History Main / ChargeMeter

** In ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', holding the trigger of the Incineration Cannon will also cause it to glow and shake.
** The Spartan Laser and Railgun require each shot to be charged before fired, with your reticle indicating how much time you have left before your shot is ready.

* Holding the trigger of the plasma pistol in ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' makes the gun glow more and shake. At its highest setting, it will completely drain any shield, even a fully-charged overshield. It also gains some tracking.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', a fully-charged plasma pistol can also temporarily immobilize any vehicle it hits.

** The Pyro's Phlogistinator has an "Mmph!" meter that increases as he does fire damage through any method. When it's full, SecondaryFire fully restores his health and the weapon gets guaranteed {{Critical Hit}}s for 10 seconds.

* In ''StreetFighter 3'', one of Ryu's super moves lets him charge his Hadoken. The bigger you make it the harder it is to dodge, but you give your opponent more time to prepare/interrupt you. The upside to this is his fireball is unblockable and generates a very high amount of stun.
** Sakura's Hadoken had a similar property in the Alpha series, where hammering the punch button while "charging" the fireball would result in a large and more damaging (but much shorter range) blast.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'', Samus Aran's arm cannon charges in almost the exact same fashion as Mega Man's buster.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' had a spark travel up the length of Link's sword as he charged up for a SpinAttack.

* In the U.S. version of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', when the player holds down on the directional pad, Mario (or whichever character the player controls) flashes while preparing for a super jump. This ability is also present in the GBA versions of the original ''Mario Bros.'' that come in GBA Mario games.

* In ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'', equipping an elemental weapon (such as Alastor the lightning sword) allowed you to charge your gunshots with energy. Also, the flame gauntlets allow you to charge every attack for added damage. The prequel ''Devil May Cry 3'' assigned the gun charging to the Gunslinger class, and also allowed you to charge its gauntlet weapon, Beowulf.
** In ''Franchise/DevilMayCry 4'', Nero's "Red Queen" sword has a motor in it designed to super heat the edge, activated by repeatedly pressing a button or using a precise input to unleash powered up versions of his regular moves. There is a meter next to the health bar to keep track of this. Similarly, Nero's [[HandCannon double-barrelled revolver "Blue Rose"]] can be upgraded with charge capability to let it knock the enemy back/set them on fire/cause a shockwave. This is done with a more traditional "hold the button down" input, and the glow surrounding the Devil Bringer changes colour according to the level of charge achieved.

* The railgun, gained late in ''MetalGearSolid4'', has a charge meter. At its highest setting, it will kill anything in one shot.
* ''VideoGame/FableI'' has one for the bow, but it doesn't have an in-game indicator; Instead, the longer you hold it, the more intensely the controller vibrates. It's interesting to note that this charge meter doesn't have an upper limit either, so if you, say, hold the button down and surf the internet for 5 minutes before finally releasing the arrow, it will kill anything in one shot.

* The Monk Shadow Class in ''BlueDragon'' allows you to charge up your attack power, in most cases doubling your inflicted damage, but you usually have to wait four or five turns for the Charge to take effect.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' - The Sniper's SniperRifle has a charge meter that fills while zoomed in on the scope.

* SNK (I believe) is the TropeMaker for fighting games - attacking (or getting hit) will fill a rage meter, and it's been used in just about every fighting game since.

* Later games in the ''{{Deception}}'' games make traps recharge between uses.

* Present in ''SilentHill4'' as the only other thing in your HUD aside from the health bar.

*** However, in the GameCube version of the game, this is not the case. It's the standard B-button-charge as it always has been, and the spark appears when the Spin Attack is completely charged.

* In the ''Hurricane Pack'' Downloadable Content upgrades to ''NinjaGaiden'', Ryu's ultimate attacks could be charged up (whereas in the original version of the remake they could only be used by sucking in orbs from dead enemies) to two or three levels, and every time you hit another level it was accompanied by a sudden burst of energy and a sound effect, with the final level indicated by a change of color in the energy Ryu was absorbing from his surroundings. This ability carried over to the two {{Updated Rerelease}}s and the sequel.

* The ''VideoGame/GundamVsSeries'' gained Charged Attacks in ''[[GundamSEED Alliance Vs. ZAFT]]'', with the ChargeMeter located on the ammunition indicator for the weapon to which it was linked. In return for infinite ammunition and high damage, these attacks tend to force the [[HumongousMecha Mobile Suit]] to stay still for a second or two. One common strategy is to mostly charge the meter, release to fire a normal shot, then press and hold the button again and quickly snap off a charge attack.

* ''AnotherCenturysEpisode'' actually has two versions: standard charge-up weapons like high-power cannons get a standard meter, while multi-lock weapons like homing missiles have a number of marks that fill up to indicate the number of targets acquired.

** {{TheKingOfFighters}} ('94 to '96 anyway) is basically the TropeCodifier for a ChargeMeter in fighting games. The gauge fills when you hold down three buttons (anyone who has played '94 to '96 DOES (not can do) it on instinct), block or get hit, taunts decrease it and you can sacrifice a fully charged gauge to stop a combo on you when blocking either by side-stepping or punching the opponent away. TropeMaker indeed.

