He Knows About Timed Hits - Television Tropes & Idioms

"Hey you better watch out, he knows about timed hits. He'll punch your lights out!"

--Toad, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

"So, like, to do moves you press certain buttons on the controller? I never would have thought of that. Thanks, Spartan tutorial!"

--Seanbaby, on Spartan: Total Warrior

Standard beginning tutorial on the controls for the game. Nearly impossible to do in-character, despite repeated efforts.

If the tutorial is integrated into the game world in a reasonable way (i.e., your character is in training, or is being asked to test equipment) then it is a Justified Tutorial.

BTW, the actual timed hits referenced in the title are Action Commands.

Examples:

The tutorials in Super Mario RPG, as seen above
The tutorials from the Sly Cooper series mention button names in-character, and no one bats an eye.
Atelier Iris interrupts the story for a long series of amusing "Popo's Fourth-Wall Lecture" tutorials whenever a new skill or technique becomes relevant. Popo will occasionally call other characters to help him explain things.
Several games in The Legend Of Zelda series, most particularly the Game Boy releases, had some grating early-game areas where people cryptically explained the interface (for example, a child tells Link, "I heard something good happens if you press 'B'! What does that mean? I don't know, I'm just a kid!").
- The Legend Of Zelda: 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 Neko, when teaching him how to swing. Also, Sturgeon's... daughter? granddaughter? (name please?) tells you how to pick up, throw, and put down pots so you can tell Aryll how.
- The Legend Of Zelda: 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 L-targeting to talk to somebody from a distance.
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass: "Oh, do you know how to walk?" A Justified Tutorial, I suppose, as it used the DS touchscreen, and many experienced Zelda players would've gone straight for the D-pad.
In Metal Gear Solid, Otacon tends to talk about buttons and memory cards to Snake, who doesn't break character and assumes his fellow is just being nuts. Then again, in the MGS-verse, everyone does this, at least once, without batting an eyelid. Pressing buttons to hear Snake's thoughts on Otacon's button-ramblings usually results in a snappish, irritable "I know all this, I'm the main character!" and 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." The MGS series is probably the only one to actually implement this trope as character development as much as player tutorial, and its No Fourth Wall instruction sequences are regarded very fondly by fans.
In the game adaptation of the first Spider Man movie, you begin as Peter Parker getting a tutorial on running, jumping, locking on, attacking, web-slinging, and the works from a rather humorous narrator (voiced by Bruce Campbell) who appears to be speaking in the point of view of an audience member, or, in this case, a player.
- "A player?" Bruce Campbell is narrating this tutorial from the perspective of Bruce Campbell, being hired to narrate a tutorial. Only Bruce himself would tell you how to web-zip, then go get a turkey sandwich while you play around with it, then tell you other uses for web-zipping while eating a turkey sandwich.
- Since Spidey is clearly in a virtual-reality training program, this is more likely a Justified Tutorial. The games of Spider-Man 2 and 3 don't have that excuse, though.
Most Final Fantasy games have a "Beginners Hall", where you are taught about various in-game functions. They try to do it in character, particularly in Final Fantasy VII 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." Let us not even mention Cloud conversing with the map cursor above his head: "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 rivalry with) to do more work.
- Final Fantasy VIII 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. Too bad that the tutorial sequences all happen either immediately before or sometime after your final exam, by which point you should know this stuff already.
Also inverted in the otherwise execrable MistMare, where the protagonist is the one lecturing students into world mechanics. Button presses are notably absent.
In Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. the very first character encountered not only serves as Mr Exposition (even though, story-wise, the player character should already know everything he says), but also teaches the player how to use the keyboard and mouse. In the sequel, this is avoided by giving all tutorial hints through the HUD.
Lampshade Hanging in Super Paper Mario. 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 "great being who watches us from another dimension" will understand it.
A lampshade is also hung in Asterix & Obelix XXL 2: Mission Las Vegum, where the characters will audibly wonder about who their advisor is talking to, and express explicit concern over a certain "button" he keeps mentioning.
Pokemon, in any incarnation, does this a lot. NPCs all over the world tell you initially about game mechanics and what buttons to press by means of pleasant conversation, and later explain the intricacies of certain attacks and strategies. Fire Red/Leaf Green, a remake of the first games, turns it more into a Justified Tutorial by providing items such as a "Teachy TV" which allows you to watch an irritating TV presenter go through game mechanics.
In Tales of the Abyss the hero's martial arts teacher, who has been teaching him for years, goes over how to use the controller and attack. The concept of teaching him the very basics after years of training and practice is strange enough, but him naming the controller buttons to push sounds even sillier than you might think.
Kirby Super Star featured the "Beginner's Show", where a narrator taught Kirby and the player basic game functions in front of a live studio audience.
