Good stick, no mods required.
There's a lot of negative reviews about this stick. I want to clear some things up. The only reason this stick is getting bad reviews is because of complete elitists. They think that since it is not as good as a the Real Arcade Pro that it is garbage. This is not true. In fact, there are some advantages to its design. Firstly, the joystick is very nice and responsive, with an octagon plate so that you can easily do rolling motions. The microswitches inside are a bit loud, but the stick works so well that it is a worthy tradeoff. Second, and probably the most controversial, the buttons. They are not microswitch buttons. I knew this when I bought it, and I cannot see how a person would expect complete arcade parts for a mere 50 bucks. They are rubber contact switches. The downside is that there is no satisfying click when you press the button to know that the button press has gone through. The upside, however, is that they are still very responsive, and since there is no clicking you can jam the buttons quickly and still be very quiet. They spring back up just as fast as you let your finger off of them as well. They just have a different tactile sensation. I can go either way on button types, and would rather have microswitches but for rubber contact buttons, these are very well done. Lastly, the case. The case is a hard plastic shell, with a plastic overlay that shows fingerprints very easily. It is perfectly weighted, not too heavy, but not so light that you knock it around while playing. My only gripe is that it could stand another inch or so between the buttons and the joystick, but you can get used to it.

Overall, a wonderful stick for the price. I hope they get some more in stock so I can order another, as I made the mistake of only ordering one and now they are out.

Yeah this stick is insane
yeah i bought 2, one for my friend and the other for me...
we are only 3rd strike players and thanks play-asia for the very fast shipping...
i love this stick, it has a nice case for modding,too...
order it, and u'll get a very good stick for fighting games..

Not That Bad
I've finally got this stick and when I played it, it's kind a exactly what I expected. This stick was perfect for my fighting games collection, including my most favorite, Arcana Heart. This stick was also perfect for one of the game that you can't barley do the easy command moves (The King of Fighters NeoWave). With this stick, you'll be able to have more fun with your fighting games. I'd even had more fun with this joy stick with my Marvel vs. Capcom2 game. This Hori joy stick nice, and very affordable. For $49.90, it's a steal.

Amazing price, amazing stick.
I was doubtful from the few recent low scores about making the purchase. However, since I've just received and tested it, I'm glad I made the purchase.

The stick in itselt is very easy to get used to. The joystick isn't too loose and it isn't too stiff. Just got back from a couple games of CvS2 and everything went very smoothly. The buttons feels like there are cushions underneath, so hitting it hard still doesn't make loud noises, although it's not recommended. Other than that, everything pulls off perfectly, given the right inputs. No idea about the rumble feature, but it's there. The turbo buttons are there give it more variety, but you don't really need those for fighting games.

All in all, a very solid stick. It's not a HRAP (1 or 2), but it's the best deal given that those are insanely hard to find now. Make the purchase and have a great time.

Perfect to getting your feet wet.
I bought two of these things so me and my roommates can play some MVC2 the right way. I thought they would be a little bigger, but they feel super sturdy everything down the the stick and buttons.

Cant go wrong with Hori!
5 out of 5.

well talk about regrets
I jumped the gun on this one, the stick is horrible really, in retrospect i wish i just got the mayflash stick to mod because its a lot easier. BUT playasia has been great. perfect shipping and great condition no complaints... but the product.. if your trying to save money, buy the mayflash and mod it. you'll spend about the same as buying this one, but with much better results

Strictly for modding. and it's tough to mod.
the joystick on the HFS2 is bad. it's not the worst ever (that would be the ASCIIWare Ps1 stick), but it's bad. it's heavy and it's octagonal, which feels nothing like the real arcade. even the Hori soul calibur 2 / Tekken 4 /tekken 5 sticks are better.

the buttons are awful too. the use rubber contacts instead of switches. put a book on top of the buttons for a week and they'll never work properly again.

the size is pretty good, though. just enough weight, too. the features are awesome: analog left/right/digital mode work perfectly, and it has L3 and R3 buttons.

the case makes it perfect for modding if you have any intermediate modding skills. the buttonholes don't fit through straight swap. you also have to find a way to mount a Sanwa JLF before you can replace the awful stock joystick.

x.kigan:

for the new HFS2 sticks, the buttons aren't soldered because they use rubber contacts. :) the old HFS2 buttons were soldered, though.

