DPad Vs Stick

Sick.

 

Some ppl have GREAT difficulty using all of the shoulder buttons , and in case you cant affoard a GREAT one (and why buy crap ?) , I have come up with a way around the flaws in the default controller configuration . :

1) Making both the triangle AND the square GUARD buttons .

2) Making the X button PUNCH and the O button KICK .

Let's pause here :
doing this is a very logical control system . Why ? it makes it easiest to use the seperations , and combinations of : P , K , G , P+G , K+G , P+K , & P+K+G in a very naturally "flowing" manner . Try this method for a few minutes and you will see the logic of it . :
You want P+G ? Simply slide your thumb to the down left .
P+K ? Thumb down right .
K+G ? Thumb up right .
P+K+G Thumb straight up and slightly off-center to the right .
Subsequently , you do not have to "bridge" , or hop over , any button to do any combination . And therefore all maneuvers can be performed with the thumb alone with VERY little practice , which is more in line with the controllers design , as its HARD to get your finger(s) onto the button area .

You can then distribute the four button "combo" options of : P+G , K+G , P+K , & P+K+G as you like amongst the four "shoulder" buttons If you WISH , but you will soon find that you have no need to do so .

HOWEVER , you will NEVER do as well as you will with a REAL arcade joystick . Also , having a joystick as only about twice to four times (FULLY customized) the price of the Dual Shock 2 , and it will work for any and every game you get . Consider all of the games coming out (or already out) on home systems that are just fighters . Not only that , but you will have not lost a step if you decide to take your skills out to the arcade for a test drive .

I have big old hands , so I think that that is DEFINATELY a strong contributing factor , but while playing I find that I cannot pull moves in the rapid succession that are nececarry to fight effectively , even if I could pass the training mode version repeatedly .

I tried all of the smaller "arcade sticks" (and I use this term VEEEERY looseley) , as between me and my freinds we have purchased them all , as we are all adults with jobs , so have tended to pack-rat them instead of having to return them to get new gear . and on other games I could get by with the lesser "pro" level sticks like the Hori Tekken one and whatnot , but as the timing , speed , and subtletey of this game is MUCH more evident , I was stuck at around 5th dan no matter what I did , and I found that even though I KNEW what to do next , making my hands do it perfectly each time was next to impossible , as my thumbs are nearly always touching more than one part of the controls at a time , on both sides .

A freind had A MAS Systems Prostick , and I tried it , and I absoloutley loved it . It also brought into question all the ppl who call things like the shadowblade and the ascii ARCADE joysticks . They are JOYSTICKS , but ARCADE they are NOT . The Prostick weighs FOUR KILOS (10 lbs , I think) and therefore DOES NOT MOVE !!!! and is EXACTLY the joystick you get in the arcade , with EXACTLY the buttons you get in the arcade . Also , due to its weight , it is not hard on your wrist due to having to hold the base still while fighting . Hell , I think you'ld have to bloody KICK the thing to move it . So I bought one . It cost me $150 U.S. , with my personal customizations . And if you consider that the base price is $95 U.S. {which is less than 3 memory cards or dualshock 2's) , not to mention that we are waiting patiently for Tekken 4 and Soul calibur 2 to come out on the PS2 , I think its WELL worth it . Although I have not yet asked , I am pretty sure that you could ship your stick back to MAS Systems and have them add a system to it at a later date , for the aditional $35 that it would have been initially , as they seem pretty cool and VERY flexible .

There are , however , some other companies out there that make TRUE "arcade" joysticks , but MAS was the only one I could find that made a SINGLE controller here are some references :

http://www.massystems.com/ProStick.html

http://www.x-arcade.com/

http://www.hanaho.com/products/HotRodJoystick/

Theese are the ones I think are the best out there that I have personally tried out . All of them are pricey . All of them are worth it .

by the way , I use Lei and Shun , ansd they both have strings and maneuvers that I couldnt do until I broke down and bought a MAS Prostick . Lei's ground game (nearly any of the moves) and the perfect "flow" of Shun that can be created with the stick are utterly impossible to pull at high levels in the midst of pressure with the DS2 . Just thought you may like to hear from someone who's NOT one of the 90% of the ppl that play akira , just for balance .