The d-pad is serviceable for fighting games, and the analog stick has a really wide travel and isn’t ideal. Nothing awful, but nothing any competitive player would want to use.

If you’re primarily a pad player you should be able to adapt pretty quickly. It’s not the best d-pad of all time, but there aren’t any huge accuracy or ergonomic issues with the pad or buttons.

I’ve been a stick player for years, and I’ve taken my deck with me on vacation along with a controller and compact arcade stick. For me, four button fighters are okay while using the deck as a handheld but not great, with decreasing comfort based on executional demands. SoulCalibur is pretty much the same as playing on a full setup, Tekken feels like playing with brain fog, but KoF was annoying and I’d rather wait to play on stick. I haven’t even tried a six button game with the onboard controls, but I imagine it’s as miserable as or worse than using any pad with only four face buttons.

That said, with a stand and a usb dock (or a hub) it’s no problem to plug in a controller and have fun. If you have a tv or monitor available, you’ve basically just brought a computer. Finding a table to use the deck as the screen is also fine, but I’m used to hunching forward while playing. If you’re used to playing from a recliner across the room from the tv it might seem a bit small.

Haven’t had any stuttering or connectivity issues, it’s a capable machine so once you dial in your settings games play fine. I haven’t tried SF6 on it yet, but it says it’s verified.