Recommend an Arcade Stick

[d_b]

No offense, but i don't think a stick will make that much of a difference if you are new.. Just save the cash, and Play with a pad. when you are really ready, and you can actually play as like... Akira or Lion, THEN get a stick.. Take some time to test the waters of VF before you take the plunge and get a stick.

 

[caseh]

No offense, but i don't think a stick will make that much of a difference if you are new.. Just save the cash, and Play with a pad. when you are really ready, and you can actually play as like... Akira or Lion, THEN get a stick.. Take some time to test the waters of VF before you take the plunge and get a stick.

I used to play quite a bit of VF2 back on the Saturn but stepped away from it for 3 and 4. Played VF5 on the Xbox for about a week until the frustration of using the pad was enough to make me sell it.

I don't have an issue with the PS3 pad as such but I know trying to JG in SC5 or shaking stuns on a pad is crap at best unless you hold the pad in a 'claw' position lol. Just figured arcade sticks are where I was comfortable many years ago playing SFII and Fatal Fury 2 in the arcades and the idea of using a pad back then was ridiculous.

I think i'm probably gonna opt for the Real Arcade Pro V3 SA, saw some tests on youtube where someone had wired up a Hori and MadCatz TE stick so the inputs were mimicked by both sticks. The TE stick had slight lag input which meant when both players punched (at the same time) 50% of the time the Hori would beat the TE to the punch. Remainder of the time it was a double-hit so no input lag.

 

[DrakeAldan]

I don't have an issue with the PS3 pad as such but I know trying to JG in SC5 or shaking stuns on a pad is crap at best unless you hold the pad in a 'claw' position lol.

Remap the buttons. I have G set to R1, JG is no problem for me.

Anyway, you are going to do what you are going to do, if your childhood was in the arcades and you'll feel comfortable with a stick, go for it. (I might add that you may want to think about Happ-style or the like instead of just going straight Japanese, unless you grew up in Japan...)

But, to others, I'd suggest against buying a stick, if you've never used one. Doesn't give you extra skills, doesn't make your execution better (read- there are pads for pad players that are much better for fighting games than stock). In some cases, notably 3D games where there are a lot of single direction inputs and/or directional double-taps, a stick can hamper execution (large throw means a double tap is a big, tiring, relatively slow movement on a stick, and a quick tap-tap on a pad). The investment really only taught me how to use my pad better by thinking about input methods.

If sticks weren't so expensive, I might recommend them more often. But the way the market is now, they are kind of settling into this "luxury item" thing. Traveling to tournaments costs enough already...