List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $49.99
Today's Bonus: 38% Off
The WWE Brawl Stick is essentially the same as the Street Fighter IV Fight Stick (Standard Edition) that Mad Catz released a while ago. However, the buttons and joystick feel slightly improved; the joystick feels smoother and more responsive while the buttons are less stiff. I've never tried the Mad Catz TvC Wii stick, but I've heard it's very similar in feel. For arcade stick beginners, this stick is a solid option without having to drop over $100. If you are serious about fighting games and want to step up your game, I recommend switching to arcade stick; games like Street Fighter are meant to be played with one.
The case fits easily in your lap without feeling to baulky or heavy. Rubber feet on the bottom keep the stick steady if you want to play on a table. The USB cord is plently long. In my opinion, this stick is a great size and has all the features you could want in an arcade stick (see product description for a complete list of features).
The best thing about this stick is it's very easy to mod. The buttons have quick disconnects, which means no soddering is required. Higher quality buttons, such as Sanwa or Seimitsu ones (about $2-$3 each), will snap in easily. The stock joystick and mount is the same size as a Sanwa JLF, one of the best joysticks on the market (about $25), so swapping the joystick is similarly easy. The hardest part about modding this stick is switching the artwork (unless you want The Rock staring at you while you play). To give you a rough idea, upgrading this stick will cost you an additional $50 for premium parts. There are plently of step by step guides online for modding. Here's a link for one very helpful guide:Overall, this stick is a good buy and can be easily upgraded with a little extra cash.
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this is a decent fightstick. it's not top quality but it feels good. for a beginner or i should say a returner to stick, it hasn't disappointed very much. there are some areas that can be improved to make the stick a bit better but it is easily modded (this is my intentions).
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
the joystick had an issue from the beginning. it didn't engage properly for jumping forward and backward. i was hitting the corners correctly but the character was only walking. it seemed that the actuator was not connecting with both switches in the corners, so i had to input slightly more to the up side to get a forward or backward jump. however, i corrected that by modding the actuator on the joystick with some electrical tape. this caused the switches to engage slightly sooner and allowed both to be activated in the corners.
the stick is a square gate and will take getting use to since i was accustom to circular gates. but the gate can be changed with an octogonal gate(or circular gate if found). so i ordered an octogonal gate to provide more familiarity for myself. I will see how the joystick operates with an octogonal gate before replacing it (if necessary). since good players use square gates it should be an issue for some people.
WHAT'S NICE
the BUTTONS are very responsive. i don't think that they will need changing until they start to fail.
the TURBO function works great. so far i was able to complete some of the trials on SSF4 that has eluded me when is was playing the pad.
the FIGHTSTICK has good weight and don't move easily while playing. it has a sturdy build and look like it can take some rough treatment.
it's easily MODDED. this is great for this stick. a SANWA JLF and 30mm buttons can easily swap out the originals. no soldering required! there is also a template on the net for replacing the artwork with your own custom design (unless you like the rock and who ever the other man is. i'm not a wrestling fan).
CONCLUSION OF OPINION
it is a nice stick that you can work with. if your looking near perfection, look elsewhere! i suggest that modding is the way to go if the stick don't feel or perform to your expectations. a SANWA JLF joystick will cost around US$25 and an octogonal gate around US$5 online. this should be all that is needed. since this SE (standard edition)fightstick is for US$70 and modding is about US$30, US$100(before shipping) should provide you with a great feeling fightstick. this is less than what u would pay for a top of the line stick like a TE (tournament edition) fightstick.
this stick is definitely worth the 70 bucks. i suggest buy and mod.
UPDATE (2012/06/07)
i had this brawlstick since october and modded the joystick with a SANWA JLF an an octogonal gate. the fightstick has taken some rough treatment and is still going. i replace the L1 and X buttons with the L2 and R2 buttons due to improper functioning. these buttons i seemed to use more often so it is only natural(wear and tear) that they malfunction first. i also drilled 4 holes in the base plate of the fightstick and installed 4 thin but long bolts to secure it to an old table i have with wing nuts. as i stated earlier, the stick got some rough treatment when i was trying to execute complicated moves. therefore, i took apart the SANWA JLF stick in it and tightened the loosed screws that secured the joystick into its plate. definitely the result of rough treatment. it is windows 7 compatible(driver installed automatically) and i use it to with M.A.M.E and other emulators i have on the pc. hence, old classics like street fighter 2, killer instinct 2 and marvel superheroes(just to name a few) are available with the arcade feel i was used to.
FINAL CONCLUSION
with the mods done to the stick, it feels good. much better than before i modded. i am totally loving this stick. i am very pleased with my purchase. i suggest BUY AND MOD.
Buy PlayStation 3 WWE All Stars Brawl Stick Now
The WWE All Stars Brawl Stick is a great stick for beginners and also a great platform for modifications. I hate the artwork that came on the stick but, that was easily fixed by creating a lami label at the local copy store. The buttons also suck. They're supposed to be the same as Sanwa but, feel lighter and kind of crappy. My lazy hands like to rest my fingers onto the buttons and Sanwa's are just too sensitive for that so I switched to Seimitsu screw down with minimal effort. The joystick also needed help and was sticking due to the poor plastic quality. The metal washer was riding up outside of the indent made to capture it. I fixed this issue by gluing the metal washer in place. Parts from the joystick are compatible with the Sanwa JLF and I tried the octagonal gate but, decided the square is where to be. So far all is well.Read Best Reviews of PlayStation 3 WWE All Stars Brawl Stick Here
Even though the art is hideous and the placement of the L and R buttons is switched. I would recommend this stick due to its easy moddability and overall good quality for its price.Want PlayStation 3 WWE All Stars Brawl Stick Discount?
Good fightstick to get started with while waiting on higher quality parts. The Madcatz joystick is garbage. The washer inside the joystick slides out of place. The buttons work, but feel cheep. I had to replace some of the screws when I installed a Sanwa joystick and buttons because they were stripped.
