G4TV

With the recent release of Street Fighter IV, fighting games are back in the spotlight. If you’re ready to take your game to the next level, you might want to invest in an arcade stick, which can be pretty hard to find right now. The two main companies you’ll want to look at are MadCatz (with their official SF4 products) and HORI. Past that, there are some other options. We obviously couldn’t test every arcade stick, but here is a good sized list to start from.

We went hands-on with the following peripherals with Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter II HD Remix, Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection, Street Fighter 3rd Strike, Dead or Alive 4, and Soulcalibur 4, Ikaruga, Pac-Mac Championship Edition, and the upcoming console version of King of Fighters XII.

• MadCatz Fightpad
• MadCatz Fightstick Standard Edition
• MadCatz Fightstick Tournament Edition
• HORI EX 2
• HORI Real Arcade Pro EX
• Arcade in a Box Custom
• SEGA Virtua Fighter High Grade

The judges? Myself and our intern Steven Moreno. Ryan "gootecks" Gutierrez even chipped in with his rankings. Hit the jump for our top picks and more on the sticks. Hit the jump for the round-up.

Stick Stats

The Stick

There are three options for sticks, but the most common setup is a square gate. This means that the stick fits into a square, which catches at the four corners (Up-Back, Up-Forward, Down-Forward, Down-Back). Classically, these tend to be better for charge characters and 2D fighters. Another option is the 8-way gate with a catch at each of the 8 directions possible on the stick. This tends to work better for 3D fighters like Tekken and Soulcalibur or top-down shooters like Ikaruga and 1944. If you aren’t sure which one you want, the square gate is more common and a bit easier to use. You can also opt for a 360 degrees stick, but I wouldn't recommend one for fighting games.

Buttons

As for buttons, you’ll want to cater to your own playstyle and the layout of the game you intend to play primarily. Many fighting games use 4-6 buttons, but allow you to map macros to the other buttons. In SF4, the 7th and 8th buttons can be set to all three punches or kicks, Focus Attack, or throw. The buttons themselves vary and offer varying amounts of sensitivity and bounce. You’ll want very sensitive buttons that bounce quickly for characters like E. Honda or Blanka that use rapid button presses for special moves.

I tend to prefer going for the 8 button sticks as the buttons can be customized to support many different layouts. You’ll have to train yourself to ignore some buttons, but the 8 button peripherals will support the Street Fighter, Tekken, Soulcalibur, King of Fighters, and Dead or Alive layouts. Note that 6 button layouts will support all but the original King of Fighters Neo-Geo layout. You’ll just forfeit extra buttons for macro support.

A major factor to look into is where the stick places its start, select, and console (Xbox 360 Guide, PlayStation XMB) buttons. Accidentally pausing the game or dropping to the guide or XMB during a match is a big thing to avoid. The MadCatz sticks put the start/select buttons off of the face and lock the console buttons with a switch. Some of the other sticks inset these, but they aren’t fool proof. If you’re going to be attending tournaments, you’ll want to look into the MadCatz line.

Arcade Games

No one is going to drop the money on an arcade stick to play their Xbox Live Arcade and PSN games, but you might as well get old school if you’ve already made the investment. They’ll shine with any game that hasn’t been updated to use both analog sticks. Games that require extremely fine adjustments (Ikaruga) will benefit greatly from a stick. Otherwise, it’s all about your personal style.

To kick things off, I spoke with Ryan “gootecks” Gutierrez to find out where he ranks the sticks.

Street Fighter IV Pro "gootecks" Arcade Stick Rankings

Rankings - Brian Leahy, Online Editor, Gaming

#1 – MadCatz Fightstick Tournament Edition – This peripheral is fantastic. The stick and buttons are top-notch and it plays extremely well across all of the games we tried. The platform is massive, which offers a lot of room to rest your wrists, but the stick isn’t too heavy to set it on your lap if needed. It also has a few bonus features like a cord cabinet, turbo, and out of the way start/select/console buttons. It’s pricey, but a great investment for serious players.

#2 – HORI Real Arcade Pro EX – HORI’s true-to-arcade spec stick is definitely high quality. In fact, I put it just under the MadCatz TE. It’s a bit heavier and I didn’t like the buttons as much, but it’s a top-tier stick for sure. A new shipment is expected around July, but right now you’ll be looking at heavy reseller prices approaching $400.

#3 – MadCatz Fightstick SE – The Standard Edition Fightstick is pretty good, but the buttons definitely take a quality hit from the TE. Most serious gamers have been modding these sticks with higher quality buttons. If you aren’t ready to break the $100 barrier, however, this is the stick to get.

#4 – HORI EX 2 – The HORI EX 2 is a great low-cost stick that will get everything done, but won’t bring the best parts to the table. It’s price is extremely forgiving so if you’re tired of the controller, go for the EX 2.

