Hey guys. I’m essentially an utter noob at Street Fighter. I remember button mashing at the arcade growing up for a stretch but I haven’t really tried to sit down and learn the ins and outs of SF until fairly recently. Essentially I’m flat out fresh meat. So I have SSIV Arcade Edition for the 360, gonna be picking up USF4 for the PS3 soon to have the latest iteration available to me. I guess the biggest hurdle was/is getting the timing down for combos and links. Coming off of being a pretty decent (not great but solid online I guess) MK9 player (honestly I think MK9 got me back into fighting games, renewed my interest if you will) I have a newfound respect for good SF players. Learning that SF is a game that takes a tremendous amount of precision, accuracy and by extension skill. But I’m really enthralled by that, finding everything to be super fun and strategic.
That being said as a new player just diving into Arcade Edition (soon USF4) I’ve been trying to learn 3 characters: Fei Long, Evil Ryu, and Yun. I’m watching a lot of competition vids of Mago/Fuudo, Daigo, and Kazunoko to try to pick up on what they do with these characters. I’d say my Fei and E Ryu are coming along, Yun is proving to be a little harder for me to feel comfortable with (have no idea what to do with his super or what it specificially does besides making combos easier to chain, I think as a whole I’m having a hard time feeling comfortable in knowing how I should play Yun…with Fei it’s getting inside and controlling the distance precisely to utilize rekkas and I use E. Ryu’s zoning to set up his high damage combos inside). Idk I guess I’m just having a slightly easier time getting an understanding of Fei and E Ryu versus Yun. Any tips for a noob are much appreciated.
Aside from that since I am new to SF I’m really wanting to understanding the fundamentals down. What are the fundamentals?
Also I’ve been playing on a 360 controller which might be a problem for several reasons. I don’t really use my 360 anymore except for SF: AE, I’ve essentially jumped ship to Sony (when I get USF4 it’ll be on PS3 unless the PS4 port comes within the next month or so in which case I’ll wait for that) so I don’t want to pick up habits on a controller I won’t be using in the future. This leads me to my next question I suppose. I’m looking to get a fight stick but was thinking I might want to get an entry level one and not shell out massive cash for one with Sanwa parts. Seeing how I’m new I was thinking getting an entry level stick would be great for me to just learn how to play on an arcade stick.
I was looking at the Qanba Q1. Is it solid? I know it uses Qanba parts so if I learn/get used to the Q1 and it’s Qanba parts would it hinder me when I eventually upgrade to something with Sanwa parts? Also I have a PS4 and plan on getting a stick for that when they restock in places or get them in maybe several months from now so at the same time that’s another reason I don’t wanna dip too hard on a PS3 stick.
That’s all I can think of right now but happy to dive into Street Fighter. It’s been a blast so far.
I give short answer since I am not expert in Street Fighter nor with Arcade Sticks.
Your story is pretty much the same that I have (apart from the characters you are currently learning), since I also kind of got back to actively play fighting games with MK9 that was followed by SF. I also used Xbox pad. I mainly got rid of it because of its horrifying d-pad.
I got Qanba Q1 since I didn’t big amounts of spare money at the time. I watched reviews from the Youtube SF players (Engravings etc.), from sites like Eventhubs and read some user feedbacks from the sites that are selling Q1. It has got great reviews (4-5 pretty much no matter if it was from buyer or from the review site) and it is said that is very good stick for a player that has just switched from pad to stick first time in his life.
After using it like 2 months, I can say that it has been very enjoyable, though the very start was kind of confusing. Stick compared to d-pad felt kind of weird and I couldn’t get in touch with buttons. But after practice, it’s a lot better and especially charge characters feel much, much more enjoyable to play. “I don’t want to use pad anymore” is more and more reality for me. What comes to reviews about stick, I pretty much agree.
So if you decide to get Qanba Q1, in my opinion it’s good deal, but if you got some extra money, more expensive stick with Sanwa parts isn’t going to waste it.
