Super Smash Bros. series

Charge

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Lucario charging an Aura Sphere, making it bigger and more powerful.

Charging is the powering up of an attack or item in order to increase its potency (damage, range, speed, etc.).

In all games except Super Smash Bros., smash attacks can be charged for up to 60 frames (1 second) by holding the attack button, which increases their damage up to a maximum of 1.4x (1.3671x in Melee), with a corresponding increase in knockback. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, charged smash attacks can be held for significantly longer. Certain special moves can also be charged, either by holding the special attack button or by pressing the button once to begin charging and again to launch the attack. Sonic's Spin Charge is unique in that it is charged by pressing the special button repeatedly. Some chargeable special moves, most of them projectiles, can be charge-canceled, allowing a charge to be saved for later.

In addition to manually chargeable moves, a few passive charging mechanics exist. Moves such as Wario's Wario Waft and R.O.B.'s Robo Burner automatically charge over time, while Little Mac's Power Meter and Cloud's Limit Break are charged by dealing and receiving damage.

There are also items which can be charged. The Ore Club's tornado's size varies with the charge of smash attack, and the Super Scope's shots can be charged (though it runs out of ammunition faster that way). Also, the Hothead will be charged as it receives Flame and Electric damage.

Chargeable special moves

Character Move Charge effect Notes
Banjo & Kazooie Shock Spring Jump Increases height Charging will briefly stall the duo in mid air and increase the height of the jump.
Bayonetta Bullet Climax Increases damage The bullets become more prominent in appearance, accompanied by a magic circle effect. This is one of two chargeable moves that can be cancelled but not be stored for later use, the other being Focus Attack.

In Ultimate, cancelling it is no longer possible.

