I still have yet to personally own one of these badboys, but I did get a chance to go a few hours on one (more like 10 hours of Street Fighter 4). I can’t really comment much on the packaging, or the experience of opening it, which I’m sure will be the most fulfilling thing you do this year, but I’ll do my best to give some first thoughts on using it.

I must preface this with the fact that up until maybe 6 years ago I was more comfortable using a game pad rather than an arcade stick. But needless to say, I’ve been around the block for the last few years and have had a chance to play with North American-style as well as Japanese-style arcade joysticks. Purely based on my experience, and not expertise, will I give the most unbiased review on the FightStick.

Build

When you first pick this puppy up, you’ll realize immediately that it’s no lightweight. The FightStick can be described as sturdy. I wont say that it’s heavy, but even if it was then it would be for good reason. When you play Street Fighter in an arcade, you dont expect the console to move when you jerk at the joystick. Same goes with this stick–it doesn’t move.

A really cool feature for this controller is that there is a compartment in the front where you can hide the cord when travelling (handy for taking to tournaments like HGC). It also is nice for when you just put it away when not in use. Ideally it would be wireless, but I won’t complain.

The top surface of the control is very smooth and very similar to an actual arcade machine. It also helps that the joystick itself is a true Sanwa stick! The only oddity would be the two extra buttons, but I’ll get to that. The fact that this stick is easily moddable, no one should have complaints with the build or the components.

Experience

It’s an arcade in your livingroom (with the addition of the 3P and 3K buttons).

Buttons

Speaking of buttons, that would be my first complaint. Yes, a complaint. I’m complaining because the buttons are perfect. They are extremely sensitive and even with a slight press will the input be processed. This is something which I am not used to and frequently had issues with. I’m used  to resting my fingers in the divets of the buttons and pressing as I see fit. With the FightStick you’re not given such convenience. This is a player preference, so I can’t really say this is something I would deter me from buying it.

Sanwa <3

The stick is also perfect. The Sanwa stick sits in a square gate which may take some getting used to if you have only played on the common North American-style octo-gate. The throw is really short with this stick and allows for quicker execution, or if you have fat hands and horrible dexterity–a lot of random jumping. I don’t have fat hands or horrible dexterity, but it still took a few rounds to really get used to the sensitivity. I just found it really weird using a joystick that actually worked.

Each direction in the gate has a difinitive clicking sound. I personally love this. No guessing if you actually moved in a direction. With the input clicks sound, you have no excuse. Play with this stick and put away your joystick excuses.

3P/3K

I always liked having a 3P/3K button because I’m a lazy ass. If you’ve ever used an X-Arcade stick, you’ll know that the 3P/3K buttons were easily accessible with your right thumb and somewhat out of the way of the other buttons. With the FightStick TE, this is not the case. The 3P/3K buttons are right beside your HP/HK buttons. I can’t tell you how many times I accidentally 3K’d randomly because of the way my right hand sits. That’s just because I suck. Some people might have the same issue, so keep that in mind.

Connectivity

Yep, it’s wired. Should it bug you? No. It’s a joystick which should be on a sturdy foundation. If you got complaints, shut the fuck up. In no way, shape or form should this affect your gameplay–that is unless you’re one of 3 people in the world who have a 100ft wide screen and need to sit 300ft away from the screen..in that case, buy an extension.

Final Thoughts

I only have one final thought… if you can somehow get your hands on one of these puppies, don’t waste any time and pick one of these bad boys up. You won’t find a setup like this anywhere else unless you make it yourself. Even then, this FightStick is fully customizable. Every button, the faceplate, even the Sanwa stick can be replaced with replacement parts.

It’s like build a bear…except it’s build a stick. It’s sick to think a stuffed bear would make a grown man happy, but adversely any time I use a TE I’m more than proud to have a FightStick wood.

First and foremost, I’m not going to be your average reviewer. I’ve read reviews on other sites for this FightPad and I can tell you 90% of them are bullshit. I think my favorite lines were, “this pad is perfect,” and, “as soon as I picked it up, it felt natural.” Idiots. This pad is definitely not perfect. That being said, lets get started…

Packaging

MadCatz investigated all types of packaging techniques and decided to use the most annoying fucking type in the history of anything. Apparently they think everyone in this world has a Pyranna cutter. I do not, but I do posess the required dextrous skills and managed to open the packaging without cutting my fingers off.

