Friday
Nov112011
ATP Review of the Hit Box Stickless Arcade Stick
BY 
Aris ON Friday, November 11, 2011 at 1:00AM
Aris ON Friday, November 11, 2011 at 1:00AM
My review and opinion on the Hit Box stickless arcade stick. Bring on the hate, and subscribe to our Youtube channel.
Reader Comments (68)
waste of time stick
Your whining makes me want to buy one.
Aris your right man...The Hit Box is cool and everything but w/ enough practice it does give you an unfair advantage. I won a custom one of these at UFGT7 and I sold it to a Darkstalkers player, and let me tell you what once you see all the BROKEN shit you can do w/ a Hit Box in that game...it's borderline RETARDED!
Its like playing Tekken 3,SF2 etc on a PC keybord :D
this point was sparked from the youtube comments: would you allow this 'stick' in your tourneys if it meant people like Qudans would come back to the scene?
Off topic, but there's a video of Kane up on TekkenReplays: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2jievSUpFU
...and yes, he lost.
I rarely disagree with you Aris but this is one of those times. I know its only opinions but I'd be a little bitch if I didn't argue back.
Fair enough Arcade Sticks are the most popular and the intended controller for use with most fighting games, its a fair point, I respect that. But you have to be more open to new things, its how advancements are made in all areas of life.
The truth is Hitbox does directional inputs easier, some might say better, depending upon your viewpoint that can be a good or a bad thing, but banning them? On what grounds? Because they look stupid? Because they're different? It can't be because they're unfair? I'll stress that as you said, the inputs are all manual, there's no cheating.
If you can buy an Arcade Stick, you can buy a Hitbox. Its not an unfair advantage, the way I see it Arcade sticks are a voluntary handicap.
I haven't been following the Hit Box arguments too much, but don't they allow you to do stuff like block in both directions for 2d games? I don't know if that's true or not, but that seems like something you should not be able to do.
"The truth is Hitbox does directional inputs easier, some might say better, depending upon your viewpoint that can be a good or a bad thing, but banning them? On what grounds? Because they look stupid? Because they're different? It can't be because they're unfair? I'll stress that as you said, the inputs are all manual, there's no cheating."
... look at bolded+italicized words.... n'uff said. but to humor you.. these really don't belong in any tournaments. i remember there was a time when you could press forward and back at the same time (in marvel or sf4 ..forgot) and it would block the hit regardless of what side you were on crossup. a 100% guard is not cheating? instant triple forward moves are not cheating? you basically have a stick with a turbo button on it. now... wasn't there a reason why turbo was banned? hmmMMmmmm
I sound like a broken record...
Before i start let me say that the hitbox is a cool idea and it is innovative in terms of facilitating the enjoyment of fighting games. There is a market for this type of device, people like to try new things and may like what this device has to offer.
Unfortunately, it is not and cannot be a replacement for the arcade standard, which is A JOYSTICK!!!!111. Just because it lets you do all these cool things does not mean it is fair to use in an equal competition setting. Unless all players entering a tourney will use this peripheral (which i'm sure will happen down the line somewhere), it is an unfair advantage, plain and simple.
Btw, i also think this device is overpriced, if you really want to make the effort to use a hitbox, get off your a$$ and mod any arcade stick yourself. You can easily replace the panel on an old TE or HRAP for this purpose (if you are so inclined...). Too many people will see a peripheral like this and think "sweet, i can do all that crap like the pros" which is a huge misconception. This is a neat fad, like modded controllers for fps games (i already said this a while back...). Corked bats anyone???? They help you hit dingers. Its not cheating cuz i'm not using steroids! LOL!!!
i rest my case...
