I’m not quite sure if I really want to get into fighting games, though it seems to be really interesting to me. I’ve heard using an arcade stick is the best way to play, but I’m not sure if I really want to put down 80 dollars on top of 20+ for the game (UMvC3 or SSFIVAE, not sure which I’ll get) If anyone could give some adivce, it would be apprciated.
If you only have a casual interest in fighting games and aren’t seeking to become a tournament competitor, I’d say save your money. It is not necessary to have an arcade stick in order to play fighting games at a high level. Your regular pad controller will do fine. Save your money until you decide that you want to jump into the deep end and really want to get in-depth with fighting games.
UMVC3 is a very fast-paced and frenetic game that allows you to showcase some combos that you’ve been working on and mixups and interesting team combinations. The combo system is fairly easy to get into and the more advanced combos will test your ability to string together a series of attacks with complex timing patterns.
SF4 is a slower-paced but methodical game, that rewards your ability to understand how to use your character effectively in a variety of matchups. A solid strategy with good execution will get you pretty far in SF4.
Play whatever game you think you’ll have fun with.
I have to agree with eltrouble. I’d first get a feel for the games first, see if fighting games are even something you’d like to devote your time into. After a while you feel as though it’s a genre you want to get more into, and want to get even better at, then do some research, look into the best stick for the games you play, and go from there. Don’t rush into anything, and just enjoy yourself 
Yes, get one
If you don’t feel like the $150 investment is worth it. You don’t want to be playing fighting games.
Get a cheap and decent entry level stick if you are remotely interested and believe you can do better with a stick. The madcatz brawlstick is a great entry level stick. $30 at amazon and 20 at gamestop if they have it in stock. You can also easily upgrade the parts in the future if you find that you enjoy fighting games and want higher quality parts.
I just bought a stick about a month ago. I’ve been playing fighting games for about 2 years solidly. I had been using a pad that entire time. The stick makes a lot of things easier. It only makes sense that it would too. You have access to all of the buttons equally in theory. When you use the pad, you have only access to a few buttons at a time. I don’t know that I’ve done anything that I couldn’t do on the pad yet. Not much at least. The stick is awesome and it’s much more fun to use, but it won’t make you better. If you plan on spending 5-20 hours on fighting games a week, then it is absolutely worth the money. You can find one on amazon for like 50-120. Just watch the used prices. Look at the reviews in the tech talk forum and ignore all of the reviews on amazon. They are all BS. Also, beginner sticks (under 200) are not as “precise” as the more expensive ones but I assure you that these precision elements are stuff only people who have been playing for 5 years or more would even remotely notice. Ignore those things too. Hope this helps.
"Beginner sticks under 200"
What you mean to say is sticks that aren’t using sanwa/seimitsu parts aren’t as precise. The fighting edge is 200 and is using hori manufactured parts that I have heard are not really as precise as the sanwa/seimitsu line. You can get most top line sticks for just about 100. Two that come to mind are the hori scv stick and the madcatz te and sfxt pro sticks.
I think once I have played a little more and decide I really want to get into more fighting games than just Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 at a local arcade, I’ll just get a Madcatz SE and mod it with sanwa/seimitsu parts. Thanks for all the help guys
I assume this is so. I have a feeling they feel a bit more natural too. I have a Hori RAP3 with the stock hori buttons and at first they feel a little stiff. When I press them, my character does things at the same time which is all i really need so I haven’t noticed any accuracy issues, except in my own execution. I can only imagine that it is some nigh unnoticeable ammount slow, but really that is only from pro reviews. I don’t have the expertise to notice. The “beginner sticks are under 200 thing” is from a tech talk thread or something. I wouldn’t know honestly.
Don’t waste your money on a SE (before you flame me I own 2 of them. PS3 and Wii) with everyone ditching there TE’s in favor of Qanbas and eightarcs you can buy a good used TE for much less than you spend on a SE then turning around and swapping the parts for Sanwa’s. I bought a TE for Xbox360 for $75 and a TE for PS3 (the chun-li one) for only $50. Or amazon often sells brand new sticks for $99 like this hori http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006TC57WO/ref=s9_simh_gw_p63_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=04Q7SD0QKRQQF103GN39&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846
Do you know anything about the HORI VX? I’ve heard it’s a good beginner stick and I’d really like to keep it under 100 dollars
You can trust hori to make a quality product. The regular VX only has 6 buttons though, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be pretty bummed you don’t have the extra 2 for ultras. It’s not that much harder to just hit all three buttons at once, but I like having the option to hit one if I so choose. Just like pad vs stick, it’s not going to make or break your game by any means, but the ultra buttons are nice. I almost bought the hori v3 because of the price but I found the Hori Real Arcade pro 3 for like $70-$80 (miraculously because they are back up to double that) and I am so glad I did. Be patient and watch for a deal. Search Craig’s list and see if someone near you is selling one. If you pay in cash you can usually talk people down on prices. That’s just life wisdom there.