While the Fightstick S works great in serious play, it’s also good for more than that. Turbo-fire has some fun uses in casual situations, and the arcade style controls mean you can use this controller to play more than just 2D fighting games. Sure, Halo and Dead Rising are right out because of the very basic analog stick functionality on the Fightstick S, but titles such as TMNT 1989 Arcade and Mega Man 10 are more practical as are many of the titles currently on the Game Room service. It might even be possible to play Symphony of the Night, though I don’t know if I’d specifically recommend that. Nonetheless, this arcade stick is great for many kinds of game that can get by without analog stick inputs and it is pretty fun to do so.

It should be noted the Fightstick S is very similar to the original Tournament Edition Fightstick. It makes some minor improvements such as a better lock switch, better top panel artwork, and color-labeled buttons, along with trade-offs that aren’t a net positive or loss. Specifically, the Fightstick S is smaller than the original TE Fightstick because it makes a few small omissions along with one big one in making the side panels much smaller. This trade-off makes it more portable if you intend to go to an out of town tournament, but also makes it a little easier to bump around during actual play.

Does the product have any flaws? A few, but they’re fairly small or obvious ones. The most obvious is the removal of a rounded border for the top panel. This isn’t a problem for some stick grip styles, but some players may wish to leave their forearms on the sides of the top panel... and in this case doing so causes your arm to rub against a rather abrasive surface. It’s not sharp or dangerous, just rough. Fortunately it’s easily fixed, a simple do-it-yourself project can add a nice border to this edge, or even wearing long sleeves or a jacket would suffice. The other flaw is somewhat unfair to criticize, but has to be mentioned anyway: Not all tournaments are run on Xbox 360s. Likewise they’re not all run on PS3s either, so neither system’s version of the Fightstick S would be a perfect solution.

The price isn’t a flaw. Accounting for costs, mark-up, profit, and so on, one would reasonably expect to pay about $150 for a stick this big. It has beautiful licensed Street Fighter art plus genuine Sanwa parts for the controls. It’s expensive, but you’re definitely getting what you pay for in this case.

Would I recommend this stick for purchase and use in tournaments? Absolutely, provided the tournaments in question are being played on Xbox 360s; a few high profile events use PS3s instead and in that case you might be better served by the PS3 version of this product. The reduced size is a trade-off (more portable, slightly less stable in play) rather than a true flaw, and the rough top panel edges can be easily solved at little or no cost with just a few minutes of effort. If you’re serious about 2D fighting games and if you have the skill and knowledge or are willing to train and study to obtain these, then the Fightstick S can help you win. You’ll find it much easier to execute your maneuvers (be they defensive, simply moving around, or attacking your opponent) reliably, and it is a well made, impressive arcade stick. $150 is a lot, but the Fightstick S does a fine job of earning its price.