The Grand Theft Auto franchise is chock full of mini-games, running the gamut from fully-featured missions to activities that feel more like afterthoughts. Rockstar Games has continuously pushed the boundaries in what can be included in an open-world game as part of its crusade to make a world that feels fully immersive. With all of these extra features, some are bound to be missed by players, but this mini-game in Vice City may be the most well-hidden.
Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball is a Grand Theft Auto mini-game featured only in Vice City. There's almost no reason to find it outside of actively searching it down. The only time the game makes mention of it is in the stats menu where players can see their high scores. This can make it extremely missable - especially for casual players or newcomers who may not know to look for it.
In some ways, this makes sense. Keepie-Uppy Beach Ball is incredibly simple. The entire mini-game is just the player trying to keep a beach ball up in the air for as long as possible. Using Tommy Vercetti's head, players need to position themselves under the ball to keep it in the air. It doesn't get much less complicated than that for GTA mini-games. Rockstar likely didn't spend too much time developing the mini-game, so it's not surprising that the company just kind of snuck it in.
Not only is the mini-game simple, but Rockstar has also made it tough to find. The beach balls only spawn in two locations in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - Starfish Island and Vice City Beach. At the island, players will find the ball either by the swimming pool of the northeastern-most mansion or in an empty pool by the eastern-most mansion. The beach, meanwhile, has a few random spawn points including by the lighthouse and behind the Vice Point Langer building.
Even knowing where the beach balls are, they can be tough to spot. The muted colors of the ball can blend in with its surroundings, especially with PlayStation 2 graphics. Fortunately, the mini-game isn't tied to any progression in the game. The PS4 version does have a trophy for bouncing the ball five times, but otherwise, it's almost invisible.
Interestingly, players found text in the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas files that seems to point to Keepie-Uppy almost being included in that game. For whatever reason, Rockstar didn't include it in the final version, but it does show that the company recognized that some players loved the mini-game. It hasn't been mentioned in any other series' entries, but if the rumors about GTA 6 being in modern-day Vice City, players might finally have the chance to play some more Keepie-Uppy than in only one Grand Theft Auto game.
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July 13, 2021 at 12:18AM
