The Six Mainline Gran Turismo Games, Ranked Worst to Best

[akira3d]

An interesting thing about the Gran Turismo series is that I was not that into driving games prior to playing them. Surely I had played a fair number of racing games over the years, but no series prior to GT (regardless of video game genre) got me so excited that I would actually import the game ahead of its American release because I simply could not wait to play. I started doing this with GT3 and I did so again with GT4: Prologue...but didn't need to do so after that.

1. GT4 is my favorite in the series, but for reasons that are slightly different than most. I got the Driving Force Pro, my first 900 degree force feedback wheel, just ahead of its Japanese release. Up until then, I had never liked playing driving games with steering controllers and I didn't understand why until I tried this wheel at E3. The 900 degrees of rotation is far more significant than the force feedback given that previous steering controllers didn't ever feel 1:1, but the added road feel brought a new level of immersion that simply elevated the experience. I also had just driven my real NSX at Infineon Raceway months before the launch and this was the first time I could see how well the game translates an actual track experience I had...and I was instantly up to speed with it in the game. GT4 is also the first time I really got interested in endurance racing...thanks to pitting to B-spec and 3x time acceleration, I could mix simulated races with actual driving. This was my introduction to the Nordschleife and I spent an insane amount of time just doing time trials on that circuit with each car I acquired. And then there's photo mode! I never once played GT4 with the Dual Shock controller and didn't play another GT game with the twin sticks until GT: Sport Closed Beta (since I'm still holding hope that Polyphony will support my Driving Force GT and G25 on PS4...my Driving Force Pro finally died when GT6 came out).

2. GT3 gets my second place vote because it elevated the GT experience to another level thanks largely to being at 60fps at a time when few console racing games attempted such a feat. It was also the first driving game I played using the dual stick configuration that I still use with GT: Sport (steering on left, accelerate/brake on right). As most have mentioned, the visual upgrade over its PSone predecessors was huge...especially since I was still playing GT1 up until 3's release. And I did enjoy quite a few iLink races with coworkers.

2. I place the original Gran Turismo third for starting this driving game obsession. I still remember my boss bringing back the demo from Japan and us taking turns trying to set a top time (and I was so disappointed that Moon Over the Castle wasn't used as the intro theme in the U.S. release...it's the tune I imagine I hear whenever I fire up every GT game). At that time it was the most realistic and polished driving game available on any console...hard to believe I felt this while playing it with d-pad and digital buttons. While I know everyone celebrates the amount of stuff offered by GT2, I found GT2 exceptionally rough around the edges and actually did not start playing it until I could load it via emulation on PSP. I should add that the other reason I didn't play GT2 was that the original title came out during the busiest years of my career and I simply did not have much time to invest in playing any one game...and I was still happily progressing through the original's simulation mode by the time the third sequel came out. Case in point, I finally earned enough credits to buy an NSX in the game in 2000...just days after I bought my real 2000 NSX.

4. GT6 is fourth largely because it addressed a lot of the issues of GT5...and I've probably invested in as many hours as I did with GT4 (I was still finding time to play it during my lunch breaks...yes, I have a PS3 with G25 wheel mounted on my desk at work, up until I got accepted into the GT: Sport Closed Beta was). I would rank GT6 higher if it had shipped as feature complete, but it took two years to get some of the release's bullet points into the actual game. And it had an Ayrton Senna tribute...huge props for that, but it really needed the MP4/4 to be complete.

5. GT5 earns fifth place despite my frustration over so many little things. Don't get me wrong...I still played the hell out of it (as did my B-spec bobs). If it hadn't taken so long to come out (GT:HD, GT5: Prologue), I would have been more willing to forgive many of the issues it had. Heck, they initially put the 2002 NSX's taillights on a 1991! Sacrilege! Even more confusing since they had it right in GT5: Prologue. At least they patched that mistake.

6. GT2 is last, only because I found it so unpolished that I barely played it.

It's interesting to note that I had few complaints when GT1, GT3, and GT4 came out, but had many very real issues with GT2, GT5, and GT6 upon their release. That said, I also seem to recall that GT4 was supposed to be the first in the series with online play. Obviously, this series now has serious competition, but I should mention that I firmly believe that GT's all important driving feel has improved with each release and is still superior (which is part of the reason I haven't warmed up to its competition).

 

[deththrasher]

Fake News. Sad.

he's got some great points tbh, GT5 was both amazing and ******

 

[crooky369]

For me it's:

GT4 - Loads of content. Le Mans, Nurburgring and the Jaguar XJR-9 for the first time and plenty more.
GT2 - Again loads of content for its time. The Espace F1 is one of the all time great GT cars and Seattle making its first appearance is also one of the best tracks.
GT1 - Where it all started... When I played it last a few years ago it seems like one of the best games in terms of the AI giving you a decent race. Actually felt like an excellent arcade racer.
GT3 - Short but sweet and the graphics at the time were just mind blowing.
GT5 - Bit too much carry over from GT4 in terms of cars but some very good features such as online and day/night transitions. The AI and challenge of the game was so lacking compared to the other rival titles coming out though.
GT6 - GT5 2.0 - Felt stale. The game came out when the PS4 was being launched and this was a look into the past especially with the heavy amount of reuse of old car models. Why they didn't do a premium car only version with improved framerate etc for PS4 I don't understand.

