The Greatest GTA Protagonist I've Ever Seen 

Hello there, I also made a video on Arthur Morgan: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-j0jRARi7sxk.html

People always complain that nothing happens in GTA 4, but thats the entire point. Niko achieves absolutely nothing by the end. Packie literally says to Niko near the end, "All that effort for no fucking reward. Story of my life." and Niko responds "Its the story of a lot of lives Packie, im getting pretty used to hearing it." The only character in the game that genuinely progresses as a person is Roman because hes the only one that tries to be a better man.

GTA was always supposed to be a satire of chasing the "American Dream". Niko embodied that perfectly.

Roman still doing better than most people i know. He's got an apartment, a taxi business, a car, and a license.

Niko's "50 children" monologue has stayed with me ever since i first heard it back in 2010.

Niko Bellic & Arthur Morgan parallel each other. Both are good-hearted men who just got caught in the wrong circumstances of life.

The scene around the dining table with Mrs Faustin is my favourite in the whole GTA series by a wide margin. No other character gets the chance to have as deep an insight into their morality, philosophy and even theology to an extent as Niko does there, grappling with his internal struggle over wanting redemption for what he’s done and his belief that mortality is meaningless in a world where such evil things as what he’s seen can be allowed to happen. It’s what makes him the most compelling GTA protagonist for how much he grapples with these questions for sure.

I am glad Niko is getting the recognition he deserves. Underrated character, game and storyline.

Someone said Niko is a Red Dead character stuck in a GTA game and since then I've been unable to see him any other way. He's so complex and unique that when GTA V rolled around I just saw Michael, Franklin and Trevor as one dimensional

What makes Niko’s story above all other GTA4 characters, is that he doesn’t win. Even at the end of the game, no matter which choice you take, you lose. If you try to abandon Revenge, your cousin dies, your girlfriend leaves you, AND you still are forced to revenge in the end. And if Niko refuses to let go of grudges, his girlfriend dies and ends the game in a tragic place where he may never lose his demons. He is meant to be a doomed man no matter how hard he tries to be free. It’s a cruel story but it’s done so well, that you can’t help but appreciate the starkness of it to the other GTAs where you always come out on top

I don’t care how janky it could be, the themes of GTA IV spoiled me and I just couldn’t get into how soulless and on-the-nose GTA V felt in comparison.

And this is why I believe that GTA IV has some of the best writing in gaming ever. The strong sense of morality, while trying to impose and juggle the concept of right and wrong, it's just so deep and complex. It has such a serious tone that it helps you to understand that this isn't a game simply to have mindless fun with. It's a game for you to experience morality and to think and profoundly understand said experience.

finally, most people who tried gta iv and spitted on it for 12+ years finally are mature enough to fully comprehend how big and deep IV was. The exact opposite is happening for V, and I love it

What sets him apart is all those pictures with finger gloves. Finger gloves you couldn’t even unlock :(

I swear roman sleeping while niko is talking about the war is the funniest thing ever 😂 and when niko bangs the table to wake roman upis even more funnier im playing gta 4 rn and it is a master piece 😩🤌 i really loved this video u did a great job underrated my dude

Recently played GTA 4 and TLAD. In the museum mission, in TLAD, Johnny is way behind Niko and he just sees a lot of dead people on the ground, killed by Niko. That mission made Niko more badass that he was

When that one character on the airport said he betrayed and killed people for 1000 dollars and then begged Niko to kill him... my heart sunk seeing Niko's reaction. It was one of those moments that stuck with me, and I keep being reminded of it each time I see Niko anywhere online, like this video.

The people calling this boring forget that that's the reality of crime in life, you can own a lot with money, but make no progress as a person. It's the first time Rockstar made a game that was a realistic view of crime. No glamorization of crime, but the harsh reality of it.

Nico was just too real. Too relatable to many people and hit home like a Mac truck.

