What fightstick should I get if I'm a beginner?

[HylianArgonian]

Hello everyone, this is my first post here on the Skullgirls forums, so hi.

I'm looking into getting a fightstick so I can really get into the game. I picked the game + DLC up on Steam around the end of December, and while I do like it a lot (I'm starting to get the hang of Filia, Big Band and Parasoul btw), I feel as the controls and set-up on my controller are wrong, to say the least. I can memorise combos just fine, but it's just the placement of the D-Pad on an 360 controller feels awkward and using a keyboard is just too 'stretched out', if that makes any sense.

I've been hearing that most, if not all professional players use fightsticks to play, so I've been thinking about getting one. The only problem is, I don't know what one to get! I'm short on cash at the moment since I'm saving up for a vacation in three months, but all the ones I'm seeing on Amazon and Ebay and the like are around the $100-$200 mark, and I have no way of knowing of which one is the best quality or the best deal or whatever.

What I'm looking for is a recommendation on which one I should buy if this is my first time buying a fightstick. I would appreciate it very much if you could leave an opinion or something in this thread.

 

[Stuff]

Play with what you're comfortable with you don't need a fightstick to play fighting games. Maybe try a ps3 pad? or a DS4 I hear good things about those.

But if you're really set on this madcatz te2, eightarc q4, hori real arcade pro (prolly v3 and and higher) those are popular ones I see. Sometimes people will buy cheap sticks and swap out the parts for good ones. Really anything with Sawna parts should do okay but this stuff isn't what I know about much so just consider this a bump so someone more knowledgeable helps.

 

[DukeMagus]

Many pros have dualshock3 as their main tools. Fighting sticks won't make you good, they'll just cover some minor peculiarities in the controller design.

When in doubt, check the buttons and lever manufacturer/model/brand.

Sanwa is the basic: reliable, light and a little bit "soft" compared to the others.
Seimitsu parts are "tigher". and activates the directions on the lever with less movement than what you need in a sanwa lever (smaller deadzone). KoF players likes it, but you'll only feel the difference when you're good enough to be top 8 in tournaments.
Crown lever is made in korea and pouplar with korean tekken players. lots of mixed opinions because it uses a rubber band instead of a coil to control the lever movement.
Last but not least, there are the new hayabusa lever and kuro buttons. I know little about them, but SRK makes some regular news on it and seems like they like it (or is an ad review).

For budget concerns, i recommend you not to mind the cover picture: it's easy to change in almost every model. So, if a Madcatz SFxT or Hori UMvC3 stick with sanwa parts is cheap, go for it!

 

[Cynical]

Seimitsu parts are "tigher". and activates the directions on the lever with less movement than what you need in a sanwa lever (smaller deadzone). KoF players likes it, but you'll only feel the difference when you're good enough to be top 8 in tournaments.

Disagreed that you'll only feel the difference when you're good. When I started learning KoF XIII, I struggled to do hops at all; when I said "you know, this motion is similar to doing a tap-dodge in a shmup, I should try my other stick" and pulled out the Seimitsu stick I used to use exclusively for shmups, it was instantly a ton easier.

Basically, Sanwa "feels better" in the hand (it's smoother and requires less force), and the long engage and throw make blocking high and performing some special moves a bit easier (fewer accidental TKs on QCFs or accidental jumps when blocking high). Seimitsu gives you faster inputs (short engage distance), snaps back to neutral a lot faster, and tends to give faster DPs, dash inputs, easier hops, etc. I imagine it would also be great for charge characters, but I haven't touched SG in about six months (which is before I started picking up KoF), and that's the only game where I've ever played a charage character, so I can't speak from experience.

 

[GrunkleBarlowe]

I bought my qanba q4 last february and it's:

• In good shape despite being dropped occasionally and all
• pretty easy to store, though bigger than most sticks
• modded with silent buttons
• DUAL MODDED FOR BOTH PS3 AND XBOX (AND IT WORKS ON PC)

STRONGLY recommended. I think it's around 180?