Classic Era: The Need for Speed | Porsche Unleashed
Black Box Era: Underground (1 and 2) | Most Wanted (2005) | Carbon (Main Version | Own the City) | ProStreet | Undercover
Autolog Era: Shift (Shift PSP version and Shift 2: Unleashed) | Nitro | The Run | Rivals
2014 film adaptation
Ghost Games Era: (2015) | Payback | Heat
New Criterion Era: Unbound
The characters of the Need for Speed game Need for Speed Heat.
This game features a set amount of characters unique to its name, representing very strong dynamics and diverse attributes as a core component of the story.
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Player and Companions
Player
The default options (before clothing customization)
Car: Player's choice
Affiliation: The League
Voiced by: Andrew Lawrence (male player; also provided full body motion capture and likeness for Caucasian male option), Jamie Gray Hyder (female player; also provided full body motion capture and likeness for Caucasian female option)
"Word is cars outta here can compete."
Arrived from out of town, looking to participate in the Showdown to make a name for themselves in the city. They get more than what they bargained for. They settle with the Rivera siblings, Ana and Lucas in their home garage, and later become companions. However, as they participate in events often, they attract the attention of the Task Force lead by Lt. Frank Mercer.
- Cool Car: Any car you own is personally your Cool Car.
- Deadpan Snarker: The player can sometimes be a little sarcastic.
- The Driver: Acts as one for Ana at times.
- A Friend in Need: With the Camaro damaged thanks to Ana, the player decides to help Lucas repair it. Lucas then sends the player to see Odell about a new grille. This trope is also the name of the mission.
- I Got You Covered: The Riveras think of the player as if they're their bodyguard.
- When Ana is being pursued by Shaw during a race with the latter attempting to wreck their father's Camaro, the player arrives in time to help and rescue Ana, as well as taking down Shaw.
- They did the same when they protect Ana and Lucas from the police during daylight while incriminating the Task Force's files to the local news.
- Ink-Suit Actor: The Caucasian male option (eighth from left) is modeled after the male player's voice actor and motion capture artist, Andrew Lawrence, while the Caucasian female option (fourth from left) is modeled after the female player's voice actress, Jamie Gray Hyder.
- Mr. Fanservice/Ms. Fanservice: Your character can also sport revealing clothes regardless of gender, such as single strap sports bra, skin tight crop tops and short shorts.
- New Meat: Rather new to Palm City's night scene, though they get used to it real fast.
- Nice Guy/Nice Girl: The player is very cordial and very helpful towards their peers.
- Nominal Hero: Their main objective in the storyline is to uncover Mercer's illegal activities, but they can still indulge in a clearly illegal activity like street racing.
- Player Character: Well, duh.
- A Player Named "Player": Well, turning on the subtitles stated that name is simply just "PLAYER". Eventually, the player's username is the PSN/Xbox Live/Steam username from the leaderboards.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Despite being a Nice Guy/Nice Girl, the player can still indulge in illegal street racing.
- Starter Mon: Car example, as game asks you to choose either a '65 Mustang, a 180SX, or an E30 M3.
- Suddenly Voiced: The first Blank Slate player character to speak. The previous games' protagonists (at least, those who aren't The Faceless or Ryan Cooper) have set character names and personalities.
- Taking the Heat: Upon returning back to the garage, after discovering that Lucas was held captive and beaten up for the troubles the player has done (despite the fact that he wasn't involved of the trouble they caused), the player pleads Mercer to let Lucas go by taking the blame and accountability for what they've done. It didn't work, yet the player and Ana were taken custody.
- Troll: In one of the post-story phone calls, the player just loves to poke on both Ana and Lucas by hanging up in a trolling manner.
- True Companions: With the Rivera siblings, Ana and Lucas. The player supports them, and they support the player in return.
- Villain Protagonist: Of course, street racing is obviously illegal, but doesn't stop the player from being a Punch-Clock Villain at nights.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Since all clothes can apply to all characters, you can rock a jean skirt as a man!
Ana Rivera
Car: Nissan 350Z (2008), Porsche 911 Carrera S (993) (originally by Lucas), SPOILER CAR*
Affiliation: Joe's crew (formerly), The League
Portrayed by: Ana Marte
"If you catch fire, run. You'll burn faster."
Brash, loudmouthed and aggressive, Ana is a passionate street racer who refuses to let anyone stand in the way to the top, especially the PCPD. She is the younger sister of Lucas. She also informs the player about night activities, the illicit Underground Racing, as well as the dangers from the PCPD Task Force and the elite group called "The League".