 

[Anonanon]

Between Gran Turismo 3 and 4, the latter ran wild with more content and advancement in graphics but the charisma and magic was somewhat lost in the transition. Gran Turismo 4 would've been at top but it focused too much on realism, which sounds like a ridiculous argument for Gran Turismo. Cars drove like tanks unless you tuned them (which you can't for license tests), graphics were ultimately photo-realistic but everything was underexposed and lit with a flat gray lighting most of the time. Gran Turismo 3's graphics were amazing for its time because they were good looking and also overstated for the sake of excitement instead of trying to gimmick every boring aspect of a raw photo. The exaggerated heat wave at the grid, the vibrant and blinding sunset at Laguna or Smokey Mountain, the breakbeat music that carried over from the late 90s, the dealership music was upbeat and really made you want to go car shopping instead of the slower tempo stuff in GT4 that kind of put you to sleep in a relaxing way. The white era's menu design was definitely really nice looking as described earlier as an interactive car encylopedia, but it was also the time when the series started taking itself too seriously. Some people may argue that the orange era's menu design was ugly and disjointed, but depending on how you frame it (literally) you can warm up to appreciate its Smash Bros-like aesthetic.

Edit: Additional comments on GT3's excitement vs GT4's photorealism that just came to mind. GT3's Seattle is extremely vibrant and the shadows are actually really dark especially under the bridge and the rear of your car. If you check GT4's Seattle, the track atmosphere is extremely washed out and the shadows are never really dark. The game lacks contrast, making it look more dull and lifeless.

Oh and in order to prevent frame drops in GT4 due to raising the bar, some races were limited to rolling starts which actually diminishes the fun and excitement a bit. It's the little things.

 

[z71L28]

1.GT5 2.GT4 3.GT2 4.GT6 5.GT1 6.GT3

 

[1241Penguin]

The PS2 era Gran Turismo games were the best and the PS3 games were the worst so I agree with the ranking that Slip had. I can't comment on GT1 and GT2 since I never owned them.

Gran Turismo 3 was the last of what I thought of as the "simple era" of GT. The gameplay was just so straightforward. You start off with a slow car, and you participate in some races. If you want to race in the upper class events, you needed to earn your licences, and now you've got enough money to get the dream car you've always desired. It's just so simple, and I think that GT3's focus on the racing part of the game was what made it stand out to me so much. It truly is "The Real Driving Simulator," and had a certain magic that diminished slightly in GT4 and was nearly gone in GT5/GT6. You're never too far away from a good race, and I think this is an aspect that the newer GT games do not have.

Gran Turismo 4 is a close second for me. It started to lean towards the more complicated gameplay that we saw in GT5 and GT6. Now you would find menus hidden within menus, and races hidden within that. For the longest time I didn't even realize that you could buy cars at the Tuner Village. Car dealerships became spread out all over the career mode menu, as did the tracks and the races. But nevertheless, it never swayed too far from the simplicity that GT3 had. It still had a strong focus on the racing aspect of a racing game. You are never too far from buying the car you want and then having the time of your life racing them. Couple the still very good gameplay with the huge increase in car and track count, and GT4 makes a seriously strong case for itself.

Gran Turismo 5 ties with Gran Turismo 6 in some ways. The racing aspect of the game is now so buried that I found it difficult to enjoy a simple race the way I did in GT3 and GT4. The economy was god damn awful. The XP system is probably one of the worst game design choices ever made by PD, and the consequences resulting from the XP system is endless. I remember being unable to buy a Ferrari because my XP wasn't high enough. Like what? If I remember correctly, the XP system rendered the licensing system completely pointless. The used car dealership was made worse in GT5. At least in GT4 there weren't enough cars to make finding the one you want a difficult task, but since all of GT4's car roster was now in the GT5 used car dealership, good luck. And that brings me to Standards cars. Boy oh boy did it make the overall game feel sloppy. The graphical bugs and inconsistencies really dropped the quality of the game. There's a lot more for me to rant about but these things stuck to me most. Overall, there were many poor design choices made by PD, but I did enjoy racing online. Shuffle racing was a brilliant idea, I don't know why it didn't make it in GT6.

Gran Turismo 6 is a weird one. It lacked some of the features that GT5 had, but it felt more refined at the same time, and some parts of the game design have been dramatically improved. The menus were more streamline and the entire game just felt a lot faster and more intelligently designed, but it still lacked the polish that every GT game pre-GT5 had. The graphics were still a little bit buggy at times, and the fact that Standard cars were still in the game again brought the overall quality of the game down. The economy if I remember correctly was still awful, but at least they got rid of the stupid XP system. Grinding was real, and had I not exploited one of the earlier glitches of the game which got me millions of credits at once, I probably wouldn't have stuck around for GT6 all that long. The race design was (still) awful; chase the rabbit was and never will be a fun way to "race," but at least I had fun doing time trials in each car, which I felt had become the sole selling point of GT6. And that I'm afraid is the downfall of this game. It wasn't as innovative as GT5, and it wasn't as fun as GT3 or GT4. It was also a game from 2013, and considering its competition, GT6 was seriously lacking.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

I'm really glad to see so much discussion about everybody's personal lists. That's the great thing about a long-running series like this: there's no right answer.

