Real Arcade Pro: 3 Premium VLX

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This is the ultimate fighting stick and truly brings the arcade experience home. The sheer size and weight of the stick brings home the point that this is the king of all arcade stick controllers.

It is designed in collaboration with TAITO to recreate the TAITO "VEWLIX" Arcade cabinet. The stick uses authentic Sanwa stick and buttons and has other functions classic to the Real Arcade Pro. series like the turbo and the stick control toggle function. It also has a non-slip surface on the entire bottom and comes with an additional option board that you can mount the controller on to further enhance your stability.

The main feature for this controller has to be the fact that you can easily access the internal of the controller by simply unscrewing 3 screws. Maintenance and customization is a breeze to any other controllers out there.

Overall, this controller addresses all the players wants and needs and is a masterpiece of a arcade stick controller.

A must buy for any player serious for an authentic arcade experience.

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GENERAL:

I purchased the stick when it was on sale here for $65 off the list price and it was worth every penny.

I've used several joysticks (Hori Fighting Stick 2, HRAP3, MadCatz SE (with full Sanwa) and TE Round 1 FightSticks) and the VLX would be my weapon of choice any day. When using it on a table the rubber bottom ensures the stick will not move. The wooden option board is a nice touch as well if you want to mount your stick to it, but I find simply placing the stick on the board works well. Note the stick does not have any protruding rubber feet to potentially interfere with lap use. Lap use may not be as comfortable compared to other sticks due to the weight (12 lbs) but you'll get used to it. In comparison the HRAP3 weighs 5.7 lbs.

LOOKS:

The VLX is the most beautiful mass produced stick I've seen yet. While most of the black parts of the stick are matte the rest provides a nice glossy contrast. The top art is a nice metallic red with some mirror accents and you really need to either see the VLX in person or watch some videos to see how light interacts with the glossy parts.

SOUND:

The sound of the joystick and buttons are much more hollow when used and that's due to the sheer physical size of the housing. Not only is this much wider than the Round 1 TE FightStick but it is taller as well. The hollow sound doesn't bother me though.

USAGE:

Let me start by mentioning one of my favorite features: the angled palm rest. I was afraid I wasn't going to like it since I've been using the Round 1 MadCatz TE Stick with the flat surface, but I was able to make an immediate adjustment to the angled palm rest and love it. Using this stick feels much more natural to me.

The joystick (JLF) and buttons (OBSF) are your typical Sanwa variety and the general consensus on them is they are high quality arcade parts that can take a beating and are great to use. If you've ever used these Sanwa parts or own any variety of a MadCatz TE stick then you'll know what they feel like: the joystick is responsive and the buttons are sensitive.

I've opened the stick to replace the L1 and L2 buttons with the included button plugs and everything inside the stick is cleanly wired and organized. I put the 2 extra buttons in the button holders found inside the stick in case any of my main 6 have issues.

The USB cable storage compartment is large enough for the 3m cable to easily fit. I placed the included cleaning cloth in the back of the storage compartment to clean the surface here and there.

Transporting the stick has been an issue due to the irregular large size and fortunately Hori released a travel bag made to fit the VLX. Unfortunately they're charging a hefty price ($39.99) and since their site is the primary store selling it the shipping cost pushes the bag close to $50. For $50 you could almost get the HRAP3!

CONCLUSION:

To me this is the king of joysticks. It reminds me of the times I spent playing SF4 in Japanese arcades. At the price point this is a joystick for enthusiasts, collectors, and those who aren't hesitant to spend. However if you get this joystick you won't regret it.

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I've played in arcades in Japan, and until now, I have yet to feel anything close to the actual feel of the arcade machines.

Then a friend recommended this to me, and now I recommend this to all of you.

This fighting stick feels like heaven in your hands. The resistance of the joystick feels loose enough to not have to put your whole body weight into moving, but not light enough to input more commands than you want to.

The buttons have the right amount of spring to them, and the layout feels very natural to play on.

It's a great feeling to have this behemoth in your hands.

CONS:

The only thing that really bothers me is how big the stick is; it's roughly almost 2 feet in length. Also, the joystick and the buttons seem rather close for how long the stick itself is.

Over-all, it's a fantastic piece of equipment.

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HRAP vlx is by far one of the most sturdiest, heaviest arcade joystick I've ever played with. With the addition to the sanwa parts that come with the joystick, feels like you're really in the arcades. I've been playing fighting games with this joystick, and I usually play aggressively, therefore my motions using the stick is pretty forceful, however, no matter how much force I put in, It is still extremely sturdy and strong and doesn't move as much. This product is definitely recomended if you're a die hard arcade fan and want the full experience of being in the arcades at your home.

The only thing that I see as something to look out for is that when pressing the buttons, it does feel slightly hollow compared with the MadCatz tournament edition fightstick. I believe it is because the box itself has a lot of space inside and the top is slightly thin. Yet this feel is really subjective, I personally don't mind it. Especially when Im focusing on beating the bosses, I don't even really notice it while i'm furiously trying to win a game. The price is pretty expensive too. All in all this is a great joystick and I do recommend this product for those die hard arcade gamers!

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man, pretty much what all other reviewers said about this stick is all true. it feels like i'm playing with silk. sooooo goood!

and that just made my disappointment THAT much worse when i came to find out that sony has yet to (and probably never will) release updates to get it to function with ps2 backwards compatibility. i have a ridiculous library of ps2 fighters, and that was one of the deciding factors on getting this stick.....

again. THIS STICK WILL NOT WORK WITH THE PS2 PORTION OF BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE PS3'S.

on the other hand, it DOES work wonderfully with everything else! playstation 1 games running on ps3 ARE compatible and play amazingly with it. and you can usb it into a pc and most things run fine with no other software involved (at least on win 7)!!!

the few problems i had (specifically with "super street fighter 4 ae") were all solved by using "x360ce"(search google. its easier than it looks to use it). any other issues are solved with "joy2key".

i went into this purchase expecting that people over-exaggerated how good it is. they weren't. they were under-exaggerating. within five minutes, i actually knew i was better at fighters than i had ever been before. what you attempt to input into this thing generally is what gets read by it. wanna do 90 dragon punches in a row in your sleep (on your first try, when you used to have trouble pulling even ONE off in the heat of the moment before)? no problem!!! i would compare "coming off a Mad Catz Street Fighter IV FightStick into THIS CONTROLLER" to "selling your old run down station wagon and getting a brand new sports car".

as sad/mad as i was that i couldn't play my ps2 fighters(and i was REALLY mad), after using it, i almost could care less. this controller is mad expensive, but if you can afford it (and don't care/are willing to overlook the lack of ps2 compatibility), then it's more than worth it! the fact i have no choice but to give it a perfect review even though it lacked an important (to me) feature should definitely say something about the product (and in hori's defense, sony is entirely responsible for the lack of functionality.)

(yes, i'm sure a custom made stick is probably better, but this might as well be one. and heck, it seems so easy to mod and repair, if you dislike something you can just change it!)