History VideoGame / TheNeedForSpeed

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one]] where it all began. ...and had a collaboration with an automotive magazine.

''Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed'', commonly shortened as ''The Need for Speed'', is a {{racing game}} published by Creator/ElectronicArts, developed by its EA Canada subsidiary, initially released on the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] in 1994, and ported to MS-DOS in 1995. Another version of the game, ''The Need for Speed: Special Edition'', was released in 1996 for the UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn platforms. The game became the first installment of what would become the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' video game series, which has influenced several later racing games.

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one]] that began gaming's biggest (non-kart) racing game franchise. And has a magazine collaboration.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/road_and_track_presents_the_need_for_speed_7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Drive the dream.'']]

[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/road_and_track_presents_the_need_for_speed.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:325:Drive the dream.]]

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one]] that began gaming's biggest (non-kart) racing game franchise. And has a magazine sponsor.

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one]] that began gaming's (non-kart) biggest racing game franchise. And has a magazine sponsor.

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one]] that began gaming's biggest racing game franchise. And has a magazine sponsor.

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one]] that started it all.

[[caption-width-right:325:3DO version box art]]

** This game was a simulation racer made in collaboration with ''Road & Track'' magazine. Starting with the second game, the series switched to arcade-style racing, with only ''[=ProStreet=]'' and the ''Shift'' games having any semblance of reverting back to being a sim.

* CoolCar: Sure, its cars are largely [[invoked]] [[SoLastSeason outdated by]] [[TechnologyMarchesOn today's standards]], but as the first ''Need for Speed'' game it deserves special merit for including Cool Cars from all three main genres of cars, so there's a little something for everybody. Love beautiful exotic cars? The Lamborghini Diablo, Ferrari 512TR and Porsche 911 Carrera (993) are for you. Prefer raw muscle power? Give the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 and Dodge Viper RT-10 a shot. Enjoy timeless Japanese tuners? Can't go wrong with the Acura NSX, Mazda RX-7 and the Toyota Supra Turbo.

* CoolCar: Sure, its cars are largely [[invoked]] [[SoLastSeason outdated by]] [[TechnologyMarchesOn today's standards]], but as the first ''Need for Speed'' game it deserves special merit for including Cool Cars from all three main genres of cars, so there's a little something for everybody. Love beautiful exotic cars? The Lamborghini Diablo, Ferrari 512TR and Porsche 911 Carrera are for you. Prefer raw muscle power? Give the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 and Dodge Viper RT-10 a shot. Enjoy timeless Japanese tuners? Can't go wrong with the Acura NSX, Mazda RX-7 and the Toyota Supra Turbo.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In the 3DO port of the first game, when you get arrested:
-->'''Opponent:''' Assume. The. Position! [[PrisonRape You just earned yourself a spot in county jail!]]

''Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed'', commonly shortened as ''The Need for Speed'', is a {{racing game}} published by Creator/ElectronicArts, developed by its EA Canada subsidiary, initially released on the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] in 1994, and ported to MS-DOS in 1995. Another version of the game, ''The Need for Speed: Special Edition'', was released in 1996 for the UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn platforms. It was also sold in Japan, known as ''Over Drivin' DX''.

The game became the first installment of what would become the ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' video game series, which has influenced several later racing games.

''TheOneWith The one'' that started it all.

The one that started it all.

** The game also had a lot of very dark content, especially concerning the police chases, that later games did not replicate. For starters, the cop who busts you walks up to you with a [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter loaded shotgun]] and a SlasherSmile. In the 3DO version, the [[{{Jerkass}} opposing racer]] will willingly [[PrecisionFStrike shout]] [[SoundEffectBleep profanities]] at you if you do something [[TooDumbToLive extremely idiotic]] while racing, and taunts you as having [[FoeYay a romantic case]] with the aforementioned cop if you get ticketed too much, and as if that wasn't enough, he will make PrisonRape jokes if you get arrested. In an unused cutscene, the cop also made one such joke toward you. Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the dark content was [[{{Bowdlerise}} removed]] when the game got ported to the [=PlayStation=], Sega Saturn, [=MS-DOS=] and Windows 95, mostly because the main source of the edgy content, the aforementioned opposing racer, got AdaptedOut in the non-3DO games (the cop retained his shotgun, however) and since then, until ''Most Wanted'' (2005), the series became [[LighterAndSofter more light-hearted]] and focused on radical fun for all ages.[[note]]The only exception to this would be the [=PlayStation=] port of ''III: Hot Pursuit'', in which if you forced a cop car to crash violently, [[HellIsThatNoise you could hear]] [[NightmareFuel the cop's screams of agony]] in the radio. This returned as a rare EasterEgg[=/=]CallBack in ''Hot Pursuit 2'' (ironically, only in the non-[=PlayStation 2=] ports) and was going to reappear in ''Most Wanted'' (2005) during its early development stages before it was removed.[[/note]]

