EVO season seems like it’s right around the corner. The months that transpire before the year’s biggest fighting game tournament is jam packed with high-profile tourneys as well. You gotta head into these FGC events with your best characters and combos in tow, which is why we’re giving you a list of the best fight sticks. These excellent fighting game devices will help your perform at your highest level and allow you to take the top spots in the fighting games of your choosing. These are our picks for the top five best fight sticks for pro fighting game players.
1. Mad Catz Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2 for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4 & PS3
Mad Catz is well known for releasing some of the finest fight sticks, so it should come as no surprise that we’re gonna list some of their products here. This Tournament Edition fight stick is built for PS3/PS4 fighting game players and it’s designed for maximum mobility. You can switch the joystick controls to either left or right analog stick or D-Pad. The arcade fight stick layout adopts the iconic Sanwa Denshi parts the FGC regards highly. Players who want to change up their custom art can swap the top panel and bezel off whenever they’d like. You can purchase this fight stick with an Ultra Street Fighter 4 face plate if you’d like.
Price: $199.99
2. MAD CATZ Guilty Iguzado Sign Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition 2 for PS3 & PS4
Our 2nd Mad Catz fight stick should make Guilty Gear fans happy – say hello to the Guilty Iguzado Sin Arcade fight stick. The face plate design adopts the metal outlook that Guilty Gear Xrd uses for its menu fonts. You can easily switch between using this stick for either the PS3 or PS4. It utilizes the Sanwa Denshi joystick/button design, so it should feel familiar to longtime fans of that makeup. It looks great, feels great during long set sessions and it can be easily customized to your liking.
Price: $425.72
3. QANBA N1 BLACK PS3/PC Arcade FightStick/Joystick
Not only does this arcade fight stick come with full compatibility for the PS3, it can be used with a bevy of other gaming platforms – PC, PlayStation TV, PlayStation Vita TV, Android 4.0 devices and the Nvidia Shield. What makes this fight stick stand out from our other picks is its cool visual makeup, such as its see-through front plate. This smaller-sized controller can also be customized and it feels a little bit lighter than most. You can do whatever you’d like with this controller to make it extra comfortable, such as using the underside plug to remove the ball top without cracking open the whole stick itself.
Price: $80
4. Mad Catz SoulCalibur V Arcade FightStick SOUL Edition for PS3 & Xbox 360
This pick is one of the graceful looking fight sticks we’ve ever laid eyes on. This controller adopts Bandai Namco’s Nori arcade button layout, which makes it feel great for Soul Calibur and other quality fighters. It comes with a controller lock/unlock switch that keeps you from pressing any additional buttons by mistake. Eight buttons line this work of art, plus it comes with the familiar Sanwa Denshi fight stick layout. The casing on this fight pad looks amazing, so go out to any fighting game tourney in style.
Price: $207.22
5. WWE All Stars Brawl Stick – Xbox 360 & PS3
Our final pick is suited towards fans of the WWE. WWE All Stars was a pretty decent arcade take on the current WWE roster and their hall of legendary Superstars. The artwork on this fight stick adopts the bulging biceps and massive jaws sported on wrestlers such has The Rock and Triple H. This controller sports most of the same options that our previous picks have, so non-wrestling fans can still have fun with this pick. For a wired fight pad, the WWE All Stars Brawl Stick is one of the best.
Price: $99.95