I’d recommend against the PS3 version of USFIV.
The 360 version is basically the only version with tolerable online gameplay.
PS3 version is a bad port that drops frames and has a terribly small player base.
In terms of sticks I’d say rather drop more bucks than less. Quality sticks don’t drop quickly in terms of price value.
For example I bought a Mad Catz Soul Edition stick almost 2 years ago for 100$ and that thing sells new for over 200 on Amazon now and 180 for a used version.
Even on Ebay that thing still goes used for at least 80$ so I imagine the same goes for other high quality sticks.
Basically if you realize fighting games aren’t for you and you want to sell them, you made a minimal investment of like 30 or 40 bucks if you bought a good one, and if you happen to fall in love with those games, you’re happy that you have a reliable and responsive stick. Not saying the Q1 is bad or anything (in fact I’ve heard good stuff about it) but since it doesn’t use quality Japanese parts, I guess its value is not very high when you try to sell it used later on.
Keep in mind that you don’t need an arcade stick at all to get plenty good at fighting games. Last years EVO winner plays on pad and so do some other high profile players.
Personally I bought one cuz I kinda thought it would make me better magically.
It doesn’t. It makes you worse and you’ll feel like you’re handicapped when starting out first and that can be quite a long time depending on how fast you learn and how much you’re willing to practice.
Sticks need commitment, dedication and a whole lot of passion, because you’re going through the same hell learning to use a fightstick properly, as you do trying to learn a fighting game properly.
You better love the game and your stick to death, so that path is enjoyable to you instead of frustrating.
It’s much like learning a music instrument and you’re better off playing with what you know unless you really like that instrument.
I see. The killer is that I don’t use my 360 for online gaming so I’d be buying XBL gold memberships just for one game while I already pay for PSN since that PS3/PS4 is more my go to system now. But considering the better netcode for XBL that’s something I’ll have to take time to weigh out I suppose.
I’d love to drop more and get a high end stick or something with Sanwa parts but I’m not 100% sure if I’ll like stick and also I feel like going with a less expensive alternative like the Q1 may be safer for me. I’ll be able to learn stick on something that’s (hopefully) rather decent albeit not high end and also it’d save me money if I like the fight stick and decide to upgrade to a better one when I get one for current gen. Idk just my thought process.
For now I’ll definitely keep playing on pad though until my mind is made up. I’ve actually played heavy metal guitar for several years so I know the “ripping your hair out” moments of trying to learn a skill like that. It’s funny because what I’ve found is that in practicing SF it’s kind of a similar feeling of initial frustration and then gratifying reward. I’m still a noob but when I first started I couldn’t even dream of doing things as basic as chaining and linking combos. Tough times in training mode taught me (and is continuing to teach me for that matter) about the timing and precision of these types of things and there are some bnb combos I have now that require linking and such that I do without a hitch. But yeah, coming from learning all this on a pad I’d expect there to be a steep learning curve for stick but hopefully at least my current feel for timing carries over at least a little lol.
Funny to find someone in so similar a situation lol. But great to know nonetheless. The Q1 seems like the way to go if I want to dip my toe in the pool so to speak.
I don’t have much experiences with other arcade sticks, but I can definitely say there is nothing wrong with the Mad Catz Fightstick Pro. It’s one of the cheaper models (got mine during the EVO sale for $70-$80), but I see nothing wrong with it. It’s a good size, good weight, it looks fine, it feels fine, the buttons are nice, the stick is nice, everything is nice. It’s fallen off my couch onto my floor twice with no problems. I’ve used my friends EightArc stick which costs around $200 and I see zero difference in quality. In fact, I’d say the Fightstick Pro is BETTER because there has been a few times I’ve played my friend online and he had to quit because his down forward and down back on his directional malfunctioned. It was fixable by turning off and turning on again, but do you really want to be doing that?
