I like my 360. I'm a big retro gamer, and a while ago I bought a special controller to facilitate the playing of classic games as well as the then-newly released Street Fighter IV. I got the MadCatz SFIV fighter pad and for the most part had few complaints. The buttons were a nice size and felt very responsive. The d-pad was not great, but still far better than using a standard 360 controller. It didn't bother me for a while that the dead zone in the middle of the d-pad was kinda huge and the diagonals were a little too hard to hit.
However, times have changed and I now demand a much greater deal of accuracy. My interests have veered towards much more hardcore playing of shmups (DEAR GOD Ikaruga has taken over my psyche), fighters, and other classic games so I'm ready to invest in a quality arcade stick and could use a little input from you guys.
My first option is the Hori Fighting Stick EX2. I like the simple look of this, and the prices I find fall between $50 and $60. This is my most appealing option, though the smallish size and lack of a fourth column of buttons are a minor stumbling block. Most of the simple games that I'd use a stick like this for wouldn't require more than 6 buttons, but in SFIV I really like to have two buttons mapped to PPP and KKK. This isn't too huge a point now as I don't actually own SFIV (I rented it when it came out), but I may very well get Super SFIV in the future.
Sadly, other sticks with extra buttons seem to come with a significantly increased price tag.
This MadCatz stick is $80 and has some pretty bad reviews, mostly complaining of a defective stick. The only silver lining on this would be that all reports say it's quite easy to modify. I can't say I know anything about modding a stick or where to get replacement parts, and modding may turn out to be a fun project, I'd really rather just get a controller that works out of the box.
Hori's Real Arcade Pro EX is around $130 also has the extra buttons I crave, but reviews are iffy in regards to their quality. Once again modding is recommended and once again I'm not sure if I want to go that far.
The next step up is the Tournament Edition Fightstick, costing around $150. I'd feel pretty comfortable writing this off as too expensive unless it's honestly the best choice out there. Reviews are quite good, but is $150 really necessary for a quality stick?
I'd really like to hear what the rest of the Dtoiders have to say on the subject. What is your experience with these? What are your recommendations?
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Dont have much exp with the bigger black hori's, but I know the SE madcats stick has garbage parts that you'll want to end up switching out for sanwa parts, which my other buddy had to do, which in the end comes out to about as much as the TE costs.
In the end I definately have the suggest the TE. The size doesn't bother me at all, and I know that if anything ever happened and I had to change a button or anything, I know the entire button setup inside uses quick disconnects and no soldering at all.
Hell, take it a step further and wait for the new TE: Round 2. Same thing but a bit more spiffy looking in my opinion. Plus, you can swap out the art and customize the shit to look however you want and it's super fuckin easy.
anyway here's that new TE. I say wait for that one.
http://www.destructoid.com/mad-catz-to-unleash-more-street-fighter-iv-controllers-149515.phtml
Looks like it is 129.99 on amazon right now.
seems like a major difference is the colors of the sides n stuff. original TE has black middle, white sides.
Round2 te has black middle and black sides
femme fatalle has white middle and white sides. only, this one has a purple border around the art, as upposed to red like the other 2. but that comes off anyway so yeah.
in the end its just about the aesthetic details. If I had the money to buy a second te it'd be the round 2.
also danmartigan give this guy a fap! otherwise this post doesn't show on the front page cblogs :O
That is, if you want a Seimitsu alternative to the TE. I personally swear by HRAPs.
Do it for the love of god.
It already has the best hardware you can get, and it's extremely easy to mod if you really want to screw with perfection.
RAB already said everything that really needs to be said here, but one more voice can't hurt.
It's looking like the TE gets the popular vote, so I think I'll try to get one in the near future.
My first stick was a Hori EX2. It isn't the best stick out there, but I worked mine into the ground. It now has a bit more dead space than I'd like, and one of the buttons can get unresponsive. All in all, I'm glad that I had it. Some people really do prefer sticks over anything else, but some don't. It took me a while to really get into the habit and style of using a stick and I'm glad that I didn't end up paying for one to realize that I didn't like it (A few very generous Dtoiders gave it to me as part of my annual Secret Santa). If you do end up buying a stick and not liking it, you'd have only spent a minor amount of money in comparison to how much more you'd spend on a TE stick.
That being said, I now play with a TE stick, and I only have a few gripes with it. I'd like the cherry top to be a bit farther away from the base, as I have large hands. The body is a bit bigger than I'd like as well, and makes it hard to play with it on my desk, and I usually have to rest the giant in my lap. As far as quality of the parts go, they really are top notch.
Although I've never owned one, I did play a lot on a friends Hori Real Arcade Pro. They're huge, but they're also well made and a bit slanted, which I love. putting it on a table and playing works perfectly with these from my experiences, and the parts are also great. The pattern of the buttons on this is a bit more comfortable than the TE, due to the 4th button column being a bit lower than the TE's button pattern, but this can also make it easier to hit accidentally.
Well, i'm exhausted. I'm going to get to sleep, but by all means send me an email at necronauts@gmail.com I'd love to help you out and talk to you about what exactly you're looking for in a stick, and hopefully find a place here you can get one on the cheap.
Having said that, I would go with the Madcatz TE stick. The Round two version. It's ready to go out of the box because they use real arcade parts. It also had rapid fire, for the shmups. Sure it's $150 + shipping (slightly cheaper at Amazon, and maybe free shipping) but it will be the last stick you every need.
My only complaint would be that all these sticks are the short ball-top variety. I haven't used that kind enough to make a judgement, but I know I prefer this kind:
http://www.lizardlick.com/pages/joysticks.shtml
And scroll down to the "LB-30-N"
Both my brother and I swear by these things because we grew up on the Happ sticks too.
just sayin
i'm just gonna take my stick out entirely hit the switches with my finger.
WHAT THEN?!!