When he says "no one fucks with my family" i get goosebumps every time

GTA IV had the both greatest protagonist and antagonist

Grand Theft Auto IV is not only my favorite game in the GTA series, but my favorite game of all time. Ever since getting the game on April 29, 2008, I’ve been enraptured with the story, the characters, the environment and basically everything about the game. Niko Bellic quickly became my favorite character in the series as the depth that he has to him is so interesting and real, that no other protagonist before or after him in GTA can really compare. He’s such a unique character that he stands alone in so many regards. I seem to always play this game once a year from beginning to end, because even though I know what’s coming, I’m always invested in what’s going on and the interactions that Niko has with the various characters in the game that I can’t help but find time to play this all the way through once a year. And the expansion packs are truly well done. Johnny and Luis are excellent in their own right, but Niko stands above them. Thank you for the video man, I like how so many people are embracing how excellent not only GTA IV is, but how great of a character Niko Bellic is. I hope you’re doing well. Keep up the great work, take care!

Niko was a legendary protagonist. It's crazy that GTA V's three protagonists don't make as much of an impact as Niko, Tommy, and CJ. Or the fact that his villains aren't as well written as Officer Tenpenny and Dimitri Rascalov.

We all know Niko has a soul. This video amplifies it leagues bigger.

Niko Bellic has to be the most altruistic, pragmatic and generally well written characters in the GTA franchise. When it comes to games nowdays, I want a game that tells a story that only a game can tell. I am sick and tired of developers just selling quick cash grabs with stupid emotes and battlepasses. The peak of game story telling was in the mid 2000s to early 2010s. Think Far Cry 3 era. I want a game that makes me reflect and challanges my own values, a game that is philisophical, to see life through a different perspectives in the same way that GTA IV did with its small details, such as the conversation with Faustins wife. It the small things. This game despite it almost being 16 years old, still remains to be my favorite video game of all time. I remember playing it at a friends place when I was 8 years old (2009 or so). I didnt pay to much to the story when I was younger, but after a recent playthrough when I was older, I appreciated the story so much more. This was also a great video. Keep up the good work.

GTA IV was the first GTA game I could play. I had heard, it promotes "drugs, alcohol, violence, and sex." In the game, druggies are pathetic losers, alcohol makes you unable to do anything functional, violence never solves anything but begetting more violence, and sex is meaningless by itself. In particular, Niko never, ever says "yes" when offered drugs/alcohol despite the offer coming frequently. And yet, I think Niko is the most badass/hardcore/cool/based/whatever character in any GTA ever. Frankly, GTA IV is the one of the best sales pitch for a conservative lifestyle of any game I've ever seen. Turn the other cheek. Don't drink or do drugs. Don't sleep around or it may come back to haunt you. Crazy.

little jacob speaks max level patois that’s almost uncle level

*Niko Bellic is one of the best developed (GTA) characters, inspired by the fictional character of Sasha Ivanic (from the movie "Behind the enemy lines") and it also looks that He was created to some extent to resemble Boško Radonjić also known as "The Yugo" , a real life Serbian immigrant criminal that was operating in New York in the '70s ,* *He's arrival by the boat in LC kinda reminds of the arrival of Antonio Montana in the movie SCARFACE.* *One more fun fact, Grand Theft Auto Vice City stories plot is also more adult , tragic , showing that the life of a criminal can have damaging consequences*

Marnie is a brilliant example of how concerned I am for GTA 6 - In GTA 5 she gets caught up in a cult, completely undermining the progress she had made in clearing out the unhealthy habits and ways of thinking. Hopefully GTA 6 doesn't continue on the mediocre trajectory started by GTA 5 and course corrects by adding brilliant qualities from GTA 4 - balance can definitely be found and it seems like there is a chance of creating an awesome game if what I've read about the protagonists being grounded while the world is crazy comes out to be true. PS - Loved GTA 4 for being my first truly adult game, Niko's journey shared metaphors with my life while I was becoming an adult and taught me a lot of lessons to keep for life.

"Whaaaat....has become of me?" Solid video and analysis. I really should play this game because the narrative sounds so much more engaging than GTA V. I'd love to see a Vice City analysis or a video on what GTA IV should be. This game comes across as more tragic than I expected for a game called Grand Theft Auto. Also, you weren't kidding. I can't understand that Jamaican guy AT ALL.

