Ninja Village

Ninja Village is the opening area of the game that acts as a tutorial. Remember to hold the Jump + Lightfoot Tabi buttons to speed through the text. The player's input movements during certain cutscenes will actually move Ninja a tiny bit, even though it's a cutscene.

During the cutscene where the Bowman kills the 2 Fire Kappa, the enemies have a small chance of dropping 1 Time Shard each. That means the player will start off with 0-2 Time Shards, which are useful for reaching the 40 Time Shard threshold for the "Strike of the Ninja" upgrade in the first shop of Autumn Hills.

First Cutscene
Hold right during the opening cutscene where Ninja drops down from the treehouse.

Dojo Cutscene
Hold down during the dojo cutscene where fireballs knock out the other ninjas. This cancel Ninja's leftward movement. Get ready to hold right once the cutscene ends.