History Main / HeKnowsAboutTimedHits

* In the ''Anime/DragonballZ'' game, Buu's Fury, there is an area in the beginning of the game where several characters are training, and they tell you the various commands.
** Hilariously {{Lampshaded}} by one guy who says something along the lines of:

* ''[[VideoGame/DustAnElysianTail Dust: An Elysian Tail]]'' uses this as well. This caused a small issue when the game was ported to the PC, due to the fact that the game is fully voice-acted and the PC port has remappable controls. For example, the text will show you a picture of the right mouse button while the voice-over calls it 'the secondary attack button' which can be jarring. The port does, however, play with this early on to help establish your support character as a loudmouth.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Several games in the series, most particularly the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', had some early-game areas where people cryptically explain the interface. For example, a child tells Link "Hey man! When you want to save, just push all the Buttons at once! ...Uh, don't ask me what that means, I'm just a kid!"
** Made especially confusing by the fact that the button combo in question -- A+B+Select+Start -- is used on most other Game Boy games to force a SoftReset.
** Made doubly confusing if you're playing on a Game Boy Advance and aren't aware that the L and R buttons on that particular system aren't used in GBC games other than to optionally resize the screen, so you try pressing ''those'' along with the others simultaneously.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' had an NPC that would tell Link "Please... With C... Sell me something with C..." What he means is he wants one of your C button items to buy, but is vague on what exactly he wants. He only wants fish, bugs, and poes. Potions and milk won't work since Link drinks it instead.
*** Later versions clarify (slightly) by having him specify, "Sell me the contents of a bottle".
** OOT leaps ''headlong'' into this, hilariously. The tutorial portion has the Know-It-All Brothers explaining the game mechanics, equipment screen, etc. as if it's all normal but without ''truly'' getting into MediumAwareness. Once you return to the forest later in the game, one of them will even say "Show me some fancy fencing! All I've done is [[ButtonMashing tap B]] all my life!"
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'': Had the Curiosity Shop Guy do the same thing. Others said "show me something with C".

* Most ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games have a "Beginners Hall", where you are taught about various in-game functions. They try to do it in character, particularly in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' where Cloud, as an experienced fighter, does the lecturing, but talk about slots and buttons still makes it in. An extra bout of comedy can be gained by talking to other students and their instructors, often being told the same thing: "No, dummy, you press 'X' to attack." Cloud even converses with the map cursor above his head at one point: "Huh? Finger? What the hell?" He also makes a sarcastic remark about one of the status effects, and talks about how to use the buttons to force one of his allies (who he has a certain [[TheLancer rivalry]] with) to do more work. This game also has the infamous "If you press the Cancel Button (earlier marked X) to run," which like most such Engrish was corrected in the game's PC port.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' also tries to work the tutorials around the characters and plots. Most of the tutorials are given to you by your teacher, so it makes a certain amount of sense that she would be lecturing you on the basics... except that the tutorial sequences all happen either immediately before or sometime after the second half of your final exam (the written portion having already occurred a week before the game began) so there's really no point at which you're told anything that the characters shouldn't already know. Also, the game pretty much just has fun with it when it comes to the chocobo-system explanation:

*** The Boss gives a complicated and difficult sounding explanation of how one would move silently in real life. However, Snake is speechless for a second and The Boss settles for saying "But all you need to do is press the directional button in the direction you wish to move," since the real life info is pretty much useless to the player.
*** There's another conversation where The Boss goes into detail about using your sense of smell to your advantage, only for Snake to point out that he can't smell anything at all. While anosmia is a real condition, Snake's reaction is more likely due to the fact that the player can't smell anything through the game itself.

** Ironically enough, for the longest time, only the Generation 1 and 2 games gave the player the option of skipping the explanation on how to catch Pokémon, one of the central mechanics of the game; all of the other games until ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' did not, much to the irritation of returning players. ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' plays with the tutorial by assuming you already have the knowledge (since your character's in-story father is a Gym leader), but total newbie Wally doesn't, necessitating you to explain it to him.

* In ''Mistmare'', the protagonist [[MrExposition is the one lecturing students into world mechanics]]. Button presses are notably absent.

* Also inverted in the otherwise execrable ''Mistmare'', where the protagonist [[MrExposition is the one lecturing students into world mechanics]]. Button presses are notably absent.

* In the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series, ''4U'''s bigger emphasis on plot makes it {{JustForFun/egregious}} to the point of [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall banging its fists against the Fourth Wall]]. Special mention goes to the [[HotBlooded Hunting Trainer]] from ''Freedom 2/Unite'' and the [[PungeonMaster Ace Cadet]] from ''4U'', both of whom are in charge of their respective games' Basic Mechanics and Weapons Training sections, though the [[CloudCuckoolander Guildmarm]] isn't without her moments.

** ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan2005''. Peter Parker is naturally chatty, which the programmers use. Straight up text-commands on the screen combine with Parker's rambling to provide a tutorial. But to really make it notable, in the context of the game, Parker notes that his double-jump completely violates the laws of physics. "Along with everything else I do."
*** Mentioned again in the game adaption of the third movie during the tutorial sequence once again narrated by Bruce Campbell. After being instructed on how to double-jump Campbell states how this is also known as 'completely breaking the law of physics.'

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'':

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'':

[[folder:Machinima]]
* In ''Machinima/HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware'', Dr. Coomer cheerfully explains how to use medical stations and the like to Gordon, and even comments on things that aren't actually in the game, like a supposed Golden HEV Suit unlocked by beating the [[RacingGhost staff ghost]] in the level "On a Rail." This takes a turn for the creepy when Coomer starts NoticingTheFourthWall.
-->'''Coomer:''' Gordon, Bounce Pads can be used to increase your jump height! You'll need them to solve a number of "platforming puzzles" up ahead!\\
'''Gordon:''' How do you know that?\\
'''Coomer:''' I... (''worried'') I don't know...
[[/folder]]

-->-- '''Mapson''', ''VideoGame/MOTHER3''

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' attempts an exceptionally strange variation on this in its Prehistoric chapter, where a village elder attempts to explain Pogo's ability to the player despite the fact that their storyline ''predates spoken language''. To solve this, the elder holds up a giant rock with a letter "B" engraved on it to indicate "press B to activate the ability." This, combined with an absurd amount of pantomime, resulted in an explanation that confused as much as it helped. Akira's chapter has a more normal version of it where Akira himself explains how to use his telepathy.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Several games in the series, most particularly the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', had some early-game areas where people cryptically explain the interface. For example, a child tells Link "Hey man! When you want to save, just push all the Buttons at once! ...Uh, don't ask me what that means, I'm just a kid!"
** Made especially confusing by the fact that the button combo in question -- A+B+Select+Start -- is used on most other Game Boy games to force a SoftReset.
** Made doubly confusing if you're playing on a Game Boy Advance and aren't aware that the L and R buttons on that particular system aren't used in GBC games other than to optionally resize the screen, so you try pressing ''those'' along with the others simultaneously.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' had some castle soldiers that would talk to you at the beginning of the game when trying to free Zelda from prison in Tutorial form - "I bet you can't wait until you're old enough to use a sword! (Press B to use your sword once you get it.)" Unfortunately, this was rarely noticed as the player was trying to ''avoid'' detection, not to mention that the first thing the soldier says is "Hey hey! You're not allowed in the castle, son! Go home and get some sleep!"
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' had an NPC that would tell Link "Please... With C... Sell me something with C..." What he means is he wants one of your C button items to buy, but is vague on what exactly he wants. He only wants fish, bugs, and poes. Potions and milk won't work since Link drinks it instead.
*** Later versions clarify (slightly) by having him specify, "Sell me the contents of a bottle".
** OOT leaps ''headlong'' into this, hilariously. The tutorial portion has the Know-It-All Brothers explaining the game mechanics, equipment screen, etc. as if it's all normal but without ''truly'' getting into MediumAwareness. Once you return to the forest later in the game, one of them will even say "Show me some fancy fencing! All I've done is [[ButtonMashing tap B]] all my life!"
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'': Had the Curiosity Shop Guy do the same thing. Others said "show me something with C".
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'': Aryll, when she teaches Link how to use her telescope; Sturgeon, both in person and in his notes; Orca, when teaching him swordsmanship; and Niko, when teaching him how to swing. Also, Sturgeon's granddaughter Sue-Belle tells you how to pick up, throw, and put down pots so you can tell Aryll how. Maggie even relates that she used Y, Z, and X to show her father her Skull Necklaces.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'': The kids, when they clamor for a demonstration of Link's skill with sword and slingshot; Midna, in instructing him about his powers; and the Hero's Spirit, when teaching him new skills. Also, Jaggle tells you that his kids don't seem to grasp the concept of Z-targeting (or L-targeting in the Gamecube version) to talk to somebody from a distance.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' has the hilarious "Oh, do you know how to walk?", due to the touchscreen being used for movement, rather than the D-pad.
** The [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI original game]] would show you the basic plot of the game and a list of all the items Link could find, and closed with Link holding up a parchment that said, "Please look up the manual for details."
** While ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' typically has a more realistic approach to tutorials (in-universe characters will simply bring up topics like swords and horses while the game brings up a brief textbox saying how to use those things), Ta'loh Naeg's Shrine near Kakariko Village involves the monk himself telepathically telling Link how to use the advanced combat techniques in terms of what buttons to press when.
** The remake of ''Link's Awakening'' has the original kid who explains how to save the game, but now he's much more specific, [[https://youtu.be/3XlbhzcygDw?t=85 telling you]] to press the + button and then the R button to get to the "system screen." He still doesn't know what any of it means, though. Another kid explains the proper inputs for accessing and manipulating the ingame map.