Once I demolished the packaging, there were no fixins. Inside is just the controller, USB stick (for connectivity), instruction manual, and happiness. Of course this didn’t come with AA batteries, I’ll touch on that a bit later.

Build

First thoughts: feels cheap. The faceplate seems plasticy and does feel cheap when you press the buttons during gameplay. Luckily the rest of the controller is very sturdy.

The sides have a matte texture feel to it, and my hands really seemed to feel comfortable holding it. One thing you’ll notice at first is that this controller is big. It’s definitely a lot bigger than the PS3 controller, and a bit wider than the XBox360 controller. The top/faceplate is very smooth as well as the buttons. I really like how the PS Home button as well as the Turbo/Select/Start buttons are embedded in a position where you cannot press them by accident during a match.

When I shook the controller, it sounds like there is loose plastic or maybe even a chipped piece of plastic in there. I suppose it’s an added “feature.” It doesn’t really bug me since everything works fine. Nothing else was really broken when I first tried it, and so far with about 5 hours of play, it’s still intact.

The controller seems very durable, and I suppose it needs to be for those scrubs out there who get beat down and slam their fightpads on the ground after losing a bout.

Experience

It was weird. Definitely is a different feel because it’s unusual. I expect everyone to feel this way when first using this controller, but after some time I slowly got used to it. I’ll explain the different features of the pad, and express my truest thoughts on each..

The D-Pad

It floats! Unlike other D-Pads I’ve used in the past, this one actually floats on a single pivot point. The embossed cross on the D-Pad tells you what direction you’re pressing, but completely unlike the PS3 controller where each direction feels like it’s own button.

The heightened directions truly helps with some of my execution. Traditionally something like a C.LP, F, D, DF+HP (crouching light punch cancelled into a dragon punch for example), would be difficult on a PS3 D-Pad because of the lack of the diagonal portions and more emphasis on the UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT directions (difficult only because you might get a super instead of a dp). The D-Pad for the fightpad is 360 degrees of control. It’s a new take on the D-Pad for fighting games (although XBox controllers are like this). It takes some getting used to but can be handy for those times you’re turtling DB and you don’t have to stretch your thumb across the B and D buttons.

One thing which I noticed that is a bit of an annoyance is the bevel angle of the directions. Although it’s good for control, my thumb got sore after 45 min session. Just need to develop that callous

Another thing to note is the diagonals. DB and DF are fine but FU and FB do not always work as expected. You actually have to press a bit harder. For the most part it’s not an issue, but in the event you need to react quickly to jump over something, the inputs sometimes do not register. Sidenote to this, last night my D-Pad got stuck up, so my character kept jumping. Twirling the D-Pad around a couple times fixed it, but this is something you don’t want to happen in the middle of a match. Luckily this happened only once, and only in training mode.

Triggers

Fuck the triggers. I’ve always hated using my index fingers to press the buttons on top of a controller. The triggers for the fightpad are not an exception. Consider these buttons as opposed to triggers. You have to apply quite a bit of pressure for the buttons to work, and this is something to get used to. The position of these buttons are perfect, but they are most effective if you press the portions of them closer to the center of the controller. This means you have to reach a little ways. It feels unnatural, and I don’t like it.

The 6-buttons

Finally! I love having all 6 buttons available! Throw away your old button configurations, here is your arcade pad. Theoretically it works great, but not in all situations. Kara-throwing is not easy (unless you’re a freak and have giant thumbs), and the spacing is pretty close. These buttons are quite large which is not really a problem, but having them so close might be an issue. I’ve had times when I’ve reached for a mp but a mk or FA comes out. Once again, with time this can be avoided.

