Hardware Fighting games on the 3DS

[Miyako]

Despite the lack of fighting games on the DS’ library, I still used my DS Lite heavily for fighting games. It wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for:

1. NeoDS (of course)
2. DS Lite’s D-pad (not as great as the SNES D-pad, but feels close to how the SNES pad feels)

When I first heard the 3DS will have a circle pad, and with 2 fighting games (DOA and SF) as launch games, and with the upcoming Tekken game, I thought the 3DS finally filled the void of fighting games that was present in the DS.

I just got my 3DS… and I’m disappointed at how the 3DS handles fighting games – specifically how the circle pad and clicky D-pad are not suitable for fighting games.
I’ve tried SF, DOA and NeoDS (KOF 98 & 2k2, Last Blade 2, Samurai Showdown IV). Here are some of my concerns:
Circle pad:

1. Dashes (tapping forward/backward twic) are slow, awkward and strenuous to the thumb
2. Despite being analog, dragon punches/ circle motions/ dash jumps are not very responsive.

Clicky D-pad buttons

1. Dashes are easy but dragon punches/ circle motions/ dash jumps are hard and awkward to pull off because of the clicky feel the D-pad has.

I haven’t tried blazblu on the 3DS yet, but knowing how similar it is to Guilty Gear, I imagine playing it on the 3DS would not be a good experience. I can play DOA just fine using the D-pad, but that’s because moves in DOA do not rely much on circle motions.

Dashing and circle motions are a staple move in any fighting game, and its disappointing how poor both the circle pad and the D-pad performs for these games.

 

[ZombiePosessor]

I hear ya man, I just got SSFIV3D and my Guile game is non-existent on it...

 

[ieatpixels]

I don't like portable fighting games at all. I think they're much suited to the arcade-ish environment of home consoles.

You could mod the d-pad to be more suited to fighters if you really wanted too.

 

[mjax]

I don't like portable fighting games at all. I think they're much suited to the arcade-ish environment of home consoles.

You could mod the d-pad to be more suited to fighters if you really wanted too.

Exactly what I was thinking to say. Probably remove the clicky feel if it helps make things better.

Edit: Quoted twice by mistake.

 

[Miyako]

... I think they're much suited to the arcade-ish environment of home consoles.

When I play competitively, I use Hori sticks... so yeah, I agree that fighting games are best played on home consoles.

But, personally, I still enjoy playing fighting games on a handheld. It's a game you can just easily start and quit anytime without worrying about the progress you made in the game. Years with my DS Lite has proven me this -- practicing infinite combos/ making fun of the AI, trying striker combos (KOF 2k & 2k2) while waiting for short breaks was a fun way to mindlessly waste my time.

You could mod the d-pad to be more suited to fighters if you really wanted too.

Yeah, I'm thinking of modding my 3DS D-pads. But I've only had my 3DS for less than month, so I'll have to wait for a year for its warranty before I tinker with it.

I'm just disappointed with the circle pads. Great for 3d roaming games, but never expected it to handle fighting games this bad. I presumed it would be good because the 3DS already has 4 fighting games in just a year.

 

[McHaggis]

I'm ashamed to say that I struggle with both pads for pulling off moves on SFIV, so much so that I mostly rely on the soft buttons on the touch screen for the more difficult moves. Don't have a problem on the PS3 version, though.

 

[basher11]

i have no problems with DOA.
but i guess it's just me.

 

[Miyako]

DOA is playable on the 3DS. I imagine the upcoming tekken and Smash Bros. games will play just fine on the 3DS. The clicky D-pads can handle these fighting games, but that's because these fighting games do not rely on dragon punches/ circular motions.

it's a different story when you play DOA/ Tekken/ SSB using the circle pad. Quick forward dashes/ back-steps are moves you just can't pull off easily when using the circle pad.

again, the problem I see is...

- dragon punches/ circular motions are slightly easier on the circle pad, but you lose the ability to do dashes/ back-steps.
- dashes/ back-steps are easier on the D-pad, but the circular motions are awkward to pull of because of the clicky buttons.