Ana was originally with Joe and Richie who were originally tending to be in "The League" before the latter two left after the fiasco. Then she met the player and decided to bond with them from now on.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Her passion in illicit street racing and her brash attitude. Much to Lucas's dismay.
- Cool Car: She drives a blue customized Nissan 350Z note . It gets impounded by Shaw early on, forcing her to jump between rides. She gets a red RWB Porsche 911 Carrera S from Lucas after escaping from Mercer, and eventually gets the right to drive her father's Camaro.
- A post-story phone call has Ana calling the player how much she immediately fell in love with that Camaro. She said if there are any unique features that are included, she won't ever get out of her car.
- This later now becomes her main car, as she is seen driving the said Camaro (alongside Lucas in his red RWB Porsche) in one of Dex's side stories.
- Deadpan Snarker: Ana tends to be like this, thanks to her sassy personality. She tries that attitude just to walk it off after she secretly took the Camaro and wrecked it, seeing the totaled whip in front of Lucas's eyes.Ana: I gotta say, it's a little sticky in the low gears, but once it opens up... man, this thing's a beast!
- The Gadfly: Like the player, Ana also pokes on Lucas, even if both reconciled. Just to let you know how she likes to also harmlessly make fun of her brother.Lucas: So when will you get your own place?Ana: Don't listen to him.
- I Have Brothers: Ana seems to take some traits from her older brother Lucas.
- Instant Humiliation: Just Add YouTube!: In "Party Crashers", Ana uses her phone to stream the race and attempt incriminate the PCPD's corruption.
- Ironic Echo: When Ana was broken free by Lucas's Car Fu attack, she stole Frank's laptop whilst mocking him back from what he said earlier.Ana: "Step aside sweetheart. I'm just getting started!"
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's may cause lots of trouble in Palm City and act all brash and rebellious, but shows genuine care and support to both her brother the player character.
- Large Ham: Loudmouthed as she is. All to keep the street racing scenario full of energy.
- Mission Control: She keeps the player updated at night via communicating to them about the PCPD update and the night summary upon returning (sometimes Lucas comments on the summary) to a nearby safehouse or garage.(upon reaching Heat Level 5) Hey, you okay out there? I'm hearing the cops are sending out everything they got. Watch yourself.(upon returning to a safehouse at Heat Level 5) You were like a wildcat out there./Man... Torres is gonna hate you!
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nice job driving the Camaro without Lucas's permission. Now you wrecked it and the car is wanted by the PCPD. Cue Lucas's infuriated tirade.
- The Night Owl: Being part of The League's nocturnal street racing scene, Ana enjoys racing in the night, which was lampshaded in one of the post-story phone calls on why she doesn't like driving in daylight.
- Quirky Curls: Her curly hairstyle really suites her upbeat and loudmouth personality.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Ana is loud, brash, and prefers doing illegal street racing as opposed to her older brother.
- Spicy Latina: Also taking a cue from her brother, she's also of Cuban descent.
- Trash Talk: Her brash attitude is this. She even tends to swear a lot.
Lucas Rivera
Car: Porsche 911 Carrera S (993)
Portrayed by: Jonny Cruz
"Look, I hate to do this, but if you're looking for wheels I gotta see the ID. Cops insist."
Ana's older brother. A former racer, he currently works as a mechanic for many others around Palm City, especially for the Player.
Lucas shows the player about the Speedhunters Showdown: an organized racing event held during the day, as well as some of his friends about the different aspects of racing (which later become part of the Driving Stories side missions) such as drifting and off-roading.
- Aloof Big Brother: Played with, literally. Due to a certain event that caused him to leave street racing altogether, Lucas is somewhat more dismissive and abrasive towards his younger sister Ana, but he warmed up on her throughout the story.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Do not get on his nerves (Ana) or harm Ana (Frank). The former got chewed out for it. The latter had his police cruiser rammed by Lucas, then punched in the face.
- Berserk Button: A single dent on Papi's Camaro is enough for him to get out of temper. See Heroic BSoD below.
- Cool Garage: The Rivera Family Garage. It's full of trophies, a nice kitchen, a small family portrait with their prized Camaro, and has an HDTV too. This is where Lucas works, Ana hangs out and the player lives and stores all of their cars, along with the cars of the player's crew. It was later seized by Mercer, forcing Ana, Lucas and the player to move in a hideout in North Cloudbank, acting as a temporary garage. After exploiting Mercer's crimes and Torres reforming the Task Force, the garage is returned back to the Riveras again.
- Crazy-Prepared: In case you get busted or wrecked your car, Lucas can easily fix your car that is identical to the one you drive, body kit and wrap included.Lucas: It's okay, I managed to salvage something from what you brought in.
