PixlBit

Most gamers familiar with the Mad Catz name are typically reluctant to purchase their products; I'm not surprised considering their track record, and many poor quality peripherals. Recently, Mad Catz has entered the arcade stick market with Street Fighter IV branded arcade sticks, as well as the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Arcade FightStick, which was released in conjunction with the recent Wii fighter. While Mad Catz has a questionable track record, I am happy to say that after thoroughly playing numerous games using this arcade stick, this is a fantastic controller.

The Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Arcade FightStick features a standard Japanese-style eight-button layout and a ball top joystick. While the buttons and joystick are not high quality arcade-grade parts like Sanwa or Seimitsu, the buttons and joystick that Mad Catz included are very responsive and feel very sturdy. Unless you are a hardcore arcade stick user or used the Street Fighter IV Tournament Edition Arcade Stick extensively, it will be hard to notice the difference.

The body of the arcade stick has a nice appearance, featuring official licensed art from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. The stick has a matte finish and the buttons are colored blue and white to match the standard Wii color scheme. On the bottom of the arcade stick are four rubber feet, which are nice since the arcade stick won't move around at all on your lap or on a table. One small touch I really enjoy is the hadouken arrow dust washer (an arcade stick dust washer engraved with the arrow directions to perform a hadouken).

Since the FightStick connects to the Wii Remote, the controller technically counts as a Classic Controller allowing players to use it as such in any supported games. There are a few unique features to the controller including turbo functionality for buttons and the ability to emulate the left analog stick, D-Pad, or the right analog with a flick of a switch. There is also a lock switch - when set to locked it disables the home, plus, and minus buttons. My only issue with the controller from a functional perspective is that there is no compartment on the controller to house the Wii Remote. Anyone who frequently uses the Classic Controller will understand this frustration.

After play testing the controller with many Virtual Console titles and various games that are compatible with the Classic Controller, it's not surprising that the controller performs the best when playing 2D games or fighting games. While it is possible to play a 3D game with the FightStick, it's not optimal since those games are optimized with an analog stick in mind while the joystick on the FightStick is an eight-way digital device similar to a D-Pad.

Due to the color-coded wires and solderless connections, this arcade stick is easy to modify.

One of the most surprising aspects of the controller came when I opened it up. If you decide to modify it with arcade quality buttons and joystick, all you really need to do is purchase the desired parts and swap them. The internal wiring and components are very tidy and the wires that connect to each button are color-coded. To make it even easier, all the connections are solderless which makes it simple to swap out parts as long as you are careful. While I personally won't modify my arcade stick any time soon, whether it was intentional or not, I think it's nice that Mad Catz has made this arcade stick so easily modifiable. (Reviewer's Note: You will forfeit your warranty if you open the controller and/or modify it with new parts.)

Overall, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Arcade FightStick is a great investment if you are a fighting game enthusiast. As an added bonus, the controller is also great for playing both 2D Wii games and Virtual Console titles. Overall, this is one of the best Mad Catz products I have ever owned and it's really hard to find any major faults with this arcade stick. Even at the $80 dollar price point, I highly recommend the FightStick as it's very enjoyable for fighters and 2D games alike.