Seems appropriate to share my thoughts. You'll see a fair amount of this was worked into the actual article when appropriate, so keep that in mind.

My list is close to what the team ended up with, with only GT2 and GT4 swapping spots. I mentioned it in a status update, but only @Ameer67's list matched the final results. Also, rather impressively, no two lists were alike!

Gran Turismo 6 - A missed opportunity. While it was impressive that the game launched without a single delay, there were obvious signs of how that was possible, with a lot of content missing on release (including, bizarrely, stuff that was already present in GT5). The entire track editor saga was awkward to watch unfold: first mentions pegged it as a truly monstrous 100 x 100 km sandbox. Then it was half that. Then 10 x 10. It ended up — over two years later — as even smaller, and an app separate from the game itself, only available on select devices. Luckily, the GTPlanet community quickly figured out ways to make it more accessible.

I just didn't feel like this was a massive step-change, the way GT4 was over GT3, or GT2 over GT1. It was GT5.5 in many ways, and the focus on fantasy vehicles in the case of the Vision GT project — an admittedly clever marketing move — just didn't resonate with me. That this came out after the PS4 was undoubtedly one of the reasons it sold so (comparatively) poorly.

The game looked great in stills, but couldn't maintain a steady framerate, something I was spoiled with after two years of FM4.

I still haven't finished it because I lost interest only a few months in. (EDIT: since writing this, I went back to Platinum GT6 on my main PSN profile. My GTP_ account remains unfinished though.)

On the plus side, the run-up to it was the reason I (first) met Kazunori Yamauchi, as well as @Jordan and @Terronium-12. So, that was cool!

Gran Turismo 5 - Nothing could've possibly measured up to the insane level of hype this generated. That's not why it's ranked so low though. It just can't measure up to the old games in terms of how they were received at their own times. Yes, GT5 was massive, but the majority of its content was warmed-over PS2 assets, four years into the PS3's life. But that wasn't even the worst of it.

The game was an utter grind-fest at launch. The career was designed so haphazardly I wonder how it ended up in the final version. Assuming you weren't playing online, you would have to run one of the 24-hour endurances multiple times to unlock another one?! And there's no way to save mid-race?!

Despite the number-padding that was Standards, that whole approach was still mirrored, to an extent, in the Premiums: the two Swifts come to mind.

All this said, it was still the first full GT game on PS3. Thus, it outranks its half-baked successor.

Gran Turismo 1 - It pains me to put this so low. This is the grand-daddy. This was the start of something that changed the genre (for better or worse). But thanks to PD's tradition of releasing two full games per console generation, this faces competition against GT2, which out-points it in nearly every conceivable way.

I remember my dad bringing this home shortly after my twelfth birthday. The only racing game we had at the time on the PS1 was the original NFS. That was a quality item, but nothing prepared me for GT. License tests were such a bizarre experience to me, and as a seeming sign of how serious the game was, my dad was able to pass that first Demio test before I could.

I made my own cover for the disc case. I started writing down stats on every car. I craved more info on new-to-me cars like the FTO and all TVRs from sites on Geocities and Angelfire. As soon as I was able to, I bought myself a copy of the game, and it's one I still have. I even got Kaz to sign its cover when I met him.

Memory Card Battles were a thing of beauty. The tracks, while all fictional, were well-designed. Endurance races were right on the limit in terms of time I wanted to invest. LM Editions were far, far cooler than the unicorn-blood-powered nonsense that started showing up in the VGT program.

This is only now starting to show its age. But what a stunning first act for a new franchise!

Gran Turismo 4 - This was a tough one to stick above GT1. Yeah, it was massive, and the long wait for GT5 meant I put a ton of time into it. But the physics were worse than GT3! Everything understeered, and all FF cars were butchered.

This was the start of the slide for the series. It had up until this time towered over all other console competitors, but cracks were beginning to form in the foundation. Customization was pathetically limited. Online was chopped in the 11th hour. There were still only six cars in the field. More than a few big names in the automotive world were missing.

The participation trophies that were given out for the License Test bronzes still piss me off.

It earns this place based on the variety on offer, without having to resort to dredging up zombies from the previous generation. This felt like a love letter to the automobile in a way the sterile PS3-era games never did. The old Benz vehicles were educational — the Model T could actually be fun to drive — while there was a whole cast of great circuits that were created for the game, only to never be seen again. Citta di Aria was utterly unique: sure, it was a pain to get to know, but threading the needle there was a serious challenge. El Capitan was a lot of fun too.

This game also had a pretty big impact on me in the real world, essentially paying for a year of schooling.

Gran Turismo 2 - Yep. I'm surprised by this too. GT2 has long been a favourite, but I don't think it was actually the best game. It had a lot of unique cars that have never been seen in the franchise again, something that is undoubtedly exacerbated by the PS3 era recycling almost everything from the PS2 one, so we've never had to "miss" those cars. It brought in a bunch of cool PD-designed circuits, and the first real-world circuit (and that's probably why Laguna Seca still ranks as one of my absolute favourite tracks).