In The Legend of Spyro: 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 Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, thanks to his Gameplay Guided Amnesia, Nick Scryer doesn't get new powers so much as remember them, which is represented by a Flash Back of him first being trained in whatever power it is.
The Bard's Tale has more lampshading on this. It had an old man appear our of nowhere in a basement at the start of the game to teach you how to use the controls. Throughout the whole thing, the bard assumes the man completely insane, basically playing along while the man rambles about buttons and the player learns the controls.
In the World in Conflict 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 promps you to move the camera in every concievable 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". Not being American, this editor didn't realize the lack of training in camera control skills were such a controversial issue in the American military, but is glad such serious issues are being adressed in video games.
Mega Man X5 has a tutorial explaining the basic controls of the game. It might have been Justified since the inclusion of ducking, for the first time ever in a platformer-style Megaman game, but I think gamers would have been able to a) read the damn manual, or b) press down instictively.
- However, since it was optional, gamers who jumped straight into the main game were greeted with Alia, a navigator that wouldn't stop interrupting you at the worst times about the most inane things. Yes, I see the spikes up ahead. No, I did not plan on trying to walk on them. Her commentary could not be skipped, unfortunately. Thankfully, in X6, though she returns, listening is optional.
Parodied in the RPG webcomic Adventurers! in which one of the characters complains that he doesn't ''have'' an "X button."
Star Fox Adventures: 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.
- This troper happens to remember hearing "HIT THE B BUTTON" in one of the regular star fox games. Probably Starfox64, as that had voices, not just animal sounds.
  - "DO A BARREL ROLL! Press Z or R twice!"
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: 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.
Tomb Raider In the first six games of the series, Lara Croft herself tells the player how to control her, always mentioning which button to press and staying in character throughout.
- In Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, 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.
Lampshaded in The Emperor's New Groove 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 beating him to wherever he's going, among other things.
Hotel Mario features Mario blatantly breaking the Fourth Wall and saying "if you need instructions on how to get through the hotels, check out the enclosed instruction book". The game even pauses for a few moments, presumably to give user time to find said instruction book.
Done often in the Wario Ware games when starting levels for a new developer. Smooth Moves interrupts gameplay periodically to show you how to use a new form, with a narrator speaking in monotone about that particular style. Example:
"The Remote Control. Hold the Form Baton straight with the tip pointing forward. This simple stance reflects one of life's greatest - and fiercest - sports: channel surfing."
Conker's Bad Fur Day begins with an in-character tutorial/explanation involving both the player squirrel and other NP Cs talking to each other and to the player, and with the implementation of large 'B' buttons in the game world where the user is prompted to 'Press B'.
Several Mega Man Battle Network games have particularly grating examples of this trope (a couple justified 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. Most annoying of all, the first game is the only one where you can skip this, even though it's also the only one where you're likely to need it!
Wonderfully done in Disgaea, where Etna gives the tutorials and stays perfectly in character throughout. This tends to involve bullying the hell out of Laharl. At one point, the game automatically plays through a battle sequence, resulting in Laharl getting killed - he complains that he doesn't like this tutorial. When Etna comments that only an idiot would do that, he yells at her for 'making' him do it.
During the prologue of Mother 3, Hinawa's father Alec interrupts Lucas and Claus's playtime to explain how dashing works ("Try to imagine something like a B button!"); after the Mole Cricket battle, he breaks the fourth wall to explain how to save (by talking to frogs.)
The Phoenix Wright games generally teach you by starting off with an experienced lawyer assisting your rookie as you try to make your case.
- In Ace Attorney, you're the new guy.
- In Justice For All they gave Phoenix Wright amnesia, so your client could instruct you.
- In Trials and Tribulations, you play as Mia Fey, during the character's second case ever. However, she receives no such instruction throughout what was chronologically her first case ever.
- Finally, Apollo Justice features a new main character/rookie.
- And Ema Skye briefs you on forensic procedures in both the first and fourth game.
  - Oddly enough, in pretty much every case, while your mentor de jour attempts to remain in-character throughout, they can't seem to avoid using user-interface specific jargon. ("Touch the Court Record.")
In Sonic The Hedgehog 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 Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, 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 they wouldn't use them.
Justified in The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, 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.
Live A Live 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 completely went over this troper's head the first time through.

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