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How GTA III’s progression is organized
GTA III does not present one uninterrupted mission list. Progress is divided among three islands and several employers. New markers appear as you advance the story, while some optional contacts and activities can be completed later. The practical route is therefore a combination of island unlocks, contact chains and a few dependency rules.
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Mission totals depend on what a guide counts. One commonly used inventory lists 50 storyline missions, 17 pay-phone missions, four off-road missions and four remote-controlled missions: 75 missions in that classification. Other totals combine cutscenes, sub-missions or completion activities differently. The route below uses the 50/17/4/4 classification and treats vehicle work, import/export, hidden packages and rampages as separate 100% requirements.
The two ordering rules that protect a 100% file
Finish Smack Down before Waka-Gashira Wipeout
When Kenji Kasen offers Smack Down, complete it before starting Donald Love’s Waka-Gashira Wipeout. This is the first dependency to watch on Staunton Island.
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Finish Smack Down before Two-Faced Tanner
Do not postpone Smack Down until after Asuka’s Two-Faced Tanner. The safe sequence is to clear Smack Down first, then take Two-Faced Tanner.
Finish Two-Faced Tanner before Grand Theft Aero
Complete Asuka’s Two-Faced Tanner before Donald Love’s Grand Theft Aero. Treat Grand Theft Aero as the point by which the earlier contact work must already be done.
Putting the rules together gives one simple checkpoint: Smack Down → Two-Faced Tanner → Grand Theft Aero, with Waka-Gashira Wipeout also held until after Smack Down.
Portland mission order
Portland is the opening island. Start with the introduction and Give Me Liberty, then work through the contact chains below. The order within each chain is the order in which those jobs are presented.
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| Contact | Mission sequence | How to use the sequence |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Introduction; Give Me Liberty | These establish the story and open the first contact markers. |
| Luigi Goterelli | Luigi’s Girls; Don’t Spank Ma Bitch Up; Drive Misty for Me; Pump-Action Pimp; The Fuzz Ball | Clear the chain as its markers become available. |
| Joey Leone | Mike Lips Last Lunch; Farewell “Chunky” Lee Chong; Van Heist; Cipriani’s Chauffeur; Dead Skunk in the Trunk; The Getaway | Return to Joey after each completed job and take the next marker. |
| Toni Cipriani | Taking Out the Laundry; The Pick-Up; Salvatore’s Called a Meeting; Triads and Tribulations; Blow Fish | These jobs advance the Leone storyline and expose the next Portland work. |
| Salvatore Leone | Chaperone; Cutting the Grass; Bomb Da Base: Act I; Last Requests | Complete the available Salvatore jobs before treating Portland as finished. |
| 8-Ball | Bomb Da Base: Act II | Play this as part of the Portland transition. |
Portland checklist
- Complete Give Me Liberty.
- Clear Luigi Goterelli’s five missions.
- Clear Joey Leone’s six missions.
- Clear Toni Cipriani’s five missions.
- Complete Salvatore Leone’s four listed missions.
- Complete 8-Ball’s Bomb Da Base: Act II during the transition out of Portland.
Once the Portland transition is complete, Staunton Island becomes the next major story area. Optional phone and activity content can be done before or after the move, but a 100% player should maintain a separate checklist rather than assuming the story markers cover everything.
Staunton Island mission order
Staunton introduces four major contact groups: Asuka Kasen, Kenji Kasen, Ray Machowski and Donald Love. Their markers can overlap, so use the dependency-safe order instead of simply following whichever icon is closest.
1. Take the available Asuka, Kenji, Ray and Donald markers
After arriving on Staunton, work through the missions offered by Asuka, Kenji, Ray and Donald as they appear. The game’s contact structure allows parallel chains; you do not need to finish every mission from one employer before visiting another.
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Make Smack Down the first critical checkpoint. Finish it before accepting Donald’s Waka-Gashira Wipeout and before completing Asuka’s Two-Faced Tanner.
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3. Complete Two-Faced Tanner
After Smack Down, finish Asuka’s Two-Faced Tanner. Do not advance to Grand Theft Aero first.
4. Complete Grand Theft Aero only after the checkpoint
With Smack Down and Two-Faced Tanner safely completed, proceed through Donald Love’s missions, including Grand Theft Aero. This preserves the relevant contact content for a completion run.
| Contact | Named mission to watch | Required position in a safe route |
|---|---|---|
| Kenji Kasen | Smack Down | Before Waka-Gashira Wipeout and before Two-Faced Tanner |
| Asuka Kasen | Two-Faced Tanner | After Smack Down, before Grand Theft Aero |
| Donald Love | Waka-Gashira Wipeout | After Smack Down |
| Donald Love | Grand Theft Aero | After Two-Faced Tanner |
Ray Machowski’s missions
Ray’s markers are part of the Staunton progression. Take them when available and keep them in your normal island circuit; the important completion safeguard is to avoid letting the Donald and Asuka dependency missions leapfrog the checkpoint above.
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Shoreside Vale and the finale
Shoreside Vale opens after the Portland and Staunton progression reaches the island transition. Once its markers are available, complete the remaining Donald Love, Catalina and final story missions in the order the game presents them, ending with The Exchange.
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Shoreside route
- Travel to Shoreside Vale when the story opens access.
- Complete the remaining Donald Love missions that appear there.
- Complete Catalina’s available missions.
- Follow the final story markers through The Exchange.