* In the first six games of ''Franchise/TombRaider'' series, Lara Croft herself tells the player how to control her, always mentioning which button to press and staying in character throughout.
** In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation'', Lara's guide Verner Von Croy tells Lara the controls for the game throughout the first level, while she simply listens without noticing anything odd.
* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'', the tutorial missions are narrated by an extremely bored Bart. (As well as commentary on unlocked achievements and any new item type.)
** In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'', the tutorials are entirely justified, as the various characters find out they're in a video game that they found the manual for, so when they learn about a new ability, they just read the manual to find out what to do. And the manual they're reading is the same manual included with the game, so you can read along. It's then subverted later in the game when [[spoiler:Bart starts pointing out various videogame tropes, like the fact that an alien UFO shoots four lasers and then exposes its weakpoint that they can hit. The aliens are listening in, question why the hell they do that, correct the mistake, and then go off and destroy some stuff.]]

* The first few logs you find in ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' are from Dan, and detail the controls, moves, etc. [[MissionControl Dan]] himself will chime in a the very beginning of the harder DifficultyLevels, explaining how they're different from the "Normal" difficulty. Then, you find [[LampshadeHanging this log]]:
-->Author: Tasen Scout [=KT581:PKBE=]\\
Subject: What's a `Pause menu`?\\
Seriously. Commander keeps telling us, 'if you ever forget about your weapons, enemies or abilities, check the Pause menu by pressing Escape'. If this is some new helmet interface upgrade, I bet the Soldiers are keeping it from us Scouts.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', ExpositionFairy Issun will lead the player around by the nose at first (almost literally). Thinly-justified since he's dealing with a goddess in the form of a wolf who has been a statue up until about five minutes ago.
* ''Videogame/JablessAdventure'' features a few tongue-in-cheek tutorials. For example, to explain that you press X to fire the gun:
-->'''Squiddy:''' Have you noticed how much the trigger looks like an [X]?\\
'''Jable:''' The resemblance is uncanny!
* In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', some of the Earth Walkers at Krazoa Palace tell Krystal how to go into Head View, how to roll, and how to sidestep; and The Warpstone tells Fox to press the Control Stick to go to one of the three places he makes it possible to go to, or to press B so he can go back to sleep.
* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' game on the Xbox, Giles has Buffy go through training. Where the vampires come from is [[{{Handwave}} explained]] as being all a dream. ''VideoGame/BuffyTheVampireSlayerChaosBleeds'' revolves around an attack on the Magic Shop, where Buffy is guided by Giles, Xander is guided by Anya, Willow is guided by Tara and Spike is ''mocked'' by Buffy. By the time you get to Faith you'll be wreaking the kind of havoc [[GamerChick that would have her glued to the screen.]]

* {{Lampshaded}} in ''VideoGame/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' Playstation game: the children giving control instructions have no idea exactly what they're talking about ("I can't find my square button...") and the main character repeatedly wonders how the kids keep [[TookAShortcut beating him to wherever he's going]], among other things. (Which they simply answer by admitting that they're tutorial characters.)
* Justified in ''VideoGame/TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction'', as the tutorial is actually a VR simulation designed to let the military experience the Hulk's capabilities firsthand. Know your enemy and all that.
* In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'': "Press the X button, Shadow."

* In ''VideoGame/TitanicAdventureOutOfTime'', upon first trying to leave your state room, the steward Smethells will prompt you for a tutorial and proceed to tell you how to move about and examine things using the arrow keys and mouse.

* ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndHisDesktopAdventures'' has Bonifacio, a man sitting near a fountain whose only role is to provide you a tutorial. He very quickly breaks character by telling you about how to walk, push objects, or pick up items with your mouse, and finally how to adjust the difficulty in the options menu.

* In ''VideoGame/LastWord'', The servant, Will Banter, outright says that, "I see you have enough Stored Experience. I’m obligated to teach you a few of the more advanced skills I’ve seen over the years."

* In ''VideoGame/{{Blackout}}'', one of the side characters is an old BlindSeer who offers the PlayerCharacter to either read his subconscious or tell him about his fate. Whenever her services are requested, she holds out some objects her hands and directly asks the player to "click" on them.

* Reyes on the keyboard controls in ''VideoGame/DeusEx''[='=]s tutorial.

* In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' Claptrap tries very hard to avert this when explaining his 'secret stash' (that allows the player to swap items with their other characters.) Ultimately he cannot find a way to explain it in-universe and just gives up and tells you what it's for.

