ASHURAK'S PROFILE

After browsing Tvtropes all night, I came to an odd but useful question: how to make a rpg game without using the timed hits trope.

The trope states that there are times when NPCs and such with break the fourth wall or explain to the player without talking to them directly how to do things in the world:

NPC: "Do a barrel roll!"
Player: "Okay."
NPC: "Press A to shoot!"
Player: "Cool."
Player's character: "LOLwut? What's an 'A' button?"

I can't think of any way to avoid this trope without avoiding a tutorial altogether. Any clues on how to do this?