- Distressed Dude: He was held captive and beaten up by Frank when he finds out about the trouble Ana and the player caused. Fortunately, he managed to untie himself and take the keys to the Camaro, saving Ana and the player from imprisonment by Frank.
- Easily Impressed: Every time you buy a car (regardless if it is a beautiful Regera, or a crappy Beetle) and drive it back to the garage, Lucas is surprisingly amazed and compliments you with a new set of wheels you just purchased."Well somebody's been earning bank! Sweet ride!""Hey Hey! Look at your new baby!""Oh! Nice wheels!"
- The Engineer: More of a mechanic. Enjoys fixing and building whips for fellow racers all over the city.
- Freudian Excuse: His abrasive and dismissive attitude towards Ana's desire for street racing is due to their father dying from a heart attack after learning of Lucas' arrest, which made him get out of the illegal racing scene.
- Gratuitous Spanish: Because he hails from Cuba (as mentioned by Dex), he sometimes injects some Spanish sentences from his tongue.
- Heroic BSoD: Lucas melted down when he saw that Ana took their father's Camaro and abrasively berated her. This lead them to be estranged with each other.Ana: Look, I'm sorry I should've told you I just...Player: I'll leave.Ana: You know, he was my Papi too, right? And in case you forgot, he built this car to be raced.Lucas: Call that racing, uh?!Lucas: Doing what you do, they're always gonna show up. Do you want to ruin your life?Ana: I'm trying to make something of my life! I'm actually really good at this!Lucas: Good? This is good? This looks like it was driven by a college dropout who can't race for shit!Ana: That's real nice. I don't have to understand here and listen to some has-been who's too afraid to get behing the wheel. We're drivers! Why don't you call me when you remember that. (sarcastically drops the broken side mirror)
- Same when Lucas told Ana the truth about his Dark and Troubled Past just after they just moved to a hideout in North Cloudbank. He blamed himself for that situation.
Lucas: Sorry I never told you.Ana: So you've been carrying this the whole time?Lucas: Look, if I had just stopped earlier, if I had just listened to him...Ana: You can't go back. You're here with us right now. That's what matters. - Nice Guy: Lucas is a very nice mechanic, acting like a very good mentor to the player. Just don't get on his nerves.
- Retired Badass: Guess who? He now works as a mechanic. He starts considering getting back into the scene in the ending.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Lucas is calm, sensible and prefers to stay and work in his garage as opposed to his younger sister.
- Took a Level in Badass: Lucas who is a Retired Badass, suddenly re-enters the street racing scene by making a surprise attack by ramming his Camaro on Frank's car, and saved Ana and the Player from getting arrested. Followed by Lucas punching Frank down as payback.
PCPD Task Force
Lt. Frank Mercer
Car: Ford Police Interceptor Utility (Concept), SPOILER CAR*
Portrayed by: Joshua Cox (credited as Josh Coxx)
"These crews gotta learn. You try making a mockery of my unit... You're gonna take the fall."
The head of the controversial PCPD Task Force and the main antagonist. A seemingly levelheaded cop whose goal is to permanently end illegal street racing in Palm City, he is actually a ruthless Dirty Cop who encourages his officers to break the law and exploit the city’s street racing problem for his own gain.
- The Anticipator: He is fully aware of what Ana and the player were doing inside his chop shop, all thanks to the hidden security camera, which is connected to his laptop.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the game.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
- To the player character from Rivals. While F-8/Zephyr is an undercover Cowboy Cop or a street racer who got fired out from his police force for his excessively violent force and breaking the rules, Frank is a full-on Dirty Cop who abuses his Reasonable Authority Figure identity to profit off the race cars drawn in by the Showdown, ending up missing when trying to escape.
- He is also this to Cross. Cross is a Cowboy Cop Hero Antagonist (street racing is illegal, after all) who shows disgust at the way Fortune Valley PD handles street racing to the point of resigning and going back to Rockport in the last game. Frank, meanwhile, is a Good Cop/Bad Cop who takes advantage of his trustworthiness to aggressively break laws, turning Palm City into a hellish environtment for racers while also profiteering off their cars.
- Cool Car: One of these is what he attempts to make a last-ditch escape in. Not just any car, it's the definitive Need for Speed car, the BMW M3 GTR from Most Wanted (2005) and Carbon. After you finish the story, you unlock it for your own use, which is explained by the League members restoring it as thanks.
- Determinator: By all means, he takes extremely harsh and risky actions to keep the street racing in Palm City at bay.