I've been saying for years how ridiculously and unexpectedly good GTA IV is of you actually try to roleplay as Niko. I mean I even avoided stealing cars when I could (though, didn't respect traffic laws, ngl). When you kill that loan shark and Niko says "I promised myself I wouldn't kill here", it feels genuinely impactful if you didn't turn the sidewalk into an improvised cannibal meat grinder ten minutes earlier.

Niko's story starts from hopelessness and ended with it. Even after the end of the game, he regrets what he did on the last mission

I'd love a remaster of this game.

Niko Bellic is definitely the most underrated protagonist in the entire GTA series. When he starts recounting his past and how many regrets he has, and when he helps those random people, you really feel for him. Sure, other characters also did bad things and had bad things happen to them, but Niko feels so much more real than them. Not my favorite game in the series, that would be San Andreas, but it definitely has the best story.

Saw the thumbnail and ABSOLUTELY overdue. Niko perfectly represented GTA... Roman sleeping at the end cracks me tf up lmao

Life is complicated, that line hit hard.

Nikos gritty grounded depressing story really dragged me in, hes definitely my favorite protagonist.

Proud to be a Serb 🇷🇸

I really hope GTA 6 gives us a protagonist that's as complex as Niko and Arthur.

Currently replaying this aftee doing a playthrough last year and the year before. I find myself coming back to this game every year and each time older me appreciates what 5 year old me didn't quite understand when it originally released

Im so glad Niko is finally getting the recognition he so rightfully deserves. He's the best written character in any GTA by far. I can't put into words how disappointed I was with V's protagonists. Always bickering, always quipping, always disconnected with what they were doing. What seperates Niko from them is that he always knew who he was. A criminal. You don't get an easy life when you choose crime. You don't get peace. You don't feel pride. You never feel complete. Those are the rules. That's the game. But never did Niko choose to play. He was born into hardship. After the war, who would hire him? He did not live in the land of opportunity. In submission to the criminal life, he survived the only way he logically could. But no matter where he ended up, he always kept his conscious. He was always human deep down inside. Even if he did just carjack an ice cream truck.

I’ve said for years that this is by far the best GTA story-wise. It’s a massive tone change from San Andreas that’s way more serious and dark, and it’s incredible. No other GTA can make you laugh AND angry cry in the same game lmao. When Roman dies, when you find out your girlfriend is a cop that’s just using you, the revenge plot… and in the end you aren’t some big time millionaire that runs the city. You’re still Niko. You don’t really get that sense that you won because the world is brutal and I love that about the game

The camera work on GTA4 is pure cinema

To be fair Niko is a man of instinct and you don't need to really understand what the jamacians are saying to understand what they are saying in their contexts

Niko is the sole reason why I couldn’t like gta5 at all. He felt real, the story was rough and hard, it was a really hard gta game and felt way less satirical… Then 5 came in and everything was bright and funny, nothing had weight, the story was meh except the very ending… Niko ruined gta for me by giving me the best gta game of all

I love the literal children in this comment section who are mentally unable to grasp Nikos character because it's not a shallow and direct power fantasy like gtav characters. It's funny how they out themselves as emotionally immature and pedantic just because they can't grasp the rational conclusion that recovering from emotional trauma is always more valuable than money and power for a character like Niko. That's why every "successful" mission with a big payout is just a side effect of getting Darko in front of him. That's why there's"nothing to do with the money" in game, because Niko is far removed from wanting wealth and status, it's part of the narrative, money is simply a brand to an end. Googoo gaga, go play gtaonline kids.

GTA IV is the only GTA I ever completed cause niko bellic was the only character in GTAs that I ever saw as a person and not a caricature. Edit: Brucie was a riot though. 😂 I'll never forget his line after he gets punched by niko in the gut.. "Now that's some real Red Army shit."