* In ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', most instructions exclude button presses from the verbal part: the character will simply say "[[MemeticMutation Do a barrel roll!]]" while pictures of the buttons to be pressed appear in the text box but are not spoken. However, there is a part where Peppy says, "To barrel roll, press Z or R twice!"
* The cat in the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} Photo Channel explains how to use the B button to scroll, but has no idea where to find this B button. (It's on the back of the Wii Remote.)

* Some non-player characters in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'' explain some of the game's controls, minigame rules etc. and especially when it comes to keeping password safe.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' once re-did the beginning of the game so that your trainer gives you a specific quest to use your first learned abilities, either on training dummies (for damage-dealing classes) or on wounded comrades (for healer classes). This provides a plausible way of showcasing your class's abilities without breaking the fourth wall. Before this, the start zones were not implemented as an explicit tutorial but the in-game engine included tutorial windows, souped up in a patch in 2009, which by default appear every time you start the first new character on a new server.

* The tutorials from the ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' series mention button names in-character, and no one bats an eye. It's gotten to the point that the oft repeated "Jump and press the Circle Button," tutorial has achieved something of a memetic position with both the creators and the fandom. During a podcast with the three main actors doing an ad-lib heist, Bentley says the plan is that he'll be in the van while Murray will head in front and Sly will "Jump and press the Circle Button".
* Practically every UsefulNotes/NintendoDS game in existence needs one of these, given the unusual control scheme. Expect many, many [=NPCs=] teaching you how to walk with the stylus. A few games, such as ''VideoGame/KirbyCanvasCurse'', have an in-game device, representing the stylus.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', FLUDD, your talking water pump, gives you a tutorial that mentions the L and R buttons (or, if you're playing on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port, "the buttons").

** In ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'', struggling too much on certain areas of the game, such as [[EasyLevelsHardBosses boss fights]], will prompt [[BigGood Elfilin]] to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILYFEsD_EyQ explain the basics]] to Kirby.
* ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'':
** In the second, third, and fourth games, the first level is devoted mostly to teaching you how to play the game. As such, you will be stopped quite often by characters such as Hunter, who will yell at you things like "Press the JUMP button to glide! If you press the TRIANGLE button, you will hover! Remember, hold L2 and R2 to center the camera behind you! Do you like the Active Camera mode, or shall I change it to the Passive camera mode?" In fact, they're so overly enthusiastic about telling you how to use the buttons on your controller that it makes you wonder if they're {{Lampshading}} this trope.
** Even in the first game, which had much less intrusive tutorials overall, occasionally a dragon Spyro freed would, in all earnestness, advise him to "press the X button at the very top of your jump" or to "press the triangle button to drop down in midflight".
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroANewBeginning'': The main character is given tutorials by the Dragon Elders. This is, however, an avoidance of the trope, as listening to the background noise while the text instructions come up on the HUD allows you to hear standard martial arts training.

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' begins with an in-character tutorial/explanation involving both the player squirrel and other [=NPCs=] talking to each other and to the player. Possible subversion as many of the characters, including Conker himself, are drunk and rambling. There is also the implementation of large 'B' buttons in the game world where the user is prompted to 'Press B' for context sensitive actions. (The NPC who explains this mechanic flounders humorously. "It's sensitive to... to contexts.") Later on the player will have to buy a manual to explain some of the more complex moves to both himself and the player. ("Ten dollars. Manual love you long time.") This even occurs when fighting the final boss, if you listen to the ship's [=AI=].
--->'''Ship [=AI=]''': "Did you know you can block? Hold down the Z-trigger. Idiot."
* In the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series of games, especially the newer, three-dimensional incarnations, there is often a helper character who explains basic controls in a somewhat grating fashion. In ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', it's a helper character or a non-active member of the team. This is usually grating and irritating, especially in ''Heroes''' tutorial mode, but ''Shadow'' used the trope to help characterize Sonic and Knuckles. Sonic and Knuckles explain guns to Shadow but remark about how [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism they wouldn't use them]].

* The ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' games are a pretty odd example: the different moves are taught by various mole characters who always address the eponymous duo, never the player (even though the fourth wall is broken a lot in general) yet still make references to the controller buttons. Jamjars' sequences in ''Tooie'' are particularly noteworthy because they rhyme, and given that one N64 controller button is Z, some of the rhymes only work if you use the British pronunciation (zed).
** What makes it funnier is that the controls have been changed in the XBLA version, yet Jamjars recites [[TheArtifact the same instructions with the new controls inserted]]. Obviously, it no longer rhymes.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 2'' has a very bizarre and depressing example where a resistance soldier tells Zero to press up on the D-pad to ''talk to people''.
* In the Flash game ''Colour My Heart'' and sequels, B+W City contains signs telling you to use the arrow keys to move, and the mouse to interact with objects. Well, it's better than the signs telling you to give up now…
* The Flash game ''Elephant Quest'' has other elephants explaining to your elephant that he can move with the arrow keys, shoot with the mouse and press the down key to talk. Then one of them adds "What's a down key?"

* ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers'' has [=NPCs=] who explain how to use the controls, some of them telling the player exactly how to do what they don't want to happen.
* While the Narrator in the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' games tells the player how to move and jump, the in-game characters usually explain everything else.
* In ''[[VideoGame/KaoTheKangaroo Kao The Kangaroo: Round 2]]'', the characters do this a lot, and it usually takes the form of "[[CaptainObvious to jump, press the jump button]]".
* In ''VideoGame/TheEmperorsNewGroove'', Tipo and Chaca have this with their dialogue. But ''only'' the dialogue; the characters themselves have little clue what they're saying and often comment afterwards with things like "...but I can't find my Jump Button!". [[BetterThanABareBulb Per the game's style]], Kuzco will point some of this out, such as calling out health-giving bananas as being an "obvious plot device".

* ''VideoGame/HotelMario'' features Mario blatantly BreakingTheFourthWall and saying "if you need instructions on how to get through the hotels, check out the enclosed instruction book". The cutscene even pauses for a few moments, presumably to give the user time to find said instruction book.

* In the ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'' tutorial, you are a West Point graduate undergoing additional training before being sent to fight in the war against the Soviets. However, that doesn't stop your instructor from mentioning the various mouse and keyboard controls. A particularly surreal moment occurs in the first part of the training where you instructor prompts you to move the camera in ''every conceivable way'' culminating in a section where you must move it through floating red rings and finally claiming that "They DO teach useful things at West Point".

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPGLegendOfTheSevenStars'' is the TropeNamer. Early in the game, Toad offers to teach Mario how to use items and [[ActionCommands Timed Hits]]. If the player declines to listen to the (optional) tutorial, Toad tells TheGoomba that has shown up (for the sole purpose of being a teaching aid) that Mario already knows about Timed Hits, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere causing it to run away in fear]].
** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'': {{Lampshaded}}. Whenever one of these comes up, it becomes clear that Mario has no idea what the person is talking about, and they simply say something about how the "[[AGodIsYou great being]] who watches us from another dimension" will understand it. This game also has a character named Otto who professes to have hot tips on how to make your quest easier, but serves as another {{Lampshade}} when they turn out to be things like "You can press 2 to jump!" more than ''halfway through the game''. [[spoiler:It's really there to set up the guy in his place in [[AlternateUniverse Flopside]], who is much less confident in his much better advice about hidden areas and such.]]
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': Played with. In the third chapter of the game, Mario is given a tutorial on how to challenge opponents in the [[TournamentArc Glitz Pit]]. When Mario is signed up for the tournament, a Toad named Jolene gives Mario in-depth instructions, button commands and all. Later, one of the fighters in the tournament is force to retire, and a newcomer comes to take his place. Jolene takes the newcomer in and gives him the ''exact same instructions'' as she did to Mario, once again including button commands. You're also asked to meet certain conditions in each match in order to advance. These usually include "Appeal three times," "Don't attack for three rounds" or "Only let your partner attack." The newcomer's instructions are to "do a triple flip and meow."
** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'': Early in the game, Toads that Mario rescues will offer him some advice. These directly mention buttons and controls in the game, along with their purpose.
--->'''Toad''': I'm saved! And now I'm gonna save YOU, Mario... Try pressing + sometime when you're in a pickle. It'll open up a whole new world of info. Seriously! I'm talking controls, settings, basic info... It's all right there for you.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Persona3 Portable'': A character explains that you can fast travel by using the square button and says "...though I don't know where you'd find one of those."
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'': {{Lampshaded}}. In one instance one of the [=NPCs=] tells you how to use the square button to fast-travel, and then follows up with something along the lines of "Do you think I'm weird for saying these things...?"
* ''VideoGame/AtelierIris'' interrupts the story for a long series of amusing "Popo's [[NoFourthWall Fourth-Wall]] Lecture" tutorials whenever a new skill or technique becomes relevant. [[ExpositionFairy Popo]] will occasionally call other characters to help him explain things.

* Also inverted in the otherwise execrable ''Mistmare'', where the protagonist [[MrExposition is the one lecturing students into world mechanics]]. Button presses are notably absent.

