GTA San Andreas: Hidden Tattoos

by gtaadmin on 17/03/09 at 1:46 pm

This is a guide about GTA San Andreas: Hidden Tattoos intended for PS2 users. You don't need any extra cheat equipment to follow this guide. You will need to enter the Jet-pack button code.

NOTE: PC & XBOX USERS:
Don't bother with this guide.

A. It won't work.
B. The Tattoos aren't missing in the PC and XBOX versions.

They are where they should be - In the San Fierro Tattoo Parlor.
This may also apply to later reissues of the PS2 game.

Before we go any further, if you haven't already you should read the first 3 pages of Hidden Interiors Via The Ganton Gym and also Interiors For Beginners.

These will give you a good idea of what you should be doing and should prevent you from making simple mistakes made by others. I will try to present all the information you need here, but those sources should be read before asking any questions.

Tattoos In GTA San Andreas

In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas there are 3 Tattoo Parlors. There's one in Los Santos, one in San Fierro and one in Las Venturas. If you know anything about interiors in the game, then you'll know that the interiors are not inside their exteriors. Most interiors are located high in the sky above the maximum height limit. To enter an interior all you have to do is walk into a yellow marker by the front door. You will be 'teleported' inside the interior as if you just stepped through the door. Most people who play the game will have been disappointed when they finally opened the Tattoo Parlor in San Fierro to find EXACTLY THE SAME TATTOOS as Los Santos. What a let down! But then you remember that all the clothes stores have the same stock in each city, so maybe there is only one set of tattoos. Then you get to Las Venturas and you're puzzled when you see a totally new set of Tattoos are now available. I can assure you that there are 3 different Tattoo Parlor interiors, all with different tattoos available.

The problem is that when you enter the marker in San Fierro you are wrongly teleported to the Los Santos interior. Best guess is that someone at R* just typed in the wrong number. Whoops!

The Tattoos are:

• Upper left arm - Weed = $50
• Lower left arm - Rose = $80
• Upper right arm - Aztec = $40 or Clown = $60
• Lower right arm - Cross = $25 or Cross = $40
• Back - San Andreas = $250 or San Fierro = $350
• Left Chest - Gun = $50 or Rasta = $125
• Right chest - Weed = $40
• Stomach - Jail = $30 or God's Gift = $200
• Lower back - Mayan Bird = $550 or Mayan Face = $525

The Missing Tattoo Parlor In GTA: San Andreas

As said before - the game keeps most of its interiors up in the sky. In order to save memory it only loads the visuals for these interiors in groups. There are 18 groups and, because we are mostly talking about things in the sky, they are referred to as 'Heavens'. The 3 parlors all load in different heavens, so you will only be able to see one at a time. You can still see the yellow markers for some interiors in some heavens. It is possible to use these to transport you to these 'loaded' interiors and as a result you will have changed the Heaven you are in. For more on this read the links at the top.

Here's a map: GTAGaming Hidden Interiors Map. It's quite old and out of date. Some of the details are wrong. I just think it's the easiest map to read and it shows everything required to get to the Tattoos.

The San Fierro Tattoo Parlor is No.19 on the map and is located in Heaven-H, otherwise known as 'Rusty Heaven' (because it contains the unused Rusty Brown's Donuts interior). I urge you to read the Hidden Interiors topic (or at least the beginning), but if not - read on.

Getting To The San Fierro Tattoo Parlor

• Start in normal game world Los Santos with a gun. You might want to take a parachute and camera, but you will definitely need to kill someone and guns are fast.
• Enter the Ganton Gym and kill the four people inside. This is important. Make sure they are dead.
• Enter the button code for the Jet-pack. (Left, Right, L1, L2, R1, R2, Up, Down, Left, Right)
• With the jet-pack on, fly up through one of the holes in the ceiling. There is one in the corner by the running machine.

Let's Take A Breather

Most interiors are above the maximum height limit for flying vehicles. Because of this the Jet-pack will not work in most interiors. For some reason it does work in a few and one of these is the Ganton Gym.

Usually - as soon as you fly out of the gym and travel a short distance - you begin to descend because you shouldn't be flying at this height.
For some reason (don't ask why) if you kill all the people in the gym the game seems to give you a bigger area to fly around in. This is a glitch in the game and one every non-cheating, tattoo-sporting player is grateful for.

The Camera and Parachute: The camera is simply if you want to document your travels in the interior worlds like a proper tourist. The Parachute is useful because it comes with an altimeter (by the radar) which gives you a better idea of whether you are falling or not. If the altimeter doesn't show up it might have something to do with the weapons you are carrying.