- Dirty Cop: Uses the task force as a way to profit off the high-performance cars drawn in by the Showdown. It was then revealed in "Follow the Law" that the cars from the Showdown, including Ana's 350Z are impounded in a chop shop at Frontera Hills. Then they plan to strip off parts or illegally export them for laundered profits.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: He plays both sides simultaneously, representing a trustworthy figurehead to the public, while at night he takes advantage of his Reasonable Authority Figure reputation to aggressively break laws and turn Palm City into a living hell for many of the racers.
- Jerkass: Not much better than his right-hand man Shaw in this regard.
- Kick the Dog: Expected from a Dirty Cop who indulges in Police Brutality. Frank holds Lucas beaten and captive where the latter has nothing involved relating to the troubles caused by Ana or the player.Ana: Please - he's got nothing to do with this. He can't help you.Lucas: Ana, cállatenote .Mercer: You know I heard your brother was a real Dolor en el curonote in the past. But you, shit.
- Humiliation Conga: Let's count the ways his Dirty Cop activities bit him in the arse in the second half of the storyline, shall we?
- First, with the High Speed Task Force smuggling ill-gotten cash, the player exploits it by wrecking Shaw's car, causing dollars flying over and street racers going rampant. This leads to Frank being under fire from all the Task Force work.
- Second, he uses his Task Force as an advantage to gain profiteering cash by illegally seizing cars from the Speedhunters Showdown and taking them to his chop shop. The player, Ana and Lucas exploit this by seizing his laptop, hacking it open with Roshni's help, and then upload the incriminating files to the news network, costing Frank Mercer his job.
- Third, he attempts to escape and evade custody by stealing the BMW M3 GTR from the cargo. This leads to the player wrecking it with Mercer in the car, leaving him helpless.
- Fourth, Torres arrives on the scene and presumably kills Mercer for all of his mishaps.
- Never My Fault: In his mind, he believes he is doing it right to protect Palm City, even if means ordering his task force and Shaw to cross lines like impounding cars from the showdown with no criminal record for no reason, or even illegally shipping them just to get ill-gotten profits just for his cause. Though Jerkass Has a Point when he noticed Ana and the player infiltrating his chop shop about the illegal stripping of the cars, thanks to the surveillance from his laptop.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Instead of having Joe detained for illegal street racing, Mercer decided to just order him and his crew to leave Palm City for good to make an example out of Joe and his crew. It's even implied that Mercer intended to do something worse to Joe, given to he gestures to his gun before being stopped by Torres, who's the one to actually suggest making Joe leave town, and it's also implied that she did so because she knows that something happening to Joe would attract too much attention on the PCPD.Mercer: You... Get out of town. And if we see you or any of your Crew 'round here again... you're going to be joining that car. You understand?! Get up. Go tell your friends.
- Police Brutality: After arresting Ana and the player, he outright threatens to murder them.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Danny's red.
- Rousing Speech: The main page's quote states this at the very beginning.
- Turn in Your Badge: With his grifting activities exploited, Frank gets suspended from police work as the result.
- Uncertain Doom: Like what happened to Lina Navarro, Frank's actual fate is unknown, but his last on-screen appearance has Torres aiming her gun at him, and the cutscene ends with a gunshot-like noise which heavily implies Torres kills him to take his position in the force.
- Villain with Good Publicity: The public, unaware of the Dirty Cop persona that lies underneath, sees him as a trustworthy figurehead. The moment his laundering activities are exposed, he loses this status.
Officer Danny Shaw
Car: Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Undercover Cruiser
Portrayed by: Joshua Collins (credited as Josh Collins)
(looking at the player character's driver's license) "Dipshit. Nice name. You got a car?"
The Dragon and the sadistic Rabid Cop of Mercer's Task Force. Arrogant and with a hard attitude, Shaw indulges in using Police Brutality against street racers.
- Briefcase Full of Money: Shaw shows Torres his trunk full of laundered dough he took from the Showdown, much from the latter's dismay.Shaw: You seen what's out there? Shit's like Christmas. Oh, and I may have upped the fee.
- Cool Car: An black and carbon-fibred unmarked Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Police Car. It first gets vandalized by Ana as payback for him forcibly impounding her 350Z, and later when he uses it to chase Ana when she stole Roberto Rivera's Camaro SS, the player wrecks it, simultaneously saving Ana.
- His unmarked Camaro would later make its mark in Unbound as the Lakeshore Police Department's choice of car for their Undercover unit, making them Hidden in Plain Sight.
- Deadpan Snarker: Yep, his hard attitude is no excuse.
- The Dragon: He idolizes Frank and would do anything to earn his approval, even if it means he has to take risks.
- Hate Sink: Shaw has zero redeeming qualities, condescending to anyone but Mercer, as well as being very fond of Police Brutality.
