Hey guys im currently looking for top of the range fightpads to play ultra SF4 with. Any suggestions? im using the PS3 one now and its not too bad but would like to see other varieties.
Thanks
The North American Sega Saturn Mk II controller looks amazing for fighting games. There’s even converters to use it on Xbox and PS3 as far as I know.
Next up would be a PS1 gamepad in my opinion even though it doesn’t have 6 face buttons like the Saturn controller, I feel it makes up with how comfortable it is and how amazing the dpad works.
I dislike the PS3 controller a lot because of the analog shoulder buttons, which really mess with button press timing, but it’s a very good controller despite of that.
I’d only think about getting a different controller if I was playing on a Xbox pad because it sucks.
Otherwise I’d just get a stick because it’s fun to learn them.
Sega Saturn USB pad.
Good luck finding one for cheap though. Mint condition ones (boxed) go for tons of money on eBay.
On PS3 and PC the choice is easy: just get a genuine Saturn controller (above model, but with Sega Saturn lead, not USB). They’re dirt cheap on eBay.
Just buy this converter for 14 Euros on Amazon:
and you can use any genuine Saturn pad lagfree on PS3 and PC.
No need for the expensive genuine USB versions. There are also cheap USB knockoffs but they aren’t the real thing and don’t last long.
On Xbox 360 it’s a lot more complicated. After years of playing on PSN I finally found 2 Playstation Saturn pads on eBay. They’re rare and expensive.
But it was worth it. With an eTokki-converter I can play lagfree with the best gamepad on XBL now.
Wow these guys already beat me to the punch. Yeah get a Saturn controller and converter, however I don’t imagine it will work with PS2 software.
cheers thanks.
Had a look at the converter- is it compatible with PS3? it just says for PC…
Yeah, it will work fine with PC. I have a similar mayflash adapter for Wii classic controllers and used it to play GFWL SSFIVAE and umvc3 on ps3.
However, my adapter started dropping inputs after a few months of light usage and googling pulls up similar results for other mayflash adapters. Also, like with most other adapters there’s a small, but still noticeable, bit of input delay.
So… YMMV.
you mean PS3?
Yeh i just bought a mayflash one off ebay.
spose lag is a definite if using a converter. There are no USB saturn pads on ebay at the moment, but will try using the converter method. Is there a converter that anyone swears by?
I mean the PS3 pad is pretty good my inputs come up fine, but just wanna experiment with having 6 buttons on the face as its annoying using the shoulder buttons.
Ah. The pad rabbit hole.
If we’re just talking PS3 your options are either:
a.)Hori Fighting Commmander
b.) ebay knockoff usb Saturn pad
c. Buy an adapter(s) and then go for one of the older gen fightpads.
The hori fighting commander is not bad, but is kind of stiff (reminds me of a stock ps2 pad). If you don’t feel like dealing with hunting down controllers/adapters go with this and be done.
Knockoff USB Saturn pads are terrible. I’ve heard stories of people buying this and an original Saturn pad, gutting the knockoff, and replacing the parts.
You can also google a saturn to ps2 adapter and then combine that with a ps2 to ps3 adapter to use the old controllers in their original forms. I prefer this route, but saturn to ps2 adapters are rare, so good luck.
Your options for ps2 fightpads that will adapt to ps3 are also slim. I would avoid the NubyTech Street Fighter Anniversary Pads- really, the MadCatz fightpads are better than that.
There are some rare hori ps2 pads that are pretty decent, notably the Hori Fighting Commander 10b, when you can find one.
Really, ‘functional saturn pad’ is the absolute best option, but it can be a headache to figure out.
Simple option is to find one of the hori pads. They’re not ‘the absolute best’, but I think they’re solid. Up to you though.
ah yeah thanks for the response. I ended up get a genuine saturn pad and then using a converter. Anyone know what the pros use? I think wolfkrone and snake eyez are pad players.