No title
Highly recommended if you can't get your hands on a now rare HRAP. My only scare was that it didn't respond very well when I plugged it into a friends PS2 that was modded; it started playing up. But I plugged it into my PC using a PS2-to-PC USB converter, and used it on my unmodded PS2 and all was well. Used it for games such as GGXX, SF3 and VF4.

The stick is awesome for its price, and would be a great start if you want to practice on one.

P.S If you want to mod this stick, it may be difficult as I checked and most of the parts are soldered on.

VERY NICE!
Just got the stick yesterday...i ordered sunday, it got shipped monday would've got the stick tuesday but no one was there to receive it...SUPER FAST shipping...i am very pleased with the stick...its not too stiff and its not too loose...wavedashing in tekken is a breeze...button layout is also way better than the Fightingstick 3...i highly recommend this stick

Good stick for the price, but doesn't seem all that durable.
Works great- the buttons and stick all respond well and works perfectly on the PS2 and PC via the 3 converters I tried.

My only concern is that the build makes me scared of breaking it. Overall good value for the price.

Works
for 3D fighters such as Tekken and SoulCalibur, but for titles like 3rd Strike and other 2D fighters you should prolly' go for the HRAP and it's sanwa stick..

oh yeah
just got the stick like a week ago and its great. i use it playing marvel vs capcom 2 and it hasnt failed me. no regrets on buying it.

A high quality stick for a reasonable price
I use this stick mainly for SFIII:3rd Strike and I have to say it replicates the arcade experience well. It is especially good for parrying and the click of the stick feels good when executing moves.
One of my buttons (o) began to stick after first use but I managed to shave the plastic around the edge of the button that was causing this & it now works perfectly.
I have to stress that for the money it is a great stick, although I may still invest in a HRAP one day...
Oh yeah, I had mine shipped to London & UPS were an absolute nightmare to deal with. I also had to pay an extra 20quid on duty charges.
The stick is great tho!

Awesome.........
Got to agree with the last review, I ordered this on a Tuesday and received it in the UK on the Saturday. The stick feels great, 8 axis direction with a satisfying click. The buttons are big and spaced out evenly and I love the fact that the L1/2 & R1/2 are placed either side of the four coloured buttons.

What I really want to review is the fact how awesome this stick is with most games. It’s perfect with fighters such as;

Streetfighter Collection, Darkstalkers Collection, Guilty Gear Isuka, King of Fighters Neowave, Tekken 5, Virtua Fighter 4 etc

However, it is also really good with some titles that you might not normally use a stick for, 2 titles in particular include Gundam Seed OMNI VS ZAFT and Dragonball Z Sparking Neo/ Tenkaichi 2.

Wow!
Just got the stick a few days after placing my order; I don't even get orders shipped to me that quick when it's from North America. Very fast delivery.

I use this stick to play Virtua Fighter 4 EVO and I can pull of the moves flawlessly, especially the diagnol moves which some sticks aren't very good at. This one has a nice "click" and is very resonsive.

I originally wanted the REAL arcade stick but play-asia wasn't in stock, however, I am very happy with this one and have zero regrets.

Hori FS Stick 2
The buttons are great. Just like the ones in the arcade.

nice!
A great stick!one of the best available for ps2.very responsive and strong.only felt that it could be a bit larger in its left side,i found my hands sliping a bit when performing faster and more complex combos, but probaly thats just me thats too used to the AES old school stick. i found the buttons positions just perfect.
Oh!and Hats off to Play-asia.com for the Lightning Fast shipment!Faster than Bruce Lee himself. A near perfect stick that is tottaly value for money! if your a fighting fan or just love to play your favorite 2d games dont think twice.just buy it!
p.s- it ended up as a very nice controler to many 3d games too.