- Hot-Blooded: Apart from his sadistic glee, Shaw likes to be loud and hard.
- Jerkass: Holy carp, is he ever. How else can one describe this sadistic, arrogant Rabid Cop?
- Kick the Dog: He literally kicks the helpless Joe in questioning about the totaled Polestar.Shaw: Ah shit! What did you do? What did you do to that sweet-ass ride? (proceeds to kick Joe on the gut)
- Impounding Ana's 350Z out of nowhere, although par for the course for Mercer and Shaw's task force work, is still this trope.
- Laser-Guided Karma: First he gets his Camaro vandalized by Ana as payback for taking her 350Z, then his attempted interception of Ana who was in the middle of a race ended with the player wrecking his Camaro, which spewed out smuggled money (Frank Mercer's ill-gotten cash) into the streets, causing a ruckus and leading to Frank being under fire for his Task Force work. A phone call post-story reveals that he was later arrested for fraud and extortion.
- Police Brutality: He loves indulging in this.
- Rabid Cop: His brutal, sadistic personality makes him arguably worse than the people he's trying to capture.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Frank's blue.
- Sadist: He takes way too much pleasure in his job, and appears to enjoy watching street racers's hearts break while impounding their rides. Danny would give GMAC and F-8 a run for their money.
- Slasher Smile: Look. At. His. Picture. Here.
◊ It's very unsettling. - The Snack Is More Interesting: Shaw's boredom of waiting for Torres to arrive has him drinking soda on the night job.
- Suddenly Shouting: This line.Shaw: You! ID! (the player hands Shaw his/her ID) "Dipshit"...Nice name. You got a car?Player: Yes, sir.Shaw: (shouting) Yes, Officer! (gives that grin as pictured here◊ and calmly speaks) Where is it?
Officer Eva Torres
Bike: BMW S1000RR
Portrayed by: Shontae Saldana
"You really think [Mercer] is your friend? Man... That's almost sad."
One of the High-speed Task Force's most senior officers. She is the brains and the level-headed member of Mercer's crew.
Torres also acts as the dispatcher of the PCPD during night time.
- Cool Bike: Owns a BMW S1000RR, one of the first to appear in the series.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has plenty when as a dispacher. Torres take into arrogant or ignorant steps of snarky conversations.Shaw: I don't like waiting.Torres: And I don't like watching you eat.
- Even Evil Has Standards: A Hero Antagonist example. Her role, like her superior Mercer, is to detain street racers with extreme prejudice. But breaking the laws and commit into laundering from the Showdown? Torres is not fine with that.
- Heel–Face Turn: She supplies the Player and Ana information on Mercer's corruption after seeing just how far it went. She does, however, still intend on pursuing street racers with the same zeal as Mercer when she takes over, only she genuinely wants to end the illegal races.
- Hero Antagonist: Need it bear repeating that the unsanctioned night street racing in Palm City is illegal? The only reason she's a Punch-Clock Villain is because the player is a street racer.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: She's the only woman on the main task force, and also the one to help the Player and Ana take down Mercer.
- Klingon Promotion: It's implied in one of the last cutscenes that Torres kills her superior Mercer, and ends up taking his place as the head of the PCPD task force.
- Meet the New Boss: In a post-game dialogue, Ana suspects that she knows something that neither Mercer nor Shaw knew about and that she could have easily blackmailed the latter into leaving the police force and that all in all she manages to be even worse than the person she's replacing. The player character, while doubtful of these claims, ultimately suggests to not set her off.
- Only Sane Woman: Unlike the Mercer and Shaw, Torres is against doing the illegal activities her teammates engage in.
- Passing the Torch: With Lt. Frank Mercer presumed dead, Torres assumes position as the new leader of the PCPD Task Force. Not that it was Mercer's choice, mind you, what with the last seen of him in the game being him being pointed a gun at by Torres herself...
- Token Good Cop: All she genuinely wants is to end the illegal races without the excessive violence and illegal smuggling her colleagues are often found engaging in.
- Token Good Teammate: She's the only known member of Mercer's task force to not indulge in smuggling cars and gratuitous violence against street racers.
- Tsundere: Type A. Torres shares the same sour exterior as Nikki's, but all these just to do the right thing and to ensure to keep and illicit activities in Palm City at bay.
Street Leagues
Speed Boys
The Speed Boys (Kenny and Daryl)
Daryl and his Foxbody Mustang. Not pictured
Car: Nissan 180SX (S13) (Kenny), Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 3) (Daryl)
"Ana Rivera - and her waste-'o-space sidekick... Think you two can handle the Speed Boys?"
