Arcade Fightstick
When playing fighting games, people usually use a Japanese style arcade fightstick rather than a console controller or fighting pad. However, that does not mean that fightsticks are better than controllers and fighting pads. Console controllers and fighting pads are equally as useful in performance as evidenced by top competing players in fighting game tournaments that use controllers and fighting pads. The decision to use a fightstick or controller is totally up to the preference of the user.
There is not one correct way to hold or use an arcade fightstick, but I will demonstrate how most people tend to use their fightsticks.
There is not one correct way to hold or use an arcade fightstick, but I will demonstrate how most people tend to use their fightsticks.
The most common way to hold the fightstick, as shown above, is to place the shaft between your left hand's middle finger and ring finger, and grab the balltop with your thumb, index finger, and middle finger. For the right hand, most people tend to place their index finger, middle finger, and ring finger on the three top left buttons, and tend to place their thumb on the bottom left button.
Even though most people hold the joystick in the manner stated above, I personally like to hold the joystick by placing the shaft between my ring finger and pinky. Again, there is no correct way to hold or use a joystick. As long as you are comfortable and can execute basic inputs, you can hold and use the fightstick however you prefer.
Even though most people hold the joystick in the manner stated above, I personally like to hold the joystick by placing the shaft between my ring finger and pinky. Again, there is no correct way to hold or use a joystick. As long as you are comfortable and can execute basic inputs, you can hold and use the fightstick however you prefer.
Button Layout
The typical button layout is to have all the punch buttons on top and all the kick buttons on the bottom. The top left button is set as the Light Punch (LP) and the bottom left button is set as the Light Kick (LK). As you move right, the buttons become the stronger version of the specific attack buttons. This layout is not the mandatory setup to play SFIII: Third Strike, but it is the most preferred and used format.