History Main / JustFrameBonus

* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'': The Active Reload mechanic allows you to reload your weapon much quicker if you hit the timer right. If you hit the very narrow white bar, you perform a Perfect Active Reload, and your next few shots will do more damage than normal. Meanwhile, if you whiff the timer, your gun jams and you spend ''longer'' fixing it than if you simply waited out the duration of the normal reload.

* ''VideoGame/{{Ultrakill}}'' has the Marksman Revolver's coins. Press alt-fire to flip a coin forwards, [[ImprobableAimingSkills shoot the coin to ricochet the bullet into an enemy]] for higher damage. If you shoot the coin at the very apex of its arc though, the bullet splits and hits twice as many enemies.

* ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' may be the first example of a just-frame ChargeInputSpecial. If you time Guile's Sonic Boom and hold back for almost the exact amount of time to use the move, it gets a small boost.

** ''Monster Hunter Generations'' has Adept Style, in which evading a damage source at the last possible moment causes you to execute a special evade maneuver and, for a few seconds afterwards, gain access to special techniques specific to your weapon. ''[[UpdatedRerelease Generations Ultimate]]'' adds [[SuperMode Valor Style]], which adds an invincible counterattack to the first few frames of the Longsword's Spirit Blade while in Valor state.

** For games with the [[MorphWeapon Charge Blade]], the sword-and-shield form has Guard Points during certain attack animations that have your character holding the shield in front of them. Any monster attacks that hit the shield during these frames will be blocked instead of smacking you out of your attack, and it's perfectly possible to stun a headbutting monster by letting it charge into your Guard Point if your weapon has Impact element and your Element Up shield charge is active. Put another way, it allows the user to maintain a level of defense while still putting up an offense, if the timing is right.
*** The easiest Guard Point to utilize is the R + top button Morph Slash into axe form, as it's at the very start of the animation and can be used mid-combo. By contrast, the Roundhouse Slash's Guard Point is at the end of the attack, generally only used at the end of combo chains (or the evasive left stick + right face button input introduced in ''World'') and thus trickier to time properly.

* ''VideoGame/JediFallenOrder'': Cal can reflect blaster bolts or parry melee attacks if you press the block button just before the attack lands, although the timing is more generous than a single frame.
** The unlockable Precision Evade is this as well: a properly timed dodge slows down time and replenishes your Force meter; it's particularly useful against the red (unblockable) attacks.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'': The Active Reload mechanic allows you to reload your weapon much quicker if you hit the timer right. If you hit the very narrow white bar, you perform a Perfect Active Reload, and your next few shots will do more damage than normal. Meanwhile, if you whiff the timer, your gun jams and you spend ''longer'' fixing it than if you simply waited out the duration of the normal reload.

** ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' may be the first example of a just-frame ChargeInputSpecial. If you time Guile's Sonic Boom and hold back for almost the exact amount of time to use the move, it gets a small boost.

** Dan's V-Trigger II, Tenchi Saikyo no Kata, gives him access [[KamehameHadoken Haten Gadoken]] and [[Shoryuken Goh Koryuken]], which are basically the {{EX|SpecialAttack}} versions of Gadoken and Koryuken, but at the expense of his V-Trigger gauge rather than his Critical Art gauge. If the player does the last directional input and a punch button within four frames of each other, Dan gets an even better version of these moves, with Haten Gadoken traveling farther and juggling his opponent, and Goh Koryuken coming out faster and with more invincibility.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' has the perfect shield or [[FanNickname powershield]], present in every game except the first. If a player raises their shield up to four frames before an attack hits them, then they will not take shield damage or shieldstun from the attack. In competitive play, this is important to master because it allows players to drop their shield instantly and punish opponents that are still suffering lag. In ''Melee'', this technique could also reflect projectiles if used up to two frames before the hit, but ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'' changed this to only redirect them. ''Ultimate'' tweaked the mechanic so that it only triggers when the shield is released with proper timing.

