So, keeping with my life’s tradition of bad luck, right after I wrote about my arcade stick and I started playing Street Fighter IV more to prepare for Super Street Fighter IV, my stick died. The B button decided it would retire early, and even after I re-soldered all the connections it still stubbornly refused to work.

I was bummed, mostly because I did A LOT of work on that stick, and it was the first time I’d ever worked on a project like that. Still, shortly after I had bought my Hori EX2, I read that the Mad Catz sticks were much better for customization, and the EX2s were to be avoided. I had to follow a walkthrough to mod up my EX2, so I decided it was a good time to invest in a higher quality, more customizable stick.

GameStop (I know I know) has exclusive limited edition Mad Catz Marvel vs. Capcom Tournament Edition Fightsticks (say that five times fast) for only $99, and there had been one sitting at my local GameStop for at least three weeks. I headed out into the stormy night to go pick it up, and fate again decided to Flash Kick me in the ass.

They had sold it. Actually, that’s not TECHNICALLY correct. Someone had tried to purchase the Wii Tatsunoko vs. Capcom stick, and they put the Xbox 360 Marvel vs. Capcom stick in the box. It was another shining example of my local GameStop’s competence as well as the horrible luck that has been crushing my spirits since I was born.

I found the stick at the other GameStop five minutes down the road (they’re starting to become like Dunkin’ Donuts on every corner, or Starbucks if you’re not from New England) and they had it. The box was on a rack high above the game racks, out of the reach of children’s grubby paws, so the box was still in great shape. I’m glad, too, because the box is almost as kickass as the stick itself.

You can see in the image at the top of the post, it’s decorated with fantastic artwork of the characters. The top has Hulk vs. Zangief, and the bottom has Mega Man vs. Iron Man. The front has two flaps that open showcasing Strider and Spider-Man. All in all, the packaging does a great job of showing just how high quality the stick itself is.

The artwork on the stick, while a bit busy for my tastes, is really phenomenal. They’ve got Ryu, Mega Man and Jill all together, which is awesome since they were my standard team for Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The photos can’t really convey it, but the artwork has a glossy metallic finish to it, and it really pops when the light hits it. Eventually I’ll probably add new artwork to it. but for right now, I’m very pleased with it.

The stick’s construction is top notch. It’s designed to be an exact replica of a Japanese arcade unit, complete with Sanwa parts. Considering how much work I put into putting Sanwa parts in my old EX2, it was nice to know this one would feel authentic with minimal effort from me. The only modification I had to do was replacing the standard square restricter plate with my octagonal one I had put into my EX2. I forgot to take pictures when I opened it, but inside the stick’s guts are clean and organized. All I needed to do was remove the six allen screws holding the top plate in place, and from then on it was like working with Legos. All I needed to do was snap the old restricter plate off and snap the new one on. It took less than 30 seconds. After all the drilling and screwing (heh) I had to do on the EX2 to get an octagonal plate inside, this was a breath of fresh air. The buttons don’t require any soldering, either. They have plugs that slide off, so replacing them is a snap (if you pardon the pun). Each button’s wires are color coded as well to avoid confusion.

I gave it a whirl in a few online rounds of Street Fighter IV, and while it certainly hasn’t made me any better at the game, it works like a dream. It feels hefty in your lap, but not in a bad way. It won’t jostle or slide during intense play sessions. I really liked having the two extra buttons, and mapping them to all three punches and all three kicks made performing Supers and Ultras a piece of cake.

One of the best design features is a compartment to tuck the EXTREMELY LONG (13 feet) cable into, so it doesn’t get in the way while storing your stick while it’s not in use. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but believe me, it’s definitely a great thing to have.

While I don’t have any real customization planned for this baby yet aside from a plexiglass cover to protect the art, it definitely feels like MY stick. It’s comfortable, it’s high quality, and it’s mine. I’m probably more excited for it than I should be, but I’m really enjoying it, and it’s only gotten me that much more excited for Super Street Fighter IV.