Is it crucial you pick up one of the best fight sticks for top-tier brawlers like Tekken 8 to remain competitive against challenging online opposition? Nope. Fight sticks are mainly marketed towards hardcore fight fans, but that doesn't mean the little kid in me that used to drop all the pennies in old school Street Fighter 2 arcade machines doesn't still think they're lot of fun.
Staying on Capcom's legendary Hadouken-throwing series, if nothing else, pulling off complicated combos in Street Fighter 6 is simply easier thanks to the oversized buttons the best fight sticks boast. And these slightly romantic gaming peripherals often sport special features that let you customize controls more than a traditional gamepad can.
The best fight sticks cater to all kinds of fans of the fighting game genre, spanning different consoles and budgets. Most of these sticks work just fine with PS5 and Xbox Series X, while several are backwards compatible with older consoles.
The best fight sticks you can buy today
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1. Nacon Daija
This stick only works on PlayStation and PC, but is a great pick for players who want a sleek, focussed design. It features Sanwa-made parts, the gold standard for arcade sticks, but many of the auxiliary controls are mounted on the side panel instead of the top, meaning you're unlikely to hit them by accident in the middle of a bout.
Nacon also offers some nice customization options, giving you full access to the stick's interior to replace components, a removable faceplate to swap out the artwork and the choice of a ball or baton top for your joystick.
2. Hori Fighting Stick Mini
At just $49, the Hori Fighting Stick Mini is the best fight stick option for folks who want to see what sticks are all about before throwing down hundreds of dollars. Compatible with PS4, PS3 and PC, this tiny stick is highly portable. The peripheral features a traditional 8-button layout and provides easy access to the PS4's Share button for recording those crazy combos.
3. Mayflash F300 Arcade Fight Stick
One of the most popular cheap best fight stick options on Amazon, the Mayflash F300 is another great starter stick. This peripheral features turbo functionality for mapping multiple button presses, as well as a switch for making the joystick behave as either a D-pad or an analog stick. It's also popular for its easy modifiability. There's just one catch: When using the F300 on a PlayStation or Xbox, you'll have to plug that console's controller into it to use the stick.
4. Qanba Drone
The Qanba Drone is an excellent middle ground when considering affordability, portability and build quality among our best fight stick selections. This striking yellow-and-black stick works with PS4, PS3 and PC, and has a special lock functionality to keep you from accidentally pausing a match. It's got a front-facing cable compartment for when you're traveling, as well as soft padding on the bottom to keep it from slipping off of your lap.
5. Hori Real Arcade Pro V Kai/V Kai Blue
If you're ready to get serious, Hori's Real Arcade Pro V is one of the best fight sticks, and one with a fancy premium build. This slick, extra-wide fight stick features arcade-standard Kuro buttons and metallic accents, with a smart button layout designed to prevent accidental pauses. The V Kai works with Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. There’s an attractive V Kai Blue variant available for PS4, PS3 and PC players, as well as a red V Hayabusa option for Nintendo Switch.
6. Hori Real Arcade Pro N
An even more premium best fight stick entry from Hori, the Real Arcade Pro N (PS4, PS3, PC) boasts slick metallic gold accents and Hori's sturdy Hayabusa joystick and buttons. Like the Real Arcade Pro V Kai Blue, the Pro N features a full touchpad for use on the PS4, as well as the typical turbo and button-assigning features. A well-hidden pause button and Hori's symmetrical "Noir" button layout help this high-end, sturdy stick stand out.
7. Qanba Obsidian
If you're seeking a top-of-the-line stick that will definitely stand out at tournaments, the Qanba Obsidian is a great pick. The Obsidian boasts one of the most striking designs among the best fight sticks, with eye-catching aluminum edges that are accentuated by slick blue LED lights. This PS4, PS3 and PC peripheral sports high-end Sanwa Denshi buttons, a PS4-friendly touchpad and all of the extra programming features you'd expect from a modern fight stick.
