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Not to be confused with the Nerf N-Strike video game.
N-Strike is a series of Nerf blasters that started in 2003.
Details
The N-Strike series is notable for starting many new blaster trends within the Nerf brand. N-Strike blasters sport tactical rails, which can be used to customize loadouts with numerous accessories and attachments, such as flip-up sights, scopes, shields, and more. Other detachable accessories - barrel extensions and shoulder stocks - were made popular by the series.
N-Strike blasters have a "tactical" theme to them, making them seem more like real life weaponry than previous Nerf blasters and products. Prior to the introduction of the N-Strike Elite series, most blasters under the N-Strike series used N-Strike number codes, which supported this tactical theme.
History
The N-Strike was directly succeeded by the N-Strike Elite series in 2012. A number of blasters either received a similar successor or an upgrade to match the at-the-time new "Elite" standard for blaster performance.
As of 2013, most products in the N-Strike lineup were discontinued or replaced by the N-Strike Elite series. Despite this, certain blasters such as the 2014 Zombie Strike Jolt are sold under the N-Strike banner in certain parts of the world.
Six N-Strike blasters have been re-released with a color scheme to match the N-Strike Elite series. As these are technically not advertised to be N-Strike Elite blasters and do not match the performance of N-Strike Elite blasters, they are referred to as Elite Repaints.
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.
Color schemes
Most older N-Strike blasters feature a distinct color scheme: yellow, black, gray, and orange.
Some blasters, such as the Raider CS-35, Longstrike CS-6, and the Reflex IX-1, have an alternate blue, black, gray, and orange color scheme.
N-Strike products
Blasters
Accessories
Product sets
Miscellaneous products
Sub-series
Clear Series
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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
Main article: 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. However, it is the first series of Nerf to release blasters with a modern clip, which works like a firearm magazine.
- 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.
Gallery
Official videos
| view • editCurrent Nerf series | |
|---|---|
| Official | Alpha Strike • DinoSquad • DragonPower • Elite 2.0 • Elite Jr. • GlowStrike • Hyper • Mech Strike • Mega • Mega XL • Nerf LMTD • Nerf Pro • Nerf Sports • Power Moves • RIVAL • ULTRA • Web Shots • Wild • Zombie |
| Sub-series | AccuStrike Series • Curve Shot • Edge Series • Flipshots • GelFire • ICON Series • Micro Shots • Retro • Wild Edition |
| Other | BUNKR • Nerf Cat • Nerf Dog |