-–Kenny
Those Two Guys the player races against at the first chapter, consisting of Kenny and Daryl.
Their motivation is to prevent any new racers in town from making a name for themselves, as well as getting attention from The League.
- Color Motif: Both of their cars are draped in green.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Daryl's car and his face (as pictured here) can be already seen during a cutscene where Ana explains the player about the League.
- One-Shot Character: ...or Two-Shot Characters for one. They only appear in just only chapter.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Kenny is Red while Daryl is Blue. While Daryl is simply a Straight Man who simply greets Ana and the player, Kenny on the other hand is foul-mouthed and sprinkles his sentences with insults, just as Ana describes him as a man who can't shut up.
- Those Two Guys: Kenny and Daryl, who are the only two members of the crew.
- Trash Talk: Kenny is foul-mouthed and sprinkles his sentences with insults, just as Ana describes him as a man who can't shut up.
- What a Piece of Junk: Both those racers drive pre-2000s entry level sports cars. Kenny's choice of wheels is the Nissan 180SX where as Daryl uses a Gen. 3 Foxbody Mustang.
Dreamkillers
The Dreamkillers (Oscar, Nari and Jordyn)
Car: BMW M3 (E92) (Oscar), Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR FQ-360 (Nari), Mercedes-AMG A 45 (W176) (Jordyn)
Voiced by: Giancarlo Sabogal (Oscar), Rina Hoshino (Nari), Charlotte Wilson Langley (Jordyn)
"You think beating the Speed Boys means shit to me? Those scrubs ain't on my level. And neither are you."
-–Oscar
The second crew the player races against at the second chapter, consisting of Oscar, Nari and Jordyn.
According to Ana, the Dreamkillers single-handedly beat everyone they faced, to the point of growing bored of it and calling their races "sparring sessions".
- Alpha Bitch: Nari sports a Natalia Nova-style personality. Jordyn is more of a downplayed example.
- I Let You Win: As described by Oscar when you defeat Nari.Oscar: Nari went easy on you. I don't play that way. Time you found out what real racing means.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In a decisive race between the Dreamkillers against Ana and the player for a spot at the League, Jordyn calls off the race and bails out, as in that moment Shaw and the PCPD show up.
- Sore Loser: The Dreamkillers don't take their defeats in stride. They will call you out for a myriad reason why you won.Oscar: You got lucky out there. Won't happen again.
- Southern Belle: Jordyn sports a thick Southern accent. Just imagine Faith Jones portrayed as a total Jerkass.
- Victory Is Boring: The Dreamkillers curbstomping everyone they have faced make them look like they're not finding any worthy challenge, making their battles look like exercise.
The League
The League (Hayley, Manta and Ciao-Ciao)
Car: Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 (2014) (Haley), SRT Viper GTS (Manta) ,Ferrari 488 GTB (Ciao-Ciao)
"The League. They've been around for years. Showdown floods this place with new blood, they surface and check out the talent. Once you're in it's access to everything. Best cars, races, parts. You wanna know why we're here every single night? That's your answer."
-–Ana
The third the player races with at the third and fourth chapter, consisting of Haley, Manta and Ciao-Ciao.
The League are no doubt the best of the best crews in Palm City. Ana decribes they are an invitation only crew, but once anyone are worthy of entering The League, they are priviliged with the most prestigious cars, parts and races they would ever offer.
- Berserk Button: Beware Ciao-Ciao if you dent her $300,000 Ferrari!Ciao-Ciao: You bastards almost hit my car! / Any of these cops scratches my ride, I'm suing the city!
- Cool Car: Ana mentioning that The League has the "best cars", and they're not lying. Haley, Manta and Ciao-Ciao drive a fifth-gen Camaro Z/28, an SRT Viper and a Ferrari 488 GTB respectively.
- Deadpan Snarker: Haley sprinkles her own mouth with lots of sarcasm.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With an Enemy Mine against the PCPD, the player and Ana has secured their trust and friendship after exploring Lt. Mercer's grifting once and for all.
- Just Got Out of Jail: Manta during "Breaking the Law" stated that he was recently paroled. That is until he goes back to street racing for a reason...Ciao-Ciao: Hey Mants, I've been meaning to ask, how was that jail time?Manta: Been a while since I was in a cell. I don't plan on going back.Ana: Really REALLY sorry about that.Manta: You're forgiven. For now.
- Nice Mean And In Between: The League has a nice Manta, a mean Haley and Ciao-Ciao leaning in-between.
- Token Good Teammate: Or... Token Good Team, period. The League are the only crew that don't Trash Talk, but instead help Ana and the player out in sorting the trash against Lt. Mercer. In return, they are accepted in the League.
