Noobish understanding of Arcade Sticks
So I've been playing Street Fighter since the early 90's, and in my area (Long Island, NY) there weren't many arcades with the latest and greatest. So most of my experience with the games are on console and playing on pad.
Now I have played on stick many times and I do not measure up at all compared to pad (except for VF5, which is a completely different ballgame). Clearly people do not play with pad professionally i.e go to tourneys.
So with SSF4 coming out next month and reading/listening to people's opinions its seems that using a stick to not only play, but also apply the different mechanics/systems to SSF4 is the only option.
Well my question is this: what should i get?
I've seen people say that there are sticks out there with the same parts that are in a SF4 arcade cabinet (closest one to me is ChinaTown Fair). I've also read people raving about having specific parts in the stick made from sanwa and having different types of gates in the stick. Its a little over my head.
Also Guys your opinion on how you felt adjusting to stick. When did you feel like you were good, how long did that take.
Lastly, I am playing on the 360. Should i be playing on PS3??
Responses (7 total)
Just pickup a MadCatz SFIV Tournament Edition Stick. You can pick them up pretty cheap now:
They're all Sanwa parts which will be the same as the SF4 cabinets, and they've a nice solid feel. Don't bother changing gates or anything, just spend time practicing and learning with what you have, too many people (myself included) try to buy parts to make the stick better without improving your own skill. It'll be frustrating at first but just keep practicing.Just go into the training room and practice moves until you can do them consistantly, it may not be fun but you'll adapt alot faster.
It took me a few weeks to get to a level i was comfrotable with. I still don't feel 100% with the stick, but i'm certainly alot better with it than i was with the pad and would never look back.
If you have a PS3, I HIGHLY recommend getting the Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 Stick. Check it out here
Notes:
- Completely Backwards Compatible (as long as you have the latest firmware update)- Sanwa Parts (so same quality as the Madcatz Tournament Edition Stick [TE])
- Also works on your PC
If you have a 360, just go ahead and get that Madcatz TE. It's still a phenomenal stick, with great sanwa parts as said before. The Hori stick just has some small bonuses.
Getting used to the stick:
It took me about a week or two to get used to using a stick. It's wasn't too hard seeing as I already knew how to play the game and I already understood my combos right from the start. You just have to get your mind used to where the buttons are.
I read this guide on switching from a controller to a stick and I like to think it helped a little.
I started playing SFII on stick since it was only available in the arcade. I however also played it on the pad for quite a few years when it came out for the SNES and Xbox. I would definitely say use what's comfortable for you. I feel there are advantages to using a stick when executing certain movesets, but I've also seen players who are able to execute perfectly with pads because that's what they grew up on. Give both a try and find out what works best for you. If you're moving from pad to stick, it's going to take a good 3-4 months to become proficient. You'll feel like you're going backwards in skill for awhile, but it'll start to level out with your pad abilities.
As for a stick, I suggest one of the MadCatz TE sticks. They're solid and are very customizable. Some folks like myself have even modded them to work with both PS3 and Xbox 360 systems.
There are lots of different options out there regarding what stick to buy. You ought to consider a few different factors before making your decision:
- Build quality/parts used: As everyone will tell you, Sanwa parts are generally regarded as the best quality, both in terms of responsiveness and durability. Seimitsu also makes quality parts that are fairly comparable. However, even with a cheap stick, you often have the ability to swap in higher-quality parts yourself after purchasing.
- Platform compatibility: Do you mainly play on PS3, 360, or PC? Do you care if your stick supports multiple platforms? What is the likelihood that you will attend tournaments that may use a console format other than the one you use at home?
- Desire to mod: Are you comfortable with modding your own stick to make changes, or would you rather get one that has all of the functionality that you desire right out of the box?
- Aesthetics/Customizability: Do you want custom artwork on your stick? Do you want special button colors? Multi-platform compatibility? Any other special features?
