Arcade Sticks

I'm not sure which Hori stick in particular you're referring to. There are differences, dont assume its the same because of the same manufacturer. Hori has the cheap casual user stick like the Fighting Stick 3 (same as Soul Calibur Hori stick) which is okay but it doesnt have quality build like the Hori Real Arcade Pros which usally cost about $100+. $65 for a cheap stick is pretty expensive I'm sure you can get it for like $30 or less. Even with the HRAPs, the buttons/stick may be of a different build quality depending on which model you get. Also, if the stick doesnt already comes with it, the HRAPs have the advantage of easily swapping out buttons and sticks with after market real Japanese arcade parts (Sanwa or Seimitsu) so you can customize it to your liking.

I have the plain vanilla PS3 Hori Fighting stick 3. It's okay but nothing like the quality build of the more expensive ones out there. I just also recently picked up a Mad Catz Street Fighter Tournament Edition stick (which I plan to mod with Soul Calibur art) is arguably a great stick having genuine Sanwa parts and as easily customizable. I'm not a big fan of any of their products (Mad Catz) but they took special care with this one. I like the design better than HRAPs taking cues from the official Vewlix arcade cabinets. It will set you back $130-150 for the TE version.

Finding the right stick really depends how much you want to spend and how dedicated you are with fighting games. The Fighting Stick 3 I guess is ok for casual users but if you're hardcore you probably want to step it up. I dont know enough about the wireless ones Hori is releasing with Tekken. Other than conveninence of being cordless, not sure if this flies with hardcore crowd because of seconds of possible lag and inteference that might result.

Also be aware that most of these Japanese style sticks use a different kind of restrictor plate than what you may be accustomed to. So there may be a learning curve to using it. If you're use to the more traditional 8 way octagonal gate found in most US arcade machines, it's gonna feel different using the square gate on a Japanese stick.
 
I like my SF4 TE a lot. Only things to note. "Clicking" of stick can be a bit loud but this wont effect many things except some command throws may get telegraphed audibly in a small room (And I may be the only Ivy player to ever have this bitch). SANWA buttons are REALLY high quality. However I have a light issue with the engage/disengage range. It's very shallow so if you feather buttons or rest on them casually, you may find you're not releasing all the way on a double tap. I'm buying semeitsus to drop in.

SF4 SE stick...I dont like. Buttons feel cheap and the stick has a notable washer issue. Washer issue is when the washer under the stick moves and causes it to fuck up the next input till it gets put back in center.

I tried the SC4 Hori. Meh... Didn't care for it and the button layout is weird.

However you can always buy a cheap stick with a few parts you like...and buy new parts. Modding an SF4 SE with Semeitsus and SANWAS buttons/stick will make for a very good stick and be cheaper than the TE.
 
Well, I'm doing some serious thinking about getting a stick of some sort. Both of my 360 pads are wearing out, and I'd rather spend the money on getting something really nice, instead of just another pad. From what I've read, the cheap sticks aren't worth it, I'd much rather learn to play on a quality stick than some crap.

The array of options is a bit intimidating.

My main frustration with the 360 pad, is the lack of ability to input a pure straight input with 100% reliability. I hate it when a crouch throw doesn't come out cause it read it as a 1B+G or 3B+G instead of 2B+G. I've also noticed in Blazblue's training mode, that my 46464 stun shaking attempts have a lot of random noise in them as well, doing Noel's 22C loops is ridiculous on a pad that hates straight down inputs, and 236236 notions are a pain particularly from the 2p side. I also suspect that it would be far easier to land Cassie's 236: jf's with a stick where you can more easily tell when the 6 is going to be inputed.

However, I also want a stick that is as quiet as possible, minimal clicking noises, so as to not annoy anybody else while I play (and to not give away any buffers like IvyFanBoy was complaining about, though I don't really use any buffer heavy characters).

I also don't have huge amounts of desk-room, as I have my 360 hooked up to my computer's monitor (nice high-res crt) and not in my living room, which rules out anything enormous.

I found this site which provides super high-quality looking custom artwork/plexiglass etching for sticks: http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies/ So I'm not too picky as to what the art looks like, as I'd replace it with something custom (I'm thinking a high-res version of my avatar).

From what I gather, a square gate joystick is easier to do straight directional inputs on it, but, harder to do 236/214's? (which are rather important for Cass).

I'd also prefer having the full 8 buttons, instead of just 6. For the flexibility of trying different layouts, being able to still have binds, and not shooting myself in the foot if a 8-button game comes along that I want to play.

PC-compatibility is a must too, since I want this to work with the fighting game I'm programming as a hobby as well. But I don't think that's an issue, as I think all 360 compatible controllers should work with the Windows version of XInput as well. Needs to have a 360 headset jack as well, though I suppose I could use a 2nd controller for that purpose (assuming that works).

What generally works best for SC4? A custom isn't out of the question either, if you can deliver on all of the above (though I do like the idea of having a warranty and a return policy).
 
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