#5 – Arcade in a Box Custom – While the parts used in this stick are top-quality (I actually preferred these buttons the most), the stick we received had a glitch in the construction or was potentially damaged in shipping. When being jostled around during play, the stick would sometimes get disconnected from the Xbox 360 or PS3 during play and have to be re-plugged. The company does offer a warranty on all sticks and will quickly replace one in the event of a problem. Arcade-in-a-Box does offer custom art printing and cross-platform support (the same stick will work for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC). It’s a great feature if you play on different consoles. Sadly, the price just doesn’t justify the quality as the mass-produced, high-end offerings from MadCatz or HORI are equal, if not better. You don't have to get all the bells and whistles on your order, bringing the price down, but to get the highest-quality parts, you're going to pay more than any other stick.

#6 – MadCatz Fightpad – If you absolutely don’t want to get a stick (cause you’re lame) the Fightpad is actually a pretty decent peripheral. It isn’t spectacular for some of the more complex moves in a fighting game, but it beats any controller any day. Avoid for classic arcade games.

#7 – Virtua Fighter High Grade – This is one stick that just didn’t work for me. The stick itself is good, but the buttons are very poor. They have a tendency to stick after heavy use and are placed ridiculously close to the stick itself. At resting, my hands actually touch. That's a dealbreaker, ladies. I cannot recommend this stick and it isn’t readily available anyway.

Rankings - Steven Moreno, TheFeed Intern

#1 - HORI Real Arcade Pro EX- If you are one of the people that bought a HORI EX 2 then you’ll feel right at home here. This controller shares the same buttons as the EX 2, but features a new stick, which is relatively better. The microphone jack is in a weird spot. I don’t use a mic but I can see that being a problem for people that do. This stick worked very well on all SF’s and MVC2.

#2 - Madcatz Fightstick TE - The buttons are fast and responsive, the layout fits almost any fighting game comfortably (not to mention the stick can be toggled to the right, left or D-pad) and the joystick, like the buttons, is Sanwa. Although some people may frown upon the 4-gate restrictor, I’m sure you all know how drop in an octo or 360 gate. This stick worked extremely well on all games.

#3 - Arcade-in-a-Box Custom - This company offers a lot of customization and will even let you put your own art on the controller (nothing copyrighted). I think this stick’s biggest pro is the fact that you can get one that will toggle between PS3 and 360. The buttons (Sanwa) felt great and the stick was longer than usual which is good for you “wine glass” players. This stick worked extremely well with all SF’s.

#4 - Hori EX2 - The cheapest arcade stick on this list (price-wise), to spite some bad reviews people have given this stick, I like it. The curved button layout is comfortable the stick is a little loose but once you get used to it, it's good. The controller is slim so you can play on your lap with ease. At the same time its pretty light, which means a move executed too intense will move the controller. So with this stick you get what you pay for, a very decent stick. This stick worked well on all the SF’s, MvC2 and Soulcalibur 4.

#5 - Madcatz Arcade Stick SE - The one thing that makes this stick stand out is the artwork. Compared to the TE, the artwork on this controller is beautiful (not to say I don’t like the mini SF4 arcade machine look). The buttons on this stick feel different from regular sticks but are very good. The stick feels great and I like the design, which allows you to rest your wrists on the slanted face. This stick worked very well on all SF’s and MvC2.

#6 - Virtua Fighter High Grade - Japan only (most importers will charge over 100$ for it) - Sega’s popular arcade cabinet right at home. The first big pro besides the high-grade (Sanwa) parts, is the weight. This thing is not moving, if you’re a table player you will love this stick. My only complaint is that the buttons are too close to the stick. This stick worked very well with SFIV and extremely well with VF5 (go figure). Note: I noticed this controller doesn’t have R3 or L3.

#7 - Madcatz Fightpad – Hate the 360 crosspad? Are the PS3 triggers not working for you? I enjoyed using the Fightpad because I felt like I was playing SFIV on an old 16-bit console. Also it features very cool SFIV artwork on the face. This controller worked very well for me on SFIV, HD Remix, and MK vs. DC.

That's Enough Stickery

So, you can see that the Top 3 varied a little bit between us. In general, it appears that cost equals quality when it comes to arcade sticks. If you're going to be logging serious hours in any fighting games, you might want to set aside some cash for a good stick.

Now that you've made the decision to purchase, where do you actually find these? Well, Amazon will index a large amount of resellers, but be careful about paying too much over retail. Play-Asia will sometimes stock import versions and MadCatz's own store should be taking orders soon. Every once and a while Gamestop gets some stock, but I would recommend trying your local store (ask them to call you if one comes in). If you can't find any, head on over to Arcade-in-a- Box and build your custom stick, but expect to pay a bit more for one. Finally, try searching for a local mom & pop game store as they may be the hidden gems of the stick hunt.

Do you have a stick? Do you agree with our rankings? Which one do you use and where did you finally find one?