The SALjoyArcade blog

Notes from the bench

Guides, part comparisons and technique for fight sticks and Tekken.

Pillar guide · 7 min read

The complete guide to arcade fight sticks

Everything you need to choose, set up and play on an arcade fight stick: levers, gates, buttons, layouts, console compatibility and Tekken-specific setup.

  1. What a fight stick is
  2. Anatomy of a stick
  3. Levers: the feel in your hand
  4. Gates: square, octagonal or round
  5. Buttons: sensitivity and sound
  6. Button layouts: Vewlix and Noir
  7. Console and PC compatibility
  8. Stick, pad or leverless?
  9. Setting a stick up for Tekken
  10. Care and upgrades
Read the guide

In this series

Go deeper

Parts

Sanwa JLF vs Seimitsu LS-32: which lever for Tekken?

How the two most popular Japanese fight stick levers differ in spring, throw and feel, and how to choose one for Tekken.

2 min readRead →
 Layouts

Vewlix vs Noir: choosing a button layout

What separates the Vewlix and Noir fight stick button layouts, and which suits Tekken and your hands.

2 min readRead →
 Technique

How to do the Electric Wind God Fist on a stick

A step-by-step guide to the Electric Wind God Fist (f, n, d, df+2) on an arcade stick: the motion, the timing and the most common mistakes.

2 min readRead →