8. Razer Panthera Evo
The Razer Panthera Evo is the latest version of the company's flagship fight stick, with 8 face buttons that sport the same responsive Razer mechanical switches you'll find in the company's popular gaming keyboards. As with previous iterations of the Panthera, the Evo is built with modding in mind, with a transparent top panel that lets you easily swap in your own artwork as well as a removable bottom panel that lets you open up the stick to swap out parts. Factor in a durable Sanwa joystick lever, an improved case design with a rubber base and a handy headset port for using the cans of your choice, and you've got a dependable premium best fight stick built for both performance and customizability.
9. Razer Atrox
The Razer Atrox is the Panthera's best fight stick counterpart for the Xbox, offering many of the same features for Xbox One and PC gamers. That means you get the same mod-friendly design, storage compartments and Sanwa buttons, but with a green Razer faceplate instead of a blue one.
10. Qanba Dragon
This monster of a controller sports a striking red-and-black design, complete with a big sturdy base, an LED lighting strip and a flip-up design that allows for easy modding and part replacement. The Dragon sports all of the essential features of a high-end best fight stick, including genuine Sanwa Denshi buttons, a dedicated PS3/PS4/PC switch and a 8.5-foot braided cable. You probably won't want to travel to tournaments with this massive stick, but it'll make a great centerpiece to your training area if you have the cash for it.
11. Victrix Pro FS
The Victrix Pro FS is as high-end as fight sticks get. This premium stick packs a stunning, semi-hollow aluminum body, which is curved for wrist comfort and light enough to carry around via its convenient handles or optional strap attachment. The stick's premium Sanwa buttons and removable joystick are built to endure years of competitive play, and you can easily open up the Pro FS to swap in new parts. The stick's customizable RGB lights add to an already gorgeous design, and its handy onboard controls are built to let you conveniently access menus without accidentally pausing mid-match.
Available in PS4 and Xbox One variations, the Pro FS carries a hefty asking price, but serious players just might find the investment worth it.
12: Hit Box
It may not look like your traditional fighting game controller, but the Hit Box has proven to be popular with pro players. Instead of using a joystick, you instead have four direction buttons that you press in different combinations to move your character. While it doesn't offer the same feedback that a joystick does, some users find they have better control over their actions when using digital buttons instead of an analog input.
While you may be unsure about the control style, there's no reason to doubt its practicality. The Hit Box works with the PS4 (and by extension the PS5), the Nintendo Switch and PC, so it'll likely work on whatever platform you like playing your fighting games. Meanwhile its compact frame with replaceable parts makes it easy to carry around and repair or modify.
Available via Hit Box Arcade
13. Mixbox
Another stickless fight stick, the Mixbox mixes traditional arcade buttons with keyboard direction inputs to create a hybrid option, ideal if you find joysticks don't give you the input or feedback you want from a controller.
It's super versatile, with the more expensive Universal Edition allowing you to play on basically any console you like, including the PS5. You'll need to weight up the costs before you buy this model, but we can vouch for how easy it is to use and how good it feels to play with.
Read our full Mixbox review
How to choose the best fight stick for you
Beyond normal device buying tips like keep your budget in mind, here are some pieces of advice that are unique to buying fight sticks.
The first thing to consider is how portable you want the stick to be. Do you intend for the stick to remain plugged into your games console or will you be carrying this around to play at other venues? Keep that decision guide in mind when you see how large and how heavy these sticks can be.
Another important factor you need to check is platform compatibility. There are third-party products to make fight sticks work with any console you wish, as well as some sticks that have multi-platform support built-in, but it's better if you know you can pair your new fight stick with at least your own console without any hassle.
If you want to get really in-depth, you could also take a look at the button and joystick arrangement. Some sticks place their buttons in two parallel lines, while others have the rightmost buttons offset to emulate a particular arcade cabinet layout. Likewise, some sticks use rounded tops for their joysticks, and others feature a longer baton-style top instead. The option to customize your stick is always there if don't mind opening up the fight stick to change the parts over. However if you can, try out some sticks in person before making a purchase to see which set-up you prefer.
