Tuesday
Oct182011
Pad VS Stick for Fighting Games
BY 
Aris ON Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 4:10PM
Aris ON Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at 4:10PM 
I made a video discussing which I think is better and why. Feel free to post your opinions on this issue in the comments here or on Youtube. If you are interested in more videos like this one, subscribe to our Youtube channel.
Reader Comments (39)
... Or we can just be lazy and say F*** choosing between the two and FUSE them both together! lol
Franken Fight Pad FTW!
My "unique" weapon of choice n_n
Interesting discussion.
This battle will never end lets be honest.
Isnt it funny how somethings in tekken are easier on a stick and som echaracters are better on a pad.
Lili: Pad, even dew glide and its options are easy on pad.
(this is my opinion on Julia) shotguns are easier on stick....
I hear doing electrics is easier on stick 2!?! I may be wrong I would never dream of using mishimas anymore...
Thats very tekken specific. As mainly a pad player though I wonder what I should be using SF X Tekken?
It is a capcom game at the end of the day.
I find using the right hand on pad more difficult than a stick. Especially pressing two buttons simultaneously. The weight of my thumb will press down uneven at times on the buttons I intend to press meaning I would get a 1 instead of a 1+2. Not to mention pressing another button if I'm really excited lol. With that said I've just trained my left hand to use a stick because I find the rest to be easier.
It's odd I disagree with most of the posters in this discussion. I prefer a pad for 2d games and sticks for 3d ones. Even SF I use a pad, but that's probably because I use a charge character.
"3D Games (tekken, SC, DOA, VF) - Pad"
People don't play VF on pad. VF has basicly no circle inputs and just hard dash inputs for lots of things, playing on a pad is really really bad in that game. Main defense (ETEG) would require you to break your thumb every time.
VF is very easy for pad and I assign buttons for multi inputs
What about quarter, half and circle moves? 1+3+4, 1+4, 2+3? Aren't they much more easier on stick? Shoulder buttons suck for few reasons. Also, directions are lot more accurate.
Who are you Keru? What scene do you belong to in VF? Where are you from? Never heard of you. I'm not saying this as a diss but cause out of all the games I've played VF imo has the absolute highest ratio of stick players (I think this is one of the reasons it doesn't break through in the west). Just cause you can play and win with your kid brother on pad doesn't mean it's "very easy for pad". Things like "I assign buttons for multi inputs" isn't an argument to that VF is easy on pad as you can say that in regards to every single fightinggame you play on your pad whereas it's tekken or sf and whatnot. This isn't a "what game is better" thing, this is what I consider facts. In the us how many topplayers in tekken are padusers? How many VF players?
Circles and so on are no (big) problem speedwise in comparision to hard dashing movements. Put your thumb on your pad (imagine it in the air) and do b,f,f (a movement required for Akiras DLC). Now do the same thing with just your wrist and compare the speed between the two. VF's modified movements (df,df,b,f+p dblplm anyone?) and general movement is 100% built up around this.
I didn't know about druming buttons or to grip the stick like that. I played with pad 'till 2009 and I think a stick is more fun.
Very nice video Aris it's nice to see someone take a serious look at the differences between pad and stick. Though I do think when it comes to playing the best or being the best I think it has a lot to do with the perception of pad and stick players since in some places the perception still is that if you're a serious player that you must use arcade stick(particularly in countries like Japan and Korea) and I feel as things continue to move more towards a more console heavy future that we'll see more people playing on pad since there won't be as strong a feeling that you must know how to play on stick since on console it doesn't really matter which type of controls you prefer. Also when it comes to playing against the Japanese and Korean players if they were able to travel more and had sponsorships then the arcade vs console tournament skew wouldn't be as much of an issue either. But anyways thats just my opinion and thanks again for the video and keep up the good work.
Excellent topic, Aris. I might have been "bitching" about this for some time(since evo), i am glad you decided to explain your take on this. I will not lie, I use a PS1 pad to play Tekken6 at home now and then. I prefer an arcade stick because I feel like it is an arcade standard and it also takes me back to my arcade rat days *sigh*. Arcade sticks are used by the best players in the world. In order to compete with them, you have to use the same tools they use (an even playing ground in other words).
Regarding button binding, that is another can of worms. Personally, i think it also contradicts the arcade standard (yes, i know they also allow it in most US tournaments). Hitbox? That's a cool fad i guess...
People forget that the purpose of a controller (stick/pad) is nothing but an extension of your own body; to be able to play the game. Judging from the comments, there's some hate towards pad-players. One even went as far as saying that pad-players are girls, which is just stupid. I don't play with a stick but I sure do have one in my pants.
