【FGC】New Favorite Fighting Game Pad?

GameSir’s “Tegenaria Lite” has got to be my new favorite pad for fighting games. It’s been a VERY LONG search, but I’ve finally managed to find a controller which fits my need of being great for general use games (Metroidvania’s, Shooters, Beat em’ ups, etc.) and fighting games. Let me tell you a little back story and then get to the pad itself.

WHERE TO BUY

For those wondering where you can buy, there are two places I seen. The official GameSir store, and its listing on Amazon. I personally bought mine from the Amazon listing due to the same or next-day delivery using Amazon Prime.

The Search

Enter the Fight Stick

I learned to play on a Japanese Arcade Stick (Fight Stick) during the Xbox 360 era back when Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger were the current games. Considering I’d been a pad player my entire life, I was disappointed at how piss poor the Xbox 360’s D-Pad was in comparison to the goated Playstation 2 controller I was use to handling. Up until then, the main fighting game I’d played competitively was Super Smash Bros. Melee, so I was quickly frustrated by how limiting the Xbox 360’s D-Pad was. Learning a Fight Stick proved to be a massive change which took some getting used to. However, I loved to to the point I felt I would NEVER go back to regular controller again because of its feel. However, things quickly changed as soon as the Playstation 4 was released.

PS4 Controller

Brook converter sticks weren’t a thing back then (I believe), and I had no idea how to solder and mod in a board to give my stick multi-system compatibility. I was back to the controller, but did not mind because I found the Playstation 4’s D-Pad to be PHENOMENAL. I played so many games on this; GUILTY GEAR XRD, Dragon Ball FighteZ, Street Fighter V, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, etc. This D-Pad was amazing for absolutely everything, and not having to switch between a Fight Stick and controller when I wanted to play other games like Fortnite: Battle Royale was a huge boon. However, all good things eventually come to an end, and it definitely did as soon as I entered into the PC era.

The PC Era

When Covid-19 took over the world, I was able to use the funds from my job to assemble my first gaming PC. While it wasn’t extremely powerful, it was definitely better than my Playstation 4. Slowly and surely I started to migrate over to Steam and PC Gaming, and thus, I began to play more-and-more until I no longer even cut on my Playstation 4.

While I absolutely love the PS4 D-Pad, the Micro USB SUCKS. The Micro USB would fall out randomly, leading me to hate it as a connection type while simultaneously making me hate that the USB-C was not officially supported by the Playstation 4. I looked into modded controllers with the port, but felt it was too much of a hassle, too expensive to have done with a custom controller, and simply not worth it. So I began to look for other controllers.

3rd Party official Xbox controllers, Hori Fight Pads, 8BitDo Pro Controller 2, various Playstation 4 controller knockoffs with USB-C, and finally Hyperkin’s “The Competitor” controller with a segmented D-Pad that proved to not live up to the hype. All of these controllers left me wanting more. I used various combinations of them to various degrees of success, but always found their performance to be “lacking”; something I simply had to make work. The controller I used the most was 8BitDo’s Pro Controller. However, considering they are committed to mostly old school designs and aesthetic, they only had a stiff D-Pad that worked, but was definitely not made for fighters. Compare this to the rave reviews of their M30, and you wonder why they did not focus on creating a D-Pad that was impressive with a modern design.

Growing frustrated after my 8BitDo controller died, I decided to once again try something new. I’m SINCERELY glad I did.

GAMESIR’S TEGENARIA LITE

While I LOVE the Xbox asymmetrical joystick configuration for shooting games, I prefer the Playstation controller layout for my fighting games due to the location of the D-Pad. Therefore, the 8BitDo served as my default go-to, regardless of the fact I was not very in-love with the feel of their D-Pad. This however, explains why I was immediately interested within the Tegenaria Lite on first sight.

“GameSir” is a brand I’m familiar with, having seen their controllers a few time when browsing Amazon. Also, the best Street Fighter 6 player, MenaRD, is a brand ambassador for them. I did do some research and it feels like Mena uses a plain Playstation 5’s DualSense controller, but that could have changed from them until now.

Let me tell you some of the things which sold me on TRYING the Tegenaria Lite.

EXAMPLE VIDEO — Street Fighter 6 was an example used within the video. If someone puts a fighting game within their example, then they obviously have to know how important a D-Pad is, especially on a “retro” vibes video game controller made to mimic the Playstation era.
$20 USD PRICE POINT — The low price point of the Tegenaria Lite means I had nothing to lose. If you compare this with the $74 of the PS5’s DualSense, $50 of the Hyperkin “The Competitor”, and $45 for the 8BitDo Pro 2 means it slashes the price IN HALF for a PC controller featuring my favorite layout.
HALL EFFECT — One of the new technologies implemented recently within controllers utilizing magnets to prevent stick drift for longer lasting sticks immune to wear and tear. Something great since I also play games like Fortnite when not grinding in fighting games.
D-PAD — The most important thing to me is the D-Pad. While it uses a membrane, it has a design which allows for precise inputs that mimic the familiar feeling of when I used Playstation 2 and 4 controllers.

Overall, I am EXTREMELY impressed with this controller. I am only worried about the longevity considering the $20 price point means it was possibly made using subpar quality parts; but that remains to be seen whether-or-not it has impacted build integrity. If this is the case, I wonder if their more expensive option, the GameSir Tarantula Pro Multiplatform Controller, remedies this. It also has a Microswitch D-Pad, which could be superior to the membrane D-Pad in how long it last and input precision. However, at $70, I would be able to buy THREE Tegenaria Lite controllers, so it needs to have at least 3X the quality and feel.

For those of you within the FGC (Fighting Game’s Community) who are struggling to find a controller you resonate with on PC, I would suggest giving the GameSir Tegenaria Lite a try. I’ve been excited with it, and want to make it known to anyone who is looking for a great controller for fighting games at a very cheap entry point.