N-Strike

"Enlist. Engage. Enforce."

N-Strike is a series of Nerf blasters and products that began in 2003.

Details
The N-Strike series consists of blasters and products with a "tactical" theme to them. A majority of these blasters use a number code to categorize them into different blaster types, including air-powered blasters, revolver-style blasters, clip-fed blasters, and more.

These blasters support use of additional accessories, notably through the tactical rail platform, compatible with a number of different accessory types, including flip-up sights, scopes, shields, grips, and more. A similar platform built into the muzzle and rear of a blaster support detachable barrel extensions and shoulder stocks, respectively.

N-Strike also began the trend of a uniform clip style, the clip system, which allows multiple clips and drums of any size to be loaded into any compatible blaster.

History
The N-Strike series may have gotten its name from its first product released: the 2003 Unity Power System. This blaster set, upon its release, was only known as N-Strike. 2004 would see further blasters and products released, with proper names and the series name of N-Strike.

N-Strike would be directly succeeded by the 2012 N-Strike Elite series. A number of N-Strike blasters either received a direct upgrade or a similar successor, in order to match the new seventy-five foot firing range standard that N-Strike Elite began. Despite the move to this new series, some blasters and products were released under the N-Strike name in certain parts of the world.

The series was quietly discontinued in 2016. In 2019, N-Strike was revived for the ICON Series, which features re-releases of N-Strike blasters for Nerf's fiftieth anniversary.

Clear Series
Originally called Clear the Way, the Clear Series was introduced to promote the then-upcoming Stampede ECS. The sub-series features blasters made with translucent, clear plastic, which allows the user to see the orange internals of a blaster.

Elite Repaint
Repaints of several N-Strike blasters are available in N-Strike Elite colors and packaging that emulates the design of Elite packaging. In addition, the blasters all come with Elite Darts. Even though these blasters are listed in the N-Strike Elite category on Hasbro's official Nerf website, the packaging itself is lacking the Elite moniker. Most importantly, though, the blasters' internals are unchanged, thus lacking true "Elite" ranges.

ICON Series
The ICON Series celebrates Nerf's fiftieth anniversary with re-releases of memorable, "iconic" blasters. While the series retains the original color scheme of the blasters, some feature upgrades to stand alongside modern blaster conventions (such as being able to hold Elite Darts).

Gear Up
The Gear Up sub-series was released to help promote the then-upcoming Vortex series. It features blasters with an orange and black color scheme; additional black designs were added to decorate the blasters. Blasters also came packaged with a single XLR Disc.

Light It Up
The Light It Up sub-series was part of both the N-Strike series and the Vortex series. The Rayven CS-18 was released under this series and featured the use of glow-in-the-dark darts.

Red Strike
The Red Strike sub-series features blasters with a red and orange color scheme. The series is notable for being for sale at Walmart for Black Friday 2009; because of their rarity, the blasters are coveted by collectors.

Sonic FIRE
Like the Sonic Series before it, the Sonic FIRE series features blasters made with translucent red plastic, which allows the user to see the internals of the blasters. The Barrel Break IX-2 and the Jolt are the only N-Strike Sonic FIRE blasters.

Sonic ICE
A successor to the Sonic Series, and a counterpart to the Sonic FIRE series, the Sonic ICE series features blasters made with translucent blue plastic, which allows the user to see the internals of the blasters. The Jolt is the only N-Strike Sonic ICE blaster.

Sonic Series
The Sonic Series features blasters made with translucent green plastic, which allows the user to see the orange internals of a blaster. The Sonic Series is the largest re-release N-Strike sub-series.

Whiteout Series
The Whiteout Series features blasters with a white, black, and orange color scheme. Whiteout re-releases are known for having slightly improved performances compared to their original N-Strike counterparts.

Trivia

 * This is the longest running and largest series of dart blasters made by Nerf.
 * This series is the only to have released more than one video game. It is also the only series whose video games have not used blasters from other series.
 * Contrary to popular belief, this is not the first series of Nerf to release blasters with clips. The first clip-fed blasters were actually the Sawtooth and the Electric Eel from the Max Force series.
 * The "N" in "N-Strike" may stand for Nerf.
 * N-Strike has the most sub-series of any series: nine. This does not include the unofficial Elite Repaint sub-series.
 * The N-Strike Mega series was once a sub-series under the N-Strike series and the N-Strike Elite series; it became its own series sometime in 2016.

Official videos
N-Strike N-Strike