How is it innovative, if it's basically a fucking keyboard? Also, where are these guys who said that keyboard is worst controller for fightings?
this review is easily the worst you've done, although you were honest enough to preface it by saying you had absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
sure, hitbox type controllers make certain types of input easier, but the also make others harder. half circles/tiger knees are much harder to do on a hitbox than they are on a pad or a stick. instead of just flicking your wrist or twiddling your thumb, a giant swing requires 4 separate inputs on 3 different buttons using 3 different fingers. so i have to make sure i've fully release the f before going to b,db, fully release the b for the d, df, fully release the d, and f again. sure, you can eventually train yourself out of it, but it's much harder to do on a hitbox. if i (a king main) were to lose to a pad/stick king that hits me with a giant swing after i botched one myself, i wouldn't sit around and bitch about how it's unfair that his inputs are easier, i'd go fucking practice.
you didn't mention anything in the video that can be done on a hitbox that can't be done on a stick/pad. you mentioned two things that can be done easier. who the fuck cares? use what works for you, but you should realize that it's fucking stupid to go around recommending that these be banned at tournaments when there are already uneducated tourney organizers trying to ban them
oh and there's absolutely no similarity to having a turbo button on your fucking controller. anybody can already triple tap the face buttons of their fucking stick and no one's bitching about that. jesus christ you pussies should get over yourselves.
ps @aris hope you don't my posts personally as i'm a fan of the site (bought an atp shirt that's too big for me) just wanted to voice my opinion on this particular topic
@ Quadrupledragon: Nope, Not the Hitbox. Some controllers like this did allow both left and right to be pressed at the same time. However the Hitbox PCB is designed so that left + right = Neutral, also down+up = up
@ joebo: You can't block both ways with the Hitbox, as for instant running attacks, so what? If you can iSW then you can already do instant running attacks. The Hitbox just does it marginally faster and way easier. Do some research before you go insulting peoples intelligence.
Good input is a very small part of what makes a person good at a fighting game, Tactics, planning and reaction time are way more important imo.
My Youtube comment: "I disagree on several points, but I am tired of getting a blue face over it. If was all true and easy as you say, then I still would happily keep playing Hit Box. We have enough "Qudans" in the world destroying their hands for the amusement of others using arcade stick and pad. And if nothing else it should be allowed for the handicapped. The Hit Boxes small layout opens the door for one handed people to be able play fighting games. Disrespect me or not I am a satisfied Hit Box customer."
To expand on that, Fighting games are about the mind games and out playing your opponent. Why do you care if the high bar that few can reach in execution can be reached by more? We are not circus performers here.
And those that want to question my own abilities, because I am a Hit Box player. I have mastered pad and arcade stick and reached the top 20 in the majors I have entered with both. If you face me in tournament and do not desire to play against a Hit Box, then borrow an arcade stick for me and I will beat you with that. That or I will put one hand behind my back and beat you only with my left hand on my Hit Box to even these so called odds you think I have over you.
With this socalled "review" you stand out even more as an odd, old, conservative person who doesn't like changes and hates everything he doesn't understand. You don't want archades to die out (which is understandable), you really don't like people playing on pad (but you can't do anything about it so it's ok for you), and now you badmouth another device which is open for anybody to use.
If it is easier, why don't you use it yourself then? I think certain things might be easier to input but not everything. WHat anout backdashcancel or qurter circle movement? It takes practice and I'm not going to get any more wins over people better than me just because I swith to hitbox.
Where can I buy a hitbox, is my first thought after your review. If anything could make the execution easier, I'm all for that. Why do you want an arbitrary barrier like execution to be a hinder for your growth in skill and having fun and becoming better. The games should be about the mindgames and setups and reflexes, not about the actual execution of your handgestures. It's just seems like a random barrier to overcome in order to enjoy a game to the fullest.
This is a horrible review.
The Hitbox is a legit stick, you can't do anything on it that you can't already do on other sticks/controllers. Like someone else mentioned earlier, some motions are made easier while others are made *much* harder. Who are you to try and tell people what kind of input device they can use? Just like on a pad, you would have to practice to reach any top level of performance. This is not some "instant boss mode" device that you make it out to be.
Try and take your 15 minutes of practice into a major tournament and see how well that works out for you.
Shoutouts to calling the Hit Box TOO EFFECTIVE then calling it a joke and contradicting yourself, you fat fucking gnome.
Should execution be removed from Basketball as well? How about Archery? I think many people are missing my point. It's not that something is easy or hard on one or the other. It's that there is no standard for competitive fighting games because there is no governing body to enforce rules. Even if HitBox is not a big deal and doesn't need to be banned. Where do we draw the line? Anyway, please continue.
Hitbox..... IT'S A FUCKING JOKE