Let’s face it some of us have more than one console to play our favorite fighting games. And what if I want to play Tekken 7 at my friend’s house but don’t have the compatible arcade stick to play it with because I have a PS4 but my friend has an Xbox one?
Well, Venom has thought of a solution to fix this problem and it comes in the form of a Multi-format arcade stick (Amazon). For a fraction of the price of some other sticks, you can play on PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.
It should be said that Venom isn’t the only fightstick out there that has a universal feature. There’s also the Mayflash F300 and F500 sticks which also can be played on multiple different consoles and devices. You can check out my review of the Mayflash F300 here.
The Venom is an entry level fightstick but does cheap necessarily mean bad? Read on my friend.
Unboxing and set up
Included In the box, you get the arcade stick and a micro USB cable. This cable is used to connect the arcade stick to a controller which is then connected to the console.
This kind of setup is only done on PS4 and Xbox One. On PS3, Xbox 360 and PC you don’t have to do this and can connect natively.
This is slightly annoying however for PS4 and Xbox One owners as it can get a bit fiddly with all the wires. I know it isn’t a huge negative but having to connect my fightstick to a controller every time I want to play can get a tad cumbersome.
The design of the Fightstick
The fighstick is relatively small and weighs about 2kg meaning it’s compact and can be transported quite easily.
The design of the fightstick is slightly uninspiring however and is almost identical to the Mayflash F300. It’s not ugly, it just a bit plain. The good news is that the fightstick can be customized so that shouldn’t be an issue.
Design is a standard arcade style 8 button layout with a square gate joystick. The buttons are full-size 30mm buttons and are non-sanwa. Again, these can easily be swapped out and are compatible with Sanwa Denshi buttons. Of course, these aren’t included.
What does it feel like to play?
The Venom Arcade Stick isn’t designed to be a competitive fightstick so pro players may be disappointed.
The buttons do feel slightly mushy but better than the equivalent Mayflash F300. Casual players and beginners will be more than satisfied.
Once you start playing, the stick is fairly comfortable to hold and works well. There is hardly any input delay and I found the response times to be surprisingly good. Again, not bad for a stick at this price.
It is a bit small though. I’m 6 foot 2 and have above average hands so whilst it was comfortable in my lap, pulling off moves was slightly less so. It tended to move around a bit probably because of its relatively light weight compared to other sticks.
In addition, taking this fightstick to tournaments may be a bit awkward as I have to carry an extra controller with me. That’s why it’s difficult to recommend this as a serious tournament worthy stick.
Then again, it’s not really aimed at the pro level audience. As I mentioned before this is an entry level fightstick so casual players will be more than satisfied with this stick. That goes for beginners as well.
Other than that I didn’t find any glaring negatives. Again, for a stick at this price, you can’t really complain. A big plus is that it’s a universal fightstick. For me, this solves the issue of not having to get a converter if I want to play on another platform.
The Good
- Great value for money
- Can easily be customized
- Good quality for the price
- Can be played on multiple platforms
- Fantastic beginner stick
The Bad
- Buttons feel a bit mushy
- Maybe too light for some
- Not readily available outside Europe
- Sanwa buttons are not included
- Setup is a bit awkward
Overall Verdict
Overall I would say that this is a decent entry level fightstick that is worth getting if you’re a beginner.
It’s cheap and has everything that you would need from a fightstick and the universal element is a bonus.
If you can get this fightstick, I would choose this over the Mayflash F300. Both are very similar but the Venom Arcade Stick slightly edges the F300 out with the quality of its parts. Again, they’re not Sanwa but are decent enough for the casual player.