N is so beautifully simple, so mind-numbingly fantastic, that the end result is a perfect blend of patience and skill, of great and awesome, of something and something else.
N basically pits you, a ninja with the skills that can only be described as legendary, against whichever of the 500 rooms full of trials awaits you, be it mines, direct contact death drones, rocket turrets, chainguns, lasers, or even just the physics that you very often exploit to your advantage. And all you need to start ninja-ing is three button controls to run left, right and jump. How simple is that?! No advanced combinations, no forced button mapping, just completely flexible left right and jump, placed wherever is comfortable.
But it doesn't end there! Even if you do somehow finish all of those main game levels, like i have, you can still play through hundreds of user created levels, or unleash your creativity with the built in level editor, where the skies the limit, as long as you don't fill the screen with laser drones.
All in all, N is a great, lightweight example of how classic 2D gameplay can, has, and will hold out forever and ever.