Customer Reviews

Wii Fighting Stick

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I have this funny feeling that a couple of the people who have given this product a negative review may work for a company that sells another Wii-compatible arcade stick (it seems strange that the only two reviews these people have published on Amazon ever are for the Hori Fighting Stick, which they give one star, and what I am assuming is their own product, which they give five stars), and I am writing this review primarily because of how much this bothers me.

By 2008, I think it is reasonable for Hori and Nintendo (who have emblazoned this product with their official Seal of Quality) to assume that anyone who is serious enough a gamer to consider paying $40+ for a controller will probably know the difference between digital and analog inputs. If you've ever played an N64, Gamecube or PS2 game, you know this difference innately. Granted, the Amazon product page for this item is sorely lacking any specific information, but luckily for internet users Amazon isn't the only website in existence. I bought this from a brick & mortar game store, and nowhere on the box was I led to believe that this would be compatible with Super Smash Bros. Brawl (contrary to one of the negative reviews on this page). In fact, using the magic of the internet, I researched the product for about five minutes before I went out to buy it and discovered that it would definitely not be compatible with Brawl, and the reason why: the stick uses digital inputs (with 8 points as on classic arcade machines and d-pad consoles) rather than the velocity-sensitive 360-degree analog input that most games of the past 2 generations of console gaming have used.

This is an old school arcade stick for old school shooting games and fighting games. It is compatible with any game that can use the Wii Classic Controller d-pad for movement (like Guilty Gear: Accent Core and most Virtual Console titles or other Wii games that are Classic Controller compatible) and is wonderful in this regard. The build quality is excellent and I expect it to outlast my Wii. It is incompatible with most 3D games in general, if you want to look at it that way, and is as horrible for platformers (old or new) as all arcade sticks inevitably are.

I didn't purchase it for use with Wii games, though. I purchased this because the Wii Remote is a bluetooth-enabled device that can be recognized by my computer. Therefore, I can use it to play classic games to my hearts content on my PC (using special free software), including Flash games that would never be able to recognize your average USB controller. Any controller that connects to the Gamecube port of the Wii (as does the stick recommended by the Hori nay-sayers) is not going to have this wonderful feature. Also, I can't imagine why you would want to use an analog stick (which the competitor's controller sports) for games that benefit from digital precision. In all my years (decades, now) of gaming, this is probably the best accessory I have ever purchased, and I highly recommend it to any gamer who has both a Wii Remote and a bluetooth antenna in their computer or any interest in Wii/Virtual Console fighting or shooting games that use the d-pad for movement.

Don't get shafted by either dishonest reviewers or poor Amazon product descriptions. Do your own research until you are confident that you know exactly what you are buying.

This is an incredible accessory for the Wii. It is a must if you are downloading VC titles that are arcade based or inspired. This contains all of the buttons from the Wii Classic Controller, save for the right analog stick. This is ideally suited for games that began their lives in the arcade such as Pac Man, Galaga, Street Fighter, and Donkey Kong. I've played some other games as well, such as Super Mario Bros with this controller, and while not ideal, it is serviceable. I've played Galaga '90, downloaded from the Virtual Console with this joystick and it is amazing. This product is ideal for games where a lot of button tapping is required. Also, it resembles the original Neo Geo controller, so any titles that you download from that system on the VC is perfectly suited for this product. This is a large, heavy controller. You need to rest it on your lap or a table top to use it. The joystick feels good and solid and the buttons feel just like their arcade counterparts. The controller connects into a Wii Remote Controller, just like a Wii Nunchuk Controller or Classic Controller. If you want to play arcade games with the controls they were meant to have, this is what you need. You definitely get your money's worth with this one.

