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3 Fastest Fight Stick PCB 2024

It is quite fascinating to see the evolution of games from the early 80s to the modern age, as throughout the ages many of the technological advancements were slowly but surely integrated into the medium. This resulted in the creation of VR, Ray Tracing, and many more, but its effect on the way we interact with games has seen a massive downfall in the eyes of many. A sentiment that can be attributed to the difference created by analog and digital inputs. Each may have their plus points but in fighting games only analog sticks are used. As they offer better response times and near-zero input lag. Alas, it is quite a complicated topic, so to help out new players we have compiled a list of the fastest fight stick PCBs down below.


Table of Contents

1. Brook Universal Fighting Board FUSION
   
2. Tachyon Board
   
3. Pico Fighting Board
   

Brook Universal Fighting Board FUSION

Figure 1-1. Brook Universal Fighting Board FUSION

The fighting game genre has long since been marred with nostalgia for the good old days, as many old gamers refuse to accept modern games as anything more than cheap copies. And while this sentiment has begun to change with games such as Guilty Gear Strive. One needs only to look at the evolution of controls to see the level of complex input that is required in newer titles. To tackle this new complexity many have started to use PCBs specifically created for fighting games in their fighting sticks. Of these, the most widely used due to its compatibility is Brook Universal Fighting Board FUSION, or UFB-Fusion for short. Of every PCB on the market, the UFB-Fusion holds the crown when it comes to compatibility as it can be used by any of the major consoles, retro consoles, retro arcades, and even PCs. But as for its claims of the lowest input latency, according to a video found on YouTube testing the PCB against its competitors, such as the Tachyon Board. It was found that it was indeed faster than its competition, and for transparency, the graphs were also shown in the video. But these tests are not representative of the PCB as a whole, or until they are double-checked by a third party. Regardless UFB-Fusion is used by many players for a multitude of games, such as the aforementioned Guilty Gear Strive. Which sees many players use it to perform at their peak at tournaments such as the EVO 2023 Championships. So if you are in the market for a reliable and low-hassle PCB UFB-Fusion is your best choice.

Figure 1-2. Guilty Gear Strive EVO 2023

Tachyon Board

Figure 2-1. Tachyon Board

Next, we have a PCB that rather than having a proper company and team behind it is more of a passion project for enthusiasts. A fact that in any other scenario would be detrimental to the wide-scale adoption of the PCB, had it not been open source. This means you will only need to purchase the hardware once from sites like ISTMALL, and after that, you can install any kind of custom firmware that is provided in the open-source library. Which makes it far more suited for games that require more complex or rather obscure input combinations. As for the matter of the input lag and latency, according to the test conducted by players in a video. It was found that on average the Tachyon Board won by 3:2 against Brook Universal Fighting Board. But like before until these results are not recreated by a third party we can't be sure. On a side note, IST Mall recently claimed that Tachyon board now provides 0.7ms input lag through the firmware version 2.0 update on December 2023. But one thing is for certain, the Tachyon Board as compared to other PCBs sees a lot of use in underground titles like Melty Blood. Which require different combinations for many of the characters. It is also allowed to be used in the Official Melty Blood Tournament USA hosted by Eliphant, making it an ideal choice for many.

Figure 2-2. Official Melty Blood Tournament USA

Pico Fighting Board

Figure 3-1. Pico Fighting Board

Last on the list we have one of the best entry-level PCBs on the market as of 2024. It is none other than the Pico Fighting Board, which is powered by a Raspberry Pie. While compared to the other two Pico might not provide the sheer compatibility or customization, it is relatively cheaper than the other two while also providing a similar latency. But that’s not to say the PCB is simple, as it has a dedicated modding and open-source scene, which is further supported by its integration of the Raspberry Pie which can be programmed for many different scenarios. Such as booting it up with a custom command to make sure the fight stick can be used with games like Waifu Fighter. A Steam exclusive, which lacks native fight stick support, but with the support of the open source community can now be played more optimally with a fighting stick. It also helps that with the PCB many of the game's later enemies are made much easier to deal with as the latency of the inputs is quite low. But its utilization doesn't end at fighting games, as the gp2040 firmware used allows for latency as low as avergage 0.7ms as per their website. Allowing for use in professional sports and racing games. So if you are looking to get into the hobby of customization or are looking for your first tournament fight stick Pico is the best choice.

Figure 3-2. Waifu Fighter

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