At the time of writing this article, it is my understanding that the Mad Catz Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is the only ’in active production’ stick available for Wii. Other designs do exist, but most of them are either obviously very cheap and low quality products or are no longer on the active retail market and can generally only be found on eBay or other ’secondary market’ venues. In some ways this basically means the FightStick wins by default if you don’t have access to or don’t trust secondary market sellers. But what if you’re willing to go to those sources for an out of production stick or you already own one, and you wonder how it stacks up to the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick?. The only immediately obvious competitor is the Hori Fighting Stick Wii and I have two of them in my office, so a head-to-head comparison was pretty easy to do. Some of the categories below are subjective while others are easier to base in pure fact, but hopefully the following will be of some help for those wondering how these two sticks compare to one another.

Features: Both controllers are Japanese style arcade sticks, with eight face buttons and a stick within a square gate. They both connect to a Wiimote as though they are Classic Controllers, though the Mad Catz FightStick has a slightly longer cord. Generally speaking, both are suitable for use as fighting game controllers and have about the same layout. However, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick pulls out a slight edge because it offers anti-pause safeguards. By moving the Plus and Minus buttons to the back panel, Mad Catz made it hard to accidentally pause the game; this is not a big deal for most people, but accidentally hitting a pause button can and has happened when a player is frantically button mashing at a tournament. By putting those buttons out of the way and offering a lock switch to disable the Home button, the FightStick manages to make accidental pausing less likely; it could potentially happen more often on the Hori product. It also gains a very tiny benefit from being able to use the joystick as a very basic analog stick; you can use it to navigate menus without picking your Wiimote up if the game or system menu requires this. Advantage: Slightly in favor of the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick due to limited analog functionality (the Hori stick has none at all) and anti-pause safeguards.

Parts Quality: As mentioned on the first page, this FightStick has improved parts from the original SE FightSticks on other systems. but this is about how they compare to the Hori stick. While similar in design, the Mad Catz stick has a slight edge here since its joystick and buttons feel a little better; less stiff, primarily. It’s very slight, but the FightStick feels a little better in the hand; a little looser, without being so loose that it would feel cheap. I don’t think you’ll notice a night-and-day difference between them in terms of parts quality, but it’s just enough of an edge that I give the nod to the Mad Catz stick. Advantage: Slightly in favor of the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick.

Sensitivity: Simultaneously a matter of fact and preference, this category looks at how responsive the buttons are. The Mad Catz FightStick requires very little pressure to register a button press, sometimes even the most faint of touches was enough to count and caused an occasional press or two that was completely unintended. This took a few minutes to get used to, though it wasn’t a problem after that. The Hori buttons require a little more force to press, without being notably stiff. I actually favor the way the Hori buttons work in this case, but admit it’s definitely a matter of preference. Advantage: Subjective, I prefer the slightly tighter buttons on the Hori stick but can easily see others preferring the very sensitive ones on the Mad Catz stick.

Size, Weight, Cord Length, etc.: Effectively the same. They’re both about as big as the Wii itself and take up similar amounts of space. The Hori stick is shorter vertically, only by an inch or so at most. The Mad Catz stick’s cord is an inch or two longer, but this isn’t enough to make a difference either. They also weigh about the same, so what differences they have here are trivial. Advantage: Neither; both products are very similar in this category.

Layout and Feel: This somewhat overlaps with Parts Quality above, but is more concerned with how the stick feels in the hand. this is where the FightStick comes out appreciably ahead for my purposes, since it lays out its buttons in a gradual up and right curve, then levels out to be straight across. This is admittedly personal opinion, but I like that much more than the Hori stick’s ’rainbow curve’ of buttons, which isn’t comfortable to my hands. I’m sure someone out there will prefer the Hori arrangement however. Advantage: Matter of personal taste. I prefer the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick button layout because it fits my hands better, but others might appreciate the Hori one more.

Appearance and Finish: While this may sound like a silly category, there is something worth noting here. There is the obvious aspect that the Hori stick is flat white with blue buttons and lining, while the Mad Catz Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick has art of the characters from the game; anyone familiar with both sticks already knows this, and that’s not why this section is here. Instead, what really needs to be pointed out is the finish of the top panel on each stick. The top of the Hori stick is sealed with a thin plastic film that can tear. This isn’t a huge deal unless the tearing becomes acute, but this is still a minor flaw compared to the hard, textured finish of the Tatsunoko FightStick. Advantage: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick with a significant edge in looks, and slight advantage in the finish used on the top panel.

Customization: (Important: Acting on the info in this section voids your stick’s warranty, it is for advanced users only!) Obviously, anyone with suitable tools can mod either of these sticks. However, it’s worth noting there are kits out there for converting FightSticks to use Tournament Edition (e.g. Sanwa) parts; these are much easier to use. While I personally have not done the modification, several accounts confirm that these kits (or simply selecting the correct parts individually and dropping them in) work with Tatsunoko FightSticks. Conversely, you may have to do some machining or extra research to find parts that work for customizing your Hori stick, so the FightStick comes out ahead here if you’re planning to modify it. For more information on this matter, you would be best served by researching it on the Shoryuken.com website and forums. They can point out which parts work in FightSticks, and show you trustworthy retailers to deal with. Advantage: Significantly in favor of the Mad Catz TvC FightStick.

While both are good sticks and able to handle serious play, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick pulls out a slight to moderate edge in almost every field that matters. It’s worth noting that a direct comparison between these two is only relevant for the reason that most Hori Fighting Stick Wiis you can still find on the market are in secondary sources like eBay auctions, where the stick’s normally lower price (its MSRP was $50) often gives way to its rarity increasing the price to about $70-$80. That puts it head to head with the FightStick, which ultimately has enough advantages that if I had to pick just one, I would give the nod to the FightStick over the Hori offering; it has become my default stick for playing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and Guilty Gear on the Wii.

In conclusion, the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom FightStick is admittedly a niche product but it’s a very well made one. If you have an interest in fighting games on the Wii (what few games there are, sadly) or having a nice luxury controller for playing some old-style Virtual Console titles with, this is a pretty good choice. Its $80 price tag is admittedly steep, but smart design and good parts quality mean it earns its cost.