Did you get caught up in the recent Street Fighter 4 frenzy? Did you realize that the game's really meant to be played with a high-quality arcade stick? Did you miss out on the chance to buy a Hori stick, or think it's ridiculous to spend $150 to get a high quality peripheral?
If so, you might have gotten a Madcatz Arcade Fightstick SE, like me. You might have read reports online that describe how it's prone to breaking - that a loose washer in the stick destroys the thing from inside. You might also have read Madcatz's official response, which says that it's a rare occurrence, and most sticks are fine.
There are two basic parts to this Instructable. First, I'll tell you I think the guy from Madcatz is a liar, and that it's extraordinarily unlikely that you'll get an Arcade Fightstick SE that actually works properly. Second, I'll tell you how to fix it.
Okay, there's a third part - I'll tell you why you shouldn't do it, even if you're reasonably mechanically inclined.
Oh - and a zero-th part: If you find your stick "sticking" in any position - you're not touching it, but you're constantly registering a direction - your stick is screwed. You will either need to fix it (NOT RECOMMENDED) or return it to Madcatz to get them to do what they should have done from the start. You're out $80 bucks for a week or so. You have a right to be pissed, and you should let them know about it.
If so, you might have gotten a Madcatz Arcade Fightstick SE, like me. You might have read reports online that describe how it's prone to breaking - that a loose washer in the stick destroys the thing from inside. You might also have read Madcatz's official response, which says that it's a rare occurrence, and most sticks are fine.
There are two basic parts to this Instructable. First, I'll tell you I think the guy from Madcatz is a liar, and that it's extraordinarily unlikely that you'll get an Arcade Fightstick SE that actually works properly. Second, I'll tell you how to fix it.
Okay, there's a third part - I'll tell you why you shouldn't do it, even if you're reasonably mechanically inclined.
Oh - and a zero-th part: If you find your stick "sticking" in any position - you're not touching it, but you're constantly registering a direction - your stick is screwed. You will either need to fix it (NOT RECOMMENDED) or return it to Madcatz to get them to do what they should have done from the start. You're out $80 bucks for a week or so. You have a right to be pissed, and you should let them know about it.
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Signing UpStep 1: Disassembly
First:
Get all the tools you'll need. You will need:
1.) One Phillips head screw driver - one that fits REALLY well in the external screws.
2.) One large-ish flathead screwdriver
3.) A razor blade or utility knife, or something sharp
4.) Superglue, or epoxy
5.) Courage - I'll explain this in a bit.
Okay. The first thing to do is take off the back plate. Flip the stick over, and unscrew the six screws on the back - two in the center, and four in the rubber feet in the corners. The rear plate should come off without any problems.
What you'll see on the inside is the image above.
Get all the tools you'll need. You will need:
1.) One Phillips head screw driver - one that fits REALLY well in the external screws.
2.) One large-ish flathead screwdriver
3.) A razor blade or utility knife, or something sharp
4.) Superglue, or epoxy
5.) Courage - I'll explain this in a bit.
Okay. The first thing to do is take off the back plate. Flip the stick over, and unscrew the six screws on the back - two in the center, and four in the rubber feet in the corners. The rear plate should come off without any problems.
What you'll see on the inside is the image above.
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cutemonster says:
Mar 20, 2011. 11:06 PMReply
you should go to insanecombo.com to get your fightstick modded. Anyway, I agree that the quality of Madcatz regular edition is pretty bad. But I like the tournament edition which kill Hori, in my opinion. For $149 is a good buy at Amazon.
6
mettaurlover says:
Sep 2, 2009. 10:33 PMReply
they do have SOME things that work well. most of them are for the DS, but that's just been in my experience.
blegmar says:
Jun 18, 2009. 1:32 AMReply
Why not replace the buttons and stick with good buttons and a good stick from a better company?
6
Solderguy says:
Mar 8, 2009. 11:09 AMReply
Well unfortunately, I had no idea Madcatz sells garbage, like the time I had a Madcatz gamecube controller and it didn't work out of the box. I tried to play Mario Party 4 with it and it didn't work at all.
7
mman1506 says:
Jun 4, 2009. 5:56 PMReply
i bought a madcatz game cube controller and the z button dosent work i tried fixing it but its a board problem
2
NoBonus says:
Mar 2, 2009. 11:00 AMReply
Why didn't you just replace the joystick with a real one like a Happ or something? You are never going to fully fix a crummy joystick, but an arcade-quality replacement is cheap.
5
helava (author) says:
Mar 2, 2009. 11:31 AMReply
I didn't for two reasons: 1.) I bought a Sanwa stick + buttons to build my own stick from scratch 2.) A Sanwa stick, on its own, costs another $25, bringing the total cost of the stick up to $105. I wanted to implement a nearly-free fix for the stick, to make it would like it should have out of the box. I'm not really a fan of the Happ sticks - I like the Japanese style much more. I know it's a matter of taste, they just ain't for me. :D
2
NoBonus says:
Mar 2, 2009. 12:17 PMReply
Okay, I get it... did you complete the stick from scratch? I have done a couple and if you can solder okay, they are easy.
5
helava (author) says:
Mar 2, 2009. 1:28 PMReply
Nope! Still waiting for the parts in the mail, but hacked up the wood last night. Really looking forward to it, though - all Sanwa parts in a bamboo case with a glowing green base! Should be awesome.
2
NoBonus says:
Mar 2, 2009. 2:18 PMReply
Sounds awesome! Is it for the PC or for a gaming system?
5
helava (author) says:
Mar 2, 2009. 2:59 PMReply
360. Gonna cannibalize a cheap controller for the board.
3
mg0930mg says:
Mar 2, 2009. 6:02 PMReply
Cool, I want pics when done.
5
helava (author) says:
Jun 3, 2009. 5:51 PMReply
That's the stick so far. Not quite finished - needs to get wired up!
3
mg0930mg says:
Jun 4, 2009. 4:56 PMReply
That looks sick. Good Job! I suggest posting it on here ;)
16
Doctor What says:
Mar 3, 2009. 12:52 PMReply
Hmmm.... this gets me thinking. I tried out Street Fighter 4 this weekend, but was pissed at attempting some of the combos with the controller. I was planning on getting the stick, but I might just go for one of the ones without ken's face on it.
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