History VideoGame / N

-->-- [[ExcusePlot The in-game story description]]

Four years after its initial release, the game saw a revitalization as three separate {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]], and UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade all titled ''[[RankInflation N+]]''. All of them are still just as tricky as the original. The game soon found revitalization ''again'' on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 (and eventually UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}) years later as ''[[RankInflation N++]]'', adding even more new features. In 2011, the original ''N'' was updated to version 2.0. Play it [[http://www.thewayoftheninja.org/n.html here]].

** The Thwump drone is an obvious reference to the Thwomp enemies from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'', right down to their enemy behavior. In a similar fashion, one level of ''N++'' featuring the homing missile launcher is called Bullet William, a reference to another ''Super Mario Bros.'' enemy, Bullet Bill.

* FakeLongevity: "Hardcore" mode in ''N++'' can end up feeling like this. It doesn't takes that long to clear a whole column, but there's no significant enough change to the core gameplay either.

Not to be confused with the enigmatic boy from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''.

This page is probably the best thing to use as your bookmark for Website/TVTropes, as it has a OneLetterTitle.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: If you complete all the 500 levels, all you get is [[spoiler: to select a custom color for your ninja]]. [[BraggingRightsReward It's worth it anyway]].

''N'' is a {{platformer}} developed by Metanet Software and made in Flash. You control a tiny, practically weightless ninja with the gift of godlike speed and agility. Unfortunately, this causes him to age faster, ''much'' faster, but the joy of collecting gold makes him so giddy he lives longer. The goal is to get to the exit door, which you must first flip some switches to open. You can collect little squares of gold that increase your lifespan. Baddies of every sort frequent the levels.

* AttractMode: The original's main menu cycles through prerecorded plays, showing typical mistakes that players make during the game. By the third installment, it has become guaranteed that the ninja will ''never'' finish a level on the title screen. Made more embarassing by the fact that, as long as you play at least a small portion of ''N++'', the replays are, in fact, recorded from ''your'' attempts to beat the level. This also applies to custom or co-op levels.

* CrosshairAware: Watch out for the targeting reticules of the gauss turret. Unlike most examples of visible crosshairs, the targeting reticule actually indicates the ''angle'' at which the turret will shoot, not the location - this means that the ninja is anywhere along the turret's targeting line when it shoots, they'll still get killed instantly. The turrets know this, too; if the ninja is in such a straight line as mentioned above, the turret ''will shoot'', regardless of whether or not the ninja is actually in the crosshair.

* RankInflation: [[ExaggeratedTrope Taken to an extreme.]] ''N++'' includes a "completion percentage," but (as mentioned below) it gets multiplied by the "Numberwang" setting. At higher values, it quickly exceeds ''1000%'', making it possible to reach a "percentage" along the lines of "1397.059234% ++ 197.420937%" long before completing the game.

** The F7200 color scheme is a (somewhat) unexpected allusion to ''[[{{VideoGame/Wipeout}} Wipeout 3]]''. F7200 is the name of the [=AG=] racing league in the same game.

** The level "skeletal fortress" is maybe one of the more egregious examples, almost to the point of being a troll level. It consists of a tightly winding space-filling passage strewn with mines and cramped jumps. The passage ends right next to where it starts, but you can't just go straight to the end because it's blocked by mines. Along the way, there are three small caches of gold you can collect, but there are also switches which will close doors on the caches if you touch them, so you have to carefully avoid these with delicate maneuvering - then you have to avoid pressing the open exit switch, as this closes off the final gold cache - then you have to go get that cache which is right at the end of the passage, then backtrack all the way back to the start to finish. And if you forgot to get one particular piece of gold right at the start of the level, the exit is now blocking it, so you'll have to retry.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: As mentioned above

** More experienced players can, however, take advantage of their wide turning radius.

* YetAnotherStupidDeath: Your ninja will die many, many, ''many'' times, often due to a single mistake. In N++ there are several death-related Steam achievements, including dying 5000 times and dying in every way that it's possible to die.

* YetAnotherStupidDeath: In ''N+'' and ''N++'', colliding with a ''wall'' too fast will result in your death. It's ''that'' kind of game.

* The level "skeletal fortress" is maybe one of the more egregious examples, almost to the point of being a troll level. It consists of a tightly winding space-filling passage strewn with mines and cramped jumps. The passage ends right next to where it starts, but you can't just go straight to the end because it's blocked by mines. Along the way, there are three small caches of gold you can collect, but there are also switches which will close doors on the caches if you touch them, so you have to carefully avoid these with delicate maneuvering - then you have to avoid pressing the open exit switch, as this closes off the final gold cache - then you have to go get that cache which is right at the end of the passage, then backtrack all the way back to the start to finish. And if you forgot to get one particular piece of gold right at the start of the level, the exit is now blocking it, so you'll have to retry.

* WallJump: A critical game mechanic. Jumping up walls increases your upward momentum, and chain upward walljumps together in quick succession can allow you to reach great vertical speeds, which is a vital technique for traversing levels. It's even possible to kill yourself this way, by attaining enough speed to cause a fatal impact with the ceiling.

* SuperPersistentMissile: The homing missiles will chase you relentlessly, no matter how much you weave and dodge. Your only edge is that you can run slightly faster than them, and they have a small but significant turning circle. Nonetheless, it can be quite dismaying to see them following you through tight passages. The only way to get rid of them is to make them crash into walls - one common trick for doing this is to jump over them at the last second in a tight corridor so they don't have enough space to turn. Even if you manage this, the launchers will just launch another one - however, they only fire if they have a clear view of the ninja.

* CrosshairAware: Watch out for the targeting reticules of the gauss turret. Unlike other examples, the targeting reticule actually indicates the ''angle'' at which the turret will shoot - if the ninja is anywhere along the turret's targeting line when it shoots, the ninja will still get shot with extreme prejudice. The ''turrets'' know this, too; if the ninja is in such a straight line as mentioned above, the turret ''will shoot'', regardless of whether or not the ninja is actually in the crosshair.
* DeathByMaterialism: Some levels allow you to choose between going the easy way with little to no gold, and going the hard way with lots of gold. Sometimes there is a switch hidden behind a gold piece that traps you behind a door when you touch it. Most commonly, there are rooms of gold that contain particularly tricky enemies.
* DeathCourse: Pretty self-explanatory.

* DirectionallySolidPlatforms: Oneway platforms.

* HomingProjectile: The missiles fired by the missile turret will track the player, but they need some room to do a 180° turn. They also try to take the shortest path between themselves and the player, no matter if walls are in the way.

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: Played with. [[SentryGun Turrets]], [[MechaMooks drones]], [[MagneticWeapons gauss turrets]], [[MoreDakka chaingun drones]], [[EnergyWeapon lasers]]...pretty much everything in stock.