History VideoGame / NeedForSpeedUnderground

* BlamedForBeingRailroaded: The first game makes you race Samantha midway through the game for her pink slip as TJ requested, which ends up costing you your friendship with her. The other racers then proceed to call you out on this, despite the game requiring you to race her in order to finish the story.

* FameGate: ''Underground'' 2 has a style gate for certain points in the campaign, where you customize your car to reach a set style rating. The first ''Underground'' only used it for optional set of unlockables.

* FameGate: ''Underground'' 2 have a style gate for certain points in the campaign, where you customize your car to reach a set style rating. The first ''Underground'' only used it for optional set of unlockables.

* BlamedForBeingRailroaded: The first game makes you race Samantha midway through the game, which ends up costing you your friendship with her. The other racers then proceed to call you out on this, despite the game requiring you to race her in order to finish the story.

* FameGate: The ''Underground'' games have a style gate for certain points in the campaign, where you customize your car to reach a set style rating.

** In ''Underground 2'', the duties of giving eye candy are shared between Rachel Teller and Nikki Morris. The game finds many ways to show Rachel in figure-flattering outfits that highlight her buxom looks, while Nikki is introduced as a driver version of a BikerBabe, complete with [[HellBentForLeather leather outfit]], and after siding with the player, she takes a page from Rachel's style book, wearing similar figure-flattering outfits.

** [[OlderThanTheyThink While they're not the first games in the series to feature aftermarket parts]] (that honor goes to ''Need for Speed: High Stakes''), they are the first to make them a main feature.

* SpiritualSuccessor:
** Though having no plot whatsoever, the online ''Motor City Online'' can be seen as Spiritual Predecessor to both ''Underground'' games (being released in 2001), albeit with vintage and classic American cars.
** Both games later received one in the form of ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015'', to the point some players nicknamed it "Underground 3".

** Both games later received one in form of ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015''.

* WhatTheHellHero: At the beginning of ''Underground 2'', Rachel lends you her ride and tells you to meet her at the Car Lot, but you can participate in a couple of races along the way. After the first one, she asks if you've gotten lost and reiterates that you need to meet her at the Car Lot ASAP. After the second one, she's utterly furious, and threatens to have you blacklisted unless you get to the Car Lot ''right now''.

* RiceBurner: As noted under RainbowPimpGear, both games require and encourage you to rice out your car and raise your Style rating in order to progress. Your opponents' cars, for the most part, also get increasingly riced out as you progress.

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Music/LilJon To the window, to the wall!]]'' | ''[[Music/TheDoors Riders on the storm...]] [[Music/SnoopDogg (ride, ride, ride...)]]'']]

* BleepDammit: The clean version of Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz' "Get Low" used in the first ''Underground'' mutes "twerk" when the Ying Yang Twins say it, but allows Lil Jon to tell the females in the audience to "twerk a little harder".

* NitroBoost: These are the first ''NFS'' games to include this for the player as a racer.[[note]]Although ''Hot Pursuit 2'' had nitro for cop cars when one played as a cop.[[/note]] While the first ''Underground'' limited you to one tank with no way to refill it mid-race, ''Underground 2'' introduced the "Racebreaker" system, which refilled your nitrous if you performed various stunts, like drifting, jumping, and narrowly avoiding traffic. Certain stunts had multipliers increasing refilled nitrous every consecutive time you can pull off a stunt, meaning weaving through traffic with the maximum x5 multiplier can give you nitrous more quickly than you can spend it.

* RainbowPimpGear: ''Underground 2'' requires you to completely and utterly [[RiceBurner rice your cars out]] to proceed in the game. No matter how fast they may be, no matter how many races they may win, sleepers or JDM-style vehicles won't get you anywhere. It doesn't matter what you slap onto your rides as long as it was expensive. And the more expensive something is, the tackier it is.

* RubberBandAI: In the form of a feature called "Catch-Up", that also works in reverse and slows the AI down if you fall too far behind. Notably, ''Underground 2'' allows you to switch Catch-Up off, at which point the AI can go from being right on your tail all race to finishing ''literal miles'' behind you.

** Both games later receive this in form of ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed2015''.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: In the Drag mode, if you don't shift properly, your car's engine would explode, resulting in the player being disqualified.

* VillainousBreakdown: Caleb spends the final part of ''Underground 2'' having one, as first Nikki, and then his sponsors turn against him. This culminates in him angrily challenging the player to a final showdown, which he then loses.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Downplayed; while the races are entirely (almost, in the case of ''Underground 2'' where sometimes it looks like dawn or dusk) set at night in comparison to the daytime-dominated previous NFS titles, and ''Underground 2'' begins with the attempted murder of the protagonist, both games still have a generally lighthearted tone, optimistic soundtracks, and end in complete victory for the protagonist.

