(This topic is in the context of platformers; that is, games where jumping (or a similar mechanic) is central to the gameplay.)

One thing I have noticed is that, in some platformers (mainly 2D, but I see no reason this couldn't happen in 3D), the player is given certain abilities that, while limited in use, recharge as soon as you land. Generally, these abilities are ones that you will typically use in mid-air; many don't even make sense to use on land. Here are some that I have seen:

* Double jump, which really should be called mid-air jump. While in mid-air, you can jump, but you can only do so once before you land. This mechanic has become quite common. In IWBTG fangames, there are sometimes items you can pick up mid-air to restore your double jump, and Ys: Oath in Felghana, there is a little trick (only possible on Very Easy) that lets you return to where you used your double jump with the jump ready to use again.

* In Gargoyle's Quest and its sequel, you can glide; this causes your vertical position to stop changing, allowing you to fly over pits and spikes. The catch is, there is a meter that empties while you do this, and if it empties completely, you can no longer use this ability until you land or grab on to a wall. (There's one dungeon in the first game where you have to descend through a bunch of spikes, and if you don't want to take damage, you need to manage this resource carefully.)

* In Super Mario USA, the princess gets a similar ability to the one in Gargoyle's Quest, but there's no meter and the ability runs out very quickly. (There's no grabbing on walls in this game, however.)

* Guacamelee! does this to an extreme; there are several special attacks that you can use to gain distance and height in mid-air, but each one can only be used once until you land. (As if that isn't enough, you eventually even get a double jump.) The game does, indeed, expect you to use all your abilities in the same jump in order to progress.

What are your thoughts on this sort of mechanic? Can you think of any other interesting examples?

I like the ten- (and more) jump in Tower of Guns. Really helpful to reach those corners.

In Hollow Knight, You can double jump in midair once, and dash in air once per jump. If you pogo bounce on an enemy or spikes by down slashing into them with your nail, these abilities are restored. In fact, this is essential to making it through the White palace. Also, landing against a wall with your wall jump ability resets these abilities but that is landing.

The same thing with Darksiders; War can double jump once and glide.

In fact, pretty much every Metroidvania has this ability or subset of abilities. Like Shadow Complex. You get a rocket pack that allows you to double jump, but it is limited to once per jump because arbitrary reasons. As in I can jump and double jump, land, then repeat in a shorter period of time than double jumping, falling down a long chasm, and before I hit the bottom, still can't use the ability again because it hasn't recharged. Absolute nonsense.

The arbitrary limitations are what bothers me. Make the recharge time based rather than per jump.

I am actually not aware of any 2D Metroid game that has a mechanic like this. Even the Space Jump, which allows you to jump in mid-air, can be used infinitely as long as you are still spinning and haven't fallen too far since the last time you used it (or the last time you started a spin jump).

Of course, 3D Metroid Prime changed the Space Jump into a double jump.

Symphony of the Night, Salt and Sanctuary, The aforementioned Guacamelee, Dust An Elysium Tale, Hollow Knight, Momodora, Darksiders (3D Metroidvania style game)... I'm sure there are more. That's just off the top of my head.

This is the one I thought of as soon as I saw the thread title. (Probably in part because I was just playing said game.)

The entire core mechanic is about balancing when you land and what you land on. You can even land on an enemy that hurts you in order to get a reload at the cost of health.

Super Mario 64 had a jump sequence that progressed each time you jumped and landed.

Pretty much a variation of the mid-air jump but in quite a few platform games you can dash in midair, the difference obviously being that the dash moves you quickly horizontally but usually has little to no effect on your vertical position. Sometimes it counts as a midair jump, sometimes it counts separately, so you can do a maximum number of jumps and dashes without touching the ground. It's been a few years since I played it but I think Escape Goat allowed for any combination of jumps and dashes and you could, for instance, jump, dash and then jump again.

And there's of course all sorts of games where you have a jetpack or something like that that will only recharge once you hit the ground. Thinking of Halo: Reach and Destiny. I think that at least in Halo the jetpack actually does recharge in midair but too slowly to extend the jump indefinitely, don't remember how it works in Destiny.

There's of course also all sorts of drop attacks in many games that you can only do once per jump but those don't really recharge when you hit the ground, they rather replace the jump/fall state with another one, so I guess they don't quite count.

I can't quite think of more interesting character abilities that you can use only a limited number of times in a single jump. Obviously midair abilities that have to be limited to jump instances are the ones that would otherwise allow you to stay in the air too long / forever. Most other jump abilities are automatically limited by the fact that every fall has to end eventually.

Does the Orb of Thralni from the Exile/Avernum series count for this topic?

Oh. Nope, platformers.

Well in that case, there's Link's Stamina from Skyward Sword and Breath of the Wild, but only the latter has a gliding mechanic and a proper stamina system. In Skyward Sword its more akin to an arbitrary restriction to keep you in the questing areas.

And in the recent 3D Mario games starting with Galaxy, Mario and co have had some manner of extra jump normally achieved with a small spin that recharges. Furthermore in Mario's Iliad, the cap can be used for one extra jump as well which cannot be used more than once per jump.

Actually, there's a good reason that abilities like double jump are on a per jump basis. Let's suppose there is a platforming section in which, to cross from one platform to the next, it is necessary to double jump.

* If the recharge is time based, it is necessary to wait on each platform before proceeding to the next; otherwise you won't make the jump. This slows down gameplay.

* If the double jump recharges as soon as you land, then the wait is no longer necessary, and the gameplay becomes faster and more fluid.

This same argument applies to similar abilities as well, like the glide ability in Gargoyle's Quest, or the ability to dash in mid-air.

The instant recharge on landing in Gargoyle's Quest has another advantage: In the level where you need to descend through spikes, if your wing power runs out too soon, you take damage from the spikes, but get to land during the brief moment you're invincible. This allows you to recover your wing power, which then allows you to proceed through the level. (With that said, Gargoyle's Quest doesn't give you much health, so you still have to be careful.) I was actually referring to Metroid games specifically, not other games that borrow heavily from the Metroid series. The games you mentioned could be considered Metroidvanias, but they are not literal Metroid games, just like Great Giana Sisters isn't a Mario game, and Final Fantasy isn't a Dragon Quest game.

EDIT : nevermind, I just saw it was for platformers only.

Metroidvania is a genre of game that is categorized by Metroid and the later Castlevania games being maze-like with areas gated off by abilities like dashing, or jumping abilities instead of just keys. Metroid started it, Castlevania continued and expanded on it. I never said they were Metroid games, but Metroidvania games.

Once I jumped out of a window, from ground floor that is. At landing I bruised my knee, but it kinda recharged in the following weeks.