Best PS2 Arcade Stick? Best fighters on PS2

[Smithee of Zur-En-Arrh]

I love my Hori stick for 360 and use it all the time in Super Street Fighter IV and such, but I want to expand my fighting game options beyond 360, and PS2 has a huge library.

So what is the best stick and what the best fighter?

[Weasel]

Hori makes a PS2 stick; if you can find a limited-edition bundle of Tekken 5, it includes the stick with it. As for best fighter, I gotta say I vastly prefer King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match over most of the other PS2 fighters I've seen.

[caoslayer]

The Virtual Fighter 4 evolution stick bundle is a pretty nice combo.

Good luck finding one, through.

[Dingo]

If you can find one, the Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 is probably the best stock arcade stick out there. Its all Japanese parts though, so if you prefer American parts it might not be for you.

As for fighters, KoF 98 UM and NeoGeo Battle Coliseum are two of my favorites. However, both of those can be downloaded on Xbox Live Arcade (NGBC has solid netcode, KoF 98 UM not so much). I also highly recommend King of Fighters XI. Other than that, Guilty Gear Accent Core Plus is probably the best version of Guilty Gear you can get, it includes the story mode which was left out of Accent Core as well as Cliff and Justice as unlockable characters. The PS2 version of Capcom vs SNK 2 is probably the best version out there (it still has the roll cancels in it which were a big deal for people who did play the game competatively....but good luck ever finding a tournament for that game again). I have limited experience with the 3D fighters (Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur, etc.) so you'll be best hearing from someone else regarding those.

[justjustin]

Every Hori stick that is not their most expensive ones make compromises in buttons or stick quality. The mushy Fisher Price buttons on the 360 Mushihimesama Futari stick are beyond infuriating. You may have to buy good quality parts. Sanwa buttons go for about 2 dollars each, stick for about 20. I hear Lizard Lick Amusements has a good track record.

Also, for non-Street Fighters I can't recommend the Neo Geo Stick 2 enough. Despite it's shorter than average joystick and smaller ball top it controls exceptionally well. The buttons have a nice bounce to them.

[neomerge]

I've always wondered something. We're these PS1 sticks any good?





Likewise wouldn't they be able to work with 2d fighters on the ps2?

[jongoo]

I have a Hori Real Arcade Pro and Hori Tekken stick. Both get the job done.

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (includes 3rd Strike and SFII: Anniversary Edition)
Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
KOF98UM
KOF2002UM
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Guilty Gear Accent Core Plus
Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution

Can anybody tell me which version HRAP I have? The ball and buttons are green and it has a mirror top.

[Yuan]

Depends a lot of how "professional" you plan to play.

If you just want it for casual gaming, most brand-name sticks with a proper button-layout will do. You will get good muscle memory and learn precision. Try to avoid Fisher Price with no weight and cheap parts, though.

If you're seriously considering on getting very good at a competitive level, then you can try to buy a SF4 official stick, the expensive one, that is pretty much the arcade panel ripped from the arcade (I've tested it myself), or modify a regular one with Sanwa, Happ, or any other good manufacturer's parts.

I like the height and weight of tall levers, so I have an X-Arcade Tank Stick, industrial quality parts, and I love it, but it pretty much cost like a console itself

So it's up to you. I've played with the "consumer" level ones, and though experts do complain and I do feel some difference, I find them pretty OK.

If you can pull reversals, 360s, and cancels, it passes for me, but I still prefer sturdier, springier, heavier, more precise parts.

[Feynman]

Time for me to do the same thing I do every time this topic comes up: link to Arcade-in-a-Box.

Ordering a custom stick from them can be a bit pricey, but it's so very much worth the cost.

[vysethebold]

My favorite was always the Pelican Real Arcade stick. It's an American-style stick (with a bat joystick, concave buttons, and a circle gate) much like the X-Arcade in quality (in fact, I reccomend using X-Arcade parts to put in the stick) but with a more ergonomic box shape. I find them much easier to sit on your lap while you're on the couch. One caveat though: make sure to pick up a PS2-only version of the stick. Their Universal one actually doesn't work on slim PS2's and damages the older models.



Note: Pic is of the Xbox version. The only difference is the cord and the green fixtures are blue on the PS2 one.

[kyouki]

It's hard to recommend PS2 fighters because nearly all of them have superior sequels on the PS3/360 or whatever.

However, if you like the idea of paying for games that you could easily emulate for free, the Neo Geo collections are all great and they at least tried to add some stuff to make them worth getting (most of the games allow you to select original or remix tracks, personalize the colors on the characters, etc). Unfortunately, the two collections I was most interested in (Last Blade, Samurai Shodown) both have problems (LB- sound is totally messed up, SS- no SSV Special).

