Nacon Daija Arcade Stick review: Take your Street Fighter 6 skills to next level

Whether you play lots of Street Fighter-style fighting games, or non-stop arcade classics, purists argue that a good fight stick can be the difference between victory and defeat. Crafted in collaboration with renowned professional eSports player Kayane – who specialises in fighting games like Soulcalibur and Street Fighter – Nacon’s Daija Arcade Stick attempts to give players the edge in the competitive fighting scene, utilising premium-quality materials and offering full customisability to meet the demands of professional gamers. If you’re struggling to climb the ranks in games like Street Fighter 6 and think that an arcade stick might be the answer to your woes, then check out our Daija Arcade Stick review below…

On paper, Nacon’s officially licensed PlayStation arcade stick manages to tick all of the boxes.

The buttons and sticks are crafted by SANWA, whose products are synonymous with premium quality and supreme durability among members of the fighting game community.

Having spent the past few weeks executing fireballs, uppercuts and spinning piledrivers in Street Fighter 6, I’m happy to report that the Daija joystick and all of its buttons continue to work flawlessly, and without any noticeable input lag.

You could maybe argue that the action buttons are a little too big and far apart for players with smaller hands, although the spacing does at least reduce the risk of accidentally pressing the wrong button during a combo sequence.

There are absolutely no issues with the positioning of the joystick, which is far enough away from the buttons for players to wrap their fingers around and really hammer those directional inputs.

Likewise, there’s space enough on both sides of the arcade stick to comfortably rest your forearms, something which is further supported by the textured arm rest.

Of course, the fact that there’s so much room either side of the buttons should tell you all you need to know about the size of the device. This a big, bulky arcade stick with a real sense of weight and sturdiness. When you set it down on the table or rest it on your lap, you know it’s not going anywhere.

The only drawback is that you’ll need Zangief-sized biceps and back muscles if you want to cart it around with you. 

With eight action buttons and the joystick taking centre stage, the pause button, L3/R3 and capture buttons are relegated to the side of the device.

While it makes sense to position these away from your main button inputs, the flipside is that it’s not always totally clear which button you’re pressing when trying to pause the game or capture an image. It’s not a major issue, but it will take a little getting used to.

Speaking of buttons, the PlayStation Home button can be found at the top of the device, alongside a separate button used to switch between custom profiles (more on that later), and a lock switch to stop you accidentally changing configurations or visiting the PlayStation dashboard during a match.

The lock switch isn’t something I’ve needed to use, but if you’re an animated player or a bit on the clumsy side, then it might just come in handy.

Customisation is another key highlight of the Daija Arcade Stick. Users can fully configure the buttons using the NACON Daija Arcade Stick software, which is compatible with both PC and Mac.

The intuitive and user-friendly software allows gamers to create profiles tailored to their specific needs, whether you want to create button shortcuts in games like Street Fighter 6, or instantly switch to a more beneficial layout in a different fighting game.

Even better is that customisation isn’t just limited to the software. At the press of a button (well, two buttons to be exact), users can flip open the fight stick and make additional changes to the device itself.

Under the hood you’ll find a Bat Top joystick to replace the more popular Ball Top variant typically used as default, as well as a screwdriver for changing the artwork for your faceplate.

While the ability to check under the hood and make changes to your fight stick isn’t exactly revolutionary, Nacon has made the process as straightforward as possible.

Clearly, the Daija Arcade Stick is set up to give players the ability to perform at a high level in games like Street Fighter.

Whether or not it can make you a better player is up for debate, although it has worked for me.

I have a real problem performing fireballs and other special moves when facing left to right using a d-pad. According to the SF6 tutorials, I’m missing out the middle part of the motion, resulting in my character typically performing a standing punch.

Not only do I find it easier to perform rolling inputs with a joystick, but having all six punch and kick buttons next to each other is better for chaining together combos.

If you’re already a pretty competent Street Fighter player with a controller, then spending around £240 on the Daija Arcade Stick might not make financial sense.

However, if you’re looking for ways to improve your skills, or want a more authentic arcade experience, then the Daija Arcade Stick is among the best fight sticks money can buy.

VERDICT – 4.5/5