The finale is the end of the main storyline, not the end of 100% completion. Side activities, phone chains, vehicle lists and collectibles remain part of the full-game checklist.
Story-only route versus a 100% route
| Play style | What to prioritize | What can wait |
|---|---|---|
| Story-only | Follow the island unlock chain from Portland to Staunton Island to Shoreside Vale, then complete the finale. | Optional contact and phone content, vehicle work, collectibles and rampages can generally be postponed where the game permits. |
| 100% safe route | Use the Portland order, clear Smack Down before Waka-Gashira Wipeout and Two-Faced Tanner, then clear Two-Faced Tanner before Grand Theft Aero. | Nothing should be treated as “later” without recording it on a checklist; finish each category deliberately. |
When to do optional content
You can interleave optional work with the story, but the safest habit is to finish a contact chain when its marker appears, especially on Staunton. Phone missions and activities do not replace story missions in the 50-mission storyline count, so track them on separate lines.
Complete 100% checklist
Main storyline
- Complete every main mission from Give Me Liberty through The Exchange.
- Use the dependency order: Smack Down before Waka-Gashira Wipeout and Two-Faced Tanner; Two-Faced Tanner before Grand Theft Aero.
Pay-phone missions
Complete all 17 pay-phone missions across the four phone chains:
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- El Burro
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Off-road missions
- Complete all four off-road missions.
Remote-controlled missions
- Complete all four remote-controlled vehicle missions.
Vehicle and collection work
- Complete the required vehicle missions.
- Finish the import/export lists.
- Collect all hidden packages.
- Complete every rampage.
Because the categories use different counting conventions, do not judge completion from a single headline number. A file can have every story mission finished and still be short of 100% because one phone, RC, off-road, vehicle, collectible or rampage category is incomplete.
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How to track progress without missing a mission
- Create three island sections. Use Portland, Staunton Island and Shoreside Vale as the top-level headings in a notes app or on paper.
- Add one row per contact. Record Luigi, Joey, Toni, Salvatore and 8-Ball under Portland; Asuka, Kenji, Ray and Donald under Staunton; then Donald and Catalina under Shoreside Vale.
- Mark the dependency checkpoint. Write Smack Down → Two-Faced Tanner → Grand Theft Aero, with Waka-Gashira Wipeout after Smack Down.
- Keep side activities separate. Make individual headings for pay phones, off-road, RC, vehicle missions, import/export, hidden packages and rampages.
- Check every marker before advancing the story. If a contact is available, record the mission name and complete it or deliberately note why you are postponing it.
- Audit after The Exchange. The finale confirms the story is complete, but the side-activity checklist determines whether the save reaches 100%.
Mission-counting conventions explained
The 75-mission classification is calculated as 50 storyline missions + 17 pay-phone missions + four off-road missions + four remote-controlled missions. It does not mean every guide will display “75” as its headline total. Some lists count a cutscene as part of a mission, split a sub-mission into its own entry, or fold completion activities into the total.
| Category | Count in the cited inventory | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Storyline | 50 | From Give Me Liberty through The Exchange, using that inventory’s grouping. |
| Pay phone | 17 | Across Marty Chonks, El Burro, King Courtney and D-Ice. |
| Off-road | 4 | Separate optional mission category. |
| Remote-controlled | 4 | Separate optional mission category. |
| Total in this classification | 75 | Other guides may report a different total because they group content differently. |
Common progression mistakes and fixes
Starting Grand Theft Aero too early
Problem: You begin Grand Theft Aero before Two-Faced Tanner.
Fix: On a 100% run, stop advancing Donald’s chain until Two-Faced Tanner is complete.
Leaving Smack Down for later
Problem: You complete Waka-Gashira Wipeout or Two-Faced Tanner first.
Fix: Treat Kenji’s Smack Down as the earliest of the three dependency missions.
Assuming The Exchange equals 100%
Problem: The story is finished, but the completion percentage is not.
Fix: Audit all 17 phone missions, four off-road missions, four RC missions and every vehicle, import/export, hidden-package and rampage requirement.
Trusting an unexplained total
Problem: Two guides show different mission counts.
Fix: Check whether each total includes cutscenes, sub-missions or side activities. Use named categories rather than comparing headline numbers.
Quick Recap
Quick reference: safest complete order
- Introduction and Give Me Liberty.
- Luigi Goterelli’s chain: Luigi’s Girls, Don’t Spank Ma Bitch Up, Drive Misty for Me, Pump-Action Pimp, The Fuzz Ball.
- Joey Leone’s chain: Mike Lips Last Lunch, Farewell “Chunky” Lee Chong, Van Heist, Cipriani’s Chauffeur, Dead Skunk in the Trunk, The Getaway.
- Toni Cipriani’s chain: Taking Out the Laundry, The Pick-Up, Salvatore’s Called a Meeting, Triads and Tribulations, Blow Fish.
- Salvatore Leone’s chain: Chaperone, Cutting the Grass, Bomb Da Base: Act I, Last Requests.
- 8-Ball’s Bomb Da Base: Act II as part of the Portland transition.
- On Staunton Island, take Asuka, Kenji, Ray and Donald missions as they appear, but complete Smack Down before Waka-Gashira Wipeout and Two-Faced Tanner.
- Complete Two-Faced Tanner before Grand Theft Aero.
- Open Shoreside Vale and finish the remaining Donald Love and Catalina missions through The Exchange.
- Complete all phone, off-road, RC, vehicle, import/export, hidden-package and rampage content for 100%.
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