- Token Minority: Ciao-Ciao, judging by her voice, is of Asian ancestry, making her like Yumi driving an exotic car.
Driving Stories
Dex
Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R32)
"Taking the lead is easy. Let's see if you can keep it."
The lead organizer of the Speedhunters Showdown and Lucas's childhood friend. He is the one that welcomes the player character to the Showdown and organizes races for newbies to get into the gist of the tournament. He also recruits the player as a test driver for some new tracks that will be used next year's edition of the Showdown.
Completing the Race Story Missions will unlock Eddie's Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec from Underground.
- Badass Teacher: Dex acts as the mentor to the player, and new drivers in the Showdown as a whole, challenging them in training races to build their skill up and, unless your car is sufficiently upgraded, can be serious competition on the track.
- Big Fun: Dex is full of high spirits. He's even more exuberant than Mac.
- Black and Nerdy: Implied, several of his campaign missions are named after terms from Dungeons & Dragons (Saving Throw, Roll for Damage).
- Childhood Friend: With Lucas.
- A Friend in Need: With Lucas's garage shut down by Frank Mercer, Dex helps the player move all their owned cars to a hideout up north, acting as a temporary garage.
- Graceful Loser: Dex admires the player's will to win and earns each other's respect. Later on, Dex rewards the player two suspension kits for winning. Followed by the said car as a parting gift. After all he expects the player to be the best driver there is in the Speedhunters Showdown.
- Large Ham: Let's just say he rarely keeps his mouth shut. Justified that he want to hype up the showdown with optimism.
- Nice Guy: He might talk smack every once in a while, but he's a genuinely cordial person who is more than happy to ease newcomers in the Showdown. Late in the game, he even trusts the player character enough to let him test out his new tracks for the Showdown's following edition.
Wayne
Car: Mazda RX-7 Spirit R (FD)
"Jump in the passenger seat, lemme show you what I mean."
Hailing from Aspen, Colorado, Wayne is another of Lucas's friends. The latter sent the player to Port Murphy to learn about drifting. He later appears a night to show the player about drifting through Palm City's mountain passes.
Completing the Drift Story Missions will unlock Rachel's Nissan 350Z from Underground 2.
- Badass Teacher: Wayne teaches the player the essential techniques of drifting.
- Does Not Drive: Downplayed and discussed. Wayne does drive, but he's not into how fast he can push a car. He's more into how well he can handle it.Player: I hear racing's not your thing.Wayne: Never has been. I'm into how well you can handle the car, not how fast.
- Graceful Loser: He's very gracious to have the player beat him in drifting. He even lampshades it!Wayne: No shame in losing to a better driver.Player: You sure about that?Wayne: I'm trying to be gracious here. Seriously - didn't think driving could ever match what I had on the slopes. You showed me otherwise. Hope we can do it again sometime.
- Knee-capping: He used to snowboard back in the Rockies, until he had a serious accident that struck his knee.
- Nice Guy: Wayne doesn't possess a mean bone in him, which is seen when interacting with the player.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Downplayed. Wayne is the only driving stories character not to be involved with the revolution or being A Friend in Need against the PCPD Task force. All what matters to him is teaching the player the ropes of drifting.
Roshni
Car: Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 (Gen. 2)
Portrayed by: Anita Kalathara
"Like the man [Odell] said, I'm selective about who I do business with."
An expert programmer and leader of a runaway gang from Ventura Bay. She organizes off-road events for the Speedhunters Showdown but is suspicious that the feds are trying to take away the goods she wants to put as prize for the competition. She was the one who designed the player's phone from earlier when Ana was typing in her number.
Completing the Off-road Story Missions will unlock Faith Jones's Ford F-150 SVT Raptor from Payback.
- Cool Shades: She wears a nice circular-framed tinted shades.
- Deadpan Snarker: Dear God... with her sarcastic attitude, you wouldn't like the words she's spitting out.
- A Friend in Need: The player asks Roshni on how to retrieve the password in order to unlock the encrypted files from Mercer's computer that they stole, so that Ana and Lucas can upload all of them to the local news to exploit Mercer's crimes.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Apart from being a Badass Driver off the road, Roshni is a hacking specialist and is the one that designed the player's phone.
- I Got You Covered: Roshni informed the player that she managed to tell Odell to deliver the grille to Lucas after winning a race.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Roshni is very abrasive, sarcastic and sometimes acts a little dismissive. On the other hand, she is very helpful to the player. She even mellows a little from the post-story phone call as stated below.
