The AK-47 in Grand Theft Auto Advance
While Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004) operates within the technical limitations of the Game Boy Advance, it still carries over familiar elements from the broader GTA universe—among them, subtle references to Russian influence. The clearest example is, once more, the inclusion of the AK-47, labeled in-game as the Assault Rifle. This time, the AK-47 looks more like an AKM, a modernized AK-47 design, which is actually more widespread than the original AK-47. The render itself, judging by the weapon's magazine, however, looks more like a pixelated render of GTA III's Adler-Jäger AP-80.
A staple of Soviet military design and post-Cold War conflict zones, the AK-47 represents the global spread of Russian weaponry—a theme GTA has long embraced. In GTA: Advance, players can purchase the Assault Rifle from Ammu-Nation for $3,000, or unlock it at all safehouses after collecting 70 Hidden Packages. Its automatic firepower and rugged design mirror its real-world legacy as a symbol of both revolution and organized crime.
AK-47 vs. M16
GTA IIIhelped popularize a common video game trope: portraying the AK-47 as inherently inferior to the American M16 (AR-15 platform). Despite real-world debates—where the AK is praised for its reliability and simplicity, and the AR for its accuracy and ergonomics—games often depict the AK as a crude “third-world” weapon, while the AR is shown as a sleeker, more powerful, high-tech rifle. In GTA: Advance this is clearly not the case, as there is no M16 weapon in the game and the AK-47 stands alone as the most powerful automatic firearm featured.
Molotov Cocktail
Though simple in design, the Molotov Cocktail has a charged history. Its name dates back to the Winter War (1939–1940), when Finnish troops mockingly named their homemade firebombs after Vyacheslav Molotov, the Soviet foreign minister who claimed that Soviet bombers were delivering food, not explosives. The term stuck, and even the USSR later adopted similar devices during World War II.
In GTA: Advance, the weapon’s use in gang conflicts mirrors its legacy: a symbol of improvised resistance born from wartime necessity, now repurposed for street-level chaos.
Conclusion: Small But Iconic Staple of Post-Soviet Crime
Though GTA: Advance lacks a fully fleshed-out Russian mob presence just like GTA III, the weaponry itself hints at the same global criminal undercurrents. The AK-47’s presence reinforces Rockstar’s tradition of embedding Cold War echoes and international iconography into its urban chaos—even in a top-down, handheld format.
Grand Theft Auto Advance
Developer(s): Digital Eclipse
Publisher(s): Rockstar Games
Director(s): Michael Mika Sr.
Producer(s): James Stanley, William S. Schmitt
Programmer(s): Cathryn Mataga
Artist(s): Boyd Burggrabe, Daniel Shallock
Writer(s): James Stanley
Series: Grand Theft Auto
Platform(s): Game Boy Advance
Release: NA: 26 October 2004
EU: 29 October 2004
Genre(s): Action-adventure
Mode(s): Single-player
About: Grand Theft Auto Advance brings the chaotic energy of the GTA universe to a Nintendo handheld platform, adapting familiar gameplay mechanics to the technical constraints of the Game Boy Advance while incorporating classic themes such as international black market weaponry and covert cultural nods.
References
- Rockstar Games. (2004). Grand Theft Auto Advance [Video game]. Digital Eclipse. https://www.rockstargames.com/games/classics
- IMFDb. (2004). AK-47. Retrieved from https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/AK-47#AKM