[05/02/09] Madcatz SFIV Fightstick, Tournament Edition.

[Inky]

MAdcatz Street Fighter IV Fightstick, Tournament Edition.

System: Xbox 360 (also available for PS3)

Emulators: should work with any emulator that accepts a usb controller. I have tested it with GGPO.

 

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The official Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition controller was designed for fighting game fans to recreate the quality, gameplay and precision found in arcades. Using the exact Sanwa joystick and 30mm buttons found in official Street Fighter IV arcade machines, along with realistic spacing and an eight-button layout, the Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition brings the true arcade experience right into your home. With separate turbo settings for each button and the best components, prepare yourself for hours of competition, no quarters necessary.

For anyone who is seriously into fighting games, an arcade joystick is the holy grail of control types. And it's only natural to want to get as close to the arcade experience as possible while at home. since the console's launch fighting game fans have been stuck with the original controller, or the Hori EX2 and it's multiple rebrandings. the EX2 is passable but really sub-par with out extensive difficult modifications. There is also the Hori HRAP EX but that has been notoriously hard to get a hold of, requiring it to be imported.

 

Madcatz has changed all that with it's street fighter IV line of sticks and pads. The Tournament Edition is the top end of this line. the Cadillac of retail arcade sticks, and you will pay top end price. $150usd is the retail. but sticks have been going for much more on the secondary markets like ebay and Amazon. Madcatz has stated they are working hard to get retail stocks up but so far any new stock is snapped up within minutes. Before the TE was released the only way to get arcade quality at home was to build your own stick.

 

The first thing you will notice about the TE after removing it from its beautiful boxing is the size. it is huge. this may be a turn off to some, but I find the size allows my hands to rest on the stick and buttons as they would on an arcade cabinet. on the Hori EX2 my hands would rest on the edges with the outer part of my hands hanging off the case completely. the TE is spacious and heavy enough to feel very solid when playing roughly. The TE is made from what most consider the best arcade parts available, Sanwa. It is also built with moddability in mind, all connections are quick disconnect, so there is no soldering required if you want to change anything, or a button goes out.

 

as the picture shows, the TE control panel is well layed out and easy to work with. the entire panel lifts away from the housing to reveal the stick, buttons, and all the quick disconnects. all the wiring is tidy and there is plenty of wire on each button to rearrange them if you wanted. the joystick 5 pin connection must be removed to get the panel all the way out of the housing.

the Sanwa buttons are ultra sensitive. The 8 buttons are arranged in such a way that you can play American straight layout or the more popular curved Japanese layout. the top and bottom rows mimic the classic SNK 4 button layout. All buttons are Sanwa snap in style buttons with quick disconnects for easy modding. replaceable with 30mm Sanwa and Seimitsu snap in buttons. Happ buttons will not fit in the TE.

The Sanwa JLF Joystick feels very solid. with a light tension and quick return to center. The stick it self comes with a Square gate, some don't like the feel of a square gate (me included) An octagonal gate is easy to install for a more American feel. the stick is also very easy to replace if you like Seimitsu. unfortunately Happ/iL sticks will not fit in the TE.

Together the sensitive buttons and joystick require some getting used to for players used to the more rugged feel of American arcades fitted with Happ controls. but once the trial period is over, pulling complex movements and advanced combos becomes much easier. The learning curve will be much steeper for those who grew up on console pads and have never had arcade experience.

 

Other features include turbo functions for all buttons, a panel lock out and a small compartment to store the cord when not in use. the Turbo function works as expected. press the turbo button and what ever button you want turbo. you can set any combination of buttons to 2 different settings of turbo. the panel lock out is handy to insure you don't hit the turbo or guide buttons during vigorous play, unfortunately the lockout doesn't disable the start or back buttons. these buttons are pretty much out of the way on the back of the sticks housing but I could see them getting bumped at some point, pausing the games at an inappropriate time. The cord compartment is really to small for the cord. Since getting the cord out of the compartment during the unpacking of the stick I have not been able to get it back in there. It's unfortunate the stick is not wireless, (the PS3 version is wireless I believe) due to Microsoft not allowing 3rd party controllers to be wireless. But the cord is very long so it isn't a huge problem.

 

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Overall anyone who is serious about fighting games and has money to burn would do well to check out the Madcatz SFIV fightstick, TE. The complaints are few and minor. (not wireless, the stupid cord compartment, no room for Happ sticks.) The playability over a control pad is stellar. The Build Quality is far above previous Madcatz standards.

I give the Madcatz TE Fightstick 9 out of 10 hadokens.

[L.S.D]

Damn, i would love to get my hand on this too. Had a try on the stick and the Hori SFIV version. As Inky said, there is enough space for you to rest your hands so it is a big plus. Also, i don't find the whole thing is quite stable and not moving easily since i can be a bit rough on the stick, the Hori stick do not allow me this comfort.