If you have never owned a joystick before, this should be the right review for you. I have never owned one until today, but I have enjoyed the Street Fighter series, Guilty Gear, and now BlazBlue quite a bit. If you played these games then you know how much it hurts to do quarter circle forwards/backwards on the directional pad when you play for more than ten minutes. After downloading Street Fighter 2 HD Remix, I played it quite a bit and woke up the next day with a really sore left thumb. Gone are those days. I wasn't sure about this price tag, but I had a bit of extra money lying around and decided to go for it.
First of all, if you naively expect (as I sort of did) to be good as soon as you start using it, you will be very disappointed. Again, I have never owned a joystick and I could barely pull off a quarter circle forward + punch (hadouken!) on SF2HDR. After playing for about four hours, I can now do them but it is still not natural to me. Point is, don't give up on the joystick, you will have to completely relearn how to play the game which is frustrating when you were already decent on a directional pad (and now you suck again). However, judging how quickly I'm improving and as I expect everyone else will, it's worth it.
Should you buy a fight stick? If you want to play fighting games how they are meant to be played, if you want to play considerably better (with time), if you will play fighting games for a long time, then yes. If you are worried about whether you will be good at using the joystick, you wont, let's make that very clear. You will improve if you put in the time though, and your thumbs won't hurt so that's awesome. Should you buy this particular Hori RAP 3-SA stick? If you have the money, yes. If you don't, consider another cheaper joystick since it's all basically the same if you are a casual player. However, if you plan on using the stick for a long time, then invest in this one because it is made of the best parts and will last you a long time.
The actual stick is very nicely built. It is quite large and feels very good on your lap or table. Take a look at the dimensions so you can understand what I'm talking about. This size is nice because it lets your wrists rest on it. It is not flimsy at all and neither does it look that way, it's made for heavy duty. The parts are all sanwa, which if you are a first time buyer like me, you have no idea what that means. However, pretty much every website says these are the best parts, and this is the main appeal of this stick. The buttons are extremely sensitive, so don't plan on resting your fingers on them. The PS Home button and turbo function work well so you can expect everything to work perfectly. The joystick itself is also very sensitive, but I find it annoying that the ball-top rotates and is not securely in place. Also, the square gate needs getting used to. A square gate means that if you push the joystick as far as it goes and rotate, it makes a square. This makes quarter circle movements difficult, but "z movements" (forward, down, down+forward, like shoryukens) are a bit easier. This is the main obstacle in using a fight stick, but fear not, if you absolutely hate the square gate, you can buy a circle or octagon gate and swap it, as this fight stick is very good for modding (another of it's main selling points).
The stick deserves five stars because it is basically perfect and made for top players. New players will suck using it, I guarantee it, but with time they will improve as I have, and improving on the best stick available is very nice so I definitely recommend it if you can afford it. If you are on the fence, take the dive as it is definitely worth it and the stick will last you far longer than something cheaper.
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Product information
| Compatible Video Game Console Models | Sony PlayStation 3 |
|---|---|
| ASIN | B002FL0T8U |
| Release date | October 19, 2009 |
| Customer Reviews |
4.6 out of 5 stars |
| Package Dimensions | 20 x 13.2 x 7 inches; 4.25 Pounds |
| Type of item | Video Game |
| Item model number | UHP3-53 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
| Item Weight | 4.25 pounds |
| Manufacturer | HORI |
| Date First Available | July 6, 2009 |
Feedback
Best Joystick for the PS3
This is a quality built joystick with the parts you'd expect: Sanwa buttons and Sanwa joystick. Perfect for most arcade games, particularly fighting. One of the key things for me getting this stick was knowing it would work with backwards compatible PS3s to play PS2 games, as of yet, you still cannot do this with the Mad Catz products (Fight Stick and Tournament Edition). Still got my PS2 copies of SF III, Alpha Anthology to play. When looking at the two sticks, it's a little heavier than the TE stick, about the same size, uses pretty much all the same parts, but the control panel is a little different as it doesn't offer a lock like the TE stick does (to prevent the guide/home button from being pressed). The only thing the TE stick has over this one is the cord compartment. The buttons are responsive and the joystick works as usual for Sanwa. All Sanwa joysticks come with the square gate by default, and typically this is correct for fighting games and most arcade cabinets. Some may prefer the octo-gate but that's just a matter of preference. I like the square gate myself but if anyone would rather get the octogate, it's an extremely easy swap. The heaviness of the stick feels solid when playing and you can tell it will last for years to come. Overall I would recommend this stick for anyone who owns a PS3 and in particular, those with PS2 capable PS3s.
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