Best controller for fighting games?

[MrEwnt]

Honestly, I really like the Madcatz fight pads. You can play like a normal pad with two thumbs, or you can tap the hit buttons with your fingers because of their size and spacing.

[yoh001]

Man, if I could get a pad with the GameCube’s analog stick + the 8 gate thingy, oh man…

[crotchpuncha]

With an analog stick you can perform moves more quickly and accurately (as a MOTION rather than blocks)

Just want to note that this is totally false. It is much faster to move your thumb across a D-Pad than an analog stick, especially if the stick is located in a weird position. D-Pad is also the fastest way to execute a 720 or 1080 motion. This doesn’t make a huge difference for most things, but it probably makes ultras come out ~1F faster.

I suppose it depends on what you’re used to. If D-pad was so great, why is it that fightsticks have a stick (i.e. something which moves in a smooth 360 motion) rather than a 4-block arrow keys? Why is it that Street Fighter isn’t played on a keyboard instead of controller or fightstick?

You were comparing a D-Pad to the analog sticks on pads, not to arcade sticks. Moving an arcade stick with your whole hand/arm is a much different and faster motion than awkwardly rolling your thumb across an analog stick.

In my opinion it’s more awkward to use a big stick. You have to make more exaggerated moves whereas with an analog stick you can do everything much faster. I suppose it depends on your preference. I personally can’t see how the game is playable on anything but a 360/PS3 controller, but it clearly is given that some people use D-pad, some use their actual face to play, some use a keyboard etc.

Why did you bother to ask people this question if your intent was to argue with them about their recommendations? It’s clear your mind is already made up, so why does this thread exist?

Also if you’re making exaggerated movements on an arcade stick then you’re doing it wrong.

[FaceMeAndBeBroken]

These are all God tier:

http://recycle4acause.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/snes.jpg

http://www.joystixamusements.com/photos/SF2CHAMP.JPG

Basically for pads I need the diamond. I had Genesis and 6 across for about a year before getting SNES, but since PS1 kept the SNES style, and I never got a fail ass Saturn, I have muscle memory for the diamond. SF, MVC, KoF, MK2,3/9, Tekken. It works for everything.

MOD EDIT: Image removed due to malware.

PS3 would be good except I map R2/L2 in some games, and they get pressed by playing on the leg. Shitty triggers.

A lot of these controllers don’t even have 8 buttons, so not really suited for Street Fighter.

Go kill your self.

[d3v]

A lot of these controllers don’t even have 8 buttons, so not really suited for Street Fighter.

Stop using macros.

[Celerity]

A lot of these controllers don’t even have 8 buttons, so not really suited for Street Fighter.

Go kill your self.

That’s pretty harsh, you know. I think most pad players use 8 buttons for SF4. Unless you use a really weird button config, either FA&Throw or 3xP/K will be awkward without macros.

[d3v]

A lot of these controllers don’t even have 8 buttons, so not really suited for Street Fighter.

Go kill your self.

That’s pretty harsh, you know. I think most pad players use 8 buttons for SF4. Unless you use a really weird button config, either FA&Throw or 3xP/K will be awkward without macros.

Except the stuff being recommended, such as the Sega Saturn pad or the Fighting Commander have 6 buttons on the face.

[N0_d3N1AL]

With an analog stick you can perform moves more quickly and accurately (as a MOTION rather than blocks)

Just want to note that this is totally false. It is much faster to move your thumb across a D-Pad than an analog stick, especially if the stick is located in a weird position. D-Pad is also the fastest way to execute a 720 or 1080 motion. This doesn’t make a huge difference for most things, but it probably makes ultras come out ~1F faster.

I suppose it depends on what you’re used to. If D-pad was so great, why is it that fightsticks have a stick (i.e. something which moves in a smooth 360 motion) rather than a 4-block arrow keys? Why is it that Street Fighter isn’t played on a keyboard instead of controller or fightstick?

You were comparing a D-Pad to the analog sticks on pads, not to arcade sticks. Moving an arcade stick with your whole hand/arm is a much different and faster motion than awkwardly rolling your thumb across an analog stick.

In my opinion it’s more awkward to use a big stick. You have to make more exaggerated moves whereas with an analog stick you can do everything much faster. I suppose it depends on your preference. I personally can’t see how the game is playable on anything but a 360/PS3 controller, but it clearly is given that some people use D-pad, some use their actual face to play, some use a keyboard etc.

Why did you bother to ask people this question if your intent was to argue with them about their recommendations? It’s clear your mind is already made up, so why does this thread exist?

Also if you’re making exaggerated movements on an arcade stick then you’re doing it wrong.

To ask what other people’s thoughts are and their reasons for it. Also to determine which controllers others recommend. All I was saying is that I can’t see how the game’s playable with a d-pad

[mr.mortified]

You do realize that a joystick on an arcade stick essentially represents a DPad right? And that Street Fighter is meant to be played without macros and have 6 action buttons to represent 3 punches and 3 kicks right?
Asking for best is subjective.
My best is the controller that accurately represents the developer’s intentions of playing the game. Therefore the best is a 6 button arcade stick.

[N0_d3N1AL]

You do realize that a joystick on an arcade stick essentially represents a DPad right? And that Street Fighter is meant to be played without macros and have 6 action buttons to represent 3 punches and 3 kicks right?
Asking for best is subjective.
My best is the controller that accurately represents the developer’s intentions of playing the game. Therefore the best is a 6 button arcade stick.

