GTA San Andreas had 3D cuboid buildings with different colors and a few details in them. This title had a richer color palette, making the game a little more colorful, but it also looked like a blueish-green filter applied to it for the overall aesthetic. The HD universe picked up on what the 3D universe perfected, such as 3D objects and repetitive textures, and worked on making everything more realistic. GTA 4 took visuals to a whole new level with its directional lighting-based shadows and detailed textures for surfaces.
San Andreas is the third installment in the 3D universe, and it has better textures, graphics, and resolution than its predecessors, GTA Vice City and GTA 3. Rockstar had just started working on polishing graphics after transitioning from 2D GTA to 3D GTA. GTA San Andreas is a game from the 3D universe and was made in 2004. Which one is graphically better, GTA San Andreas or GTA 4 graphics?