Super Combo Gauge

Super Gauges (also known as Super Combo Gauges) are bars located at the bottom corners of the screen (one for each player), which notify a player of their ability to perform Super Combos, Super Arts and/or EX Specials. Introduced in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the Super Gauge has gone on to be a key feature of the Street Fighter series and has influenced the development of the Revenge Gauge. The exact mechanics of the bar varies from game to game.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo
In Super Street Fighter II Turbo and its remakes, the Super Gauge is a bar, the length of which is the same for each character. Filled by performing special attacks, the bar flashes the word "SUPER" when completely full. At this point, the player can input a special command to perform their Super Combo, their most powerful attack. Once they begin this attack, the gauge immediately empties.

Street Fighter III
In the Street Fighter III series, the length of a character's Super Gauge is determined by their choice of Super Art (which takes the place of the Super Combo and is selectable from a list before the match). This also determines the maximum "stocks" a character has: when a character completely fills their Super Gauge, their stocks increase and the gauge immediately empties if the character has not yet reached their maximum. The stocks are, essentially, filled gauges that have been stored for use; if for example a player has two stocks stored, they could perform their chosen Super Art twice in succession without needing to fill their gauge in between.

The Super Gauge also enables the use of EX Specials: once a certain amount of the gauge has been filled, the gauge flashes and the player is able to "spend" a portion of the amount stored to perform an enhanced version of one of their special attacks (though not all special attacks are EX-able). Again, the amount depends on their choice of Super Art, as this determines the length of the gauge and the maximum number of stocks, thus determining the total amount of EX Special that can be stored.

Street Fighter IV
In the Street Fighter IV series, Super Combos return (re-replacing the Super Arts) and the Super Gauge is again a uniform length for every character. The amount of storable EX Specials is four for everyone and there are no stocks, so only one Super Combo can be stored. The Super Gauge is also visibly split into four, as opposed to previous instalment where a player had to estimate how they were from storing an EX Special, or how many EX Specials they had. Additionally, the gauge is filled not only by performing special attacks but also when receiving damage.