The career was expanded, but it lacked the sort of creativity that would come in GT3 (and then seemingly disappear a decade later). The graphics were slightly worse, with everything coated in an extreme layer of shine. It did bring customizable wheels into the mix though — and that would remain the extent of customization in the franchise for a decade, outside of some wings in GT4!

But the game was glitched. Remember how you couldn't get 100% completion? Remember freaky physics, which could have the R30 Skyline Silhouette Foumula cornering like it was on rails at any speed?

If I'm going to revisit an old GT game, GT2 is the one I'm most likely to do. But removing the nostalgia, I can't call it best.

Gran Turismo 3 - This is the franchise's Empire Strikes Back. Its Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. GT3 hits the perfect blend of commercial and critical success, with none of the bloat that would come later. Yeah, the car selection was a fraction of GT2's, but it was all used effectively. There wasn't a boring, mid-range freakin' Saxo or Corsa within the lineup. Instead, we got the Zonda before it showed up anywhere else and effectively became the modern day version of the F40 in terms of teenage boy bedroom poster coverage (I mean that in a good way).

This game was fun. It also felt a little rebellious, what with the obvious F1-but-not-F1 cars, the JGTC Lambo, or Kaz' personal 996 GT3 being snuck in there. How cool was it to race against various Polyphony employees' ghosts in Arcade Mode, before realizing the big cheese himself was your target on Complex String?

GT3 was the racing game Goldilocks. It was the perfect size: not too small your parents would regret buying it for you, as it sat collecting dust a week after, but not too daunting that you'd never hope to complete it (hi, GTs 4 through 6).

Since I've allowed nostalgia to take hold for the other entries, this only seems fair: I was possibly one of the first people to own GT3 in my home town. I called the local EB to find out when it was being delivered, and had my mom drive me up. The only reason I didn't get it the moment I walked in was because I saw the game in motion on a demo station, and I just had to experience it. The MR-S JGTC at Midfield Raceway was a jaw-dropping experience.

It was also important I try it, since I didn't actually own a PS2. That wouldn't come for another three months. I trekked over to my cousins and would use her's almost every day that summer, even buying my own memory card after the second day so I wouldn't have to repeat things.

This was peak Gran Turismo. It's arguably been downhill since, at least from a gameplay experience perspective. I still call it my favourite franchise despite the disappointments, and I hope GT Sport does well, but I don't think it'll ever hit this high again.

 

[Johnnypenso]

For me GT5 is the most memorable game and for one reason only - it brought wide open online racing to the series and therefore to me. I spent almost no time in the career and all my time online, racing and tuning. The money generating hacks were awesome as well. Riding around in a circle in the nether lands underneath the bridge at SSR11, elastic bands set up just right to get the RedBull around Indy for Like the Wind with a can of beans on the enter key of a keyboard etc. The game was rife with issues but the joy of racing online brought me into sim racing in a big way for a number of years.

 

[zzz_pt]

GT5.

With the single-use paint-chip system that meant you had to buy a car every time you wanted to use that colour on another car.
With the trading system that was immediately nerfed and rendered useless because people were gifting the black X1 Prototype from 100% completion.
With microtransactions, buying in-game credits for real money.
With the infinitely long used car database that could leave you searching for that Formula GT for 20,000 years and never actually find it.
With the XP system that made you drive one 24 hour race eight times before you could drive the other one.
With the trophies you can no longer get because online functionality was removed.
With the XP system that prevented you from buying a car you could afford, because you weren't a high enough level, so when the Formula GT did turn up you couldn't have it and store it for when you needed it.

GT5 needed to sit in the corner and think about what it had done.

You could trade fantastic museum cards with your friends though.

 

[MMX]

Reading some of these posts makes me feel like an old man. I was grown and married when GT1 came out, and was the reason I switched from Nintendo to PlayStation. I played all the number editions, and while 4 is my favorite, when it comes to the online age, GT5 Prologue in a lot of ways, was more fun than 5 and 6. Wound up meeting a bunch of good people in game and on websites like here. No doubt I'm a GT fan, but 6 sure put a damper on it. Until the beta I hadn't touched a GT game in probably two years.

Here's to hoping GT Sport can light that fire again.

 

[Joey D]

My list would go something like this:

1. GT4
2. GT2
3. GT3
4. GT1
5. GT6
6. GT5

GT4 seemed to hit the sweet spot of having a ton of content, being fun, and well put together. 5 wasn't very good and became a grind to get anything, 6 lost me when they continued to use models from the PS2 era.

 

[GTRGirl]

It's awesome to see a list of the greatest race sims. The reason I wanted my GT-R so bad was because when I hit the start button, 'polyphony digital' is the first thing that comes up on its screen. This franchise changed how I understood cars. I agree about the ps2 versions being some of the most awesome graphically and was going nuts waiting for the ps3 versions. As such a fan-girl I even bought a-spec, not caring about who judged me. Great read, man. Thank you!

