Disclaimer: This is just me rambling based on my own memories and gameplay. Not an objective review. Some details might be off. Old-school players, feel free to jump in. AI disclosure: I wrote this myself – the opinions, the memories, the takes. I only used AI to clean up my grammar and make the English flow better. That’s it. Figured I’d be upfront about it.
- Introduction: 15 years ago, a door opened I’ve been playing Need for Speed for about 15 years. Before that, I didn’t even have a concept of “racing games.” NFS: Most Wanted – which looks pretty dated now – opened up a whole new world for me.
In this post, I’ll talk about my history with NFS9, why it hooked me, and how I see it today.
- Memory: LAN party madness as a middle schooler Fifteen years ago, I was in 7th grade. I was mostly into MMOs, which back then didn’t exactly have great graphics. I stumbled across this game box online, heard it had a ton of games, and decided to give it a shot.
I wanted to play a racing game, but my PC was crap – basically just barely ran CrossFire. Then I saw Need for Speed: Most Wanted. High rating, only 2GB – my computer could probably handle it. An hour later, I was legit blown away. This is what a racing game should be.
I got my friends to download it too. Our computer lab teachers didn’t really care, so we’d run LAN games of NFS9 all the time – just as intense as playing CS 1.6 together. Even as school and work got busier, I’d still fire it up now and then, run a few laps, and try to beat my own records.
- Why it’s a classic: three things NFS9 got right A lot of racing games never reach the level of NFS: Most Wanted. Here’s why I think that is.
3.1. The cinematic story mode In NFS9, you have to take down blacklist rivals. Every race has story buildup, so it never feels boring. You actually feel like the main character in a street racing drama. That’s something barely any later NFS games pulled off.
One YouTuber put it perfectly: a racing game without a story is just fast-food gaming. That’s the power of cinematic storytelling.
3.2. The cops vs. racers system The “cop pursuit” system is unique – basically cops and robbers with cars. But it’s more than that. The game gives you an open world, and from there you can do all kinds of stuff. You can speedrun, or just mess around with the cops for fun. Completing objectives gets you bounty, which you use to progress or buy new cars.
3.3. Deep customization and track runs In NFS9, cars aren’t static. You buy parts, mod them out, DIY – that alone is a whole thing. The most iconic modded car is the BMW M3 GTR, basically a legend in the game. You can also add your own MODs.
As for tracks – there’s a saying in the community: “Run the World Loop if you think you’re hot.” It’s basically a benchmark for skill.
- How I see it today: some half-baked but honest takes
4.1. This game never gets old It’s been 20 years (released in 2005). EA never remastered it for various reasons, but that doesn’t mean fans lost interest. A fan-made remaster came out in 2020 – better graphics, more mods, more content, runs on low-end PCs. Only downside: no English? Wait, for Western players it’s fine. For us, no Chinese.
4.2. About the later games A lot of people treat the 2012 Need for Speed: Most Wanted reboot (same name as NFS9, I know) as a spiritual successor. Reactions are mixed. Some say it feels unfinished – it doesn’t play like NFS9 at all, and instead leans hard into Burnout territory.
Personally? I didn’t mind it. But if you’re into that style, honestly, just play Need for Speed 14 Remastered. It’s cheap as hell on sale, and it holds its own next to that fan-made NFS9 remaster from 2020. Need for Speed 19 is also pretty solid.
As for NFS17 – if you really want to try it, grab it on a discount and don’t expect a masterpiece.
4.3. Is it still worth playing today? NFS9 works for all skill levels. It’s grip-focused, not drift. Looks casual, but it’s not entirely brain-off easy.
Story-wise, some people might be used to fast-food gaming and not have the patience. But if you stick with it, it’s unforgettable.
When I played recently – keep in mind this game isn’t drift-heavy (NFS14 is the drift king) – I watched some clips and thought “how hard can it be?” Then I tried the simplest track and spent forever just getting the basics down. This game doesn’t hold your hand if you refuse to practice.
- Final thoughts from an old-school player If you want to get into the Need for Speed series, the 9th gen is unavoidable. Some even say: if you haven’t played NFS9, you haven’t really played Need for Speed.
Look, NFS: Most Wanted isn’t perfect. It has plenty of flaws. But the good outweighs the bad. Maybe that’s the magic of a true classic.
Thanks for reading. If you have your own memories or hot takes about NFS9, drop them in the comments. Let’s talk.