* Holding the trigger of the plasma pistol in ''{{Halo}}'' makes the gun glow more and shake. At its highest setting, it will completely drain any shield, even a fully-charged overshield. It also gains some tracking.
** In Halo 3, a fully-charged plasma pistol can also temporarily immobilize any vehicle it hits.

* In ''DevilMayCry'', equipping an elemental weapon (such as Alastor the lightning sword) allowed you to charge your gunshots with energy. Also, the flame gauntlets allow you to charge every attack for added damage. The prequel ''Devil May Cry 3'' assigned the gun charging to the Gunslinger class, and also allowed you to charge its gauntlet weapon, Beowulf.
** In ''DevilMayCry 4'', Nero's "Red Queen" sword has a motor in it designed to super heat the edge, activated by repeatedly pressing a button or using a precise input to unleash powered up versions of his regular moves. There is a meter next to the health bar to keep track of this. Similarly, Nero's [[HandCannon double-barrelled revolver "Blue Rose"]] can be upgraded with charge capability to let it knock the enemy back/set them on fire/cause a shockwave. This is done with a more traditional "hold the button down" input, and the glow surrounding the Devil Bringer changes colour according to the level of charge achieved.

* ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathONeo'' has glowing, white streaks when either the OneHitKill or flying is charging.

* In ''{{Descent}}'' the Fusion Cannon is charged this way. It starts making noises and the screen turns purple, then yellow, then white. At that point you better let the weapon fire, as it starts making banging noises and damaging your shield.

* The Bryar Blaster Pistol in ''StarWars: [[ColonCancer Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight]]'' and its sequel ''Jedi Outcast'' can be charged with the right mouse button. The effect is pretty much the same as before: the pistol shakes, and an energy orb appears at the muzzle.

* The ''{{R-Type}}'' series is one of the first shmups to let the normal shot charge up. Usually, it's not really worth it to use the normal shot on anything but the weakest of enemies. Taken to the logical extreme in R-Type Final with the Giga Wave Cannon that has 7 charge levels and takes 45 seconds to be charged fully during which you need to rely entirely on dodging enemies, but in return you're rewarded with a shot as big as the screen that takes out any boss in a single hit regardless of difficulty level. It's also the methoid used to finish off the BigBad in the default ending.

* The ''GundamVsSeries'' gained Charged Attacks in ''[[GundamSEED Alliance Vs. ZAFT]]'', with the ChargeMeter located on the ammunition indicator for the weapon to which it was linked. In return for infinite ammunition and high damage, these attacks tend to force the [[HumongousMecha Mobile Suit]] to stay still for a second or two. One common strategy is to mostly charge the meter, release to fire a normal shot, then press and hold the button again and quickly snap off a charge attack.

* ''SecretOfMana'' is an example of this actually being in meter form, though combined with the SprintMeter.
** In ''SecretOfEvermore'', after getting the Jaguar Ring, charging at least three levels and then sprinting [[GoodBadBugs allows you to run indefinitely]].
** ''LegendOfMana'', the super attack at the end of the charge meter could go to LimitBreak levels depending on which item you had and how much ItemCrafting you had done. Or you could use [[spoiler: Blackpearl]] as your NPC assistant as [[spoiler: her synchro ability immediately fills your charge bar]] and spam super moves at will.
** In ''ChildrenOfMana'', holding down one of the weapon buttons will charge up a special attack, such as sending the flail in a straight line to push an object towards the character. CollisionDamage will stop the charge ''and'' the special attack.
* ''TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' had a spark travel up the length of Link's sword as he charged up for a SpinAttack.

* In the U.S. version of ''SuperMarioBros 2'', when the player holds down on the directional pad, Mario (or whichever character the player controls) flashes while preparing for a super jump. This ability is also present in the GBA versions of the original ''Mario Bros.'' that come in GBA Mario games.

** The Pyro's Phlogistinator has an "Mmph!" meter that increases as he does fire damage through any method. When it's full, AltFire fully restores his health and the weapon gets guaranteed {{Critical Hit}}s for 10 seconds.

* ''[[VideoGame/SpiderMan2 Spider-Man 2]] has one for Spidey's jump. Tap the jump button, and you'll get a short hop. Fully charged, you can jump straight to the top of some ''buildings''.

* ''[[SpiderMan Spider-Man]] 2 has one for Spidey's jump. Tap the jump button, and you'll get a short hop. Fully charged, you can jump straight to the top of some ''buildings''.

* ''Videogame/Spiderman2'' has one for Spidey's jump. Tap the jump button, and you'll get a short hop. Fully charged, you can jump straight to the top of some ''buildings''.

* The Gauss cannon in ''HalfLife'' can also be charged. When doing so, the muzzle starts spinning, the weapon starts humming, and you can see your energy gauge decreasing. Hold it for too long, though, and the cannon will backfire and hurt you.

** The Soldier has three "banner" items that replace his shotgun, with "Rage" meters that fill up based on damage done (Buff Banner), damage taken (Battalion's Backup), or both (Concheror). When it's full he can use the item to temporarily grant a buff to any teammate within a certain radius, himself included.

* ''MassEffect2'' has this for several of the heavy weapons, such as the [[{{BFG}} nuke launcher]].