Thursday, December 15, 2011

Arcade Fighting Sticks

If you're new to the world of fighting games you may not have realized that there are arcade sticks out there for gamers who love tournament fighters like the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat series. Not only are arcade style sticks available, they are a must if you want to get the full experience of a fighting game.

Street Fighter II and its later editions along with Mortal Kombat 1 and 2 came out when I was in grade school and high school. I remember being a kid at lunch time saving a quarter or two from my lunch money, waiting for a trip to the arcade after school so I could go a couple of rounds with some friends. I recently ordered my first fighting stick for the PS3 and these memories came back. I still enjoy playing Street Fighter IV on the regular PS3 controller like I enjoyed Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat on the SNES but I firmly believe (and I'm sure others agree) that these games were made for and are played best on arcade fighting sticks. I've never participated in a tournament or attended one but as far as I can tell from what I read online, serious players are using arcade style controllers like the ones made by HORI and Mad Catz.



It seems like there was an arcade in every neighborhood a few decades ago but times have changed. I used to discover new games at the arcade as a kid and now most people are introduced to fighting games on home consoles like the Xbox 360 or through PC emulators. If you're just getting into fighting games like Street Fighter IV I have two suggestions. Play the classics Street Fighter II, SF II Turbo, Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II and also try playing them on a decent fighting stick. I think the early games are great for teaching beginners the basics and with a fight stick you'll be mixing combos full of hadokens and shoryukens in no time.