One of the biggest disappointments in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has to be Ryder's role as one of the traitors to Grove Street. Up until that point in the game, he is consistently one of the most entertaining members of the cast, but after that moment, everything fun about him is lost. While not GTA: San Andreas' only traitor, he is the only one who suffers so much from the twist.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.]
In GTA: San Andreas, the main character CJ is a member of the Grove Street Families, a gang locked in a battle against the Ballas, who want to push crack and other drugs in their territory. However, the battle shifts when Big Smoke and Ryder, two of CJs closest friends, turn out to be in league with the corrupt cop Officer Tenpenny, who works with the Ballas. The fallout from Big Smoke and Ryder's betrayal in San Andreas forces CJ out of Los Santos for a while and is the first step in the revenge story that makes up the latter part of the game.
Unfortunately, while Big Smoke benefits greatly from this twist, Ryder gets the short end of the stick. During the game's first act, Ryder is hands-down the funniest character in the game despite his bad attitude. Every mission involving Ryder has him getting off at least a few one-liners, providing some welcome levity to the game. However, after The Green Sabre, Big Smoke looms over the rest of the plot, while Ryder never becomes relevant again until he is about to die. San Andreas' forgotten B Dup and Big Bear have about as much relevance post-betrayal as Ryder does, which is sad considering Ryder's previous role.
Ryder Was Essentially Wasted In GTA: San Andreas After Its Big Twist
Given Ryder's antagonistic personality when he was CJ's ally, the game could have benefited from using him more actively after he betrayed the Families. He could have been one of Big Smoke's lieutenants, acting as a short-term villain after CJ's return to Los Santos, or perhaps pursuing him to San Fierro. Such a role would have given him more of a chance to show off his personality which made him so great to watch in the early game. Instead, he goes out with a whimper once he and CJ meet again. CJ hated C.R.A.S.H. in San Andreas too, but unlike Ryder, they got satisfying downfalls.
Another thing that the game could have done with Ryder is to not have him turn into a traitor at all. It would have been interesting to see Ryder, despite his constant insults and snide remarks, remain loyal while Big Smoke, the most openly friendly member of the gang, betrayed them. Not only would this provide an opportunity to delve deeper into Ryder as a character, but it would also provide him with some much-needed screentime. Ryder is much too entertaining to be cast aside as quickly as he was in San Andreas, and a version of Ryder that stuck with CJ to the end could have been the remedy for this problem. San Andreas is the best GTA Trilogy game, but Ryder's treatment is still disappointing.
As it stands, Ryder is the biggest piece of missed potential in San Andreas. What he does provide in the game's first act is excellent, but it all goes away after The Green Sabre while Big Smoke gets all the glory as one of the bosses of the game's finale. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas still has one of the series' better stories, but it's a shame that Ryder was ultimately underused.