** The most common example having the player delay one attack somewhere in the basic combo, which completely changes the rest of the combo. ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' helps players time the delay by having Dante's sword shine at the point the next attack should be.
** Some [[ChargedAttack charged attacks]] have a small window in which letting go of the attack button right as the attack hits max charge results in either a more powerful or faster attack, such as Dante's [[SwordBeam Drive]] or Vergil's [[RazorWind Judgement Cut]]. Judgement Cuts in particular have a punishingly tight timing, but they can be rapidly chained together with so much more power when done right that many consider them the cornerstones of Vergil's entire offense.
** [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 Nero]]'s optimal playstyle revolves entirely around this. Normally, the Red Queen's [[ManaMeter Exceed]] attacks need to be revved up, which is a lengthy process, but if the player presses the rev button at specific points in any attack, the Red Queen instantly gets one Exceed charge. One upgrade allows players to get all three Exceed charges at once, but has an even tighter timing window than the normal version.

* While playing Critical Mode in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' gives players the Critical Counter ability by default, which allows them to boost the power of a counterattack by blocking just before an attack lands.

* While playing Critical Mode in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' you have the Critical Guard ability by default, which allows you to instantly block an attack by pressing guard just before an attack connects, and powers up your reprisals.

** ''Xrd ~SIGN~'' introduces Ramlethal Valentine, who has this gimmick with her {{Shoryuken}} move Dauro. Much like [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} the Mishima family's Electric Wind God Fist]], hitting the ↘ in the Shoryuken motion →↓↘ and the Punch button within three frames of each other nets the player a better version of Dauro that's indicated by Ramlethal flashing green and the move launching the opponent higher and doing more damage.

** One of the most famous examples is the Electric Wind God Fist, usable by most Mishima-related characters (Kazuya, Heihachi and Jin just to name a few). That move alone became unpunishable if blocked, did massive damage, and juggled an opponent for extra damage. There are other abilities which are also frame perfect throughout the series as well.

* The ''Franchise/{{Touhou}}'' games starting from ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'' feature a counterattack mechanic colloquially called [[https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Deathbombing "Deathbombing"]], which involves the player hitting the Bomb key a few frames right after colliding with a bullet. The specifics vary from game to game, but it generally results in the PlayerCharacter avoiding death and retaliating with an improved Bomb attack.

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' ''Xrd ~SIGN~'' introduces Ramlethal Valentine, who has this gimmick with her {{Shoryuken}} move Dauro. Much like [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} the Mishima family's Electric Wind God Fist]], hitting the ↘ in the Shoryuken motion →↓↘ and the Punch button within three frames of each other nets the player a better version of Dauro that's indicated by Ramlethal flashing green and the move launching the opponent higher and doing more damage.

* As a derivative of the aforementioned ''Tekken'' franchise, VideoGame/PokkenTournament prominently features Just Frame inputs with comparable effects to their Tekken counterparts. Pikachu emulates the Electric Wind God Fist with similarly blue hit sparks, while most of the rest of the cast's attacks flash gold to indicate a Just Frame has occurred.

* ''VideoGame/AstralChain'' has three:
** Perfect Dodge lets you enter BulletTime and let loose with a counterattack either alone or with a Legion if it has Perfect Dodge + Sync equipped.
** Perfect Call lets your Legion knock an enemy back if you call it right as an enemy attack is about to connect. The Axe Legion does so in the form of a direct parry. You can also counterattack if a Legion has Perfect Call + Sync equipped.
** Parry lets a Legion equipped with it counterattack if you push the left stick in the direction of an enemy attack.