* Nearly averted in ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends The Misadventures Of Tron Bonne]]''. Tron goes to great lengths to explain the mechanics one of the game modes in almost believable in-universe terms to one of the Servbots, and then reassures him that he can press START to retry if he doesn't understand.
* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'': Several sets of Koopas on board the Koopa Cruiser seem to be ignoring you while engrossed in lessons about basic things like switching the lead character, jumping, and so on. And you see them accomplishing these actions. Presumably the guy at ''their'' controls has nothing better to do than to keep pressing their buttons.
** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' does this normally with many tutorials, although the strangest one is where [[BigBad Fawful]] warns Bowser's ''opponent'' about the timed hits Bowser is supposed to do. ''Do not press X now!'' and ''BADNESS! If you are holding back your punch to the last second, pressing X, that is BADNESS! Do not have naughtiness and press X at that timing!''. Of course, doing what Fawful says not to do makes Bowser hit Midbus twice as hard.
* Several ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games have particularly grating examples of this trope (a couple {{justified|Tutorial}} it, but not much). Each time, Lan and [=MegaMan=] talk their way through a three-round battle with basic enemies -- and Lan, whose [=NetBattling=] skill has repeatedly ''saved the world'', always forgets at least one essential point.
* ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', a mole explains the tactics of PreexistingEncounters to Ness, but slips up several times by referring to the "TV screen." Another NPC wishes he could recover PP by drinking water, and then wonders what PP is.
** During the prologue of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'', Hinawa's father Alec interrupts Lucas and Claus's playtime to explain how dashing works ("Try to imagine something called a B button!"); after the Mole Cricket battle, he breaks the fourth wall to explain how to save (by talking to [[SavePoint frogs]].) In one of the game's most defining scenes, the player is '''directly asked''' to suspend their disbelief during a tutorial.
* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' attempts an exceptionally strange variation on this in its Prehistoric chapter, where a village elder attempts to explain Pogo's ability to the player despite the fact that their storyline ''predates spoken language''. To solve this, the elder holds up a giant rock with a letter "B" engraved on it to indicate "press B to activate the ability." This, combined with an absurd amount of pantomime, resulted in an explanation that confused as much as it helped. Akira's chapter has a more normal version of it where Akira himself explains how to use his telepathy.
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' the tutorial is a dream sequence where an otherworldly narrator ([[AllThereInTheManual actually Mickey Mouse]]) explains the controls to Sora.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}}'' averts this by not explaining to you the new timings or key presses when you get training, leaving you to figure out how to use a few of its trick moves and what perks you've gained from this training. The dialogue the [=NPCs=] do give seems to be a more realistic approach to accomplish the training - not holding a one-handed weapon with two hands, a mistake your character had been previously making and corrects himself on for the rest of the game - rather than a meta-game technical "press (buttons) to perform (moves)".
** The trainer also explains how to do more complex maneuvers, such as after striking forward twice, you should spin around, as this often confuse opponents.
* ''Final Fantasy VII: VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'' features a pre-monsterized Vincent (still in the Turks) undergoing "simulation battles" for training purposes. The female computerized voice doesn't reference buttons, but does ask you to do specific actions in order to pass to the next tutorial level.
* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' has Polka do the first part of the tutorial by talking to herself. In the later parts, Allegretto teaches Beat to fight. But of course he's still talking about user interface and button presses instead of anything in-character.
* Prelude of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' {{Lampshades}} it a bit by starting in Academy and all that, though it's still impossible to do in-character.
* Incredibly blatant in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIMAGINE Online'', especially during the Virtual Battle and early Home III acts.
* ''VideoGame/MagnaCarta2'': The characters will go over gameplay basics both in the optional tutorial and in the story proper without any attempt at integrating it into the plot whatsoever. They seriously sound like they're reading the instruction manual themselves!
* ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom'' has in-game text that explains how to select and learn about the player characters' spells. It might make a little sense for an {{NPC}} in the FirstTown, but this tutorial also appears on a plaque on ''[[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Doom Island]]'' during the ActionPrologue, when [[ATasteOfPower you're controlling Maxim's uber-powerful party]].
** In ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'', one [=NPCs=] mentions pressing the R button to preform a certain action and then wonders what an R button is.
** ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'' also has characters do this. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] several times, most prominently when Guy and Tia explain the controls for a ''tank''.
* While raiding the ship in ''VideoGame/{{Dubloon}}'', there are question-marks that give instructions on how to play the game. Once you're [[HopelessBossFight finished]] however, further instructions are given by signposts and people.
* The ''VideoGame/DotHackGUGames'' have an example of this. The game is set in an MMORPG, and so it make sense for other people to instruct the player how to play the game, and they are even using [=PS2=]-like controllers in-game as well.
* In ''VideoGame/LastScenario'', a villager who teaches you about [[MiniGame Hex]] mentions that you have to press the shift key to challenge someone for a game.
* The first ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' game had a tutorial section set around Candlekeep before you leave with Gorion, which even incorporated an illusionist who conjured up extra party members to help you learn how to fight as a group. This was a pretty purposeful invocation of the tutorial trope, though: the inhabitants of Candlekeep know you are going on a journey and are teaching you survival skills. The second game has a long-ish prologue where you fight your way out of imprisonment, meet the characters from the first game who were ported to the second, and acquire new, level appropriate equipment, but it's not a tutorial as such and it's assumed you know something about how to play the game.

