Review: Real Arcade Pro EX-SE

Arcade gaming controller.

By James Heffield / Wednesday, June 02 2010

Back in the 80s and early 90s gaming arcades were cool. You had to be careful that one of the older kids didn’t steal your wallet and the odd fight broke out when you beat the reigning Arkanoid champion’s high score, but all in all arcades were where the cool kids of gaming hung out.

Fast forward to 2010 and arcade gaming parlours are all but dead. But that doesn’t mean you can’t relive your glory days. Manufacturers with weird and unfortunate names like Mad Catz and Hori are producing arcade gaming controllers for use with modern Xbox 360 games or your nostalgic arcade favourites on PC.

We tested Hori’s Real Arcade Pro EX-SE with Super Street Fighter IV (see review) to see if it was worth its $249 price tag.

The solid-feeling controller features an arcade-style joystick and large round buttons that mirror those on a standard Xbox 360 controller. It plugs into your Xbox 360 or PC using a USB cable and provides an expansion port for a gaming headset if that’s your thing. The whole setup weighs about 2.5kg and measures a massive 40cm across, 23cm deep and a big boned 8cm thick. While these proportions might sound ridiculous to some, my view is that its clunky appearance only adds to its retro-cool vibe.

The buttons are arranged in two rows of four, much like those on an old arcade gaming cabinet. They don’t follow your standard Xbox controller layout (and nor should they), so hardened console gamers will need to spend a while readjusting to the new layout. It’s also worth noting that the EX-SE does not include the direction pad or second mini-joystick found on standard Xbox 360 controller, so it will not be worth using in some games.

In Super Street Fighter IV the controller improved the gaming experience significantly, making performing complex moves and combos easier. The big buttons are handy but it’s the hardy built-in joystick which is the star of the show as it makes doing quarter, half and full circles easier, improving your chances of pulling off that killer move. Any experienced Street Fighter player would know how vital executing these movements under pressure is, and how hard it can be to pull them off every time when you’re trying to do so using your thumb and a standard Xbox 360 or PS3 mini-joystick.

There’s a whole world of other games you could use this system with, although you will probably need to download Xbox360 controller drivers for Windows to use it with your PC.

Real Arcade Pro EX-SE
RRP: $249 Contact: playtech.co.nz
Over priced, but sure to bring back memories of your childhood.

7/10