I give the Mad Catz Fightstick Pro an A+. Don’t be scared by the price and think you’re getting a piece of shit. It is a solid piece of equipment and for me, it is as capable and responsive as anything. I realize some of the parts inside aren’t as good of “quality” as some of the other sticks, but I beat the hell out of my stick for about 5 months now and it works perfectly every time.
Also, ArtVandelay is right about PS3 vs. 360. If you asked me if I wanted to pay $60 a year and play on xbox or pay $0 a year and play on PS3, I’d choose xbox.
Really? Seems like a lot because during Evo they were 30% off and only $70-$80. Should be around $120 I thought…
Edit - If you go the Mad Catz website they sell for $129.99, but apparently they’re sold out of the PS3 model. I just looked on Amazon and I saw new ones for $399.99?! I have no idea why.
For advice on what stick to buy, please check out the massive “what stick should I buy?” thread in tech talk. There are reviews there for most every stick brand around.
If you want to stick to PS3 stay playing the old version and wait for ultra to drop on ps4. Nothing wrong with playing the old version because you still learn to play Street Fighter and develop fundamentals since you are new. Dirty little secret: most SF players don’t take things as seriously as we do. The sales for the updates are ALWAYS lower than the original release, thus there is still tons of peps playing the older game. Last time i popped in copy of Vanilla SF4 (3 weeks ago) I got twice the ranked matches in an hour than I do with an hour of Ultra.
I’d totally dig getting a Mad Catz Pro but I just looked on Amazon and they’re going for like 200 bucks. I wish I could find it for 70-80 dollars lol.
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If you have any tournaments or conventions with tournaments thats a good place to look since stick retailers often have sales there. Also note that sometimes when a new fighting game is released local game retailers like GameStop or EB Games will carry a limited number of sticks if a new one based on the game is released. Mortal Kombat X is the closest console fighting game on the horizon. As far as version differences to me online is less important than offline. If you can manage FGC friends and or going to events online play will only be worth so much. It means more to go meet and greet players who are better than you because they can teach you more in one day than a lifetime of online matches ever will ever do for you and because its offline the issues the ps3 version suffer are not a problem. To my knowledge since I am not familiar with Ultra Street Fighter IV. Go for whatever format you want. I agree that if you are going Ps4 wait for that but if you computer can handle it I recommend the Steam version above all else but again my knowledge of the game is limited.
I agree that the MadCatz Pro stick is a very good route to go but with them apparently declining in numbers I see your problem. The most important part about buying a stick is understanding quality and getting something you are comfortable with. It is also helpful to know how easy to mod the stick is to mod. That way if you see a stick you like that had bad parts you know its worth your money if its easy to put new parts in.
In this case do not forget to add the overall price of the parts with the stick because while making it they way you like is nice so is getting a nice prearranged stick. Especially as a newbie.
/vg/ made multiple arcade stick tier lists based on a variation of opinions and experiences from people there and here as well as price ranges. Here is the most up to date one I am aware of: http://i.imgur.com/8dsdvpL.jpg Some prices are still accurate to today’s standards and some are not but the details still stand well. It might also help to read various threads on experiences with parts to determine which parts appeal to you. Some people perfer japanese buttons and some prefer american style. Some like Japanese joysticks and others refuse to use anything but korean ones. Of course the ethnicity of the stick does not define quality of the stick it self. Many of those have produced wonderful and terrible parts and thats another reason to hit threads and videos about part quality and brand name. Sanwa is not all as expensive as you seem to think. However much like the fighting games themselves threads, videos, advice and such only go so far. The most important part of all is hands on experience. Just like their are different way some people wield a joystick it the hand(or whatever else may be used in place of a hand) that wields the tool. It is the body and mind and the muscle memory that links them together and is the way you truly learn fighting game.
Though feel free to dismiss this if you want. I have a LONG way to go before I am competitive level myself but this is what I have learned and this I hope will help you. If there is anything else I can say to help tell me.