* The first ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' game subverts this altogether as all the tutorials are done entirely via {{Infodump}} through the Help option in the main menu. Both ''Covenant'' and ''From the New World'' do feature tutorials addressed to the player about the new and improved battle system, though.
* Justified in ''VideoGame/StarOceanTillTheEndOfTime'' by having the tutorial level be Fayt teaching Sophia /how to play a video game/.
* In ''VideoGame/ABlurredLine'', [[{{Cyberspace}} Eisen’s simulation]] works like this:
---> '''Tower Guard''': ''The Tower is dangerous, Princess! I can’t let you up until you’re at least level 5!''
---> '''Dalia''': ''I hate video games.''
* Happens all the time in ''VideoGame/{{MARDEK}}'', starting with Mardek's friend Deugan explaining the basic controls to him. Mardek has no idea what he's talking about. There are similar examples throughout, including this gem in Chapter 3:
-->'''Insignificant Eveetman''': Did you know you that can press L at any time to view the Chat Log, even when not speaking to anyone? I don't know what that means though! It sounds like some code, like I'm a member of a secret club, or a spy, but I don't remember joining or being one! They must be VERY secret!

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has a few minor {{NPC}}s, mostly Froggits in the tutorial area, that try to explain some of the finer points of the game's controls, without necessarily understanding what they're talking about. One Froggit mentions how his friend keeps skipping through his dialogue by mashing a button, and then complains if he catches you doing that. More JustForFun/{{egregious}}ly, Papyrus explains the special action controls for his BossBattle while you fight him. And of course, there's Flowey, the first character you meet, who knows far more about the game mechanics than those other characters combined, but happens to be more than a bit of a lying bastard.
* Potentially justified in ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm''. It’s a game set inside [[{{Cyberspace}} the internet]], so hearing the characters yammer on about keyboard controls really isn’t that strange.
* Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/RecettearAnItemShopsTale''. Recette gets confused when Tear occasionally mentions the controller buttons and "custom.exe" during her tutorials.
* ''VideoGame/HideNSeekBattleMonsterTactics'': Although some players may have trouble learning how to play through the game anyway, every time you start over you have to deal with Toppy telling you.
* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' goes to a conspicuous length to avert this trope by having all the tutorials be addressed directly to the player.

* ''VideoGame/VegaStrike'' has in-character tutor. [[AlphabetNewsNetwork GNN]] says "Cephid Security Initiative (CSI) is offering training for pilots with the purpose of enhancing flight safety". That turns out to be one guy, Oswald on a [[TheAlliance LIHW]] light fighter hanging near the PlayerCharacter's starting point, to explain ship controls and give tutorial mission objectives. PC being an independent {{Privateer}} in open space, it's of no consequence whether player follows his instructions or simply ignores him and continues to accelerate until the little nuisance is beyond communication range.
* ''VideoGame/MechWarrior231stCenturyCombat'' uses this in its tutorial missions. The keyboard is explained away as a "control console" but…it's a keyboard. Complete with keys such as Ctrl and Tab.
* VideoGame/RobotAlchemicDrive justifies it because, as shown in an early cutscene, you're controlling your giant robot with an exact replica of the [=PS2=] controller.
* Many later ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' games feature a very lengthy introduction, often peppered with various tutorials regarding game mechanics. Sometimes, these tutorials are optional… sometimes, not so much. The information is usually often kept on a bookshelf in your character's house, as well, for later reference. Unlocking new things to do will also often lead to more tutorials (like buying an animal, planting a crop, unlocking a paddy, etc).

* In ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy'', thanks to his GameplayGuidedAmnesia, Nick Scryer doesn't get new powers so much as remember them, which is represented by a FlashBack of him first being trained in whatever power it is.

* The ''VideoGame/BattleForWesnoth'' tutorial does this pretty openly, down to discussing hit points and experience points in-universe...while using main characters from the "Heir to the Throne" campaign where most players will eventually meet them again.

* In ''VisualNovel/HerTearsWereMyLight'', the first time you are required to use Time's rewinding powers, Time will remind you that there is a button that lets you do so.

* The ''Literature/GrailQuest'' books open with Merlin explaining that the book is a spell that transports the reader into the body of Pip in Merlin's time, but that they will need to bring two dice, a pencil and a sheet of paper with them. He goes on to explain about Life Points and the combat system.

