« Review: Hori Fighting Edge Stick »

Arcade sticks have been a plenty in the new age of fighting games filled with new designs and new trends. HORI has been one of the lead competitors by providing their own set of well-made arcade sticks they have been selling for multiple years. But as mentioned, there are new designs and new trends that HORI was able to take advantage of with their latest creation dubbed the Fighting Edge (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3).

STORES.HORIUSA.COM | TWITTER: @HORIUSAINC

We have been teased multiple times before the release of this sleek and somewhat unorthodox stick. But does its minimalist style, flashing lights and its new arcade technology measure up with other sticks that are available on the market and is it worth its $200 price tag?

Upon receiving the stick, the package seemed to imply the stick was going to be massive as HORI's previous Real Arcade Pro VLX series but as I was closing in on touching the actual stick, the Fighting Edge was looking more like a excellently-made laptop.

After a full glance of the Fighting Edge, it definitely shows that HORI focused on the details to make it an entirely appealing stick to look at. The main colors of the stick fit very well with each other and nothing seems very out of place, aside from the colored buttons on my Xbox 360 version which isn't much of a big deal. The height seems much smaller than other sticks but the width is noticeably long. It somewhat helps the more larger gamers and is not overly wide which could have been more of a distraction than being appealing.

As I got more of my hands on the Fighting Edge, my expectations of it being huge were disappearing. Weight was much lighter than I originally thought it as it neared eight pounds, a couple less than other brands. Regardless of the lighter weight, the plastic body feels pretty solid to touch and hold on to. What I also notice especially is that it doesn't feel hollow so the beatings don't have that subtle vibrating effect.

While the top panel has the usual stick lever and buttons, the bottom has some interesting tech. The sides have handles much like their older sticks but the Fighting Edge has a groove that feels comfortable. There are some sticks that have the metal bottom and some with felt to prevent shaking on the laps. HORI made an all-around solution by using a special lining material which not only can stop most leg material but also act as a replacement to rubber feet. This material performs much more efficiently since they mostly stick in place.

The layout is reminiscent of the Namco Noir cabinet so players can have some space between the lever and buttons that are closer to a Sega Astro City. This was my first serious experience with the layout. It initially was weird since the buttons were much closer than that of an Astro City or a Taito Vewlix, but I was able to adapt and play efficiently. It should be fine for everyone else too, especially Tekken players.

Aesthetics were an important part into creating this stick and they were able to pull it off easily and effectively.

Most core elements for sticks nowadays are here in the Fighting Edge. You have your cable compartment to house the USB cable that can be connect to Windows 7 easily so you can use this with various emulators and PC games that welcome arcade sticks. I attempted to test the Fighting Edge on multiple Mac platforms with no success. There is another compartment that can house the cleaning cloth for the top plexi when it gets dirty. You can probably put other small things in that compartment as well. The doors do come out easily when opened sometimes which can be sort of a nuisance but due to how easy they can be put back in, it's not too bad.

One of the biggest aspects of the Fighting Edge when announced was HORI's proprietary parts. Initially I was very skeptical of the legitimacy of the stick being useful especially in serious tournament play due to previous history with with buttons and the lever. They have experimented with new parts to not really surpass companies such as Sanwa Denshi or Seimitsu but at least be as good as them and they succeed in most cases.

Angled front view of the stick featuring the Hayabusa lever and the Kuro buttons.The buttons dubbed under the name Kuro, are advertised to not only be precise and responsive but also lengthen its lifespan in comparison to other buttons. Cosmetically, the button's plunger is wider which can probably help with multi-tapping or be comfortable for bigger fingers. Performance-wise in initial tests from me and others that helped, it's able to match the effectiveness of Sanwa and Seimitsu. I can do various difficult button inputs on various games including Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Ver. 2012, The King of Fighters XIII and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike with relative ease. Think of the Kuro with the instant action of a Sanwa with very miniscule pressure

The Hayabusa joystick is the other half of HORI's proprietary line. One draw of the lever is its inner structure featuring "V Cut Cam Housing" where rotating gives the lever more life instead of the other brands that utilize a more rounded housing system. In terms of actually using it, it feels like a combination of Sanwa and Seimitsu. With personal and outside testing, conclusions came out that the Hayabusa has that common movement found in Sanwas but is more direct and snappy when reaching a direction found in Seimitsus. The Hayabusa personally has a good balance in terms of tension and point of impact so no mushy feeling and it's not really hard to rotate. Like ShinJN's pre-release look of the Fighting Edge, I would chose the Hayabusa over a Sanwa JLF, I can also say I would choose it over a Seimitsu LS-32 in some cases.

It's definitely a noticeable and excellent improvement over their older parts but since these are all new, time will tell how well they will perform after months to years of use. If they do succeed in conditioning, HORI should take the opportunity to sell these parts individually which can be successful.

Along with the stylish case and high quality parts, HORI adds another icing with its LED lights and touch panel. Instead of actual start and select/back buttons, those commands can be found in the LED touch panel. With a simple tap, the stick responds accordingly. For those who might not be able to keep their right hand in place and accidentally press start or select/back, they added a "Tournament Mode" where holding the mode selector for a couple of seconds can disable the first two commands. The Tournament Mode sensor also configures the lights on the side. They are lit blue and appropriately compliments the aesthetic. They also flash a different color when a game that has vibration enabled. Fortunately for those who can get distracted the light intensity, they can be disabled with ease.

Below Tournament Mode is "Configuration Mode" where you can change the commands of the main buttons. For example, you can have the left bumper/L1 button be used as the A/X button, the left stick button or even disable it from actually working. It's a cool addition but for players who have to play multiple games with different control schemes, it's might not be as useful except for disabling the last two buttons of the layout. Due to Microsoft's controller regulations, the main Xbox 360 face buttons (A, X, Y, B) cannot be configured which makes the Configuration Mode less useful than if you were using the PlayStation 3 version.

Left side shot of the Hori Fighting Edge. Shows the handle location as well as the Xbox 360 headset port.One common occurrence in arcade sticks are that users try to make it their own with modifications on various parts of the stick. Most notably, they would add custom art on the top panel. HORI allowed the ability to do so thanks to the easy implementation of removing six bolts. ShinJN's evaluation reveals that you can also replace the lever and buttons with Sanwa or Seimitsu (levers with specific mounting plates are compatible) and even change the LED lights.

A desired modification nowadays is multi-console compatibility. While there is a ground circuit allowing the possibility, the complexity of the touch panel and LED implementation has to be considered. Another thing to consider is the limited space so it might be hard for particular custom controller boards to fit. Independent modders involved in the community will surely be experimenting on the board to make the Fighting Edge both compatible on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 while having the full features of the stock product.

The stick is absolutely impressive for its luxurious design and features. But for some users, the Fighting Edge is that, luxurious. The $200 price tag can be a bit much for some people interested where some sticks nowadays are much cheaper while still useful. Some folks might be turned off by the touch panel and other fancy elements by concluding the Fighting Edge as gimmicky. Others might just want the excellent buttons and lever which can be really awesome if HORI sold them as separate items. The company can thrive on individual parts.

If you do have the $200, this stick is an absolute buy thanks to its attention to detail and overall quality. HORI made the right decision to have the Fighting Edge at that price tag since the it really feels like what it's worth. Even if it's more on the fancy side, HORI achieved a balance of extravagant design and original features while being efficiently playable.

This is HORI's first step in a possibly good future for their arcade sticks that I am interested to witness.