| Price | TR Fight Stick |
| Release | October 2024 |
| Compatibility | NS / PS4 / PS3 / PC / MiSTer / Android |
Introduction
One can argue that TR Fight Stick’s rise to fame in the arcade stick industry started with the TMX Arcade Stick case. The Turkish brand is willing to continue innovating, this time with the Octopus Arcade Fight Stick: Retrogaming Revolution. Nicknamed the Kraken of Combat, the tagline of this bad boy is:
Your weapon of choice on Dreamcast, PC, PS4, Switch, PS3, Android, Steam, and MiSTer
TR Fight Stick
The Octopus is a wide arcade stick with a green joystick and eight green buttons in the Sega 2P layout. There are three secondary buttons with five indicator lights above them. There is a USB passthrough in the center back, and close to it seem to be another secondary button plus a toggle.
Performance
The joystick of the Octopus is your standard Sanwa JLF, which is known for its light tension by default (unless you modify it). The buttons are Sanwa as well, and the OBSF model is known for its light touch too. Furthermore, the buttons have the same snappy sound we have grown to love over the past decade or so.
About the button layout, while the Sega 2P extended layout is not the most popular one out there, it is still comfortable enough once you get used to it, especially if you come from a Noir layout background. Vewlix layout enthusiasts should not be too far off either.
The Octopus feels lighter than expected, and while it is stable on a table, a little more weight might be optimal. Otherwise, the Octopus is wide enough to fit on your lap, and there is enough wrist resting space for your comfort. Testing the Octopus in game went well.
Hardware
With Japanese parts, this arcade stick has a next gen VMU that is built in. On the top panel, which is held together by six screws, is a display screen. The inspiration from the legendary Sega Dreamcast HKT-7300 arcade stick becomes clear at this point (and much appreciated).
There are six screws on the bottom panel as well, which is where you can find an anti-slipping implementation. To mod the Octopus, unscrew the panel to gain internal access.
Your Octopus may come with an RJ45 to Dreamcast cable. The Octopus is not the lightest controller in the world but should not fatigue you if you carry it around.
Appearance
The Octopus does the Dreamcast HKT-7300 justice in the looks department, but because there is an acrylic layer, you might have to wipe down fingerprint smudges from time to time. There is also a black edition.
Actual octopus artwork can be seen hiding behind the joystick, and there is more than one option. For something custom, you can hit us up: we at The Arcade Stick have a custom art service.
Conclusion
The Octopus Arcade Fight Stick is a delight to retro gamers as well as a worthy contender among modern controllers.
- Sega inspiration
- Next gen VMU
- Sanwa parts
- Convenient width
- Wrist resting space
- Color choices
- Art options
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