The PlayStation 4 has been getting a lot of great fighting games so far with Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition and Mortal Kombat X. The future is also looking great with the port of Ultra Street Fighter IV coming soon in addition to the highly-anticipated release of Street Fighter V. As good as the DualShock 4 is, however, it is not exactly optimized for games from the fighting genre.
Fortunately, Hori has a fight pad available for Sony’s current-gen console. It is also cheaper than the MSRP of the official controller (you can check out the current price for the third-party pad with this link on Amazon). So is the Hori Fighting Commander 4 worth buying? Let’s take a look at a few elements of the newly-available controller.
Differences from DualShock 4
The most notable difference between the Hori Fighting Commander 4 and the DualShock 4 is that the former does not have a left or right analog stick. Furthermore, the R1 and R2 buttons have been place alongside the Square, Triangle, Circe and X face buttons. It still has four shoulder buttons, however, for L1, L2, L3 and R3.
The last major disparity is the shape. Unlike the DualShock 4, the Fighting Commander 4 is asymmetrical as only the left-hand side of the pad has a handle. This is done so that you can use you non-thumb fingers, if you want, on the six face buttons (which is crucial if you want to pull off complicated combos in a fighting game).
Unique Features
The Hori Fighting Commander 4 also has some unique features that can’t be found in the DS4. One of which is the input sensitivity for the directional pad as you can set it to three different settings based on your preferences. You can also adjust the angle of the D-pad for further customization.
Another interesting feature is the LR Button Toggle Switch, which will allow you to switch L1 and L2 buttons to the shoulder buttons on the right-hand side of the controller. This will give you access to all eight main buttons with just your right hand.
Last but not least, you can also use the turbo function on all the buttons (with the exception of the D-pad, option and share buttons). As you can see above, there are more than enough customization options to cater to you tastes when it comes to playing fighting games.
Requirements
The Fighting Commander 4 does have some requirements if you want to use it for the PlayStation 4. The product requires the latest system software on Sony’s current-gen console. It can also be used on the PlayStation 3 (you can pick between the platform compatibility modes via a switch) as long as you have a firmware of at least 2.80 on the last-gen system. It is not compatible with the PS2 or PS1 consoles and may not work when playing PlayStation 2 games with the PlayStation 3.
Limitations
The Hori Fighting Commander 4 also has some limitations when compared to the DualShock 4. Along with not being able to use the analog sticks, you won’t have access to the light bar and motion sensor. Not to mention that you won’t be able to connect a headset.
One last limitation that you might want to consider when making your purchasing decision is that the third-party controller is wired. Fortunately, the cable length is nearly 10 foot long, so you shouldn’t have to sit too close to the television screen.
Recap
The Hori Fighting Commander 4 is the best fight pad available for the PlayStation 4. It is also the best option if you want a dedicated fighting game controller but do not have enough cash to pay for the more expensive arcade fighting sticks.
As long as you don’t mind the limitations of the Fighting Commander 4 (which makes the pad basically only suitable for fighting games and 2D titles), then the gamepad is definitely worth buying. If you are interested, you can purchase the Hori PS4 controller with this page.