Your thoughts on the [PS3]HORI Fighting Commander Pro 3

[Azazel]

In case some of you folks are curious about this controller I'll give you my input even though it's been one day of using it.

The disappointing aspect is that I can't iTP at all, not with just d-pad alone no matter the angle I've adjusted at.

Aside from that, the d-pad is precise I can iGDR very consistently with this with very slight errors in SC4.

There are times when my index fingers accidentally touch L1 or R1 which I assign A+K and B+G on the wireless PS3 pad, but with the HORI fightpad, the way my index fingers are positioned is far from touching them unlike the latter which my fingers barely touch.

Finally the face buttons are bigger than the original PS3 controller. My worry is that when doing slide inputs my finger may collide with the wrong button but to my surprise I'm doing slide inputs consistently well so far in 1 day. The only thing that matters is that I have to get accustomed to the 6 face button layout since I'm already used to 4 which hopefully wouldn't be a problem.

In conclusion, if you're a Cervy player and you want to do all of Cervy's move sets then you're in for a disappointment (hopefully not in SC5) unless you can iTP very well on a d-pad. Aside from that, I think it maybe a great controller to use although you have to deal with 6 face-button layout.

I'm getting it next month, tnx for the review, but pardon my ignorance, what is iTP?

 

[franman]

Cervantes' instant teleport back in SC4.

 

[Azazel]

Cervantes' instant teleport back in SC4.

tnx, so you do recommend this controller?

 

[franman]

For SC5, definitely.

I'm really like it by far from my experience. I didn't mention this but for the d-pad there's like a scroll in front and under the d-pad you can twist it to loosen the d-pad. When I'm using Cervy I loosen the d-pad all the way for better chance of iGDR execution.

 

[Bovrillor]

I got mine in the mail today and have spent a couple of hours playing with it. Previously I was using a Madcatz Fightpad - I use both 'piano style' with Arcade button layout, no shortcuts/macros. I'll list my pros/cons

Hori Fight Commander Pro 3
+ Button response feels much more solid than the FP, which was frankly a bit 'squishy'
+ D-pad feels like an upgraded Gamecube pad, which was already my choice fighting controller. The Madcatz pad may be better for Street Fighter and it's daft motions, but I was never sure whether I'd hit my double-taps correctly.
+ The D-pad adjustment features all work well though I didn't need them as diagonal response was perfect by default
+ Button Alignment is also better than the FP, the face buttons aren't in a straight line and this seems to prevent my fingers from getting 'lost' when moving away from default hand position. On the FP I would often hit R2 (button 6) instead of R1 (button 3) by accident
+Build quality is vastly superior to FP, in terms of size, feel/grip and durability.

- L2/R2 (second shoulder buttons) feel a bit rubbish. Not a deal-breaker since I don't use them and they're still nowhere near as bad as the FP's rock-hard shoulder buttons. Just a bit looser than the others which seems odd.
- Rubber Start/Select buttons do not feel nice at all. At least they're not too close to the 'PS/Home' button like the FightPad
- USB Cable. I know some people will hate this so I grudgingly include it as a 'con' even though the Wireless USB setup on the FP was far more irritating in my opinion. I'll take cable any day over batteries & potential lag.

Ultimately, the Hori Pad seems to be as good as advertised and a real treat for piano pad players. Infinately better than a stock PS3 pad and beats the Madcatz offering to a pulp. Sure, it doesn't have a 'floating' d-pad and that might make some difference to Street Fighters (I don't know, ditched that game within minutes. urgh.) but for Soul Calibur (and Tekken!), this controller is the king. I really can't praise it enough.

edit: One last thing I've noticed, and it speaks volumes: When looking at the 'input display' in Practice Mode, the inputs match what I intended to press exactly. No extra directions, no missed diagonals, no missed dual-button presses. I cannot say the same about any other controller I've tried (note: I don't play sticks so I can't comment on those).