Snake eyez uses a SFxT fightpad. Smug and Zeus use a 360 controller. I think NuckleDu uses a PS2 or PS3 controller. Louffy uses a PS1 controller (H type without analog sticks i think).
I’ve heard that the SFxT pad has some durability issues, so you might want to look into that if you’re interested.
There really is no such thing anymore as “best” fightpad. Common/recent/popular fighting-game-dedicated controllers:
- any Saturn controller of sorts (many “new” ones are of questionable quality, like the official “Play SEGA” ones, or unofficial unbranded ones, both of which use knockoff/bootleg parts)
- Mad Catz SF4 Fightpad
- Mad Catz SFxT Fightpad
- Mad Catz Brawlpad
- PDP Versus pad (d-pad/stick wears down very quickly due to dust buildup; it’s not an analog-stick, but a microswitched slider-D-pad)
- Hori Fighting Commander 3
- Hori Fighting Commander 3 Pro
- Hori Fighting Commander 4
- Neo-Geo USB pad (same microswitched slider-D-pad as the PDP Versus pad, same wear issues)
The Mad Catz ones are a little tougher to come by now, as they were more popular a few years ago when SF4 and SFxT were new. People have reported that the rubber membrane tears after extensive use.
I personally favor the Hori controllers; while people have also mentioned the tearing of the rubber membrane on them, I haven’t had any issues myself yet. A second problem with the Hori Fighting Commander series of controllers is that there is only PS3 (and now PS4) versions, no X360 support on those.
Should include the Neo-Geo USB pad.
Also, Play SEGA controllers are official Sega ones, but using the same parts that unofficial and bootleg ones do.
Gotcha, thanks.
Forgot about the Neo-Geo USB pad.
My mention of the Play SEGA ones was more towards the “questionable quality” part rather than the “unofficial” part, but I can see how my phrasing could be interpreted that way. I’ll keep a note of that for future copy/paste of that list of mine.
can’t you just swap the pcb inside a PLAY Sega Pad into the original Saturn pad? instant USB support but the button layout on a PS3 is weird.
No one makes a decent 3rd party game-pad anymore
and the 1st party Sony, Nintendo Microsoft pads leave alot to be desired when it comes to fighters (actual fighters, Smash bros don’t count).
That is why everyone needs to go legit and just switch to Arcade joystick play.
This game-pad crap just going to result in head aches and a empty wallet.
so i didnt end up getting the saturn pad. I got a sf x tekken mad catz- i mean ill just try it out. I just recently switched to pad- i find on stick i struggle to do qcf motions and buffering (i have no idea why). I switched to pad and I have no problems, can do combos so easily now without dropping them. Dont know why just a preference.
As long as it lasts the SFxTK fightpad is as good as the Saturn pad. But it’s almost a given the dpad will be broken in a few weeks. Let us know when that happens.
Real Saturn pads last for years. SnakeEyez would save a lot of money if he switched to one.
I haven’t tried the SFxT fightpad but if it’s anything like the SF4 one then the dpad will feel amazing for a while until it eventually just doesn’t want to register certain directions. I had one for the 360 years ago that died after a few weeks, I got one for the PS£ which didn’t feel right from the start and the one which I used mainly for PC gaming did last me a long time until I got back into SF4 and took up El Fuerte. It didn’t seem to like all the random dashes I would do.
Saturn controllers do work great but mine doesn’t seem to want to work anymore. The drivers just refuse to install and I’m not good at computers so whether it’s a problem with the pad itself or the drivers is a mystery to me. But that shouldn’t really put anyone off getting one, seeing as I’ve had it for about 5 or so years and only now is it deciding not to work on me. It still works on the PS3 for all I know, but I don’t have access to use at the moment to find out. All I have left to play with right now is an old generic Hori Tekken 6 fightstick for the 360, but a clumsy injury makes it near-impossible for me to even use sticks. ;_;