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Review : Hori Fighting Stick EX2 Virtua Fighter 5 Edition for Xbox 360
On Friday I called my local GameStop and asked when the Hori Fighting Stick EX2 Virtua Fighter 5 Edition for Xbox 360 was going to be in stock. I've had it reserved for months and it ends up that they got it in stock last month but they never put it out and they never got around to letting me know that they had it. The clerk then asked if I wanted them to put it aside until I got there, I told them that I had reserved it so yes I would like to get one (that's why I reserved it.) Stay classy GameStop.
There has been a real deficit of arcade joysticks for the Xbox 360. I already have a Tekken Hori Arcade Stick for PS2 and I had a decent fighting stick for Xbox one but there is no way to use a PS2 or Xbox one controller on the 360. I can't wait for Street Fighter 2 HD Remix and I really need a good arcade style controller for it.
Hori is probably the best arcade controller maker on the planet. They have been making arcade quality sticks for a long time and they know their stuff. I first got my hands on one of these bad buys at PAX.
This is a mid size joystick that is just the right size to fit comformably on your lap. It's a perfect size. Not too small and not freaking huge. It is no where near the size and bulk of the Hori Tekken Arcade stick but it delivers the goods. It feels great and sturdy. It has an authentic Japanese style convex button layout and solid state mechanics that result in solid clicks in a real arcade experience. It has a classic Capcom style three on three layout that is perfect for most fighting games. The joystick has a perfect click to it and a nice big comfortable ball. There is no rumble and it is a wired USB controller but that's OK by me. I can also use this on my Mac with emulators. There is a curved port for the Xbox Live Microphone headset and a nice 360 guide button. Rubber feat and a weighted base keep it in place during a game. Now the button layout is a bit weird in that three of the colored buttons are on top while one is on the lower row. This is a Neo-Geo style layout and I had to tweak the button placement for Street Fighter 2 on Xbox Live Arcade.
The only problem that i ran into was with Street Fighter Anniversary Collection for Xbox one. The buttons on lower row are the L and R triggers not the L and R shoulder buttons. In SF Anniversary Collection the hard punches and kicks were mapped to the black and white buttons and those are mapped to the smaller L and R shoulder buttons on the top of the controller. It's more a problem with the game and all Xbox 360 native fighting games would have no problem with the stick.
Surprisingly XBLA arcade games are a joy with this stick. I noticed that my game of Joust got easier to play since it's easier to tap out fast and furious button presses with this stick. Dig Dug, Pac-Man and Tapper all were greatly improved. Fighting games like King of Fighters Neowave, Fatal Fury Special, Dead or Alive 4 were fantastic. It's fitting that I downloaded the demo of Virtua Fighter 5 the day that I got this. This is pretty much the exact same stick that Hori made for Dead or Alive 4 but it comes with a set of Virtua Fighter 5 stickers instead.
It is priced at $59.99 and that is enough to scare away casual consumers but it is absolutely perfect for old school arcade freaks such as myself. If your serious about arcade style gaming and your down with The Xbox 360 that it's is worth putting off getting a game and laying out the cash for one of these.
Jake at October 15, 2007 
Reviews
Comments
if using it on a PC/mac, are there actually included USB drivers, or is it recognized natively when you plug it in?
Posted by: monkeypox at October 15, 2007 9:23 AM
You can use the same drivers on any wired Xbox 360 controller. There is an open source driver for the Mac.
http://tattiebogle.net/index.php/ProjectRoot/Xbox360Controller/OsxDriver
The Windows version should be plug and play.
Posted by: Jacob Metcalf at October 15, 2007 8:57 PM
Have you tried it on your Mac with MAME OS X and the open source driver ? Does it work ? What about the Hat switch mapping problem explained here -> http://www.theworldismeh.com/2007/09/25/how-to-configure-a-hori-xbox-360-fighting-stick-ex2-for-use-in-windows/
Posted by: Didz at November 2, 2007 4:56 PM
Why they didn't make the LB and RB next to the other buttons like they did for the WII and the PS3 arcade stick?
Posted by: Ricky at November 2, 2007 8:52 PM
uh this dosent work with the pref 360 and i'm super pissed
>.<
Posted by: mike at December 26, 2007 10:46 PM
Hi Jake, I got a mac (10.4.10) and the Hori Fighting Stick EX2 and I tried to use it with some emulators but it didn't worked. Could you tell me what you did so that it worked ?
I tried this link
http://tattiebogle.net/index.php/ProjectRoot/Xbox360Controller/OsxDriver
But in the 360 Controllers app, it says : No devices found.
Hope you can help !
Posted by: Gab at January 3, 2008 4:48 PM
Doesn't work with the Mac. It's recognized as FightingStickEX2 in the 'about this mac' menu but I couldn't get USB Overdrive or the Tattiebogle driver to work with it.
Posted by: mart at January 4, 2008 10:06 AM
Jake said in his review that it worked so I hope he got the answer.
Posted by: Gab at January 4, 2008 8:50 PM
My fighting stick is also not working with MAC OS X. Would be great, if someone could help me.
Posted by: Anonymous at January 11, 2008 6:06 AM
See http://neonichu.soup.io on how to use the fighting stick on OSX.
Posted by: NeoNichu at March 12, 2008 3:22 PM
Thanks for posting the plist update. Still doesn't recognise the stick for me though.
Posted by: mart at April 10, 2008 1:11 AM
