A mechanic most prevalent in the Fighting Game genre. Charge inputs require the player to hold a movement stick in the opposite direction their character's facing, roughly around a second (though this can vary depending on the game) before quickly moving the stick forward with a button press to activate their special. They're generally a more complex command than the standard quarter-circle inputs (as the name implies, moving a controller stick in a quarter-circle motion).
Due to the high commitment for the command, charge inputs are common for moves with lots of area coverage like long-reaching projectiles, Anti-air attacks, or a highly mobile Dash Attack. The Trope Codifier, Guile from Street Fighter, exemplifies this with a with his far-reaching "Sonic Boom" projectile and the jumping "Flash Kick" that covers the space above him. Characters who rely on charge inputs have usually focus on strong area control and a patient defensive playstyle to defeat their opponents. So expect to see this from lots of zoners and neutralnote -oriented fighters.
Another thing to note is that in most 2D fighting games, the block mechanic is also tied to holding the movement stick backwards, which further reinforces the defensive nature of charge inputs by allowing the player to be in a constant state of patient defense. This also applies to crouching, which both shrinks the player's hurtbox and blocks low attacks.
Charge inputs aren't very common outside of a 2D space due to the added complexity of moving a stick in more dimensions, though the overlying principle of patient play can still apply.
Can overlap with Kamehame Hadoken, Shoryuken.
Examples:
- The closest to a codifying franchise for this trope is Street Fighter, beginning all the way back with Street Fighter II.
- Guile, one of Street Fighter's premier Long Range Fighters, is the Trope Codifier of charge inputs. In every appearance, his moveset has always featured his two Signature Attacks the Sonic Boom and Flash Kick. Sonic Boom travels incredibly far compared to other projectiles, but also allows Guile to move alongside it, granting him a greater degree of area control. Flash Kick is a powerful anti-air move that covers most of the space above Guile, being great for catching opponents who try to jump over him.
- Chun-Li like Guile has two recurring signature attacks, the "Kikoken"note and "Spinning-Bird Kick". Kikoken has weaker damage than other projectiles like Ryu's Hadoken, but makes for a good lock-down tool, allowing Chun to keep her opponents in place so she can mix them up with her versatile set of normals. Though the actual input has ZigZagged across games, sometimes requiring a half-circle input instead. Spinning-Bird Kick is a powerful multi-hitting move that covers a wide horizontal reach. She can also perform a stronger variant that doesn't move her around, but is invincible on startup, making it a great counter tool.