 

[Johnnypenso]

It's awesome to see a list of the greatest race sims. The reason I wanted my GT-R so bad was because when I hit the start button, 'polyphony digital' is the first thing that comes up on its screen. This franchise changed how I understood cars. I agree about the ps2 versions being some of the most awesome graphically and was going nuts waiting for the ps3 versions. As such a fan-girl I even bought a-spec, not caring about who judged me. Great read, man. Thank you!

The greatest race sims? Oh cool, do you have a link to that?

Welcome aboard

 

[TS050]

This is the franchise’s Empire Strikes Back. Its Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.

I love this sneaky little Kanye reference

--

Anyway, my list would go something like this;

1. GT3
2. GT4
3. GT2
4. GT1
5. GT6
6. GT5

Pretty similar to the GTP list, in all honesty.

 

[girabyt3]

Wasn't expecting an opened can of worms today!

Ok, here's my list since everybody is doing it lol:

1.- GT3: Screw what you guys say about the "poor" car list after GT2, and screw SNES' Top Gear. This is the EPITOME of a racing game (and the one which defined my life!!)!! More than perfect car list ('98 Civic Type R, Evo VI T.M.E, AU Falcon V8 Supercar... OG '98 Escort WRC...EVO VI WRC... on Smokey Mountain...), more than perfect physics, MORE than perfect graphics... And one of the best soundtracks in videogame history!!! ♥

Spoiler: Including this masterpiece ♥

Metal Gear Solid 2 could have been awesome, but GT3 it's THE 2001 GAME!!

2.- GT2: Ok, topping GT1 because of all the stuff it involved!! And some of the most creative designs I've seen in cars (The Honda S2000 GT1... and the Altezza LM...)

Spoiler

You should recognize these ones @TeamCZRRacing

3.- GT1: Ok, it's the original, so it deserves a podium finish!! Needless to say what it has to deserve a podium, even if it's a 3rd place!!

4.- GT4: The only downhill, the static physics it has comparing it to other games like Enthusia or Forza 1, otherwise, the car list and graphics were on point (An '06 Eclipse before Mostwanted?? Daaamnn!!), but the top-notch stuff about the car list... the LM cars... Even if some of them were demoted or changed from their GT3 counterparts, the newbies (for a main title) were just... I will let the GTR Concept LM (A.K.A the best LM car ever designed) talk about it ♥

5.- GT6: Ok, it wasn't a generational leap against GT5, but the physics were tons better, the graphics were much better, and having the Evo VI T.M.E fully premiumized was enough to enjoy GT6 !! And obviously, the photo mode was just... Just see a bit of my portfolio down below lol



6.- GT5: When a whole franchise revolutionized the genre, it's imposible to say even the least favorite member it's the worst, because there hasn't been any worst GT game ever, just a least favorite . GT5 it's the case, even if it was bad made, it has some thumbs up! I mean, karting, NASCAR, 2008 WRC after Sega Rally 3's madness!! Yes, it has the PS2 ported car's massive issue, i know, but it still was a enjoyable GT for me! Especially after the Spec 2.0 update!

Overall, even if GT had ups and downs (like every other major on it's category), it still got up there for us!!

 

[Donnced]

Well, I'm one of those that have got a deception with the last numbered GT.
Broken physics, 800+ standard cars and most of them still from GT4 epoque... Bad sound,bad AI, the easiest GT ever...and lot of broken promises like not even fulfil the vision GT car list, which i hate BTW to put fake fictional cars in a "simulation" game.
GT5 was a lot better than GT6 but still far beyond others GT.
And for what I've tried on the Beta of the first "new gen" GT... My level of deception has gone even higher..

About my favourite numbered GT games, here goes my list!

1- Gran Turismo 4 (would love to see an HD remaster with online feature.. I would buy it yesterday.)

2- Gran Turismo 3 (simply the best physics of the saga and loved The single-seaters)

3 - Gran Turismo (wow..what a surprise in an arcade world and see that from the studio that maked "motorToon2" a bit before)

4 - Gran Turismo 2 (and his 2 discs,good improvement on GT1,but GT1 is GT1)

5 - Gran Turismo 5 (the last acceptable GT Mode....but lot of cars badly ported from GT4 called "standard" cars...and the launch of GT academy and start of a nice online)

6 - Gran Turismo 6 (man....what the **** happend to you PD...)

Above GT 6 i really would put in the ranking GT5 prologue (one of the best things launched on PS3) the Gran Turismo of PSP that came with tracks from GT4 as the capitan and the spin-off tokyo-Geneva.. Those "Concept cars" was what i expect to see as a similar way with that "vision GT thing".

For me GT4 is the best.... My first PS2 died with it thanks to the hours and hours of playing... And buyed a second PS2 just to keep playing hours and hours

 

[Danisfast]

Interesting list, and I can't help but wonder if I am playing the same games as everyone else...!

IMO, the original is the best. It had everything and was an exciting, visionary project. There were no areas of weakness and for those reasons it is the best game.

GT2 was a huge expansion of the first, but that's it. A better game it does not make. Indeed, in GT2, the racing appeared to suffer from additional fram rate issues...