My kid is 9. He loves street racing games. NFS:Heat is his current favorite, but occasionally he likes to play the “classic” NFS:Most Wanted
This is my favourite racing game of all times. Well, unless you count the original Carmageddon.
Having a sporty, questionable car after playing this game has given me unending anxiety. Any time I leave the house and feel my phone buzz a minute later, I fear it’s going to be a call saying “hey, somethings wrong with your ride. You left a huge oil slick at the start line”
For those that didn’t play, the game opens with a race between you in the cover art M3 GTR against the final boss in the Mustang. It’s for pinks and your car breaks down after a few minutes, forfeiting your car to the rival. The campaign then has you climb the ladder to get back to him.
Try the pepega mod for nfsmw. Its made for some streamers so they are randomly thrown in but its an absolute delight of a meme mod.
My favorite NFS was the OG Hot Pursuit released in 1998: NFS 3.
You could even play as a cop and try to stop the racers.
Split screen with a friend, but only 1v1 with more computer controlled opponents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_Speed_III:_Hot_Pursuit
But as far as the entire genre? Gran Turismo. I’ve played them all.
But the very first racing game I ever played? Other than the simple light road one near the top of the comments?
Pit Stop 2 from the early 1980s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitstop_II
It was formula style open wheel racing, and you even had to pit and control replacing fuel and tires.
This is what got me into racing games
Oh man I forgot about these, I had one as a kid and loved it. I had also found an old instrument cluster in my dad’s car parts horde and asked him if he could hook it up to the game and make it work. He was too polite to say it was a stupid idea, so he just said “sorry, bud, that’s a little outside my knowledge” but attached it to the top anyway so I could pretend.
Good times.
It was the original NFS High Stakes for my ancient ass.
My brother did give MW a shot though, he loved it.
Oh man this game is so nostalgic for me! I got sucked into it when my family moved to a different part of the city, which happened to be a less immigrant populated area where most of the kids weren’t playing outside as often. As a result I started gaming more on the 360 (and spent more time inside); I had a blast driving like mad from the popo in my Reneault Clio, it was a proper thrill to survive the highest heats.
Thank you for reminding me of the time!
Most Wanted (2005) is a masterpiece for sure. On the one hand it’s one of the games I most want (hah) to see a remake for, but on the other it’s so steeped in early 00s that maybe a remake can’t possibly recreate the magic, regardless of how faithful it is.
Still, playing it with modern graphics instead of that yellow piss filter would be amazing.
This is my favourite NFS and possibly overall racing game
I loved that game, the police chases were a lot of fun with the radio chatter. I worked with one if the game’s devs who revealed to me some of the guys on the blacklist 15 list were other developers rather than actors.
Needs, speeds, Battlestar Galactica
I my circle, I was the only one playing the next title, Need for Speed Carbon, who recognized Tamoah Penikett. Helo / Sharon’s husband on BSG
But anyway, I don’t remember if all the NfSMW blacklist racers had acting scenes. I think some were skipped. Not like the acting was deep. But, neat.
Most blacklist racers were just doing a few poses and aura farming to be fair
When EA was good. I lament some of the best gaming companies have been captured by greed.
I remember putting so much time into the GameCube version as a kid, but I don’t think I ever finished the game even once.
For the most part, I just enjoyed doing the police chases and dragging them out as long as possible. Think multiple hour long ones. Destroying police cars and creating as much property damage as humanly possible. Sadly, on the higher levels these became quickly frustrating as the police started deploying instant K.O. spike traps. Losing your run an hour in to one of these was the worst feeling.
The actual racing was fun, too, although I never liked drag races. Their control scheme was just awful. And I probably wasn’t any good at racing, given that I don’t remember ever finishing the game.
Still, I have a lot of nostalgia for the game and the soundtrack shaped my tastes in music to this day. I haven’t enjoyed another racing game since then, I should probably go back and finish it.
I remember having to drag a chase out for a long time. 60 or 90 minutes. I think it was a challenge race form outside the campaign. It mixes into the finale race/chase where I think the escape strategy has to develop before letting you jump the bridge, all on heat 6 for the first and only time.
Yes, for all of those, so much effort could be lost to one professional placement of a spike strip. Good times. Bad times. But at least you could reset the game to win the loot boxes back then.
Racing games are personally not my thing, but thanks for your original contributions to the Threadiverse; it’s refreshing to see hobbyist posts on the platform. 👍
I’ve never had a full interest in racing games aside from Trackmania, but NFSMW holds a very special place for me as it was the first game I ever played.
