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Gamepad or Fight Stick?

MarcusSoul

MarcusSoul

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MarcusSoul
Double Cerebella Squigly
Hey guys I had a question I wanted to ask some of you that are really deep into this game and that's what do you use to play fighters? I've grown up with fighters my whole life and always enjoyed them but I never really put in the time to get better or watch tournaments until MK9. And those tournaments were where I had my first exposure to even knowing that Arcade Fight Sticks even existed outside of an arcade. It seems tht everyone that's serious in tournaments uses fight sticks as opposed to a Gamepad. So I've already decided that I'm going to dip my toes in those waters and get a Hori Mini 3 since it's just $30-40. Even so I wanted to know what do you guys use to play and how you feel about the different controller methods for fighters. Does the fight stick have advantages over game pads or is it all simply preference?
 
For a 6-button fighter like SG, a Fightstick would be better than a gamepad, but this is mostly personal opinion.
I, personally, prefer using regular keyboard rather than my Dualshock, since I don't have a Fightstick and buying one is out of limits for me.
 
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For some games, a fight stick offers very real and tangible benefits. I think most people would say that Skullgirls isn't one of those games, though.
 
MarcusSoul said:
So I've already decided that I'm going to dip my toes in those waters and get a Hori Mini 3 since it's just $30-40.
Mini: If you feel comfortable with a compact fightstick, then this is okay. However, if you want room for your hands and wrists, you may want to get a larger fight stick.

$30-40: I usually hear problems about cheap sticks. So it's best to find reviews for this stick and see if it works for you.
Here's a cheap stick a lot of people love: http://www.eightarc.com/qanba-q1/

If you want to try your hand at a pad, then do so. I hear people are uncomfortable with the Xbox 360 controller, and my personal experience with the PS3 pad is pretty phenomenal, but in the end it's up to you.

EDIT: Its okay to get a pretty cheap stick if you plan to mod it, but it can be expensive, so watch out. Also, some people build their sticks from scratch and the designs are awesome! You can even use a cardboard box!

New Edit: The Hori has a great review 4.2/5 so you're in pretty good hands!
 
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WrestlerGuile said:
Mini: If you feel comfortable with a compact fightstick, then this is okay. However, if you want room for your hands and wrists, you may want to get a larger fight stick.

$30-40: I usually hear problems about cheap sticks. So it's best to find reviews for this stick and see if it works for you.
Here's a cheap stick a lot of people love: http://www.eightarc.com/qanba-q1/

If you want to try your hand at a pad, then do so. I hear people are uncomfortable with the Xbox 360 controller, and my personal experience with the PS3 pad is pretty phenomenal, but in the end it's up to you.

EDIT: Its okay to get a pretty cheap stick if you plan to mod it, but it can be expensive, so watch out. Also, some people build their sticks from scratch and the designs are awesome! You can even use a cardboard box!

New Edit: The Hori has a great review 4.2/5 so you're in pretty good hands!

Yes I did a bit of research on the Hori and saw a lot of reviews before I decided to choose this one. Didn't even know about the Qanba Q1, thanks for that link. If I like the way the fight stick works I think I may upgrade to that bigger one.
 
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I can't imagine doing the Filia things I do with a pad. The game has a lot of things that are combinations of buttons like assists and tags. Plus you need to press multiple buttons for supers and dashes. It's a 6-button game. I play a 3-character team so I can see it being difficult with a pad. If you're playing solo Cerebella, pad would be fine though. And avoid cheap sticks. Look for Sanwa, Seimitsu, Crown, and Hori (Kuro and Hayabusa) parts on a stick. Any stick with these is going to be great quality. But they usually run for at least $100.
 
A fightstick, a keyboard, or a hitbox would do although the stick is the best one in my opinion. I once played fighting games with a keyboard but there are some things that are difficult to pull off with it. Once you go stick there's no looking back.

The only concern you should have is if the stick is reliable enough to acknowledge all of your inputs. Speaking of which, is there such a thing as a bad fightstick? All of them seems samey to me aside from some sticks having eight while others have six.

You might be interested to get this:
 
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There are ones with poor quality components like squishy buttons and loose sticks that don't respond well. Most of the ones from the major brands should avoid that problem, though.
 
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Night Phyre said:
For some games, a fight stick offers very real and tangible benefits. I think most people would say that Skullgirls isn't one of those games, though.
Possibly not as far as "winning" goes, but I find a stick a lot more comfortable to play on than either pad or keyboard for long sessions. Long sessions of any game with a pad, in particular, cause my hands to cramp like crazy,
 
Hmm, ok thanks for the input guys. The reason why I'm getting a cheap stick is because I want to tes the waters you could say. However I did research on the Hori Mini 3 I ordered the other day and it had good reviews and feedback all around. So if I do end up enjoying it I'll invest in a better one.
 
The Hori Mini 3 is a bit of a dead-end as far as modding goes. If you can actually find it for $30-40 you should buy it but keep in mind that (IIRC, someone fact-check me on this) arcade parts won't drop in so you won't easily be able to replace them if they ever break later down the line.

Honestly, I think you might be better off getting a pad instead of a stick if your price range is around $40, mostly because the build quality of official Xbox and Playstation gamepads far outstrips those of cheap sticks.
 
I use a PS3 remote right now but wether the mini lasts long or is customizable or not is a non issue for me since I'm going to get this just to see how I like fight sticks. If I do end up really liking it I'll buy a better quality one that's customizable down the line so we'll see. It's supposed to arrive by the 23rd of this month so let's see.
 
I like using my PS3 fightpad on my PS3 and PC it more comfortable for me but I like to get a fight stick someday.
 
I'm partial to my Razer Atrox, it may be a few dollars more than the equivalent models, but it's a super modular and VERY durable unit.

Also all Sanwa parts and they're so easy to replace.

edit: the only downside is it has a square gate, but you can buy an octagonal resistor plate and switch that out for next to nothing.
 
Fightstick = Funstick
 
Well years ago I always use a controller to play my fighting games but after seeing arcade stick(fightsticks) I decided to get one. My first one was a hori ps3 it was the black forgot the whole name of it. Had to get a new fight stick because my square button gotten miss up. Now I have a quanba q4 ps3 after a friend told me about it. Still new to sticks in general so needed help on it. Would like to ones that carry both ps3 and xbox 360 function together but can't afford those one. So for now since I only have a ps3 gotten get the one for ps3 and pc functions only. It up to you what you wanna use. Tournament players use pads/controllers as well other there with their stick too so it all the preferences with what you feel is best for you.
 
I personally found nothing wrong with using pad for SG when I was using my black DS3 controller. I play with default controls. I dash with two buttons using my thumb and I actually prefer the heavy attacks to be on R1/R2 for this game. Now for a game like SF4/umvc3 I can see why pad can be a problem for some pad players as you have to plink in those games but it's not impossible to do on pad.

It's all about preference and practice really.
 
Well, I think pad is awful for any fighting game, seeing as the shoulder buttons are the heavies, its hard not to fuck up button presses with your thumb, and the left stick(at least on Xbox) is horrible with response, it has a 500ms delay.
 
Stick vs pad vs hitbox, etc. is always going to be a matter of personal preference. I like sticks, but I know plenty who are damn good on pads. Watching Zidiane's hands on his DS3 is kind of hypnotic.

The key thing to remember is that whatever choice you make, there will be a period of adjustment when you switch controllers. I've seen too many people buy a stick that ends up collecting dust because they gave up on it after an hour.
 
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