does anyone have fight stick recommendations that could accommodate custom art but also aren't the size of a lapboard? i currently have a Hori RAP4 and like it but it's a) not actually mine and b) annoyingly big/wide. i'm new to taking fighting games seriously cuz of SF6 so i don't have any knowledge of brands or models or anything
also i am not interested in getting a hit/snackbox so please do not suggest that!
if build it yourself is an option (which isn't that hard IMO, no soldering needed), AFS makes 10 and 12 inch wide enclosures that you can put art under and are the smallest options I know of, and a friend made a pretty sweet guide on fight sticks (including how to build your own AND suggested retail sticks) here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fYqVRt_99AGFv7k7oBuEsW5POb50PdTdT5qirqZLS6w/edit?pli=1
the biggest pain, as with everything these days, is sourcing parts.
fwiw I have an AFS enclosure and it's rock solid.
Thanks for the resource, but are there really only 5 sticks that work on the PS5? The 3 Qanba sticks (Drone 2, Titan, Obsidian 2), the Victrix Pro FS, and the Hori Fighting Stick Alpha? Seems the fight stick market is pretty dire if that's the case.
sony (and xbox, to be fair) all real fun that way yeah.
you can get a USB adapter from Brook that makes that stuff universal but it's an annoying hurdle
I've been trying to find somewhere that even sells the Brook Wingman FGC in Canada since I got my PS5 and just straight up can't. Sold out perpetually everywhere I look.
Also fuuuu I forgot how much harder it is to jump through hoops to make controllers work on consoles now. Didn't put 2 and 2 together there.
this is definitely missing about a year or so of retail stick releases but it does say as much at the top, and most of the ps5 boards are updates of older ones, which... mostly look too big for the use case.
unfortunately you are paying a HUGE premium if you're looking for a ps5 board, even in the custom world of a board that's brook compatible natively.
yeah even the thing you attach to an older brook board is like 60 USD (and good luck finding ANYTHING brook makes around EVO)
Oops should have read more closely. Completely missed that little note at the top. Sorry!
I have one of these and second this. it's compact and sturdy.
I play on PC so boards are easy. I recently upgraded old homemade wood stick with a Pi-pico and gp2040-ce. I didn't get a breakout board I just soldered some headers on it and crimped all the wires into a connector. I can't believe there are peeps paying 30$ for the breakout to their 8$ board.
The Qanba Drone 2 looks solid, has PS5 support, and is smaller than their other options
Paradise Arcades makes a version of their Mpress with a lever, though I know a lot of people who have had issues with the Mpress build quality
https://paradisearcadeshop.com/products/mpress-fight-stick-pre-order
The FRS from Furin Arcade has a pretty small form factor because it's modular and can be swapped between lever and leverless. The Qanba Drone is pretty small for a traditional stick but I think it requires a little bit of modding to get custom art on it? Probably not terribly difficult though.
I use an old madcatz TE1 that i gutted and put a brook universal board in, you can often find them fairly cheap but it also requires a lot of fiddly internal surgery with a dremel to get the new parts to fit
I've heard the Mayflash F300 Elite is a great little stick, but I think you'd have to get skins printed for custom art.
I've heard the Hori Mini is a decent choice for people with smaller hands, and there's a shop called Decalgirl that sells skins for them. I don't have it myself tho
The Mayflash F500 and F500 Elite both have an acrylic top plate you can remove and install custom art under. I hear good things about them from people who have them. The base and Elite are similar except for parts - the Elite has higher-quality Sanwa arcade parts, but costs more.
https://www.mayflash.com/product/mayflash_arcade_stick_f500_v2.html
https://www.mayflash.com/product/1.html
Someone else mentioned the F300 and F300 Elite - one of the big differences is that the F500 series has the removable acrylic top plate for you to install artwork under, which sounds like it's what you'd want.
The F500 is 360mm wide - looks like the RAP4 is around 476mm wide? So it should be smaller.
Focusattack sells different types of DIY sticks that can accommodate custom art.