Bowser Jr. Clown Cannon Increases damage, speed, and range The cannonball will bounce off of opponents that it hits. Bowser Jr. glows yellow when charging this move.
Chrom Flare Blade Increases damage and knockback Automatically activates at full charge; attack is stronger when almost-fully charged; fully charged attack directly deals 10% damage to Chrom.
Cloud Limit Charge Gives access to Limit Breaks Can be charged by dealing and receiving damage, as well as manually charged. When fully charged, this move becomes Finishing Touch. In Ultimate, if Cloud is interrupted while manually charging, some charge is lost; furthermore, a full charge can only be retained for up to 15 seconds.
Corrin Dragon Fang Shot (shot) Increases damage and paralysis duration. Dragon Fang Shot is the only move with two different chargeable attacks.
Dragon Fang Shot (arm) Increases damage.
Dark Pit Silver Bow Increases damage Can be charged indefinitely only if one keeps repeatedly changing the direction in which the arrow is aimed.
Dark Samus Charge Shot Increases range, damage, and size of sphere Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Diddy Kong Peanut Popgun Increases damage and lowers angle of fire If charged too long, the popgun will explode and Diddy Kong will be momentarily stunned in Brawl or create a damaging explosion in Smash 4 and Ultimate.
Rocketbarrel Blast Increases height and damage Automatically activates at full charge.
Donkey Kong Giant Punch Increases damage Near fully charged is more powerful than fully charged; fully charged version is faster and, in Brawl, grants super armour. Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Greninja Water Shuriken Increases size and number of hits. Automatically activates at full charge.
Shadow Sneak Increases knockback and distance covered. Automatically activates at full charge. Greninja can traverse freely while charging.
Hero Frizz Increases damage and knockback. Auto-charge special, with the spell changing depending on the level. If cancelled, it can be activated again to continue the charge.
Zap Activating at different charges unleashes different spells.
Woosh Increases damage and recovery distance.
Inkling Splat Bomb Increases speed and distance. If charged, Inkling will throw the bomb at a long distance, otherwise she will throw it at a short arc in front of herself.
Ike Eruption Increases damage Automatically activates at full charge; Near fully charged is more powerful than fully charged; Fully charged deals 10% to Ike, and gives knockback resistance.
Quick Draw Increases damage, knockback, and distance covered. Can be held indefinitely in all games except Ultimate.
Jigglypuff Rollout Increases speed, duration, damage Can be held indefinitely in all games except Ultimate.
Ken Focus Attack Increases damage and hitstun, causes crumpling animation Can be cancelled by inputting either direction twice on the control stick.
King Dedede Jet Hammer Increases damage Near fully charged is slightly more powerful than fully charged; while fully charged, 1% is dealt to Dedede every second until Dedede is up to 150%; Dedede can move while charging; charge cannot be saved, but can be held indefinitely.
Kirby Inhale Various (see notes) Kirby can copy a chargeable neutral special from some characters.
Hammer Flip Increases damage While fully charged, 1% is dealt to Kirby every second; Kirby can move while charging; charge cannot be saved, but can be held indefinitely.
Link Hero's Bow Increases damage and speed of arrow Can be held indefinitely.
Spin Attack (Brawl onwards) Increases damage and duration Automatically activates at full charge; aerial version cannot be charged.
Little Mac Straight Lunge Increases range, damage remains the same; gains high power but heavy ending lag when fully charged Automatically unleashed at full charge, can only be canceled by pressing the special button again after around a second has passed to unleash the move early. Has low knockback resistance while charging and during the lunge.
Lucario Aura Sphere Increases damage, range, and size of sphere Can be charged indefinitely; charging animation has damaging hitbox; per Aura property of Lucario, grow stronger at higher damage percentages. Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. Lucario will continue to charge the move at full charge.
Lucas PK Freeze Increases damage, opponent stays frozen longer Automatically activates at full charge, makes Lucas helpless when used in the air.
Lucina Shield Breaker Increases damage Automatically activates at full charge. Shield damage varies depending on level of charge.
Luigi Green Missile Increases damage and distance Luigi travels Automatically activates in Melee, can be held indefinitely in Brawl; can misfire (1 in 8 chance), sending Luigi a very far distance, regardless of charging time. In SSB4, Luigi will give up after a while and the attack will be cancelled.
Luigi Cyclone (Melee only) Allows Luigi to ascend when using the move in the air once. Charges by having the move finished or interrupted while on the ground. Unlike most charged moves that can be stored, Luigi Cyclone has no visual indicator.
Mario (Brawl onwards) F.L.U.D.D. Increases the amount of water Mario can spray while using F.L.U.D.D., as well as range Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Marth Shield Breaker Increases damage Automatically activates at full charge. Shield damage varies depending on level of charge.
Mewtwo Shadow Ball Increases damage, range, and size of sphere Can be charged indefinitely; charging animation has damaging hitbox (only in Melee). Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. Mewtwo will continue to charge the move at full charge.
Mii Brawler Ultimate Uppercut Increases damage Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Burning Dropkick Increases damage, and distance it will cover Automatically activates at full charge.
Mii Gunner Charge Blast Increases range, damage, and size of sphere Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Mii Swordfighter Blurring Blade Increases damage Automatically activates at full charge.
Airborne Assault Increases damage, and distance it will cover Automatically activates at full charge.
Slash Launcher Increases damage, and distance it will cover Can be held indefinitely. Mii Swordfighter flashes red upon full charge.
Hero's Spin Increases damage and duration Automatically activates at full charge.
Mr. Game & Watch Oil Panic Once Oil Panic absorbs 3 energy projectiles, the oil can be released as an attack Charge can be held indefinitely and even if Mr. Game & Watch is KO'ed; If Oil Panic is fully charged, Bucket Braking cannot be performed.
Ness (Melee onwards) PK Flash Increases damage Automatically activates at full charge, makes Ness helpless when used in the air.
Pac-Man Bonus Fruit Advances to next fruit Auto-charge special. If orange is reached, time to charge to the next stage doubles. Opponents can attack the fruit during the charge, although this causes only hitlag with no negative effect.
Pichu Skull Bash Increases damage and distance it will cover Automatically activates at full charge. Causes the same level of recoil regardless of charge level.
Pikachu Increases damage and distance it will cover Automatically activates at full charge.
Piranha Plant Poison Breath Increases damage and distance Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Long-Stem Strike Increases distance Automatically activates at full charge.
Pit Palutena's Arrow Increases damage Can be charged indefinitely only if one keeps repeatedly changing the direction in which the arrow is aimed.
Ridley Plasma Breath Increases amount of fireballs Charges a stream of fireballs from his mouth. The longer it is charged the more fireballs will be shot out. If he is hit in the mouth while charging he will take more damage while negating knockback.
R.O.B. Robo Burner Increases duration (and therefore range) Automatically charges when R.O.B. is on the ground.
Robo Beam Increases damage; lowers speed Automatically charges when R.O.B. is not using it.
Gyro Increases duration and damage Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Robin Thunder Advances rank of thunder magic, which increases effectiveness Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. If Robin takes damage while charging Thunder, the entire charge is lost.
Rosalina Luma Shot Increases range Can be held indefinitely.
Roy Flare Blade Increases damage and knockback Automatically activates at full charge; attack is stronger when almost-fully charged; fully charged attack directly deals 10% damage to Roy.
Ryu Focus Attack Increases damage and hitstun, causes crumpling animation Can be cancelled by inputting either direction twice on the control stick.
Samus Charge Shot Increases range, damage, and size of sphere Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Sheik Needle Storm Increases duration and damage Can be charged indefinitely in Melee; cannot be charged indefinitely in Brawl; maxes at six needles; Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground. However, in Melee, the B button must be held down to charge instead of inputting B then any attack button to attack during the charge; it is only up until Brawl it becomes a normal auto-charge special.
Burst Grenade Increases duration of vacuum effect. -
Sonic Spin Charge Increases speed and damage Charged by rapidly pressing the special move button.
Spin Dash Increases speed and damage Can be held indefinitely.
Squirtle Water Gun Increases duration and range Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Toon Link Hero's Bow Increases damage, range, and speed Can be held indefinitely.
Spin Attack Increases damage and duration Cannot be held indefinitely.
Wario Wario Waft Increases damage, distance Wario shoots up, and range Charges automatically over time; slightly fully charged stronger than fully charged.
Wii Fit Trainer Sun Salutation Increases size, range, and damage Auto-charge special, and thus the attack must be manually inputted to come out during the charge, and said charge can be saved by shielding or rolling on ground.
Young Link Fire Bow Increases damage, speed, and range Once at full charge, it can be held for three seconds before automatically firing.
Spin Attack (Ultimate onwards) Increases damage Automatically activates at full charge; aerial version cannot be charged.
Zelda Phantom Slash Increases damage and range Automatically activates at full charge.
Zero Suit Samus Paralyzer Increases damage and hitstun Cannot be held indefinitely.

Trivia

  • R.O.B. and Hero are the only characters with three chargeable special attacks (though two of the former's attacks technically have a passive charging phase).
  • In Melee, Ness can not charge his up and down smashes if he stands on an edge and the yo-yo reaches beyond the edge.
  • In Smash 4 and Ultimate, the fighter's eye in their icons will briefly glint when an attack is fully charged.