HAFS $50 vs. SE FightStick $100?

I’m a casual SF4 gamer looking for more accuracy and ability to pull off charge moves (Guile/Bison/etc are hard for me to play competitively online with Sixaxis).

I like modability of SE stick but I’m scared of quality issues.

I like price of HAFS for $50 but worried if it is good enough for me.

Anyone used both of these sticks and can share impressions?

I own both of them. And I would have to say that both stick need to be modded regardless. The SE stick is easier to mod than the HFS and since your a casual gamer get your hands on one of those when the stores restock on them in April and and mod it with Sanwa or Seimitsu parts.

Hmm, so even as just a casual online player, I’ll need the upgraded parts?

Looks like I better just buy that SE stick then…

If you are going to spend triple digits then wait until you can find a HRAP for retail.

i actually find it easier to use charge characters on a pad over a stick

Well to tell you the truth when playing Street Fighter 4 online it starts to get more than casual gaming. That is how I started. I bought SF4 just to play and then a week later I bought the SE fight stick. After that moves get easier to do and you get better after a while cause using the sticks make you wanna practice more. But after a while the SE joystick and buttons will start to go out on you and just get you upset every time you mess up so thats when you have to upgrade parts. So just upgrade it as soon as you get it with sanwa or seimitsu parts and skip the whole crappy joystick and button phase. LOL.

but for the cost and all you may as well go with the tournament edition. full sanwa stick/buttons and will not take work to do anything. also has a compartment for the loooong cord that hooks it up and less problems with everyting in general from what i have read…

Well the problem with getting the TE or HRAP is that unless I am willing to spend $200+ I won’t be able to get one for 1-2 months.

There are retailers out there who have both SE and the Hori Arcade Fight Stick 3 in stock and I could have them within a week.

from what we are constantly being told is that the restock will happen in the next week or two. that will lower the prices a bit. and unless you have access to the Sanwa/Seimitsu parts it will be a longer wait for those than the TE stick.

if you have the parts then that is the perfect situation. if you can just wait a little while longer (and i know how hard this is) you will be able to get the TE a bit easier and save the Japanese parts for making a truly custom stick of your liking on your own. this is what i fully plan on doing. with all of the great looking boxes being premade from the likes of Norris Arcade, Kaytrim, and of course SillyPuddy as well as some others it takes a lot of work away from what would have to be done by you. then you just concentrate on painting some kick-ass painting on the box and spend some time wiring and you have a great stick of your own.

sorry for the ramble. i get like that at times.

but i really do understand that the SE is good in the size and simplicity of modding everything. just trying to play devil’s advocate a little.

One or two months is good timing, in my opinion. Any decent amount of play on either the SE or the HFS3 will turn the stick into mush. My HFS3 lasted three months and I had played it maybe 20 or 30 hours worth. And if you get a SE with the infamous washer problem, then according to the worst horror stories I’ve heard the stick will be dead in a couple of hours.

But I have personal experience with the HFS3. It is sitting in my closet until I can get the parts to give it a full Sanwa mod.

I have the FS3 (with sanwa parts) and waiting for the SE Fightstick which I just ordered, to arrive sometime later in the week/early next week, which I will also be sticking sanwa parts into as well. I can tell you straight off that the FS3 with stock Hori parts is pretty terrible… Not unplayable, but not great… Seeing as you’re a casual gamer, it might be okay for you at first. But later on when things get a bit more ‘competitive’, you may wish to swap out the parts. That’s what happened to me. I started playing more competitively and decided to install sanwa parts. Now in saying that, modding an FS3 can be a real BITCH to do if you’re a newbie to power tools/soldering and being so, I fucked up my PCB and needed to order a new one which requires no soldering at all (courtesy of Toodles - Cthulhu PS3/PC board).

So if I were you, I’d opt for the SE stick if you plan on playing casually for now, but later on it gives you the added option of an easy mod - requires no soldering because it uses QD’s for the buttons and the joystick is pretty much a straight drop-in swap.

go for the se, but why is it costing you $100 i thought they were around 70-80

unless you mean after you switch out the parts

If you are going to be playing street fighter IV for a few months then never come back, save your money and stick with the pad or go with the HAFS.

If you plan to play longer or spend $$$ on good equipment to practice, then guess what, that makes you hardcore! Get the SE and then mod it as the parts wear out.

Just skip all the foreplay and build a custom stick!

I’m totally joking (or am I?). If it was me, I’d wait for the TE restock if you enjoy playing fighting games in general and can see yourself doing it for a good while. It’ll be a little more expensive than a retail SE + parts, but you’ll get a much sweeter case.

If you’re going to be playing fighting games long haul, the thing to realize is that no matter what brand buttons/joystick you use, you will wear them out. The switches used are only rated out to operate for so many cycles. If you have a custom case, the TE, or one of the other easily modifiable cases out there, you can do all the repairs yourself no problem and for surprisingly cheap. When a new system comes out, it’s a bit trickier operation, but you have the option of making your trusty stick compatible for far less than the cost of buying a whole new one.

A good stick can be relatively future-proof and last a really long time if you take care of it. Just some things to think about.

I dunno about that, for lap play I’m actually liking the SE case more. That little slant on the end toward where you play cradles your wrist lovingly. You can play for hours on that and not feel a thing.

@raeli: Yeah that’s pretty much why I opted for an SE over the TE - I love me some lap play :wink:

I would like to know of these online places that you speak of that has Hori or SE in stock… and not for something stupid like 200 bucks.

Ebay inflation is NUTS right now on arcade sticks…

I also would like to know this. Been looking for hrap 3 for a while now. Ebay has em… at $200. F that.

I got my se from eBay for $109USD.

some people crack me up. to the OP - i’d say don’t listen to 1/2 this crowd. they’ve been conditioned to regurgitate aftermarket hype. you don’t NEED to upgrade internal parts - certainly not if you are a casual player looking for a modest upgrade over your DS3. to hear people tell it, anything OEM is either unplayable or unreliable… which is hardly the case.

if you are truly a casual player, i’d recommend the cheaper Hori FS & call it a day. you’ll enjoy the upgrade & the cost:benefit ratio should be on point. why sink more $$$ into a videogame controller if you don’t need to? the performance jump from pad -> OEM stick is much larger than OEM stick -> custom.

and for the record, i own 6 joysticks - all built/modified with the full gamut of authentic parts - and i still feel very comfortable recommending stock OEM gear in this situation. there’s no one-size-fits-all solution… contrary to how some tell it.