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| Review sample on loan from Monoprice. |
Monoprice is back with another addition to their Dark Matter gaming line-up! This latest product will surely delight fans of arcades and fighters as it is an impressive-to-behold arcade stick. Dubbed the Dark Matter Arcade Fighting Stick, yes a truly descriptive title if I have ever heard one, it looks to bring a premium arcade experience to players without breaking the bank. Monoprice was awesome to let me borrow a sample and see how it handles!
What’s In The Box
The Arcade Fighting Stick comes in a huge box that took me by surprise at first. My current arcade stick is about half this size. The galactic theme on the front with the glossy depiction of the stick is fun to behold. The sides of the box offset this with a solid grey theme and provide information about the stick and the contents of the packaging. The back of the box returns to a space theme and breaks down all of the key features of the Arcade Fighting Stick. Opening the box will grant you access to the Arcade Fighting Stick and a user manual. On the stick itself is a back compartment that houses a USB-C and Micro USB cable for controller passthrough and a hex screwdriver for opening the stick.
Aesthetics And Build Quality
The Arcade Fighting Stick is a larger arcade stick and has a nice heft to its galactic design. Everything about it feels solid to the touch and I appreciate that I can rest my hands on it during use, unlike my smaller arcade stick. The stick comes equipped with an 8-way Sanwa Denshi stick and 8 Sanwa Denshi buttons. The stick utilizes a square gate and microswitches that do a great job of letting you know when each direction has been pressed. The buttons are a joy to press with good travel distance and a smooth feel. In intense moments where you really start to press harder and faster, you really get that nostalgic arcade button sound. Buttons are labeled according to Xbox and PC layouts by default.
A number of additional buttons can also be found along the top of the stick, including home and share buttons, plus and minus buttons, and L3 and R3 buttons. The last button is used to mimic the DualShock4’s touchpad button and for connecting the stick to Xbox and PlayStation systems. A turbo switch and stick function slider are also present. On the rear of the device is an additional USB port needed for controller passthrough for Xbox and PlayStation systems. For anyone interested in customizing their arcade sticks, know that the Arcade Fighting Stick is built with this in mind. The hex screwdriver in the rear compartment allows you to easily open the stick and begin messing around with its internals. Everything is clearly labeled so the process should be easy for newcomers and pros alike. The front artwork is also swappable.
Gameplay
Using The Arcade Fighting Stick on its various supported platforms is a relative breeze, but PS4 and Xbox usage do again require the use of a controller passthrough. Because of this, there are a few extra steps to get it working on those systems. But for PC, Switch or Android it is pretty much plug-and-play. Having tested the stick on each supported platform I can happily say that the user experience in-game was a good one. It took me a minute to get used to using an arcade stick again as it has been a few years since my last real go with one, but sure enough after a few minutes, special moves were flying with ease in the likes of Street Fighter! Playing through the recently released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection also felt right at home. I also found great enjoyment in using the Arcade Fighting Stick for a number of retro compilations in my collection and Neo Geo re-releases on PC.
Speaking of Neo Geo, another use I put the stick through extensively was in emulation. Whether on PC or Xbox Series X|S the stick worked flawlessly for any number of cores, arcade emulation obviously being one of the primary use cases. Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis titles were fun to mess with as I used to play around with the old Ascii arcade pads for both of those systems back in the day! Messing around with GameCube and PS2 titles was also a treat. Getting everything set up was pretty straightforward but I did make a quick tutorial on how to get everything running for the Xbox version of Retroarch for anyone interested.
Because of the ability to change the stick function on the fly, the Arcade fighting stick can also easily be used in more modern titles that don’t always support the D-pad. One example is in The Legend of Zelda Link’s Awakening for Switch. The game only works with analog sticks which has always been a huge letdown considering the game's Gameboy origins. But on the Arcade Fighting Stick, flip the switch to Left analog and experience the game in a whole new way! If you are truly wanting to do the impossible, you can even use it to play twin-stick games like shooters but your switch-flipping skills really need to be on point to make any use of it. On second thought, don’t be weird like me and instead understand that this stick does not deserve to be abused like this.
The additional buttons along the top of the stick ensure full system and game compatibility. You can use this stick fully without ever needing to pick up the passthrough controller to do simple tasks like back out to your dashboard or home screen. I can’t stress enough that it is simple things like this that seem to be forgotten a lot in these types of accessories. L3 and R3 being available are very useful for the titles or emulators that can make use of them for additional hotkeys.
What It Could Have Done Better
My only gripe with the Arcade Fighting Stick comes down to its universal design. I don’t like needing passthrough controllers to use it on my Xbox or PlayStation. It isn’t a terrible thing mind you, just one I get annoyed by after a while as you constantly have to get it set to use on these systems versus Switch and PC where it is plug-and-play. I know there are add-ons out there that can mimic the controllers for passthrough purposes but I wasn’t able to test them with the Arcade Fighting Stick for this review. But because of the customizable nature of the stick and its relatively approachable price, any other complaints or nitpicks that can be thrown at the device can easily be user replaced. For example, if you hate square gates you can swap it out for something else.
Verdict
At a competitive $120 asking price and a multiplatform stock performance that exceeds expectations, the Dark Matter Arcade Fighting Stick is an easy recommendation for arcade stick fans! It is easy enough to get set up on every supported platform and always a thrill to experience arcade-style games with a proper-feeling pad. For users that love to customize, the sticks being built for customization is sure to be another plus. Check out the Arcade Fighting Stick on Monoprice or Amazon if you are in the market for a new stick!
