missable as certain missions can become unavailable if completed out of order. To avoid this make sure you complete all missions available for Luigi and Joey before carrying out Salvatore Leones missions and also make sure you complete Asuka and Kenji’s available missions before doing any for Donald Love.

See below the list of everything required for 100%, it is recommended that each time you get to a new island you do all the side quests for that island before doing any missions.

*Missions marked in red and italicized can be missed and will prevent 100% completion if you do.

Main missions:

Introduction
- Give Me Liberty
Luigi Goterelli (Must all be completed before “Last Requests” for Salvatore Leone)
- Luigi's Girls (First Day on the Job (15G) unlocked)
- Don't Spank Ma Bitch Up
- Drive Misty For Me
- Pump Action Pimp
- The Fuzz Ball - See Got This Figured Out (45G) for a missable achievement
Joey Leone (Must all be completed before “Last Requests” for Salvatore Leone)
- Mike Lips Last Lunch, See Without a Scratch (40G), for a missable achievement
- Farewell 'Chunky' Lee Chong, See Planned Ahead (40G), for a missable achievement
- Van Heist
- Cipriani's Chauffeur
- Dead Skunk in the Trunk
- The Getaway
Toni Cipriani 
- Taking Out the Laundry
- The Pick-Up
- Salvatore's Called a Meeting
- Triads and Tribulations, See Mob Boss (45G) for a missable achievement
- Blow Fish
Salvatore Leone
- Chaperone
- Cutting the Grass
- Bomb Da Base: Act I
8-Ball  
- Bomb Da Base: Act II
Salvatore Leone (2)
- Last Requests (A Marked Man (25G) unlocked along with second island)
Asuka Kasen 
- Sayonara Salvatore (the Mafia will become extremely hostile to you after this mission it is strongly advised that you have completed all side missions on Portland before completing this)
- Under Surveillance
- Paparazzi Purge
- Payday For Ray
- Two-Faced Tanner (missable if not completed before you complete the mission Grand Theft Aero for Donald Love)
Asuka Kasen (2)
- Bait
- Espresso-2-Go!
- SAM
Kenji Kasen (must all be completed before Waka-Gashira Wipeout! For Donald Love)
- Kanbu Bust-out 
- Grand Theft Auto 
- Deal Steal
- Shima
- Smack Down
Ray Machowski  
- Silence The Sneak 
- Arms Shortage 
- Evidence Dash 
- Gone Fishing 
- Plaster Blaster 
- Marked Man 
Donald Love 
- Liberator
- Waka-Gashira Wipeout!
- A Drop in the Ocean (Offshore Delivery (25G) and third island unlocked)
- Grand Theft Aero 
- Escort Service 
- Decoy
- Love's Disappearance 
Catalina 
- Ransom
- The Exchange (Not So Fast (25G) unlocked)
Phone Missions:
Marty Chonks  - this phone is marked on the map however it at the Bitch'n 'Dog Food factory across from Joey Leone, it only rings during the day.
- The Crook 
- The Thieves 
- The Wife
- Her Lover
El Burro 
- Turismo (see By a Mile (30G) for a mission specific achievement; this mission can be repeated)
- I Scream, You Scream
- Trial By Fire
- Big 'N' Veiny
King Courtney 
- Bling-Bling Scramble
- Uzi Rider
- Gangcar Round-Up 
- Kingdom Come (A Gift from the King (25G) unlocked; Yardies will also become hostile to you)
D-Ice 
- Uzi Money
- Toyminator 
- Rigged to Blow 
- Bullion Run 
- Rumble 
Side missions:
Off-road/checkpoint missions
- Patriot Playground
- Multistorey Mayhem - you have to get a Stallion, there’s normally one in the car park and drive it in front of the entrance (the marker will show)
- A Ride in the Park 
- Gripped!
RC car missions (See Man Toyz (30G) for more info)
- Diablo Destruction
- Mafia Massacre
- Calamity
- Rumpo Rampage
Vehicle missions
- Paramedic  - Complete all 12 levels
- Vigilante - kill 20 criminals on each island (60 in total)
- Firefighter - Put out 20 fires on each island (60 in total)
- Taxi – Complete 100 fares
See Furious First Responder (55G) and Where To? (50G) for more info