GT3 was a fantastic game, and jostles with the original for first place. However, it falls short because it relied too much on too few vehicles and it became repetitive. GT1 didn't suffer from this problem because it has both more cars and a tighter range of events. But taking nothing away from the PS2 debut; what a game GT3 was.

GT4 was also an excellent game, and also incredibly ambitious... It's a strong effort. A strong third.

GT5 is the easily the worst. It was aesthetically compromised and the design of the single player was so deeply flawed so as to not even be GT. Finally, the online was from a decade earlier...

GT6 was an improvement on GT5 in every way. Little things, like the Sierra time trial and the Senna mode, are great evolutions of the special event mode (which has been around since the original in some form, might I add). I would say that it's probably just behind GT4.

So, from best to worst; GT1, GT3, GT4, GT6, GT2 and GT5.

 

[Tired Tyres]

For me its a game of two halves.

3-2-1 then 4-5-6. There's a pattern there.

 

[glassjaw]

#teamGT4isthebest

Seriously, everything you loved about GT3? GT4 had it, but more and better, with Group C prototypes.

Except for SSR11, I'll give you that.

 

[Sonygamer455]

I have enjoyed the GT series since I got into it way back in 2002. I admit, my view on the GT series is kind of flawed since I didn't play them all in order so my list is a bit different and may seem strange to some.

1. GT4. One of several games I got with my PS2 and although I didn't play it as much as GT5, it was overall the funniest and most memorable GT game for me. It had so many tracks in this game that I wish they would use again, it really adds to the experience when going back. Same could be said for some of it's cars, namely the Nike One 2022. This game also had the best soundtrack in the series in my opinion, with only a small few I didn't like. Literally every song brings back good memories for me. The cars weren't as obscenely expensive as GT5 and one thing this game has over it is you can win some cars over again and sell them for cash without being hassled by the internet to do the seasonal events in GT5.

Haven't played it in a while, but every time I have went back to it in recent years, it brought back so many good memories and I still have yet to beat this game. Although GT5 had more to offer, I have more reason to play GT4 again since it brings a lot of intense nostalgia and I still have some unfinished races I have yet to complete. I am sure there is more I could say about this game, but it's been a while since I played it again.

2. GT5. I got this game with my PS3 back in Christmas of 2010 and it introduced me to a lot of new things I had never experienced until then. Where do I begin? Well it had a huge car list that I had not seen before prior to getting this game, the track selection was also great and the ability to paint cars in GT for the first time ever really added to it for me. Many cars I had wanted in GT4, but wasn't able to get were much more easy to obtain in this game and the races seemed easier to complete as well. The seasonal events were great for earning credits and much better than that of GT6. Trading was another thing in this game that I really liked since it helped me get things I wanted in the game with ease. After joining GTP and learning of the marketplace, this took my experience to a whole new level! I didn't race online much in this game, but I do have some memories racing online with a few GTP members in this game, not so much for GT6 though.

Although it had it's issues, the game was already quite pleasing for me, but once hacking became a thing, the game just exploded and that was when it was at it's peak for me. So many things could be done, but my biggest highlight for this was being able to put dirt and snow tires on cars that normally don't allow them. Even though they tried to kill off hacking in the game, people found ways around it and while it ain't as good as it was, it's still better than GT6 since you don't need CFW to do it. Although the servers are gone, I pretty much beat the entire game and I haven't played it since 2014, it still has a lot to offer to me and I can find a lot of reasons to play it again, especially knowing I have every car in the game and I have hacked them so they can race on dirt or snow despite not originally allowing it.

3. GT6. Got this game when it was new and I got some enjoyment out of it for a while. It had a great car list carrying over most of them from what GT5 had as well as introducing new ones I have come to like. The introduction of the VGT cars was great because not only did they look great to me, but it gave me something to look forward to in later updates. Seeing the used car dealer go was actually a good thing to me since they made them available from the start in good condition instead of waiting forever for a car that I may not be able to afford by then that will probably need a lot of maintenance. Seeing endurance races go was also pleasing to me since I never really enjoyed them much in previous games and I am glad they didn't return in this one. Although it took a long time for it to come and wasn't actually in game, the track path editor certainly made the game more interesting since you could create your own tracks as well as download ones made by other people, a feature I hope to see later on.

Although it had more features than GT5 along with some much needed fixes from that game, I for some reason didn't enjoy this one as much as I did with GT5, I guess it just wasn't as much of a leap as I had wanted. Once I got my PS4 in late 2015, this game kind of faded away for me after that. However, I can find more reasons to play this again than the lower ones on the list, which is why it gets number 3 for me.

4. GT2. This was the game that got me into the series in the first place. It saw plenty of play time over the years and it was at it's peak in late 2005 for me just months before I got a PS2. The game had a great car list full of amazing cars that I really liked that the series has yet to see again. Of course lets not forget how fast the Escudo was in this game, that car was a beast to drive and it has never been better for me. The racing modifications were the best in the series in my opinion, it really gave you something to look forward to when buying a car. The track selection was also quite nice and many of my favorite tracks in the series were in this game that have yet to be seen again. It gets even better when you hack it because the amount of hidden content in this game only makes it even more interesting to play.

