Mario Kart Supercharged

Charging

 * Racers can charge their karts with energy by drifting
 * To increase charge level, the opposite drift button must be pressed with good timing while already drifting (i.e. tapping L2 while holding R2)
 * The timing of the button press is right when the typical boost sparks appear; they will disappear if the player fails to get the timing right
 * If the timing was nailed, electricity appears around the kart's tires that match the color of the preceding sparks
 * The player can charge their kart up to three times in one continued drift
 * There are five levels of charge:
 * Blue (charge)
 * Orange (super charge)
 * Purple (turbo charge)
 * Red (ultra charge)
 * White (hyper charge)
 * Charge is retained after finishing the drift and can be expended to do various Things:
 * Surge: essentially an anytime mini-turbo; at Max charge, it becomes a straight-up Mushroom boost, allowing Mushroom shortcuts to be taken without the item
 * Fizzle: a defensive measure, the lightning around the kart strikes out at nearby items, destroying them. this costs All charge and can only be performed at level 3 or higher
 * Charge Gates: special gates that block access to alternate areas of race tracks. they can only be passed through by expending charge equal to the color of the gate (i.e. a red gate requires a level 4 charge), flavored by the gate being "powered" and opened by the kart's energy
 * Signature Moves: at Max charge, the player can perform racer-specific signature moves with various effects, like producing a large kart-flipping shockwave or an extended turbo boost. this obviously costs all your charge

Kart Customization

 * Kart parts have a greater effect on the vehicle's capabilities
 * i.e. insulated tires make charging take longer in exchange for for more speed or something