Review: Street Fighter V Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2+

Works for PS3 and PS4

Another fighting game, another fightstick. This month Mad Catz is unleashing several sticks into the market, including a sub $100 option, and a few $200+ models.

Do you really need an expensive stick to play Street Fighter V? No, but a lot of you are going to buy it anyway.

Product: Street Fighter V Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2+
Manufacturer: Mad Catz
Input: USB
MSRP: $229.99

It’s important to note first off that Street Fighter V supports legacy PS3 sticks by way of proprietary drivers (not the ones LabZero engineered for the PS4). Odds are, you’re going to have a serviceable stick already if you’re this into fighting games, so you can just hook that bad boy up and you’re good to go after a few menu selections. For the rest of you that are looking to upgrade or go all-in this generation with the fighting genre, read on.

First up, build quality. I’ve used a lot of arcade sticks over the years, from the homemade flimsy boxes that feel like they’re made out of cardboard to giant deluxe anvils, and the FightStick Tournament Edition 2+ is pretty comfortable all around. It’s not too heavy as I engaged in multiple five hour sessions without feeling like I was being crushed under its weight, and the non-slip padding on the bottom ensures that it can be used in either a “tryhard” or lazy fashion. It’s basically comfortable from any angle, and the 9.8 foot ProCable (read: a special end that prevents the USB cable from ripping out of the stick) is ample enough room for most setups.

The case also pops open for customization. There’s an included screwdriver, but there’s also a little button on the front that can easily open it up manually — you’ll need to use both hands to pry it open, but nothing about the hinges feel flimsy, nor is there a fear of popping it during play. Everything inside can be swapped, from the bezels to the side panels, to the artwork (here’s a Photoshop template), and the sticks and buttons. As you can see in the above picture (click here for a more detailed image), the tabs for each button are all color-coded and can be disconnected with a very gentle tug. Prospective buyers should also be aware that the art can be changed without having to take apart the entire stick or any buttons. The only major complaint I have is that it doesn’t come with a shoulder strap.

As for the buttons themselves, I like to try out a stick by mashing them pretty heavily outside of a game to see if they’ll stick at all (before that happens in-game in a heated match), and everything passed the test. Everything is made from Sanwa Denshi parts, and the buttons are nestled in to the point where they don’t slide around at all. Unlike legacy sticks, the button placement is custom-tailored for this generation. The unit comes complete with a touchpad, as well as labeled buttons for share and start.

The key here is the the touchpad button also works, which isn’t an option for legacy controllers. In other words, the FightStick Tournament Edition 2+ is a catch-all, where you can scroll through anything on the PS4, and have everything function in every game. For instance, Guilty Gear Xrd players can use the touchpad to reset positions while practicing, and Mortal Kombat X uses it to queue up chats. It even has L3 and R3 buttons at the top. Start and select are behind the stick, which takes getting used to for all of one day or so.

Naturally there are some fightstick-centric concessions too. The standard lock toggle is there to shut off the start and select buttons (and on this mode, share and the touchpad, to avoid a tournament mishap), as is a legacy toggle to go backwards to the previous generation, and a switch to change up the joystick sensitivity to suit the left or right analog stick, or the d-pad. I like the layout personally, even if the offset setup of the SoulCalibur V Arcade FightStick is my personal favorite stick in my library. The eight-button order (square, triangle, R1, L1 / X, circle, R2, L2) is intuitive for Street Fighter, and given that you don’t need 3xP and 3xK as much as you did in the past, it’s even easier to use. There are no fancy LEDs but it does have its own Lightbar that mimics the PS4.

I used this stick on the PS4 and PS3 flawlessly for the past week (tested on Street Fighter V, BlazBlue, Skullgirls, Mortal Kombat X, Ultra Street Fighter V, Guilty Gear Xrd, and Injustice), and I haven’t ran into one problem yet. Unfortunately, that’s not the case on PC. To get it to work on that platform with Street Fighter V, the entire reason this particular model exists, you’ll need to use JoyToKey. This is mostly on Capcom for putting out a poor PC port, not Mad Catz. It seems as if they are working on support for the future, but nothing is guaranteed yet, and there’s really no excuse for not having an officially licensed product like this work at launch. It did work on various games such as Skullgirls however, and funnily enough, Ultra Street Fighter IV.

In addition to the the $80 FightStick Alpha and FightPad controllers, the other premium options are the S+ Arcade FightStick for $199, which features a boxier design, and TE2 Chun-Li and generic variants. You also have the well received Hori Real Arcade Pro 4 in terms of PS4-specific sticks. The choice is yours. As for myself, I’m set with enough Fight Coins to buy the next three characters in Street Fighter V, and the Tournament Edition 2+ is my preferred stick at the moment.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the hardware provided by the publisher.]}