Everyone has their own preferences for input devices. This thread is specifically about controllers (not sticks).

[d3v]

You mentioned something about 6-button controllers not being fit for Street Fighter, which is funny because pad players have been using 6-button controllers for Street Fighter since the 1990’s.

[Louiscipher]

Genesis 3 Button controller for CE FTW.

[Leafshield]

Any controller is just fine if you get used to it. I, for one, have been using a RockCandy pad for the past 6 months, and I love it to death:

http://www.pdp.com/images/Product/large/PL3760B.jpg

Sure, it looks like shit at first, but it has a great weight, pretty awesome D-pad, and the buttons just feel… right? I don’t know how to say it. The buttons just have a healthy, weighted feel to them that really lets you know that you did that motion. It’s a little glossy when you first use it, though, but it begins to ‘tense’ up when you start using it. I would NOT recommend analog on this one, though, as its total shit.

(Also yes I understand the general concensus that XBox pads suck for fighters, but I’m used to them so there)

[Darksakul]

360 motion and 8 buttons

There 2 issues here:
1. there is only 8 recognized directions in fighting games (with the exception of Super Smash Bros Bawl).
Regardless of what a analog stick is capable of, your character on screen can only go where the game’s code allows that character to go.
Your Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Dreamcast, PS2 Ect does not understand the 360 degree movement of a analog stick, that whole range of that analog stick is broken down to steps.
Remember I said Super Smash Bros Bawl does not keep tot he only 8 directions rule, because it has 64 directions you could move your character. Why 64? It has nothing to do with the N64 and have everything to do with by default your digital computer gaming system does not understand analog, analog has to be translated to digital input for that digital computer. Yes your Analog stick as less in common with a volume knob or a light dimmer and more so with a radial digital encoder, as there no smooth arc, just a series of steps.

2. The only Fighting games that take FULL advantage of all 8 buttons are* PlayStation All-Stars*. The biggest reason that 8 buttons start to appear on arcade sticks is that There are a total of 8 buttons on a PlayStation or Xbox 360 controller if you count the 4 face buttons, and the shoulder and trigger buttons. To appeal to the widest customer base, each one of those buttons get represented.

Street Fighter series only used the 2 extra buttons for In-game Macros, same thing with Guilty Gear, Blaz Blue, Soul Calibur and Dark Stalkers. Now Neo Geo/SNK games only utilize 4 buttons, many Sega Fighters only use 3 buttons, and pre-Street Fighter Fighting titles uses 2. To boil this down for you Capcom games 6, SNK 4, Guilty Gear/Blaz Blue/ Melty Blood 5 (using a modified SNK layout), Tekken 4, Sega Fighters 3.

Go in the arcades, find a arcade machine (not the customs just the stock authentic Cabs) you never see more than 6 buttons at a stand-up or Japanese sit-down upright Cab. Of course this bars things such as Mech Warrior, Mahjong, Pop’n Music or other non-fighting games that require specialized controls.

[rukawa_kaede]

I remember when the ps2 controller was considered shit for fighters but now is godlike…Okay???

[SirMixahLot]

I remember when the ps2 controller was considered shit for fighters but now is godlike…Okay???

PS1 > PS2.
The PS2 pad sucks ass. The PS1 dualshock kicks ass.

As for the SNES pad, I agree with that almost entirely. I an’t get used to a button on the L side though… That dpad is slick.

Also, I’ve never met anyone that uses the analog stick for a fighting game… That shit is news to me.

[N0_d3N1AL]

May I ask why the original PlayStation controllers (PS1 and PS2) are better than PS3 controller? Is it the input delay or just general accuracy/quality?

[SirMixahLot]

Lot of reasons…

PS1 is an entirely digital controller, which is ideal for fighters, as they’re digital.
PS2 has pressure sensitive buttons, and the quality of the buttons seemed weaker. They felt cheaply made. The pressure sensitivity would also cause slight delays in inputs and sometimes would drop inputs.
PS3 pads have the problems that the PS2 pads have (ESPECIALLY the Sixaxis - non DualShock 3, which is a horrible controller overall, it felt like a toy), and the R/L2 buttons are shit ass for fighting games.

[petran79]

I’ve never used a pad for a fighter in my life, except in the mid-90s on my cousin’s Sega Genesis console for SF2-the New Challengers. But then, I played it on very easy.
I was also unlucky since when I was a kid there werent any fighters in console games and arcades were off limits to kids where I lived, except in big amusement parks, where we went once every year.

Played later a few arcades in the early to mid-90s. Even so, with left for directions and right for buttons I could finish 2 rounds the most. Couldnt adapt to fighters as opposed to NES platformers.

but when they closed, I had no other resource than a PC with a keyboard. Plus there was school and stuff, so no time to venture out in arcades at night/evening for a teen. So I got used to right hand for directions, left for buttons.

So when I tried to play MK2 on the arcades later, I couldnt even finish the second opponent, while I could progress further on PC.

Later when I got a Dreamcast and tried to play 3S and Jojo with a dpad, it was even harder. I shouldnt have bought them at all.

So my choice: if you are pure PC gamers, a good mechanical keyboard is the choice.
But I also use a stick to play crosshanded

[pherai]

prediction: OP has terrible execution