Despite all this, it doesn't really bring back many memories for me for some reason. I have done a lot of things in this game in recent years and I have gotten tired of it as a result, which is why it's not higher on the list for me.

5. GT3. Kind of suffered the same fate as GT1 did. My dad got this game just days after I got my PS2 and GT4 and since I was addicted to GT4 at the time, it was overshadowed by it and didn't see much either. However, it did see more playtime than GT1 ever did. Not much I can say here, it is a pretty good looking game and hybrids were a bit more interesting, other than that, I don't really know what else to say. I played it some in recent years, but I just couldn't get into it. This game just came at the wrong time for me and it just ended being cast a side for years. Had that not happened, my opinion could be different. Nowadays after playing it a few years ago, I am not sure if I would get much out of it if I was to try and play it again. Maybe someday I may give it another shot and try to complete it since I haven't yet.

6. GT1. I think I got this game in early 2006 shortly after getting a PS2 for Christmas. Since I had just a new console and was heavily addicted to GT4 by then, this game didn't really get a whole lot of attention from me due to when I got it. I did play it some though, but since I was used to playing games with more content like GT2 and GT4 at the time, I didn't get much out of it. It's not a bad game though, it was ultimately too little too late for me when I got it and thus why it's lower on the list. I probably should play it more someday because I am a bit more understanding nowadays than I used to be and who knows what I could be missing!

Large post I know, but hey, it's a big series!

 

[akira3d]

For me GT5 is the most memorable game and for one reason only - it brought wide open online racing to the series and therefore to me

Of all the features I was dying to get added to the series, online was number one (having gotten a taste of 6 player ilink battles of GT3, I was disappointed it didn't make it into GT4). And then when I tried online in GT5: Prologue, I was so turned off by the experience that I actually had not played a single multiplayer race until I got into the closed beta of GT: Sport. It still is not where I want it to be, but it is getting better...

 

[Tuppence870]

Haven't played all of them, but I'd rank those I have like this:

1. GT4
2. GT6
3. GT2
4. GT5

GT4 was revolutionary to my younger self and even brought me back into racing games after a brief fling with shooters (TimeSplitters for anyone who remembers that gem). It's a shame I can't get it to run any more, but I spent so many hours just earning money and collecting as many cars as I could. And it still bothers me that every GT since has managed to mess up the arcade & split screen vehicle selection, by not including every car you own in GT mode in stock form. Such a simple, genius system and I really don't know why it was dropped.

GT6 has kept me entertained for these last few PS4-less years and although it feels rigid and incomplete, it's still given me plenty of hours of fun, has absolutely fantastic graphics (even some of GT5's standard cars had been given a necessary update) and a brilliant car selection. This is also the only GT game I've completed to 100% and "completed" my collection.

GT2 came into my life very recently after hearing good things from a friend, but it honestly didn't impress me too much. Maybe it's the incredibly dated graphics, or the grindy career mode, or even the fact GT4-style car collecting hadn't been implemented yet, but it just didn't do much for me. The car and track selections are fantastic though, so I'll give credit for that.

GT5... oh dear. After being thouroughly impressed with GT5P's graphics (enough to buy a PS3), the main game just failed to deliver. The career mode was a grind, the car selection was woefully recycled and the physics were horrible. There honestly wasn't much I liked about this game at all and it was a huge disappointment.

Honorable mention: GT Concept - picked this up in a bargain bin a few years back and despite it's short length and small size, this game is fantastic. Really good fun, very accessible and generally great little title. Highly recommended if you can find a copy.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

#teamGT4isthebest

Seriously, everything you loved about GT3? GT4 had it, but more and better, with Group C prototypes.

Except for SSR11, I'll give you that.

And Rome Circuit, more F1 cars, and a better chase cam.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Not exactly how I would rank the games, but okay. However since everyone listed their opinions, I'll list mine.

6.) Gran Turismo 5 -> It had a rocky start at launch and had a huge, negative impact on the fans' view of the series. For those alone, I would say it's the worse. It also felt very limited in comparison to the other games including GT6 with cars, events, and even damage blocked behind a level system. I also didn't like how they made B-Spec mode a separate career mode; that was huge padding.

5.) Gran Turismo 6 -> I honestly would take this game over GT5 any day of the week, especially now that all of the features are here. It got ride of the level walls that GT5 had and B-Spec mode was back to being an option. It had more cars and tracks to choose from. Some tracks from GT5 were improved and even given dynamic time/weather options such as Autumn Ring for instance. It had better customization, better lighting, and the career mode was a bit less linear since you no longer had to beat every race in a league to progress.

4.) Gran Turismo 1 -> It started the series and was a pioneer in the sim genre. However, I just can't enjoy this as much as GT2-4. It's a good start of the franchise, but the improvements brought to the later games are why it's in the number 1 spot. The game is not bad, it's still fun to play as a matter of fact. It just happens that every GT after this is better.