I also discovered a small issue when piano’ing punches. Last night I finished Blanka’s hard trials but it took a little longer than normal. I couldn’t figure out why my ele wasnt coming out. I went into training, turned on key-data, piano’d a bit and saw random MK inputs. I did not press the MK at all. It might be the button spacing, not sure. This is potentially a problem for you mashers out there. Luckily I don’t use Chun, Blanka or Honda too often to give a shit.

Connectivity

I have found no lag with this controller, works just like any other wireless pad. One thing I wish they changed is the batteries. If they provided a similar charge-type functionality like the regular PS3 controller, I’d be one happy camper. Until then, I’ll have to live with destroying the environment with wasted AA batteries.

Yes I do realize that XBox360 controllers use AA batteries as well, I’m just pointing this out because I’m a fucking princess.

Final Thoughts

This pad takes a lot of getting used to, especially the large D-Pad and having all 6 buttons available for your thumb. Two days ago I would’ve said I hated it. I had a good session last night and finished 3 hard trials I wasn’t able to do before. Simply put–it takes time to get used to this controller, but this is definitely an upgrade from the PS3 controller. If you play on an XBox360… anything is better than that piece of shit controller.

The price of this pad is similar to the sixaxis controller for PS3, but is geared towards fighting games. Just spend the extra time to give it a chance and practice a bit and you can really unlock the potential for this pad.

Just make sure you have an adult handy when cutting open the packaging.

So what exactly is this Focus Attack? When I first played, I just thought it was some kind of parrying action like in 3rd Strike, but how wrong I was. It can be used as a type of counter, but as people become more familiar with its vulnerable traits, you’re not going to want to spam it as much.

Essentially with this ability your character “focuses” and pauses in their tracks. It looks as if they are focusing their power for an attack and that’s one way to think of it. As soon as you let go, or after you’ve focused for the maximum time period, your character performs their focus attack. There are three levels of a character’s focus attack:

Level 1: If you quickly press mp+mk, their FA comes out very quickly but has no special properties after you hit your opponent. This can be blocked and countered because of the extended time of vulnerability after your attack comes out.

Level 2: If you hold mp+mk and let go after your character flashes white once, you will perform a much stronger attack. This is blockable, but if it connects then your opponent will be stunned (not dizzy) and fall to the ground. You can then proceed to execute a combo or hit (I will touch on this more later on in this post). If you miss, there is a bit of vulnerability after you execute as your character recovers.

Level 3: Holding mp+mk until your character flashes yellow will yield the full force of your FA. This is unblockable and will stun (not dizzy) your opponent indefinitely if it connects. If the FA does not hit, be prepared as you will be completely vulnerable for a period of time after the attack animation completes.

During this period of “focus,” your character may absorb one hit before taking any damage. But that’s not without consequence. If you look at your HP guage, an area of your HP turns white as this is the damage you would have taken if you were hit (this only applies to super moves). This area does recover, but that is only if you are not hit during it’s regeneration. If you are low on health, even if you absorb a hit with focus, you may die and lose the match. One other thing to keep in mind is that not all single hits are absorbable. Every character has a special move which cracks the focus. This means that the first hit will go through the focus guard. Get to know these.

Now you might ask why you’d want to use this focus since you’re vulnerable for such a long period after it comes out? There are other applications. First, lets talk about the counter:

Because this focus attack can absorb a single hit, you can potentially use it to counter an attack. If someone is jumping at you and during the match your uppercut just hasn’t been getting priority, try to use a focus counter. As soon as they hit you your focus will absorb the hit. You can then let go of mp+mk and release a counter hit. This is not always putting the FA to good use because it’s easily countered with a double hit (for example, Chun’s air two hit punch).

You can even fake a FA. In the middle of the animation of focus, you can dash forward or dash back. This is important when you start using it as a cancel in your combos.

The Focus Attack Dash Cancel (FADC)

This is where the fun begins! Have you ever thrown an uppercut only to have it blocked by a crouching opponent, or having trouble trying to connect those slow ultras? Learn how to FADC. In this usage, you can cancel any attack with a FA, then quickly dash out of it (as long as you’re on the ground). The only drawback is that it takes 2 ex bars. But that tradeoff can be to your advantage. Cancelling a missed uppercut could potentially save your life (especially if you miss on Gief).

