Hi,
first of all I would like to welcome everyone on this forum and apologize for my n00bi$h question. I’m new to the fighting games but I really enjoy SSF4:AE (even if I get beat up every time :)). I thinking of buying an arcade stick and the Hori RAP caught my eye. So getting to the question in the topic, what is the difference between those two sticks and do you know if they work on PC (if bought PS3 version)?
Kai version has more space between the stick and the buttons. It’s just a matter of preference. Both will play SSF4:AE on PC and will be automatically detected.
Thank you very much for your info, now I’m just waiting for ‘pay day’ 
Yes the HORI RAP V3 SA Kai is spaced differently that the regular HORI RAP V3 SA, slightly more space between the buttons and the joystick lever.
The HORI RAP V3 SA Kai also have some minor improvements to its build and alternate art for the top panel.
Think of the Kai as a round 2 of the HORI RAP V3 SA arcade stick.
Also, the Kai edition has a very thin foam padding on the bottom for lap players & the artwork finish is more durable even though I never had issues with the original V3-SA artwork peeling and/or scratching easily. The artwork finish is a glossy coating versus a matte coating on the original. I’ve got my cousin’s Kai edition stick (PS3) for sale in the trading outlet if you’re interested OP.
The art on the HRAP V3 WILL dull and get erased over time even if you take good care of it… If you play with the thing a few hours, you’ll inevitably rub against the artwork on the joystick side.
I’ve noticed that on mine and I hardly use the thing! The last time I took it out and examined it, the dull spot appeared obvious. In my case, it was the art area to the left of the joystick that had noticeable rubbing abrasion of art. Unless you keep your hand above the faceplate at all times, you will rub in certain areas…
I’m positive that it’s almost next-to-impossible to remove the original HRAP V3 sticker and save it with a plexi. The faceplate screws are under the stickers like the FightSticks. Hori stickers/faceplate overlays are notoriously difficult to remove without damaging them… The Mad Catz TE art is a different story – that’s fairly easy to remove with minimal damage. The joystick was designed to allow the artwork to be removed. Extremely convenient for modders. I’ve made some money selling off original overlay art from two of my TE cases…
IF you really like the art that much, scan the original damaged sticker (after you re-mount it to a plate or some other backing) in Hi-Res into Photoshop (600dpi; 300dpi scan is minimal here; 600dpi is better for repair but you can print out at 300dpi just fine) and rebuild it there. Save as a PSD after compositing-- you won’t be able to get it all in one scan – and do repairs as needed to the artwork. Reprint from PDF format at Kinko’s or other places that don’t ask questions about the artwork. Art Hong has an HRAP V3 template that can used to line up the line art and do repairs.
I used the HRAP 1/Tekken 5 template to repair the Arcana Heart 2 art after I damaged it accidently in a drilling incident… (Darn screws get stuck in godawful mounting plates… Had to drill through the screw to get it out and went too far in and through the faceplate!) In that case, I was able to scan the faceplate in two sections; it removes like the HRAP 3 SA faceplate. The AH2 joystick is the only non-HRAP SA/SE model that has OEM faceplate button head screws. Very, very easy to composite the scans I made. Color retouching and “erasing” the unintentional drill hole were the challenges. With the finished, retouched and “repaired” art, I can reprint it any time I want AND save it with a plexi overlay – that’s if I ever want to restore the AH2 joystick closer to its original appearance.
This kind of art destruction generally didn’t happen on the HRAP 3 SA. It had a carbon fiber type pattern on it and a protective layer on top of that… Yes, that layer could get scratched if you’re not careful but it didn’t generally gouged or dulled like the stickers on the other HRAPs. If you’re really that anal about it, you could also buy a plexi to cover the original HRAP 3 SA faceplate fiber art, too.
And I just pulled off my Hrap 3 art like if it was an old scab waiting to fall off.
Whoa! That never happened to me…
Covered up the original stickers with artwork and put a plexi on top of that. Admit I didn’t have the black HRAP 3 before I sold it. Still have the white model, though. And the HRAP 3 SA and HRAP 3 SE and HRAP 2 SA.
Seriously, I don’t get what’s up with the newer HRAP models. I like the fact Hori finally changed the case designs after nearly 6 straight years of product BUT on the other hand they made it harder to mod the newer HRAP’s and a lot less convenient, too.
Hori needs to get some tournament players AND stick modders to test prototypes before they start mass production.
It’s nice they previewed the Fighting Edge before they released it and got feedback from their sponsored players. They still need to test their main joystick line more to sort out the design bugs 'cuz both the HRAP V3 and HRAP N3 have them whether most people admit it or not.
And how is the build quality? Every penny counts for me :). The art work isn’t all that relevant for me at the moment, I do care however how long will it last
I believe the V3 / VX Kai’s turbo panel also has tiny little buttons for L3 / LSB and R3 / RSB, for the few games that might use those buttons. I’d probably throw that in the “minor improvements” that Darksakul noted.
This is my first arcade stick so I’m curious how long will it take before it starts to war off. I have time to play like 3~4 times a week ~2h a day (real life is kind of time consuming :))
The Printed art? It varies with how you play, how clean and sweat free your hands are, how acidic is your sweat ect…
Sorry for not stating clearly. I meant the build quality of the stick. How sturdy is it?
BTW. I cant seem to post from my home computer. Whenever I post something it says the comment is being verified or something. Do you know what’s the issue? There is no such problem when posting from my work (where I created the shoryuken forum account).
The case itself is pretty sturdy and it will hold up to alot of heavy game play as long as you are not abusive to it.
IE: throwing the stick down the stairs or smashing it against the wall or dropping the stick on top of the joystick lever very hard.