Why the Hori FS3 is the best bang for buck Joystick on the market.

I have played a lot of Street Fighter in a lot of venues with a lot of different control schemes and in various states of disrepair. So when it comes to Street Fighter 4, I want to have the best. While the D-Pad is ok for maintream SF4 Users, the Joystick is where you can expect the most improvement on your games. It will take about 2 months of practice to get good with the stick but once you do, you will never go back.

There are a few different sorts of sticks out there, notably the expensive but enormously high quality Arcade-In-a-Box sticks and the just a bit less expensive Mad Catz TE stick, but I am going to focus on the one that I beleive is the best bang for buck for those hardcore Fighting fans on a budget, the Hori FS3 for PS3.

Build quality on the stick is impressive. The Fighting Stick 3 has a metal base and plastic outer shell with smooth corners that don't murder your wrists (unlike some other sticks I've used). The buttons are all snappy but feel light, like you'd find in a well-maintained arcade, and the stick is tight but light. That's good. Moves aren't too hard to pull off but sometime I felt the stick was going to break.

UPGRADING TO SANWA PARTS

This is the mod you will most likely want to do to you FS3. When I had mine done it made the stick not only feel better then the arcades, it felt more durable to boot especially in those seconds when you spam motions in the heat of battle.It makes it much more smooth and fee flowing,and improves the stick performance, helping with accuracy while doing the moves.

Modding will set you back around $50-60 US but it definatley worth it for 100 stick that matches the Madcatz TE for performance. About the only thing is, you may want to get someone that such as an electrician or experienced solder to do the wiring if you have no experience so it will save you hassles. There are plenty of guides though for people that want to do it themselves.

Details for DIY can be found here


In conclusion I think the Hori is the best out there for is price. Modding is cheap and inexpensive, the only reason you would chose the T.E over this is a) no inconvenience for modding yourself. B) If you like the extra weight and size the TE has.

You can pick up a Hori Fight Stick from Amazon for under $50 US so very cheap and they won't last long so get it now while you can!