GTA4 is one of my favorite games ever. It’s as a whole my favorite GTA

3:15 - The dynamic of both Nikos calm and intelligent ways, and his cousin Roman as the chaotic out of control idiot gotta love them two 😂

one of the best viedeos about gta iv keep up the work man i hope this gets more views

just completed the videos and i was seriously disappointed that only 40k people have watched this incredibly crafted video. You deserve more views my man

i really liked the essay , capturing all the important scenes showing the psyche of niko as he progresses through the story, i had not come across marney while playing the game and hadn't seen any other youtube video mentioning the interaction , thank you for covering this . cheers mate

In my opinion, Niko Bellic is the greatest character of the franchise, and also the greatest character ever created by Rockstar Games.

I’m a simple man I see GTA IV I click

I played GTA Vice City and San Andreas, was a bit too young at the time but good enough to know that I shouldn't do what I saw on the monitor. Arcade control, serious and enjoyable story. One hell of a nolstagia hit and I still play the original 2000s version. And then I played GTA IV. Years later I still lament how good it is. It's realism, the story, the people, atmosphere, is real. Realism in a game are many things, and GTA IV ticked most of it. GTA IV characters made me cared about them more than previous GTA games, and as such I hung out with Roman, Jacob and others, as well as dating. Sometimes I feel bad for turning down calls to hang out. The game let you choose the fate of a number of NPCs. It is a game that can create impacts, something to remember which few games can do. Let's not forget the 2 DLCs that pulled their weights alongside the main game, each with their own story, characters, extra gameplay mechanics and atmosphere. Don't try to argue, GTA IV is the GTA peak yet to be overshadowed. A world and a story like GTA IV might be impossible to recreate let alone to topple it, and if that is true be glad that Rockstar Games hit perfection, in 2008. And then there is GTA V, the semi arcade, semi hero shooter (again don't try to argue, Trevor is unkillable) with a weakest GTA plot and unattachable 3 protagonists. Putting GTA IV and V side by side is the quickest way for me to bash V over and over (this is my personal sentiment to the game, don't take it seriously).

As I’ve been playing through RDR2 for the first time and watching stuff along the way, your videos kept cropping up but I didn’t watch till the end due to spoilers. And after binging a lot of video essays on the game, I can easily say yours are some of the deepest, most insightful and thought provoking, as well as just the best edited with references to other media to reinforce the points. It’s all supremely well done, and this GTA IV video is no exception. I’m kind of shocked by how small your catalogue of videos is in comparison to how good a video essay creator you are. I eagerly await more like them on Rockstar games and beyond in the future. ❤️

Many people just were not ready for GTA IV back then.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is my favorite video game of all time. I’ve replayed it, at least 15 times. And Niko is one of my favorite characters of all time. He’s one of the few GTA characters grounded in realism.

17:05 i sit there and thought minutes and minutes thinking what i would do with my 14 years old ass back then.. damn gta 4 got a special place in my heart

“The greener grass comes with its own set of complexities” Well said

He will be long remembered I was 16 at the time of gta IV I won't ever forget this story and Niko Bellic! 🇷🇸 😊

I think Rockstar are far beyond caring about the players that are interested in the story depth that IV offered. Rather, the casual players that V captured. But for those that want a great story like IV, VI may be make or break for the series in their eyes considering the modern development time.

I loved Niko, man! Great job making this video! Hope this gets more views 😁

"Only those who die get closure; the living do not." What a line, especially if you consider that, by saying this, Niko is effectively contradicting himself. You can see where he is going with this quote, but by choosing not to complete the circle of violence/vengeance, he seemingly has attained closure already.

I always found roman a underrated character,.. I like how loyal and understanding he is

Nice video dude definitely gonna keep watching your page

I rarely watch long videos man, great story telling. Simply sublime

I don't know if it's weird or not, but I've always loved the silence in between the dialogues of the cutscenes. It felt genuine, ruthless, and had space for contemplation for the weight of the maturity it had.

21:22 that hit home, back in 2008 my english as very basic, so it was hard to understand everyone, so i playd and read the subtitles all the time, so jacob and badman where too hard to make out what they where saying.

It would be nice to include Niko, Roman, Little Jacob, and Badman included in the new GTA. Maybe Packie can have his redemption arc in this too. I feel like they could be key characters in the plot and it would be nice to see their aspirations be a reality in GTA 6’s timeline.

