{"id":102246,"date":"2019-10-21T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2019\/10\/hardware_review_the_powera_fusion_fightpad_is_great_for_retro_but_ironically_not_so_good_for_fighters"},"modified":"2019-10-21T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T18:00:00","slug":"hardware-review-the-powera-fusion-fightpad-is-great-for-retro-but-ironically-not-so-good-for-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/10\/21\/hardware-review-the-powera-fusion-fightpad-is-great-for-retro-but-ironically-not-so-good-for-fighters\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardware Review: The PowerA Fusion FightPad Is Great For Retro, But Ironically Not So Good For Fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The evolution of video games and the controllers we use to play them has resulted in the humble D-Pad becoming something of an afterthought for many hardware makers; that situation has arguably reached its zenith in the Nintendo Switch, which \u2013 in its default form, at least \u2013 doesn’t even have a proper D-Pad. Analogue input has long been the accepted means of playing games and while the Joy-Con sticks are a fine substitute for digital control in most cases, there are some titles which really are best played with a good, old-fashioned D-Pad.<\/p>\n

That’s precisely what the PowerA Fusion FightPad provides. Modelled<\/a> after the legendary Sega Saturn<\/a> controller \u2013 which is rightly viewed by many as the best 2D fighting game pad ever made \u2013 the Fusion FightPad does away with analogue control entirely and instead aims to offer the perfect interface for one-on-one brawlers (and other classic 2D titles) that money can buy.<\/p>\n

If you’re already familiar with the Sega Saturn pad then you’ll know roughly what to expect here. The basic design of the Fusion FightPad is near-identical, with a very similar rolling D-Pad (more on that in a moment), six face buttons (perfect for Street Fighter II<\/a><\/strong>) and all of the usual Switch-related gubbins (Home button, Screenshot, etc). On the top, you’ll find the L, R, ZL and ZR triggers, and on the bottom there’s a handy 3.5mm headphone socket for game audio.<\/p>\n

You’ll also notice two switches, one on the front and one on the top of the controller. The first allows you to toggle the function of the D-Pad itself; you can choose to switch between left-hand Joy-Con directional buttons, left-hand Joy-Con analogue stick and right-hand Joy-Con analogue stick. This is handy for games which don’t directly support the direction button cluster for movement, but of course means you’re not getting true analogue control, which might make some games difficult to play.<\/p>\n