Import/Export
- Bring required vehicles to the Portland Harbour Garage, There is a list of vehicles on the front of the garage so you can keep track of what is still needed, a couple of vehicles can't be brought there until later in the game (Dodo) though most can be found driving around Portland regularly.
- Bring the required emergency vehicles to the Portland Harbour crane (right behind the Import / Export garage), NB: the FBI car and Barracks OL can’t be collected until you’ve reached Staunton Island, and the Tank until Shoreside Vale
- Bring the required cars to the garage at Pine Creek in Shoreside Vale
Again there are loads of guides out there about where to find the vehicles needed. The GTA wiki has a good one here.

Unique stunts

See Wheels Up (50G)

Rampages

There are a total of 20 rampages spread across the three islands. Each rampage has two spawn locations so if you fail one it will then spawn at its second location. Most are easy enough, just make sure that you go in with full health and armour if you can. It's also recommended to do them early on so enemy gangs are less well armed and less hostile.

A guide to their locations can be found here

Alternatively, see the video below.

Without a Scratch

40
Deliver Mike Lips' car without a scratch on first attempt.
(1)
*Missable - this is mission specific so it is recommended you manually save at your safehouse beforehand.

This is obtained during your first mission for Joey Leone (Mike Lips Last Lunch) marked with a J on the map. This mission occurs very early on in the game so if you do miss the achievement, you can start a new game and be there in about 10 minutes so don’t fret if you do accidentally miss it.

Once you steal his car from the Bistro, just drive carefully making sure not to crash into anyone or anything. Take the car to the bomb shop (it's only a short drive away) then return again without crashing it. Once you park up and get out the achievement will unlock.

If you do crash just reload your latest save and start again.      
Mob Boss

45
Keep the two mafia members alive during "Triads and Tribulations".
(1)
*Missable - this is mission specific, so it is recommended you manually save at your safehouse beforehand.

This is obtained during the fourth mission for Toni Cipriani. For this mission you are tasked with taking out three groups of Triads. You will have two Mafia Allies with you that you have to keep alive for the achievement.

The first group of triads can actually be run over in the car or do a drive by, meaning your allies won’t get hurt.

The second group is the most difficult as they are in a narrow alley where cars can’t go, so it’s best to try and attack them from distance. If you have an AK47 this will help with this. You can also leave this group until last as once the final gang is dead the mission completes immediately.

The final group are at the triad factory. If you drive around the back of the factory and park up on the hill you can attack them from outside the walls where your allies can’t be hurt.

So long as the two mafia members are still alive at the end of the mission the achievement will unlock. If they die at any point just quick load back to the start of the mission.
Planned Ahead

40
Take out Chunky Lee Chong with a car rigged with a bomb.
(1)
*Missable - this is mission specific so it is recommended you manually save at your safehouse beforehand.

This is obtained during the second mission for Joey Leone. This mission occurs very early on in the game so if you do miss the achievement, you can start a new game and be there in about 10 minutes so don’t fret if you do accidentally miss it.

When you head to the location where Chunky Lee Chong is you will find his car (a perennial) parked at the end of an ally. Take the car to the bomb shop (behind easy credit autos in St Marks), get a bomb then drive back and park up where you found it. Remember to arm the bomb before getting out. Then, go around to the other entrance to the ally and attack the other triads to force Chunky Lee Chong to run to his car. Once he gets in his car it will explode and the achievement will unlock.
Got This Figured Out

45
Use a coach to pick up all 8 prostitutes in the mission "The Fuzz Ball".
(2)
*Missable - this is mission specific so it is recommended you manually save at your safehouse beforehand.

This is obtained during the fifth mission for Luigi. This mission occurs very early on in the game so if you do miss the achievement, you can start a new game and be there in about 10 minutes so don’t fret if you do accidentally miss it.

Before you start this mission, you will need to get a coach. You can either find one driving around or alternatively you can find one at the bus depot near Joey's Garage.

Once you have the coach and started the mission just drive around until you have collected all 8 prostitutes, then take them to the ball at the same time.