** The Coastal course has a half-buried Statue of Liberty on the beach at the finish line. No option to scream "''[[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you all to hell!]]''", though.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/road_and_track_presents_the_need_for_speed.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:3DO version box art]]

''The Need for Speed'' (full title: ''Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed'') is a {{racing game}} published by Creator/ElectronicArts, developed by its EA Canada subsidary, initially released on the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] in 1994, and ported to MS-DOS in 1995. Another version of the game, ''The Need for Speed: Special Edition'', was released in 1996 for the UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn platforms. It was also sold in Japan, known as ''Over Drivin' DX''.

The game was noted for its realism and audio and video commentaries. Electronic Arts collaborated with automotive magazine ''Road & Track'' to match vehicle behavior, including the mimicking of the sounds made by the vehicles' gear control levers, hence the full title. The game also contained precise vehicle data with spoken commentary, several magazine-style images of each car's interior and exterior and short video clips highlighting the vehicles set to music.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: In the [=3D0=] port of the first game, when you get arrested:

** The game also had a lot of very dark content, especially concerning the police chases, that later games did not replicate. For starters, the cop who busts you walks up to you with a [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter loaded shotgun]] and a SlasherSmile. In the [=3D0=] version, the [[{{Jerkass}} opposing racer]] will willingly [[PrecisionFStrike shout]] [[SoundEffectBleep profanities]] at you if you do something [[TooDumbToLive extremely idiotic]] while racing, and taunts you as having [[FoeYay a romantic case]] with the aforementioned cop if you get ticketed too much, and as if that wasn't enough, he will make PrisonRape jokes if you get arrested. In an unused cutscene, the cop also made one such joke toward you. Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the dark content was [[{{Bowdlerise}} removed]] when the game got ported to the [=PlayStation=], Sega Saturn, [=MS-DOS=] and Windows 95, mostly because the main source of the edgy content, the aforementioned opposing racer, got AdaptedOut in the non-[=3D0=] games (the cop retained his shotgun, however) and since then, until ''Most Wanted'' (2005), the series became [[LighterAndSofter more light-hearted]] and focused on radical fun for all ages.[[note]]The only exception to this would be the [=PlayStation=] port of ''III: Hot Pursuit'', in which if you forced a cop car to crash violently, [[HellIsThatNoise you could hear]] [[NightmareFuel the cop's screams of agony]] in the radio. This returned as a rare EasterEgg[=/=]CallBack in ''Hot Pursuit 2'' (ironically, only in the non-[=PlayStation 2=] ports) and was going to reappear in ''Most Wanted'' (2005) during its early development stages before it was removed.[[/note]]

* {{Jerkass}}: The opponent racer in the [=3D0=] version, who would basically berate you for your bad performance and mock you consistently. When you defeat him, he either [[ILetYouWin plays it off as nothing]], or say it was an extremely close victory for you and demand a rematch. [[SoreLoser Three]] [[OverlyLongGag times]]. When you win all three times, he acts bitter about it, but recovers in a few seconds and mocks you again because [[NoFourthWall he will live forever by being digitally immortalized in the game, while you will die one day]].[[note]]It becomes pretty ironic because his actor, Brennan Baird, died in 2013 from a two-year long battle with cancer.[[/note]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: In contrast, however, if your performance is good enough, the opponent racer in the [=3D0=] version would actually commend you for giving him a challenge, and overall act as if the two of you became VitriolicBestBuds.

** If you wreck the Lamborgini Diablo in the 3D0 version , the {{Jerkass}} opponent racer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOgpX5Shi6U&t=1381s would tell you]]: