I’m thinking about buying it.
Anyone have it?
Is it hard to pull off the 20 + trial combos with it?
What about the turbo feature? Does that actually work? (don’t plan on using it for SSFIV, just wondering)
How does it feel compared to the real arcade sticks?
Are the buttons responsive enough?
Thanks in advance guys.
It’s a nice stick. It was my first actual arcade stick and I’ve got one for sale on ebay right now. It’s the soul calibur 4 special edition one they dont make anymore. The buttons and stick are stock Hori ones, they are responsive, but no where near sanwa’s responsiveness and sensitivity.
It’s a good stick, I liked it, just harder to mod and customize than most sticks.
Unless you like modding and cutting plastic to death, there are much better sticks available than the Fighting Stick. It may be significantly cheaper just to buy a Hori HRAP V3 SA or a Mad Catz Tournament Edition Fightstick (plenty of those still available despite what the board rep says…). What you will spend in supplies (wiring, quick disconnects) and better joystick would more expensive than buying a fully furnished joystick like the V3/VX (VX = 360 version of the same stick) and the TE line.
The buttons on the Fight Stick are marginal… They’re nowhere near as sensitive as Sanwa or Seimitsu and WILL fail in a short time if you constantly use the Fight Stick. The Hori joystick (it’s NOT a JLF or LS-series joystick) itself is half-decent but these have been known to break, too.
I modded a Wii Fight Stick which is the same thing as the FS3 except for the PCB and connector cord. IF I had known Mad Catz was going to release its own Wii joystick, I would have saved my cash and bought two of those! The Wii Stick is better after the mod but honestly there are better sticks out there including compact-sized joysticks like the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV SE FightStick.
The SE is definitely harder to find than the HRAP V3 SA or the Mad Catz TE line but unlike the Hori FightStick series IS mod-friendly. You basically only have to pop out the existing 30mm buttons to replace with arcade buttons. The Mad Catz stock joystick (again NOT a JLF or LS-series) is a definite-go for replacement. That stock joystick is the biggest source of complaints about the SE.
Right now, you can get a Mad Catz Street Fighter IV SE joystick (assuming both the 360 and PS3 versions) at Wal-Mart store or WalMart.com at clearance price. That’s equal to or lower than the Hori FightStick. Good deal to pounce on!
The SE has probably been out-of-production for a while and once they’re gone from stores there’s going to horrible price-gouging online…
Thanks for the info.
I live in NY so Walmart is banned here.
But I checked out their website & found these Mat Catz sticks.
Walmart.com: Mad Catz Official Street Fighter IV FightStick (PS3): Accessories
The reviews are negative on the Xbox 360 version, stating that modding is required.
And on the PS3 it’s just one positive review.
One thing I’m concerned about though is the joystick movement.
I’ve been reading about the Hori Stick having a “4-way” movement, as opposed to 8.
I know this sounds self-explanatory but I wonder how the Hori Stick handles the circular motion, especially while using someone like Zangief. I don’t see any info about the movevement of the Mat Catz stick.
This will be my first stick, and I’m a casual gamer, so I’m looking for an entry-line buy.
After I get the feel, I’ll think about upgrading to a tourney stick if needed.
However, I don’t want to spend a ridiculous effort trying to pull off combos into ultras & whatnot, because I’m capable of chaining these combos in the pad without much problem.
The main reason I want the stick is so I can go to my local arcade & whoop some ass.
Using a stick is much more satisfying anyhow, but I need an entry-level first to get my bearings right.
No, Hori sticks AND Mad Catz stock joysticks should have 8-way movement.
What people are feeling is a SQUARE gate. It may be square but you can definitely do diagonals and roll motions. Many people recommend square gates because most inputs are equidistant. That’s not true for other gate styles.
These gates are restrictors that keep joystick movement within measured bounds and also keep Japanese-style joysticks from literally shaking themselves to pieces!
The other gate styles are octagonal, circle/circular, four-way, and 2-way. The stock gates that come with Sanwa and Seimitsu joysticks can be popped off (Sanwa) or unscrewed to allow a new gate to be positioned and screwed onto the joystick (all Seimitsu joysticks I’m aware of).
Octagonal and circular are 360-degrees like the square gate and the second-preferred style of gates for fighting games. Some people like these better because they can’t get used to rolling motions on Square Gates. I like these alternate gate styles on the Sanwa JLF, myself, because I have a hard time with the square gate on that stick. On the other hand, I find it easier to use square gates on the Seimitsu LS-32-01 joystick and am more consistent with it. Everyone has their preferences…
As for four-way gates, it’s what it means. Movement is restricted to Up and Down, Left and Right. This is good for old-style arcade games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong but horrible for fighters for obvious reasons.
Two-way gates obviously restrict joystick movement to either Up and Down, OR Left or Right. Only movements are vertically or horizontally. They’re good for classic 2-D shooters like Space Invaders (right-left) or for engine throttle movement (up-down).
The only reason why you’d install a 2- or 4-way restrictor gate on a joystick is if you’re a retro-gamer. With an 8-way restrictor gate, you can easily input diagonal directions that can get you killed in those games. 2- and 4-way restrict movement so that you’re more precise with old-style classic arcade games from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
P.S. – While it’s easy to swap restrictor gates on JLF and Seimitsu joysticks, the stock joysticks on both the Hori and Mad Catz beginner bases are NOT designed for swapping.
You can technically retrofit the stock joysticks with about any restrictor, but it’s an involved mod job especially for Hori sticks which have built-in square gates… Those square gates are part of the joystick housing! You’ll be cutting some plastic there for sure.
I am not so sure about the Mad Catz stock joysticks for the SE. I have a Wii Tatsunoko Vs Capcom joystick which as an identical base housing BUT its buttons and joystick cloned from the Sanwa buttons and JLF joystick! The tolerance on my original Wii joysticks (which I took apart to recycle for usable pieces) were so tight that it was unfeasible to put a JLF octo-gate on it even though it was cloned after the JLF! I took that joystick and installed a JLF. That Mad Catz stick was junk!
Can’t say for sure about the MC SE joystick. I’ve heard they’re garbage, too, but they were made to be replaceable with arcade parts at any rate. I’m sure people have managed to fit Sanwa restrictors on those, too.
P.S. – It goes without saying I’ve been around videogames for a LONG time!
Not long enough to have played Pong in arcades, but I’m old enough to remember when Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong were brand-new games!
Yes, I was generally aware of Pong but never played it in the arcade. Never saw it there, either years later. I did play versions of it on the Atari systems but even then I thought it was a shitty game.
I preferred Donkey Kong and Atari arcade games like Centipede... Never played many other Atari games until they became available in the 1990s on emulated CD-ROM collections. That's when I fell in love with Tempest!
I always have been a fan of the original Star Wars Arcade game Atari released in 1983. It's still great today!Hfs3
I’m in the same boat with it being my 1st fight stick. Real Talk, Amazon.com has brand new for $30. The Hori FS3 is probably the best standard model out. You only get better when you move up the Hori Brands such as the HRAP3 which is easier to mod and has a sanwa stick. It’s $73 on amazon now. After that it’s the HRAP Pro V3 SA which is 100. Then the various Mad Catz TE’s which are going for $105+. If you’re new to sticks (at least in having your own at home) it’s a good way to start because when you upgrade (getting a new stick, don’t bother modding) you’ll appreciate the higher end types.
The Hori FS3 is better than the Mad Catz Standard and virtually all other 3rd party sticks that are in the cheap price range, including mayflash, intec, dreamgear, and Xgaming. It is cheaper than them, too.
I started with a Used Hori FS3. The moment I played with a MadCatz TE, I saw immediate improvement with execution. I ended up Buying the HRAP3-SA. I have a new Hori FS3 for visitors to use. I also have a Round 2 TE. I even have the wireless tekken one for the collector’s edition. (HFS3 is better because it has more weight)
The point I’m trying to make is, if the $30 price range is what you currently need, you can’t lose. But, if you already have lots of experience, and higher budget jump on the Hori RAP V3 SA which you wouldn’t need to consider modding. And which I am considering buying because that price is RIGHT!
Also, if you get a MadCatz SE and have to replace the stick which is a high likely hood. Then you maybe looking at double the price of the FS3. Which, in that casem you might as well go for the HRAP3 which would only require a buttom swap, but at that price might as well go for the HRAP V3 SA. Again, it comes down to what do you want to spend right now. I hope this helps.
I too started with the FS3. It was a good learning stick for sure but I just couldn’t get over the square restrictor. After about 6 months I bought a HRAP3 and havent been disappointed yet, I actually just picked up a second one this past week from the forums. I would agree that if you can’t afford anything better, than the FS3 is great. but if you have a bit bigger budget totally get a HRAP, either one since you won’t be disappointed.
it is a decent stick; check out this thread for modding info too http://shoryuken.com/f177/modding-hori-fighting-stick-3-a-136372/
http://home.comcast.net/~troyism/FS3mod.jpg
my modded FS3
Wow Troyism, That’s Fucking Amazing. I might Just start modding mine then.
i just bought a Hori Fighting Stick 3 for US$38 from the shops last week. The joystick is very clicky compared to the madcatz TE joystick. However difficulty in executing moves depends on individual skill rather than type of joystick u use. Joystick can help maybe 10% of the time. but 90% depends on you. Eg. A seasoned player, can woop any noob’s @$$ even if the noob was using the TE stick and the seasoned player was using only Dpad. =D hahaha