Great!
This stick is great. While the focus of the controller is for fighting games, you can play most games without any problems with it. With the switch in the top right, you can choose what you want the stick to control: normal (d-pad), left analog stick, or right analog stick. So you can play Onimusha 4 or Metal Gear Solid with this. There is a drawback though. Because the buttons are so large and spaced out so widely, it can be difficult to press some of the buttons at the same time. Onimusha 4 and MGS fans will know that the R1 button is a commonly held down button. You hold R1 and press Square to attack. On this stick, these two buttons are widely separated, so it can be pretty difficult to press both at the same time.

I give this stick a 90 out of 100. The joystick clicks when moving, and the slight problems I get with games like Oni4. Still, a Grade A controller and definately something every old school arcade gamer should check out!

No title
Nice and comfortable stick to play Tekken 5. Performing moves are pretty simple, however, when performing the more advance moves were hard. I guess you need to get use to the stick. Overall, a great stick!

Too many features
Love everything about the stick. Just it came with so many features that I thought was unneccessary (for example the turbo feature). The instructions for full operation of the stick are on the back of the box, but being Japanese illiterate I had no idea what to do. No idea what the L3 / R3 buttons do either. Nevertheless this is a very sturdy stick and for those unable to obtain a Real Arcade Pro this is just as good

Hori Fighting Stick 2
After researching the net for one of the best stick, yet cheap enough, this beautifully crafted item has come to satisfy all my arcade needs. Thanks to PlayAsia for fast delivery service with UPS. All the process took only 4 days. The entire package reach me on my birthday. Yahoo!... All my arcade days feeling is back... having those adrenaline rush when playing is the best!

Very Impressive
Okay i brought the hori arcade stick. I ordered on sunday, shipped on monday, received on wednesday. Very fast delivery faster than I had expected. The stick was very losse effective and responsive. Ofcourse i am used to the controller pad so it is still quite a new concept to me. I found it very fluent when testing it out on Tekken 4, and my my, it was very nice when performing combos and such. However performing wave dashes will take to get used to, I feel the stick general was value for money.

Best Stick Ever.
Never breaks, way better then the NAMCO stick and TEKKEN 5 stick, I had this for 5 years and it never broke, BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its good for tekken also.

No title
Though I prefer a 360 Mas stick when playing 2D games, the Hori 2 is perfect for 3D games. It has an ultra sensitive 8-way stick, which is bad for most 2D games, but excellent for executing advanced movements in 3D games. It’s also important to note that it’s a lot smaller than a standard Hori. If you have big hands like I do then you’ll have to get used to having your hands protrude past the stick’s base. Overall, I think it’s the best stick out there for 3D games.

If you like the arcade but...
These HORI 'real' arcade panels are amazing.
If you play 2D fighters (well, ANYTHING, Capcom made) you know the moves are designed to be executed on the arcade design!
Moves like 360 degree or advanced combos like CvS2 Rock's Neo Deadly Rave are done effortlessly.
Ever been unsatisfied w/ an arcade stick you've bought b4?
This will NOT dissapoint you.
This product has replaced any intrest I previously had, to own my own arcade machine. (for conventional reasons anyway)
Anyone disatisfied w/ this will never be satisfied w/ any solution to having arcade controls on your home console because this is PERFECT.

very much recommended
Clicky arcade stick, generous sized quiet buttons, nice and springy and loose too.

Works perfect, I also use it no problems with import games ( on UK Saturn and DC with controller adapters ), and it works with the PCE and adapter, as well as with the PS2 ( UK and Japanese systems ).

It's light enough to sit on the lap (maybe not for kids? it's fine for me).

Hori Fighting Stick
I like it a lot =)

Hori Fighting Stick 2
This stick is very good. :)

No title
This controller weighs about 3lbs, and measures about 20x27 cm. Start/select/etc are difficult to hit accidentally, and the joystick is also very good, and not too loose. I only wish the buttons weren't analog, but that's easy enough to live with.

Great Stick
IMO, better than the TTT and Namco sticks. A little bit of a tighter joystick (+), but buttons are a little deeper (-).

Hori Fighting Stick 2
Bought the stick pretty much as soon as it came out. Only one word needed to explain it. Awesome! You won't be disappointed.

HORI Fighting Stick 2
I bought it as soon as it was released and i'am not deceived, a very good stick according to me...

HORI Fighting Stick 2
Top für alle 2D und 3D Fighter.
Was besseres gibt es nicht für die PS2!