* Modern ''{{Franchise/Kirby}}'' games allow you to negate all ScratchDamage when blocking attacks by guarding just as an attack would hit. This is signified by a special sound effect that's different from the normal blocking sound effect. Notably, this mechanic is often never mentioned with ''VideoGame/TeamKirbyClashDeluxe'' being the exception.
* While playing Critical Mode in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' you have the Critical Guard ability by default, which allows you to instantly block an attack by pressing guard just before an attack connects, and powers up your reprisals.
* Keeping true to the combat system's Fighting Game Roots, ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheRays'' has these. If you input the next Arte in your chain at the right moment, which is just as the previous arte ends, the game displays the word "Just!" at the bottom of the screen. If said Arte is an attack and it connects with an enemy cleanly (i.e. they do not block and their [[ImmuneToFlinching Iron Stance]] is broken) it will also show how much bonus meter you get, which lets you use your [[LimitBreak Mirrage Artes]] faster. The bonus given depends on how high your chain went, how many Just Inputs you got in a row, and how many enemies your attack hit. However, if you do not have enough Chain Capacity to cover the full cost of your next arte, you will not be able to get this bonus.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'' lets you block and parry indefinitely to negate any melee damage that comes your way (unless it's an UnblockableAttack of course). However, performing a Perfect Dodge right before a blow lands activates a few seconds of BulletTime during which you're free to move and attack without fear of retaliation. A handful of legendary items have unique perks that only trigger upon a Perfect Dodge, like the Pegasos Armor set tripling your follow-up strike's damage. Parrying incoming arrows hits something of a middle ground - it only works with the right timing, so holding down the parry button isn't an option, but there's no bonus to be gained with perfect timing.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' has the aptly named Perfect Dodge and Perfect Guard. The Perfect Dodge lets Link enter BulletTime if he dodges an enemy attack at just the right moment and let loose with a barrage of attacks, whereas the Perfect Guard lets him stun an enemy long enough for him to counter or stamp any [[BossInMooksClothing Guardian]] blasts return-to-sender.
* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' keeps the Perfect Dodge and (for shield-using characters) Perfect Guard from ''Breath of the Wild''; in addition, [[spoiler:Sidon]] has this as his unique mechanic, wherein pressing ZR at the right time during his strong attacks powers them up. There's also [[spoiler:King Rhoam]], who can pull off two strong attacks if you manage to hit ZR when the game prompts you to.
* In ''VideoGame/CrossCode'', perfectly timing your block input will mean you take 0 damage from the attack you blocked, and you might stun the enemy if you get a perfect guard against certain attacks. The Focus stat and Royal Guard modifier both increase the timing window to get a perfect guard, and the Avenger modifier restores your SP faster when you achieve a perfect guard.

** Some [[ChargedAttack charged attacks]] have a small window in which letting go of the attack button right as the attack hits max charge results in either a more powerful or faster attack, such as Dante's [[SwordBeam Drive]] or Vergil's [[RazorWind Judgement Cut]].

* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' keeps the Perfect Dodge and (for shield-using characters) Perfect Guard from ''Breath of the Wild''; in addition, [[spoiler:Sidon]] has this as his unique mechanic, wherein pressing ZR at the right time during his strong attacks powers them up. There's also [[spoiler:King Rhoam]], who can pull off two strong attacks if you manage to hit ZR when the game prompts you to to pull off two strong attacks and [[StanceSystem swap stances]] in one move.

* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' keeps the Perfect Dodge and (for shield-using characters) Perfect Guard from ''Breath of the Wild''; in addition, [[spoiler:Sidon]] has this as his unique mechanic, wherein pressing ZR at the right time during his strong attacks powers them up.

* Modern ''{{Franchise/Kirby}}'' allow you to negate all ScratchDamage when blocking attacks but guarding just as an attack would hit. This is signified by a special sound effect that's different from the normal blocking sound effect. Notably, this mechanic is often never mentioned with ''VideoGame/TeamKirbyClashDeluxe'' being the exception.
* While playing Critical Mode in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' you have the Critical Guard ability by default, which allows you to instantly block an attack by pressing guard just before an attack connects, and powers up your reprisals. this ability is unavailable on lower difficulties.