Ok, now what about those ultras? So fricken slow, that your opponent can throw a punch and jump out of the way before it gets to them. What do you do? FADC a move which puts your opponent into juggle state, and ultra them to death. If you haven’t already done the trials, here’s an example with Ryu:

Hit your opponent with an uppercut, but cancel with a FA as the first hit launches them into the air. Dash forward while in focus, and ultra. If your timing is right, then you should be able to hit them with your fireball:

F, D, DF+HP, FADC, Shinkuhadouken, GG

Most characters utilize the FADC to their advantage in connecting ultras, so be sure you do the hard trials to learn them. There’s no doubt to the fact that the more you play, the more you learn. Besides all the tips, you’ll have to go out and try them yourself and see how you can incorporate the FA/FADC into your game.

Random Tips:

When you FA and connect with a Level 2 or Level 3, there’s a lag time for you to recover. Bypass the lag time by dashing just before your FA connects with your opponent. It’ll save you precious milliseconds.

If you FA and absorb a fireball, dash backwards to prevent yourself from being vulnerable from another attack. You also gain invincible frames by dashing back.

Now Street Fighter IV has been out in arcades since September and I had a chance to play it when it was first released. At first sight it seems like it would play like 3rd Strike, but surprisingly played more like CVS2. There is the focus attack which can be useful and devastating at the same time. Then there is the ex gauge and revenge meter. All in all, not really much more to take in than in other releases such as Marvel 2.

I could rant for hours about this game but I’ll pick on a few topics and I can expand more in another installment of my little SF4 review series.

First on the list is single player mode. This has been said before in other articles and I’ll re-iterate it in my own words: fuck you single player. With Street Fighter, I hate playing the CPU because it’s fucking pointless. In SFIV you have to essentially beat the game with everyone to unlock all the characters. Once you unlock a character, you also have to beat the game with him/her as well. Is that not a waste of time? The solution circulating the web is to put it on easiest and best of 1 round. Sure that saves time, but that wouldn’t be necessary if all the characters were just unlocked initially.

Next we have the control settings. Just last weekend Bran and I hosted a mini tournament which we also participated in. With that many players participating, and not having the MadCatz Fightsticks/Pads available in Canada (that’s another post in itself), time was wasted going into the config and trying to decipher the settings. It doesn’t really take a lot of time to figure out how to map the controls, I can do it pretty quickly now, but it would make sense if you could save settings and load them before each match. It seems like it would be a simple function that would release a lot of edge on players fiddling with changes.

This one may be a bit controversial just because of my biased opinion, but I think the online play is horrible (sometimes). Having this feature is fucking awesome, but along with this feature you also get the added bonus of input lag. I have a long-standing career in playing SF and am really used to having instantaneous results when I press a button or move in a direction. To me this is essential to SF gameplay. No longer can I test with a c.mk before letting loose on my super. Part of this game is reaction-time and it just isn’t there with online play.

One may argue, “you suck Buyco, just learn to deal with the lag.” I say to you: fuck off. I do find it amazing that one could react quick enough to block a crossover with 700ms input delay, but that shouldn’t be part of the game. I shouldn’t have to worry that for the first round I’m getting a 20ms input delay, but in the next round all of a sudden I’m dealing with a 400ms delay. Timing is just another excuse for someone to use when they lose. It shouldn’t be, so play local.

It may seem like I have a lot of bad things to say about this game, but that’s only because I never mentioned any of the good. It feels just like any Street Fighter game with a bit of differences only to get used to. The trial mode is awesome! Here you are actually forced to learn characters’ abilities, and apply them in a game situation. I have always procrastinated with characters, I think even MVC2 I haven’t used every character (mind you there are a billion MVC2 characters).

There are tons of other pros with this game that maybe I’ll get into later. I will, although, follow up with some tips for trials. Bran already has several tips for more advanced players, so I’ll supplement with some more beginner tips for you would-be SF’ers.

So thus concludes our first installment, come back soon to hear more!

One last thought: C.Viper? Seriously? Wtf Capcom…

Related:

Street Fighter 4: The Focus Attack