** ''VideoGame/UltimateSpiderMan''. Peter Parker is naturally chatty, which the programmers use. Straight up text-commands on the screen combine with Parker's rambling to provide a tutorial. But to really make it notable, in the context of the game, Parker notes that his double-jump completely violates the laws of physics. "Along with everything else I do."

* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' begins with an in-character tutorial/explanation involving both the player squirrel and other [=NPCs=] talking to each other and to the player. Possible subversion as many of the characters, including Conker himself, are drunk and rambling. There is also the implementation of large 'B' buttons in the game world where the user is prompted to 'Press B' for context sensitive actions. (The NPC who explains this mechanic flounders humorously. "It's sensitive to... to contexts.") Later on the player will have to buy a manual to explain some of the more complex moves to both himself and the player. ("Ten dollars. Manual love you long time.")
** This even occurs when fighting the final boss, if you listen to the ship's [=AI=].

* ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' featured the "Beginner's Show", where a narrator taught Kirby and the player basic game functions in front of a live studio audience. Although this returns in ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'', it takes a step backwards by not giving the player any opportunities to test the controls in the tutorial itself.

* The second ''VideoGame/DarkCloud'' game has a tutorial given by Donny, who shatters the fourth wall talking about buttons and menus. Max acts completely normal. This is really the only time the fourth wall is absolutely broken during the length of the game.

* In the NES game ''[[VideoGame/AstekaIITemploDelSol Tombs & Treasures]]'', should you end up stuck in the game's one [[UnwinnableByDesign inescapable trap]], the main character just outright tells you to press the reset button.

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' has some dialogue about how the game works, such as telling you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. Ironically, this also means you ''[[TricksterGame can't]]'' use the load game function to undo some things you might want to, because Monika's clumsy meddling breaks it. Also ironically, it leads to Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge that instructs you on how to navigate the game's files in order to do something she wouldn't want you to.]]

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' has some dialogue about how the game works, such as telling you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. Ironically, this also means you ''[[TricksterGame can't]]'' use the load game function to undo some things you might want to, because Monika's clumsy meddling breaks it. Also ironically, it culminates in Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge that instructs you on how to navigate the game's files in order to do something she wouldn't want you to.]]

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' has some dialogue about how the game works, such as telling you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. Ironically, this also means you ''[[TricksterGame can't]]'' use the load game function to undo some things you might want to, because Monika breaks it. Also ironically, it culminates in Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge that instructs you on how to navigate the game's files in order to do something she wouldn't want you to.]]

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' has some dialogue about how the game works, such as telling you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. Ironically, this also means you ''can't'' use the load game function to undo some things you might want to, because Monika breaks it. Also ironically, it culminates in Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge that instructs you on how to navigate the game's files in order to do something she wouldn't want you to.]]

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' tells you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. Ironically, this also means you ''can't'' use the load game function to undo some things you might want to, because Monika breaks it. Also ironically, it culminates in Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge that instructs you on how to navigate the game's files in order to do something she wouldn't want you to.]]

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' tells you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. She'll continue to break and lean on the fourth wall throughout the game, which she unintentionally transforms from a lighthearted romance to a PsychologicalHorror title in her efforts to become more than just a visual novel character. Ironically, this also means you ''can't'' use the load game function to undo all the horrible stuff that happens because Monika breaks it. Also ironically, it culminates in Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge towards the end of the game that instructs you ([[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou yes, you]]; your character has been {{Unperson}}ed by this point) on how to navigate the game's files in order to delete her from the game.]]

*** A torture minigame is introduced with a creepily cheerful button exposition sequence, culminating in the torturer looking straight at the screen with a growly, "Don't even think about using Auto-Fire, or I'll know."[[note]]His looking at the player only happens in ''[[VideoGameRemake The Twin Snakes]]''; in the original version, he's still looking at Snake. And it's a serious threat; even just pressing the button faster than the game expects can trigger Ocelot's wrath.[[/note]]

* Monika in ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' tells you about the save system early in the game. [[spoiler:This turns out to be {{Foreshadowing}} that she is MediumAware. She'll continue to break and lean on the fourth wall throughout the game, which she unintentionally transforms from a lighthearted romance to a PsychologicalHorror title in her efforts to become more than just a visual novel character. Ironically, this culminates in Monika delivering an ''unintentional'' PlayerNudge towards the end of the game that instructs you ([[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou yes, you]]; your character has been {{Unperson}}ed by this point) on how to navigate the game's files in order to delete her from the game.]]

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro: A New Beginning'', the main character is given tutorials by the Dragon Elders. This is, however, an avoidance of the trope, as listening to the background noise while the text instructions come up on the HUD allows you to hear standard martial arts training.

* In the fifth case of ''VisualNovel/DaiGyakutenSaiban'', when Ryunosuke is about to look through a stereoscope, Holmes reminds us to turn up our 3D screens.