Short Charge
Short charging is the manipulation of the way the Speed Booster functions to attain blue suit in a shorter distance than normal, or compared to quick charging.
Speed Boost Counter
The speed boost counter is what determines when you attain blue suit. When the counter reaches "4", you will attain blue suit. It's that simple.
The speed boost counter is separate from momentum. For every frame you are on the ground while holding dash and a direction, your momentum will increase. The speed boost counter will increment when dash is held while Samus's legs are in the following position (typically referred to as the "magic frame"):
Stutter Step
You can release the direction you are using for a moment before pressing Dash. One method for timing this is using the word "lollipop." The "lo" is pressing the direction for the first time, the "li" is pressing the direction for the second time, and the "pop" is pressing dash.
Tapping
In addition to stutter stepping, you can tap dash only when the magic frame is happening. To be explicit, the sequence for humans should be:
- Press dash
- As short of a time you are comfortable with
- Magic frame happens
- As short of a time you are comfortable with
- Release dash
If executed correctly, your speed counter will increase at the usual speed, but your momentum will increase much slower because it is only increasing while you are holding dash.
Combining these techniques can give many different patterns of short charges with varying distance and ease. You should figure out which pattern works best for you for each situation.
You can reference the short charge pattern you are using by referring to the number of times you press dash during it and whether or not a stutter is involved. For example, if you perform a stutter and tap dash three times total during the pattern, it would be referred to as a "stutter three tap" or "stutter 3."
Beyond four dash taps is impractical because you only need four taps for the speed boost counter to reach "4" and thereby attain blue suit.
Short charge can be achieved using a tempo between 153-160bpm, by pressing forward at the start of the bar, and tapping dash on each successive beat. For example: 1. hold forward 2. tap dash 3. hold dash (2 tap) or 1. hold forward 2. tap dash 3. tap dash 4. hold dash (3 tap). Pressing down at the first beat of the next bar will charge a shinespark. See the tutorial by Truemoss for further details.
An example of a "stutter 3" short charge:
An example of a short charge being performed to swiftly obtain the Missile pack in Main Street:
Tutorials
- Kojakt - A Stutter 3-Tap Explanation.
- Sweetnumb - Stutter short charge tutorial
- Dbx - Super Short Charge tutorial
- Charles_Black - Short Charging with stutters and without
- ShinyZeni - Short Charge/Stuttering tutorial
- TrueMoss - Short Charge tutorial