The Hokuto no Ken game is pretty fun, probably the third best HnK game available (behind the Megadrive and PSX versions). It's a lazy game with poor animation and no gore but it can be really fun to play.

It's got a great port of SF3, but apparently that will be coming out on PSN/XBOXLive. Might still be worth getting the PS2 version depending on how badly they intend to scale the graphics for the current gen systems.

The Melty Blood games are fun, but you can just get them on the PC. Regardless of which version you get, you are stuck with high res backgrounds and horribly scaled up sprites.

Arcana Heart is supposed to be good, but I can't get past the character designs and boring backgrounds. I've heard the second game is a very poor port with a bunch of graphical glitches.

[jongoo]

Jul 30, 2010 2:18:39 GMT -5 kyouki said:

It's got a great port of SF3, but apparently that will be coming out on PSN/XBOXLive. Might still be worth getting the PS2 version depending on how badly they intend to scale the graphics for the current gen systems.

I'm eagerly anticipating this now that it's official. Maybe we'll finally get the port that it deserves. I'm mainly concerned about the speed of the game as the PS2 port runs a little slower.
You make it sound like it's a foregone conclusion that the graphics will suffer...why? I'm not too knowledgeable about that stuff. It'd be nice to see them be at least better than the previous console ports. No more emulation to get perfect speed and graphics would be nice...

[Smithee of Zur-En-Arrh]

Hmm, it appears that my quest for good PS2 fighters didn't lead me anywhere. I thought I knew less about the topic than I already did. I've got every KOF game on PS2 except for Neowave and '99, and I suppose I'll get those Street Fighter collections should I find them cheap, mostly to own them... and that's why I asking for a stick, to play these things properly, but even so, I was hoping for some new games I'd never heard of.

Guess not, but it was worth a shot, thanks guys! Now I gotta find that stick though... I might go slightly cheap-o and just get a Mayflash, since it also works on PC and it can't be that bad, and even if it is I don't have to break bank getting it.

There's a lot to consider. I'd blow mega bucks and get that thing Feynman if, A, I had those mega bucks to blow or, B, I could get one with 8 buttons. That way I could play the KOF games with the buttons in a row or the Street Fighter games with three buttons on two rows or even Tekken with the two buttons on two rows.

This reminds me, Super Street Fighter kinda took over my life of Virtua Fighter, I should get back into playing some of that.

[kyouki]

I thought of some more interesting fighting games for the PS2!! Sadly, they are import only:

Garouden Breakblow Fist or Twist
Based on some kind of mixed martial arts comic, this is a pretty unique game. Plays kind of like Tekken with a more extensive grappling/ground game. It looks really good for a PS2 game, but all the characters are ugly as hell:


Tobal 2
Can't believe I forgot this one! Plays like no other game, but I guess the closest is Virtua Fighter? Looks gorgeous for such an old game and the throw system is based on grappling, which is very unique. Also has an RPG mode where you explore random dungeons and fight battles using the fighting game engine! Play this one in high res using ePSXe and be blown away.

Hajime no Ippo 2: Victorious Road
AMAZING boxing game that has yet to be bettered. So fast it makes Fight Night look like a turn based RPG. Every single fight in this game will look like the best boxing match you have ever watched. This version of the game includes a ridiculously in-depth sim mode where you make a boxer and then regulate your diet and training regimen day by day in preparation for fights.

Wrestling games
Kind of stretching the definition of "fighting game" but Spike's Fire Pro Returns and King of Colosseum II are amazing games where everything is based on careful timing. Square's (!!) All Star Pro Wrestling III is also amazing but unfortunately has some button mashing elements.

Jul 30, 2010 4:47:30 GMT -5 jongoo said:

I'm eagerly anticipating this now that it's official. Maybe we'll finally get the port that it deserves. I'm mainly concerned about the speed of the game as the PS2 port runs a little slower.
You make it sound like it's a foregone conclusion that the graphics will suffer...why? I'm not too knowledgeable about that stuff. It'd be nice to see them be at least better than the previous console ports. No more emulation to get perfect speed and graphics would be nice...

I am pretty certain the current generation consoles do not support any resolutions below 480i... if this is the case, the graphics would have to be scaled. I remember the PS2 version running in a more appropriate resolution but maybe that was the DC version?

[Lash]

The Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Arcade Stick is by far is the best one I've ever used, although I imagine it is very costly now, as it was at launch.