• Once through the roof, land on top of the gym and take a moment to get your bearings.
  You are now in 'Heaven-A'. This is known as 'Gym Heaven'.
• # Press the SELECT button until you have the widest-angle view. This will help you to find what you're looking for.
• Pause the game and press X to bring up the game-map. You will see your position marked by a flashing white indicator and some orange cross-hairs. Use the directional buttons or the left analogue stick to move the cross hairs. Position them so they cross at marker 2. This is the white circle on the GTAGaming Hidden Interiors Map. Press CIRCLE to mark this position with a Red Marker.
• Note: Marker 2 is often referred to as 'Denise's House' because it is quite near it on the map. In-fact the map isn't aligned correctly and you are actually way above Red County - but that's not important right now.
• Press START to return to the game and you should see the red marker on the East side of your radar.
• Fly upwards and stop (L2 + R2) when you are about twice the height of CJ above the gym.
  You are about to fly over some buildings about the same height as the gym. You don't want to be so high that you couldn't see them, but you also don't want to crash into them.
  Oh yeah - did I mention that these buildings are invisible?!
• While you are still above the gym - turn to face the red-marker, then fly towards it.
  You may see some people inside these invisible buildings. Use these as a guide to your height. If you find yourself getting sucked downwards - you will have to start again. If you see "LOADING" flash briefly on the screen - you have gone too low. Start again.
  Be aware that the jet-pack naturally gets lower as you move forwards, so give some short upward bursts now and again.
• Stop (L2 + R2) when you reach the Red-Marker (No.2 on the map / Denise's House).
  Look around and you should hopefully see a Yellow marker (exactly like you see in front of enterable buildings). If you are close enough you will hear some music.
  There is an invisible but solid floor under this marker - land on it and walk into the yellow marker.
• This marker leads to the interior of a brothel not used in the finished game. It is marked on the GTAGaming map as a 'Strip Club' because that's what we once thought it was. It also appears on some maps as 'Angel Pine Motel' because until someone looked through the gamefiles - that's what we thought it was too.
• Stand inside the marker and press TRIANGLE to remove the Jet-pack. The yellow marker will now teleport you inside the Brothel.
  The game will now un-load 'Gym-Heaven' and load the Heaven where the brothel visibly loads. This is 'Heaven-B' which is also called 'Ho Heaven'.
• You are in the Brothel. Congratulations you have successfully travelled from one heaven to another.
  Depending on your exact position when you entered - you may or may not have the Jet-pack. It may be floating around near you. If you can't see it or reach it just do the jet-pack cheat again.
  The floor and walls are solid, but the furniture and ceiling are not.
  Fly up through the ceiling and the sky should be a normal sky colour.
• Note: Look South and you will see the interior for another Brothel. Explore it if you will, but return here to continue to the Tattoos.
• Hopefully you will have got the hang of flying by now. I'm not going to give many more tips on it so just try and be aware of your height at all times. The parachute altimeter won't actually show much as you are above its maximum height. But if you see it dropping you may have to re-start.
• There is nothing to stop you flying straight to marker 19 now, but I would advise a more step-by-step approach at first.
  Here is what I would do:
  Pause the game and position the Red-Marker over No.11. Fly to it.
  On the way you should see the Now-Visible 'Inside Track Betting' (that you flew over earlier) and the Now-Invisible Gym with the four dead guys inside.
  When you get to your red-marker you should see the loaded 'Wheel Arch Angels' Mod Garage interior.
• Repeat this process of placing the red-marker and flying to it for Pro-Laps (16), Sex Shop (17) and The Las Venturas Tattoo Parlor (18).
• Land on top of the LV Tattoo Parlor and look North. You should see the yellow marker for the San Fierro Tattoo Parlor. ENTER. You may find this difficult. Remember that there is a solid tattoo parlor around this marker. It's invisible, but solid. You may find it difficult to reach the marker without hitting the invisible walls.Try to visualize the building and work out where the door would be. It's basically the same lay-out as the LV place next door. Try and stay level with the marker and come from the south side. If you do it correctly the sky will turn black and you'll hear music. Once you're on firm ground - remove the jetpack and teleport away.The game will now unload 'Ho Heaven' and load 'Heaven-H', otherwise known as 'Rusty Heaven'.
• CONGRATULATIONS -You made it! You will notice that if you try to leave - you will just reappear as if you just entered. There are tricks to get through doors, but it's not worth it here. Just kill yourself.
  You'll be resurrected outside the Fort Carson Medical Center with your new tattoos intact.