Hit Box tech review - An unconventional, but amazing way to play fighting games
The Hit Box is perhaps the most extraordinary way to play a fighting game. I’ve played fighting games since Street Fighter II first hit the SNES, and though I’m not a dominant player, I love them anyway. I’ve played with virtually every fighting stick or controller you can - from homemade sticks using an Xbox 360 shell to Razer’s latest arcade stick.
With that in mind, nothing so far has felt as good compared to Hit Box. It doesn’t cause as much fatigue after several hours of playing, feels good, and the inputs feel responsive. It looks intimidating, and while it has a learning curve, the Hit Box is a remarkable piece of technology.
Many have accused fighting game players of cheating with the Hit Box, and while some have modified their controllers, simply owning and using this does not make you a cheater. Opening your controller and changing it to make macro buttons makes you a cheater.
The Hit Box revolutionizes how players approach fighting games
The Hit Box has done wonders for me when it comes to what I feel is possible for me in fighting games. I’ve gone from overshooting half-circles and 360 motions to being able to do both reliably. Now, I can’t do much in the way of incredible, advanced tech right now, but this controller has changed my life for the better.
As someone who has been a games journalist for ten years, that’s a lot of time at a keyboard and controller. Using a fight stick for a few hours can be physically taxing. This, in its way, feels like a keyboard. Instead of a stick on the left side, you have buttons that move your characters in the four cardinal directions.
One of the most exciting decisions is that the “up” button is on the bottom. The buttons go from “Left, Down, Right, Up” from left to right on the controller. This is the biggest hurdle to overcome in the default controls. You can change the button’s configuration in any fighting game you play, but it’s worth it to learn the default way of doing things.
However, it has all of the buttons you need to play a fighting game, except potentially L3/R3 on the PlayStation controllers. When playing Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium, I had to bind my “Insert Coin” to a button on my Hit Box because that’s the default for that game.
Instead of rotating a stick in various motions, you press a series of buttons, followed by whatever attack button you need. An example is Street Fighter V’s Alex. He has a command grab that involves rotating the stick in a half circle - left to right or right to left, depending on the screen position.
Instead, you’d press the left, down, and right buttons and the attack. That is remarkably easier for me, personally. So many times, I’d go to rotate that way to go slightly lower or slightly higher, and the attack didn’t happen.
Instead of the typical “Dragon Punch” input, you tap forward, down, forward. For Fireball motions? Down, forward. It’s easy and satisfying. All of my inputs feel more confident and more reliable.
Virtually every fighting game feels better with a Hit Box
Though I’m casual at best, I love fighting games and play them when I have the time. However, fight sticks are heavy, and it doesn’t always feel like my inputs are doing what I want them to. That could be a user error, and I accept that.
When I’m using the Hit Box, I feel far more confident. To test this, I spent the past two weeks playing several fighting games in both online and offline capacities. I played the below games.
- Ultra Street Fighter IV
- Street Fighter V: Championship Edition
- BlazBlue: Chronophantasma
- Street Fighter Alpha
- Street Fighter Alpha 3
- Street Fighter 2 Anniversary Edition
- Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo
- BlazBlue: Cross Tag
- Darkstalkers (Various)
- Tekken 7
- Under-Night In-Birth
- Dragon Ball FighterZ
Sadly, I do not have Guilty Gear -Strive- to practice in, but I would have done so if I had it at the time. It’s on my list now, though. I would have played Jojo’s All-Star Battle Royal, but sadly, the Hit Box does not work with PS5 fighting games.
My focus at first was to try something I’m awful at. Grapplers! I’m so bad at 360 motions, and while that was also the case here, at first, I improved. Getting the hang of the button presses was more accessible, and while I still had room to grow, it was nice to see proof of growth.
I can’t quite do fancy tricks to set up Zangief’s spinning piledriver or Iron Tager’s Genesic Emerald Tager Buster, but I can do far more than I used to. I haven’t suddenly gotten good overnight, I cannot stress that enough. But the important thing is I can drop attacks and combos more reliably and confidently.
Another thing I’ve gotten better at, in several games, is instant air-dashing. It’s a technique used in anime fighting games - Dragon Ball FighterZ, BlazBlue, and the like. I started by simply spending time in the training modes to see how combos worked on it and how reliably I could land particular moves.
Everything felt better. The buttons are placed so that you can use them in several ways and very easily access any button to perform simple and complicated motions.
It’s a whole new way to approach fighting games and has a learning curve. But there is tons of information out there.
Even in games like BlazBlue, combos and special moves felt much smoother. It’s a franchise I love but has never been good at combos. At least not the lengthier combos. This is changing very slowly, and it feels good to see improvement and growth.
The presentation and what platforms it works on
The sleek, white rectangle controller is gorgeous, lightweight, and easy to use. It has one braided USB connector that is also detachable. The buttons are responsive, and it’s easy to tell inputs from motion buttons. However, I wasn’t crazy about the front-facing buttons. I never knew which one of them I was pressing, not at first.
Those buttons are where you hit Options, Share, log in on a PlayStation, et cetera. It took some time for me to figure it out. But the overall presentation is very sleek. It’s hard to open up if you want to replace the buttons, but that’s not my priority right now.
In conclusion
I adore this controller. The Hit Box is comfortable to use, the button inputs are responsive, and while I still have so far to go with it, I feel improvement is possible. It’s even great on retro, 2D games! I have used it several times in my livestream, where I play several RPG randomizers or 2D platformers.
I plan to learn to play Castlevania: Symphony of the Night with it so I can feel more reliable on Alucard’s weird, King of Fighters-style spell inputs. It’s a flexible and remarkable piece of hardware, but there is one major downside. They are not cheap - $249.00 - and can only be found on the Hit Box website right now. That could change in the future, but that is a steep asking price.
If you’re a fighting game enthusiast looking to improve or aren’t happy with your current fighting game controller, this is the one to give a shot. It’s helped my fundamentals and special attacks and has given me confidence in fighting games I’ve never had.
Has it made me good? No. But it’s made me confident and has me practicing more than before. The controller's ergonomic design also allows me to play longer, with less aches and pains. It is the king of controllers.
Hit Box
Developer: Hit Box
Compatible with: PlayStation 4, PC, Nintendo Switch - may need Xinput on PC
Dimensions: 16”x7”x1
Connectivity: 3 meter quick-removable braided USB cable
Buttons: Sanwa-Denshi arcade buttons on the face of the controller - 24mm and 30mm
Warranty: 6-month warranty covers normal use defects. Does not cover cosmetic damage, or damage after modification to the controller
You can also follow Hit Box on Twitter for further updates on their latest designs.
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Srijan Sen