3.) Gran Turismo 4 -> Gran Turismo 4 imo has the best car selection from the series and has the biggest career mode. I love the multiple locations and cars to choose from honestly. I also love that you can access all cars in arcade mode just by getting the car in GT mode and with the ability to select every color it came in. However, what keeps this in 3rd place are a few major problems that I had with GT4. For one, the license tests are such a long bore. Good lord, why are there 16 tests for each one? The 5 second penalties in some events got annoying, I didn't like some of the events including the mission events, and the endurance races are a bit too long. Sure, I like watching the 24 hours of Le Mans, but that doesn't mean I want to do it myself. I could wear out my system that way. Uh, thank god that the B-Spec mode in this game allows me to speed up the races. My final gripe is the menu is too cluttered, it takes a while to navigate across this thing.

2.) Gran Turismo 3 -> Gran Turismo 3 is a good example of quality over quantity and I think this is what people wanted GT5 to be. While it's down on content over GT2, it makes up by making the most out of its content. The car count is similar to GT1's, but there's now more variety. It still had a great track selection that brought back SSR11 and introduced new tracks into the mix such as Tokyo R246 and Cote D' Azur (basically Monaco). It had a good selection of events to choose from including multi-leveled events. The menus were easy to shift through. Lastly, it had better driving physics than GT4's that kept the gameplay fun. I mean, I didn't mind the downgrade so much in GT4 for road racing, but the rally events were made unfun due to the physics change. If GT4 kept GT3's physics system, then I would rank that higher than this.

1.) Gran Turismo 2 -> So far, this is still my favorite GT title. I love it because like GT3, it's simple to play. It doesn't take me long to get my first license, my first car, and then start racing. Sure, it has it's issues such as the bugs at launch (Machine Test 400m glitch, Vector M12 LM on Trial Mountain endurance, & etc). It also had the least restrictive events in any GT game, but I think that makes the game more fun. This game allows me to be more creative with how I play the game. I have a good selection of cars to start with along with a good selection of races, I still love coming back to this game to just experiment with different career paths based on what cars and events I start with.

 

[MisterOne77]

Well, I'm one of those that have got a deception with the last numbered GT.
Broken physics, 800+ standard cars and most of them still from GT4 epoque... Bad sound,bad AI, the easiest GT ever...and lot of broken promises like not even fulfil the vision GT car list, which i hate BTW to put fake fictional cars in a "simulation" game.
GT5 was a lot better than GT6 but still far beyond others GT.
And for what I've tried on the Beta of the first "new gen" GT... My level of deception has gone even higher..

About my favourite numbered GT games, here goes my list!

1- Gran Turismo 4 (would love to see an HD remaster with online feature.. I would buy it yesterday.)

2- Gran Turismo 3 (simply the best physics of the saga and loved The single-seaters)

3 - Gran Turismo (wow..what a surprise in an arcade world and see that from the studio that maked "motorToon2" a bit before)

4 - Gran Turismo 2 (and his 2 discs,good improvement on GT1,but GT1 is GT1)

5 - Gran Turismo 5 (the last acceptable GT Mode....but lot of cars badly ported from GT4 called "standard" cars...and the launch of GT academy and start of a nice online)

6 - Gran Turismo 6 (man....what the **** happend to you PD...)

Above GT 6 i really would put in the ranking GT5 prologue (one of the best things launched on PS3) the Gran Turismo of PSP that came with tracks from GT4 as the capitan and the spin-off tokyo-Geneva.. Those "Concept cars" was what i expect to see as a similar way with that "vision GT thing".

For me GT4 is the best.... My first PS2 died with it thanks to the hours and hours of playing... And buyed a second PS2 just to keep playing hours and hours

I'm guessing you don't like the NIKE ONE 2022 from GT4 either? Or the multiple non-existing LM Race cars that only exist in GT?

 

[girabyt3]

And Rome Circuit, more F1 cars, and a better chase cam.

#teamgt3ftw!!

 

[TomBrady]

Dumbest list I've ever seen

Reverse it and you'd be much closer to the mark

 

[Cowboy]

1. GT3
2. GT4
3. GT6
4. GT5
5. Tied between GT2-1

 

[cjr3559]

These GT rank threads have come up in the past, but I'll rank them again. Favorite to less favorite, not necessarily best to worst because none of them are bad.

GT6: Course Maker, time/weather dynamics, the largest car roster, best track selection, and it's the most sand-boxy of all the titles. It's the only game in the series that makes me want to have a separate setup apart from my PS4 just to play it.

GT5: Bought this one late in the release, didn't get as much time to play it before it went offline. The Used Car Dealership was entertaining and fun to search. Not crazy about the leveling system, but it wasn't a major fault.

GT4: Great for its time, but nothing really compels me to replay this game. No Lamborghini, no Ferrari, less tracks, overall less dynamic than the PS3 titles and with fewer AI opponents. Maybe hooking up my DFGT for a second tour might make it more enjoyable, but I'd likely be bored after a day of gameplay wanting something else like GT5 and 6.

GT3: See GT4.

GT2: Awesome for its time too, played the heck out of it, but this game is ancient history. Not even nostalgia can keep me interested for more than 30 minutes.

GT1: See GT2.

 

[1241Penguin]

Dumbest list I've ever seen

Reverse it and you'd be much closer to the mark

So... anything to back this up?