I'm currently a pad-player, but I don't bind buttons. I place my controller on my lap and use my index for square, middle finger for triangle, thumb for X and ring-finger for circle. I've always played like this and it works great, and I'd recommend it to pad-players having problems with pressure with their thumbs trying to press two buttons at once. Regarding mapping, I allow my opponents to map because the game allows it. It was designed for it. I don't map, but I don't mind others doing it.
I think you're abit harsh on pad-players regarding the regional issue, Aris. Saying that you can't become the worlds best just because of your choice of controller. Regarding being the best player in the world, it shouldn't matter what kind of controller you chose to use. It should matter how well you are in using it and how well you use it as an extension of your mind and body to win.
Shout-outs to Battle Jitni and the Franken Fightpad.
I think a Korean stick is superior for movement than a pad once you get used to it. It snap's back to neutral and the distance traveled seems less than a traditional stick. I think that's why you see these insane korean mishimas
Nice video Aris.
I personally use sticks after graduating from pad after starting to play fighting game seriously. There are some excellent pad players in my area but the best of the best still use stick doing insane hayashita steps.
Being in an arcade in a Southeast Asian country is interesting, there's influences from both the US and Japan. The general consensus is still that stick is a superior controller for fighting games.
Korean sticks are superior for movement? No wonder Tekken Crash is so insane.
Wow this topic wasn't the flame-fest I thought it wasn't going to be. More like a flake-fest. Anyway yeah K-sticks are boss man. I love em', wouldn't go back even if Sanwa paid me.
I liked what Tamago had to say last page ago. Also, having played pad, jap and kor sticks, I have great curiousity for the hitbox. Not because it's hax or anything, but because it could relieve alot of tension on my wrist. since I picked up wavedashing characters I've fallen in love with it. dashing dashing all over the the fucking place. It hasn't felt so good on my wrist though. I imagine a hitbox would increase precision while decreasing fatigue.
And Aris, you're a fag if you outright ban the hitbox. I haven't heard your reasoning for why, but my reasoning for why not I feel is decent. I think that the less that players feel worried or bottlenecked by their controllers the more they will be able to play the fucking game, and play it impressively. If some guy comes in who isn't as practiced comes in and rips my shit open with a hitbox despite how hard I've practiced on my kstick, I'm going to ask him where he got his hardware rather than ask him to put it away. regardless of your method of input, tekken will always respectively be a game of concentration and reaction time, knowledge and its application, and strategic problem solving. The more intuitive the controller, whether pad, stick or hitbox, the easier tekken will be to actually play rather than learn to play, thus leading to some intense, amazing matches. Too, after all is said and done, i'm far more entertained by a battle of minds rather than a battle of who was bottlenecked less by their controllers. if hitboxes are awesome, everybody should be playing awesomely on one.
If the hitbox allow's exploit's it needs to be banned until the game's add support which resolves the problems for it. Simple as that.
*Ahem* Apparently most of the people here would probably allow corked bats in Major League Baseball as well, how about iron plates in my boxing glove? All this is still tied to the idea that arcades are still the STANDARD of which fighting games are based on (for competitive play).
To me the hit box is just a novelty (like modded controllers for fps games). My guess is that it was created with PC players in mind, not arcade players. Besides, unless two players both use hitboxes it wouldn't be fair. Remember, a lever joystick takes longer to return to neutral or to activate a tactile switch. A hitbox on the other hand, is much more sensitive (especially Sanwas') so blocking or movement would be much quicker regardless of the users skill. Plus the other exploits regarding the directional inputs. I'm sure this is why they never existed until now. LoL Especially back in the days when American arcades had nothing but Happ/IL parts, LOL. The first person to make a hitbox with Happ or Yenox buttons AND be an excellent player will earn plenty of respect. OOPS! are we off topic???
What problems for the Hit Box? Blocking both ways only effected MVC3 and the company fixed it in the firmware of the Box itself. Pads can still block both ways in MVC3, should we ban them?
Sanwa buttons help, but crouch blocking still requires two buttons. A lot of the simple things that pad and stick can do it is a little more complicated with Hit Box. The Hit Box just does some things better and just because it has varied strengths and weaknesses compared to stick and pad we should ban it?
We can move on to Tekken movement. Which honestly, the initial learning curve for movement is easier. But imagine pressing the following keys on your keyboard = D,F,F. Now imagine doing that in rapid succession to wavedash in Tekken. Not so easy now, is it?
The Hit Box is a valid piece of hardware. The Evolution staff did not ban it and neither should anyone else. It is just getting a bad rap, because people are theory fighting what it can do and they have no idea what they are saying.