* LethalJokeCharacter:

** The Mazda Miata/MX-5 (NB) in both games also counts, mixed with a bit of MagikarpPower. It's a starter car just like the aforementioned Corolla, but when fully upgraded it has the highest overall stats in both games, putting even Skylines, Mustangs and Supras to shame.

* PostFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Melissa]] in ''Underground''.

* MsFanservice: Pick a girl, any girl. They were all played by models.
* NitroBoost: These are the first ''NFS'' games to include this. While the first ''Underground'' limited you to one tank with no way to refill it mid-race, ''Underground 2'' introduced the "Racebreaker" system, which refilled your nitrous if you performed various stunts, like drifting, jumping, and narrowly avoiding traffic. Certain stunts had multipliers increasing refilled nitrous every consecutive time you can pull off a stunt, meaning weaving through traffic with the maximum x5 multiplier can give you nitrous more quickly than you can spend it.

* LethalJokeCharacter: The Toyota Corolla GT-S ([=AE86=]) in ''Underground 2'', which starts out as the slowest car in the game, but when it's fully upgraded it's easily the ''best'' car in the game, thanks to its insane handling. Street X and URL races, Drift events and pretty much every race in Jackson Heights in particular are an absolute ''cakewalk'' with the Corolla. To top it all off, it's one of the cars you can pick from right at the start of Career Mode. [[Manga/InitialD Some guy uses it to deliver tofu at 4 in the morning while navigating mountain passes, what do you expect?]]

* ItsAWonderfulFailure: [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8WTKLnynD4 There is a hidden cutscene when you lose the final race against Caleb, he proves the player that he is nothing to him]].]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Caleb:''' That's what I'm talkin' about! I told ya! You're nothin'! '''YOU'RE NOTHIN'!''' ''[[EvilLaugh [laughs]]]'']]

When you finally do so, he challenges you and [[spoiler:Samantha to a sprint race that leads to her wrecking her Hello Kitty-esque Honda Civic Si in the process, which TJ takes for himself and repairs (and redesigns) it afterwards]]. Eddie tries to get rid of you to no avail, as you win back Samantha's car and beat Eddie and his crew. Finally, a mysterious driver in a silver Nissan 350Z challenges you to compete in one more race. After you beat the driver, who reveals [[spoiler:herself]] to be [[spoiler:Melissa]], you are deemed the best racer in the city.

From there, you race around the city, winning events and collecting sponsorships. Eventually, you cross paths with The Wraiths, led by Caleb Reece, and as you win races against them, you hear more about their shady work in their attempt to control Bayview's racing scene, such as manipulating sponsorships against both you and Rachel. It's also revealed that [[spoiler:Caleb was the man responsible for the wrecking you in Olympic City]]. Later on, after you win a series of URL (Underground Racing League) races, a female Wraith member named Nikki Morris [[spoiler:defects from them and joins your crew]].

** Though having no plots or whatsoever, ''Motor City Online'' can be seen as Spiritual Predecessor to both ''Underground'' games albeit with vintage and classic American cars.

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Need for Speed'', the 2015 series reboot.

* WhamEpisode: Actually a Wham Race in the first ''Underground''. The race known as "Friends Are Easy To Make, And Easier To Lose" has you racing against [[spoiler:Samantha, who's been your guide throughout the first two-thirds of the game]], in order to get her pink slip and selling her car to The Junkman for engine upgrades. [[BlamedForBeingRailroaded Later, the other racers will call you out on this]].

When you finally do so, he challenges you and Samantha to a sprint race that leads to [[spoiler:her wrecking her Hello Kitty-esque Honda Civic Si in the process, which TJ takes for himself and repairs (and redesigns) it afterwards]]. Eddie tries to get rid of you to no avail, as you win back Samantha's car and beat Eddie and his crew. Finally, a mysterious driver in a silver Nissan 350Z challenges you to compete in one more race. After you beat the driver, who reveals [[spoiler:herself]] to be [[spoiler:Melissa]], you are deemed the best racer in the city.

From there, you race around the city, winning events and collecting sponsorships. Eventually, you cross paths with The Wraiths, led by Caleb Reece, and as you win races against them, you hear more about their shady work in their attempt to control Bayview's racing scene, such as manipulating sponsorships against both you and Rachel. It's also revealed that [[spoiler:Caleb was the man responsible for the wrecking you in Olympic City]]. Later on, after you win a series of URL (Underground Racing League) races, a female Wraith member named Nikki Morris [[defects from them and joins your crew]].