Variant product review: This review covers the standard edition (or "Collector’s Edition") version of the Fightstick. Both this version and the Tournament Edition one have nearly identical features, but are built differently and have different prices as a result.. In order to save space, this review used the same general battery of fighting game tests the Tournament Edition stick did, and you can see those here. Most of my performance test results were very similar to those of the Tournament Edition stick, and thus won’t be repeated here in favor of general commentary.

If $150 is a lot to drop on a specialized game controller, then $80 is also a significant chunk of money but still much easier on the wallet. Using the same layout and features as the Tournament Edition stick, this version cuts costs by using lower quality parts in order to offer a more ’entry level’ arcade stick. And despite what that might imply, this is by no means a bad stick. It’s almost as good as the Tournament Edition one, for significantly less money, and that makes it well worth considering.

The basic premise of this Fightstick is the same as the other; it tries to replicate Japanese arcade style controls, in order to give you a better experience with fighting games like BlazBlue or Street Fighter IV. These controls are much smaller and shaped differently than the American style parts you may be used to, but it’s not a bad thing; a few days to adjust are all you need to reap huge benefits in how you play these sort of games. With eight main buttons (A, B, Y, X, LT, RT, RB, and LB) and a short eight-way joystick (best used as a d-pad equivalent) in a square gate, this stick is all about quick motions and controller inputs.

While it uses the same basic layout as the Tournament Edition stick, there are some important differences. There is the use of cheaper ’clone’ parts rather than true Sanwa parts, something you’ll notice immediately when you use it. They’re not bad parts per se, just not top-notch ones; they nonetheless do their job well enough. Considering this stick costs almost half what the deluxe Tournament Edition model does, that’s a fair enough trade. Other noteworthy changes include the slightly taller but much more narrow and light-weight box the stick is housed in, making this more portable but also a little more likely to shift around while you play. The panel for storing the USB cord in is also gone, but it is otherwise the same stick; eight main buttons, an eight-way joystick, Start and Back on the rear panel (away from you), and a control panel on the upper left for managing Turbo settings.

Like the TE stick, this one has a few safeguards against pausing mid-match; it’s not a good thing to do in casual play, and it’s usually a forfeit penalty at tournaments. With that in mind, the Start and Back buttons are both on the rear panel so you won’t accidentally hit them while doing long combos (or trying to mash out of an opponent’s combo, in some games). Likewise, the control panel on the upper left corner has a lock switch; flick that and your Guide button will stop responding until you disable the lock. This is a very good design idea, and the only way it could be better is if there were some way to lock Start and Back even with their rear panel placement.

That said, I put this stick through the same tests I ran the Tournament Edition version through, and had almost identical results. There were a few cases where I missed a move due to the lower parts quality, but this was extremely rare and mostly due to how they felt in my hands rather than any true mechanical failure. It might not be my first choice for tournament play, but I could see doing so if I had no other stick around at the time and it’s certainly fine for practice or casual matches.

I have one very important caveat to point out: I had to go through a few different sticks of this type to get one that worked fully. The first one I received had faulty buttons (Madcatz’ tech support is working with me to resolve this as of press time), and the second one had a defective eight-way joystick. They were able to repair the second one very quickly, and once that was done I had a worthwhile arcade stick that I was very happy with. The manufacturer swears up and down my experience was highly irregular and I’m willing to believe that, but in the event you end up getting a bad stick and your retailer can’t replace it, take it up with Madcatz’ tech support; they should get you taken care of and get you a working stick. Was it worth the hassle in the end to deal with them and get my problems solved? I certainly think so, as their tech support was competent and helpful, and the end result was a perfectly functional stick that I enjoy playing on.

In the end, this version of the Fightstick is half the price of their top of the line model yet plays almost as well as that stick. Certainly there is a small drop in quality which is to be expected with the lower price, but it’s not too bad; this Fightstick kept up with most of what I wanted it to do in fighting games, and I have no problem recommending it. And if diehard fighting game sessions aren’t your interest, then this $80 stick makes a nice ’toy’ for oneself to play other old-school style games on, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Arcade. $80 is a fair price for this stick, and it’s worth checking out.

Next: Post-review special section - Thoughts on modding this stick with custom parts.