Depending how you responded to the questions above, here are a few different options for you:
MadCatz TE / Hori Real Arcade Pro (HRAP)
Pros: Slick appearance, top-quality Sanwa parts, easily moddable, some customizability
Cons: Slightly pricey, customization options are a little limited (unless you're very handy with tools), no multiplatform support without modding
The MadCatz TE stick is currently one of the more popular options, due to its excellent Sanwa parts and (nowadays) relatively high availability. This stick currently comes in SF4 and MvC2 varieties, which are (as far as I know) basically the same except for the appearance and maybe a couple minor details. These sticks are purposely designed to be easy to open up and tinker with if you so choose. It's possible to mod one of these to support PS3/360 hybrid compatibility, but it takes a little handiwork and a little bit of money for some extra parts. There are also some people who manufacture custom plexi covers and artwork for TE sticks (such as http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies), which you can swap out for the default art in order to customize your stick on the cheap. I'm going to lump the HRAP sticks into this category since they also use top-quality parts and (to my knowledge) possess many of the same pros and cons, for a similar price point.
MadCatz SE
Pros: Cheaper than most other options, easily moddable
Cons: Cheaper quality stock parts, overall a bit smaller and less solid package
The MadCatz SE stick is a popular choice for people who wish to custom-order their own high-grade buttons and stick and swap them in for the stock parts, since these sticks are pretty easy to mod like their bigger cousins. Depending on where you buy your stick and buttons, it's possible to swap in high-quality parts into an SE for less money than the cost of a TE stick. The default parts are OK if you're not a serious fighting game player, but if you plan on getting serious about the game (and I would assume that you are if you're posting on a site like this), then you probably would not be too happy sticking with the stock parts long-term.
Custom/3rd Party Sticks
Pros: Parts, appearance, features, and price are all under your control
Cons: Parts, apperance, features, and price are all under your control
For as long as there have been home video game systems, there have been people who have manufactured arcade sticks and other peripherals to bring the arcade experience home. Many of these people have even made it their livelihood to construct and sell arcade sticks to players like you and me. As you might guess, many manufacturers offer a great deal of customizability, including elaborate custom artwork (along with cool stuff like those clear artwork-through-the-buttons Seimitsu buttons), lots of different stick/button options, cross-platform compatibility (which can be very handy so you don't need to have two sticks for tournaments that use either 360 or PS3), adjustable button layout, and lots of other things to help make your stick truly "your own." Plus, some people argue that there's something to be said for supporting the scene by giving your money to hobbyist stick makers rather than a big company. Of course, depending on the type of options you're after, the price you're going to pay might vary widely.
Those are the big three "buckets" that come to mind off-hand, though I am undoubtedly missing lots of other stick types. If there's anything significant that doesn't really fit into one of those three categories, I can edit it into this post later on.
Regarding the gate types and such that you mentioned, that's all pretty much a matter of preference. I personally find that a square gate is far easier to use for charge characters (especially when you need to do motions like down-back to up-back), while a lot of people feel that an octagonal gate makes quarter-circle motions easier. There's really no right answer to this, but just be aware that the TE sticks come with square gate joysticks by default, while the HRAPs I've played on came with octagonal gates. (I have no idea if this is standard or not, though.) I have no idea about the SE sticks, and of course, custom sticks often give you the option of which gate type you want.
If you're asking if you should use a stick or a pad... just use whatever you're comfortable with.
But as far as sticks go... you will get a whole mix of answers to your question. From different brands, to different
models, to Squaregated, rounded, octagonal, Button types, stick types.. etc.. etc. To be honest, I also grew up playing on Arcade Cabinets in the early 90's and so the best option is to get something from http://www.arcadeinabox.com
I myself made my own fully customized stick (height of box, button layout, etc.) It wasn't an easy thing to do... but
alas I finshed it and love it.
If you're interested in learning how to make your own stick just hit me up for some info @dfwjay on twitter.
I've been a pad figther for almost 18 years of Street Fighter, and switched to stick for SFIV.
It took some getting used to, but after a while you'll find execution and combo linking is way easier and satisfying with a stick.
I grabbed the MadCatz SE stick, and have modded it with Sanwa parts as the stock parts aren't VERY good... It's also way cheaper to mod it with imported Sanwa parts than purchasing the TE. Modding is easy as its pop-in buttons and some screws for the stick itself.
I use a HRAP 3 with my PS3, and I've modded it to have Sanwa buttons instead of the Hori ones. The stick is still the stock sanwa stick, but I changed the ball on top and added an octagonal gate. I love the Hori and it was fun to mod... would recommend it!
Also I wrote about it a little and made a template for the artwork, here:
http://jonvandalen.com/newblog/2009/03/08/download-template-for-hrap-joysticks/