First of all I will address the ridiculous criticism that has been going around about this arcade stick. This does not advertise that it's compatible with Super Smash Bros Brawl anywhere, it clearly says that it is for digital output only and will not work with analog games. Anyone that knows about arcade sticks will not be shocked by this, all arcade sticks are 8 direction digital sticks, hence the oh so satisfying clicking when you move the stick. Brawl is not the type of game these controllers are for anyway. This lovely gem is built specifically for arcade fighting games...hence the name "Wii FIGHTING Stick". I have been playing Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, King of Fighters collection and SNK arcade classics with this controller for some time and I can honestly tell you that it's a waste of time to use any other controller for those games. With the Samurai Shodown Anthology (YES!!!) and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus on the horizon you have 2 more reasons to own this. Virtual Console games are pretty much all compatible with this stick, Street Fighter 2 anyone??? This stick is worth the price, it is built with care and precision (unlike some other arcade sticks out there...), better than just about anything else associated with the Wii. HORI manufactures the arcade sticks for actual arcade cabinets and that's pretty much what you get here. In short, if you are a Wii owner that enjoys 2D fighters then you owe it to yourself to own one of these, if not it's probably not for you.

I got this for one reason only - to be able to play the Neo*Geo fighters available on the virtual console, like I remember playing them back in the arcade.

Pros:
The joystick is heavy enough I didn't have to worry about it moving when I played.
I can play Neo*Geo fighters now (with the normal wiimote turned sideways, the button configuration rendered some fighting games unplayable).
The joystick is responsive and feels like playing in the arcade.

Cons:
None of these are deal breakers, just minor gripes.
I wish I could assign buttons. Neo Geo's were set up four buttons across. Playing World Heroes, you use two buttons on the bottom row (punch and kick), and one button on the top row (throw) instead of 3 buttons across.
The microswitches are fairly loud.

Random side note - The turbo worked incredibly well on World Heroes, but didn't work as well on the vertical shooter Dragon Spirit. Not a big deal to me though, as I don't plan on using the turbo switches that often.

Now I need to go download Samuari Showdown.

What do you need to add? It's based on the Hori Fighting stick, which itself is a cut down Hori "Real Arcade Pro" (costs about $120!). A great stick secong only to my trusty old playstation ascii fighting stick that (still going strong on my ps3 with an adapter).

Do you know how fighting games are meant to be played (except smash bros.)? With an arcade stick like this. Hori is one of the best companies to go for one. This arcade stick is a carbon copy of the hori arcade sticks for 360 and ps3, just that it plugs into the wiimote. Don't get tricked into getting the shaft: that one sucks. This one is the good one

Bought this so we could play Pacman on Wii. Thought it would work great after reading other reviews. Very disappointing. Hard to control, does not go where you want it to. Very frustrating to want to go up and it just sits there or goes sideways. Piece of junk taking up space. DO NOT BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I own around 15 arcade sticks for various consoles, but after the dreamcast arcade stick I think this one comes a close second. Easely beating the playstation 3 hori fighting stick 3. If you like to play Tatsunoko vs Capcom this is a must have item. And now with Castle of Shikigami 3 coming out there is really no excuse for not buying one. Go get it ......

If you are buying this product for fighting games (especially those gamers getting tournament ready) this is a pretty good product. Definitely gives that arcade feel, but there needs to be some more really good fighters for the Wii. Like KING OF FIGHTERS 12, and some art that we can tag this thing with. We have to push them to get KOF12 on the Wii, because this would be a great product to use for it, not to mention Street Fighter 4, and Capcom is capable of producing food quality work on various platforms. The Wii has more capability than the GameCube, so they need to get SF4 on the Wii so that we can utilize good arcade sticks like this one even more.

So thats my only problem with the product, there needs to be more to utilize it with. Kind of like the Wii-Speak (adults should be able to chat with everyone or just friends, we need that option to switch back and forth).

The Hori stick works great for VC games that support the Classic controller. However, for the price, it needs some improvement. First, the 4-way plate for the stick should be replaced with an 8-way plate. This is something you can do yourself (there are instructions online), but it's something that Hori should have done in the first place. Second, the buttons and stick use very loud sensors. They produce a loud click each time they are pressed which can get annoying fast. Unfortunately, Hori solders the wiring for these on, so unless you are handy with a soldering iron, these are too difficult to replace yourself, and this gets back to the point that you shouldn't have to replace them Hori should have just used the better parts. Hori also makes a "Real Arcade Pro", but they are only making that stick for the PS2/3 and 360.