GTA 4 was the goat, I’ve played them all, gta 4 remains the gold standard of a story.

Driving at night in Liberty City listening to flashing lights 😢 the nostalgia

Another small RU-vidr making BANGER videos about gta. subbed. I might have to get in on this

As well as the best supporting character; Little Jacob

Super underrated! Hope to see you pop off soon cause this was the best video essay I’ve seen talk about GTA IV 🔥

Great video man, keep it up, I hope You grow big! The editing was very good, perfect mix of storytelling from the games cutscenes and how You felt about the character.

GTA IV was my favourite GTA, and also...I love going bowling so win-win!! 🙏 Thanks for the awesome video brother! 🙏

Mad underrated channel!

One thing I enjoy to do in GTA IV is that depending on how I decide to deal with Darko, is how the game ends, if I let him live then Kate convinces Niko to go after Dimitri because to Niko, he would be the last loose end to Niko's new life, essentially a "one more time and I'm out" type of deal, but if Niko takes out Darko, he realizes how hollow revenge is and Roman convinces him to go for the deal and secure a future for the both of them, I think it's very thematic and fun.

Great video, never stop your grind. don't get comfortable with the success that sure to come.

Damn. This video was so good. You deserve so many more subscribers I’m gonna share it with my friends!

I always wondered why rockstar didn't engage Serbian actor for Niko. That would be brutal. When you are Serb it is so funny to hear how Michael Hollick voices Niko. Also it's stupid how Rockstar on purpose gave him surname Bellic, instead of Belić (Белић) , surname that actually exist and there are many Serbs with this surname. Also name Niko is very rare in our language, it may be Nikola (Никола). But on the other side this is Rockstar. Parodies are everywhere Ubermacht - Bmw Sprunk - Sprite FIB - FBI Liberty City - New York Similar is with Niko, but he is still one of the best protagonists.

I always found 4 to be the most realistic, grounded, serious and thus dramatic in terms of story. I think part of that comes from Niko being more of a realistic and relatable character than other protagonists, like Tommy in Vice or Trevor in 5.

Good video! I am in the middle of the game so I stop in the middle of your video to not get spoiled, but the video is top-notch!

8:32 top tier gaming moment

I think GTA IV is a great story but I don’t see why so many people use the greatness of GTA IV to shit on GTA V. It doesn’t make sense considering they depict completely different circumstances for 3 generations of players. GTA V’s story was still good, the conflict with Michael and Trevor, Franklin wanting to escape his hood life and the past mistakes of Michael catching up with him. The underlying issues Trevor has that you have to piece together to understand why he’s like how he is. It’s a good story, just a different one that means less than GTA IV which doesn’t make GTA V’s story worse. That’s not how that works.

How does this video have so little views, this one was amazing. Keep up the good work 👍

I've always like it way more when Niko does kill Darko. He shoots him 12 times. "twelve people died, three escpaed..."

the GTA 4 theme had no right to go so hard.

We don’t talk about Roman’s mother

This is without a doubt, the most interesting insight into my favourite video game character (along with Arthur Morgan).

Niko is such a complex character. He's tonally inconsistent but it never feels out of character for him. He's like a seesaw that goes from vengeful, hateful, nihilistic murderer to a sarcastic yet amiable and accountable man. These layers are what make him the best GTA protagonist, at least to me.

Very high quality video. Love it

Meanwhile gta5 "Franklin, go this job." Franklin "Man, shit, fuck. I dont wanna. Damn. Shit. Fuck. Ugh..." Does it anyway for no reason.

1000 comments epic, amazing video, I always loved GTA IV, and Niko especially. Never went into GTA V for some reason

Look great timing for a video. I am replying this game for the first time since I played it as a kid when it first came out.

Me (having no clue who LJ is): “He can’t be THAT hard to understand, he’s speaking very slowly and clearl- LJ: “CHEAP!?!?”

Thank you for making this video

keep dropping videos bro! you’re going to be big

bro we have twerking on the gta 6 trailer, ofc we're not getting EVER a game with this much depth as GTA IV