- Lesbian Jock: In one post-story phone call, she asks the player whether Ana is single, then when they confirm it, asks the player whether to give her a call to ask Ana out.
- Sassy Black Woman: Hoo-boy. Sassy like Ana, but nowhere near as harsh as Lina.
Other Characters
Joe
Click here to see Joe from Need for Speed: No Limits.
Car:, McLaren 650S (No Limits), Polestar 1 (Heat)
"Shit... this cop's still on me."
Originally Ana's crewmate (before she sided with the player), alongside his pal Richie.
Five nights ago, before the player arrived in Palm City, he and his crewmates raced together so that they can gain attention and earn a spot at "The League". The race was suddenly intervened by the PCPD Task Force and many of his fellow racers were taken out.
In a verging attempt to escape from the PCPD, Officer Danny Shaw rammed him and his car near the edge of the bridge, but managed escape from falling down the river. Captured by the task force, their leader Frank Mercer ordered him and his crewmates to leave Palm City, forcing Joe to sever the ties with Ana and his crew.
Whatever fate happens to Joe is yet to be known.
- Breaking the Fellowship: Everything went well for him until it attracted the PCPD's attention, nearly getting busted, and even having to leave the city by Frank's orders, which causes him to leaving no choice but to cut ties with Ana.
- Cool Car: Drives a yellow Polestar 1 as stated from the game's cover. Too bad that it got totaled when his car fell off the bridge. The December 2019 update has this Cool Car Promoted to Playable, but only after you complete the main storyline and all Driver Stories.
- The Polestar would later carry over in Unbound as part of the Vol 4 update and classified as a paid Downloadable Content.
- Cool Mask: Sports a nice face mask. In No Limits, it was revealed that he wears a mask to conceal the burns following the Speedhunters Showdown incident in Blackridge that left his 650S in an exploding rubble.
- Decoy Protagonist: At the prologue, you do one race in his perspective before switching onwards to the POV of the main player character.
- Early-Bird Cameo: He appeared in the "Eclipse" special event from Need for Speed: No Limits, days before the official release of the game. He drives a McLaren 650S in that event.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After the disastrous race that cost him his car and the attention of the PCPD, he is forced to leave Palm City for good.
- A Taste of Power: You play as him in his Polestar 1 during the prologue, before shifting the POV to your main character.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Joe only appears during the prologue and is never seen again during the majority of the plot.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Breaking the Fellowship with Ana, Joe (alongside Richie) is never seen again for the remainder of the storyline, leaving his fate unknown.
Richie
Car: Ford Mustang GT (Gen. 6)
Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal (uncredited)
"There's some real speed in this race, Ana."
One of the fellow members of Joe and Ana's crew.
In the prologue, Richie is among the other drivers who follow Joe's ambitions in hoping to be part of the League.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: He isn't seen at all, only being heard through his voice calls with Ana.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Richie chickens out midway from the prologue race, just hoping no cops are trailing his rear.Ana: What the hell? Richie? Richie?! Did he seriously just bail?
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Similar to Joe. Joe states that he'll bring Richie along with him when he leaves Palm City for Ventura Bay, leaving Richie's fate also unknown.
Odell
Car: Chevrolet C10 (Gen. 1)
"I told him [Lucas], he's been out the game too long. And I'm selective about who I do business with."
An offroad specialist whom the player contacted for help in finding new parts for the Riveras' Camaro. He's possibly associated with Roshni.- He Who Must Not Be Seen: Averted for once. His face can be visibly seen in the opening of "A Friend In Need".
- Small Role, Big Impact: While his screentime lasts for "A Friend In Need", his existence was vital for the player to get a new grille for the Riveras' Camaro.
- What a Piece of Junk: His choice of car is a very old C10 pickup, yet he's still able to go toe-to-toe with other off-road cars, including the much newer ones. Unlike Holtzman, his car has little to no customization parts and a factory default color, making it somewhat The Alleged Car.
Raziel
"Hey, you don't know me. I'm Raziel. I got your number from Ana."
Introduced in the Black Market update.
Raziel is an underground dealer who offers the player two imported cars (an Aston Martin DB11 Volante for free and a McLaren F1 which can be obtained via real money purchase) at Port Murphy.
He called the player to help in the following missions:
Either you track down his client's stolen car using the DB11 before it is vanished forever or help impress a client by showcasing the F1's capabilities.
- Friend in the Black Market: He happens to be this with Ana, who gave the player's number to him.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: Unlike the characters from the Side Stories, Raziel conceals his identity from the public eye. Even on the player's phone, the avatar is basically the Black Market logo.
- Mission Control: Raziel contacts the player upon completing contract tasks about the whereabouts of the stolen car.
