What is the best arcade stick for each system?

[noiseredux]

out of curiosity, can you use a Gen arcade stick on an SMS?

[Hobie-wan]

out of curiosity, can you use a Gen arcade stick on an SMS?

Yes. Start won't do anything and IIRC B and C become the buttons. Been a while since I played my SMS.

[noiseredux]

out of curiosity, can you use a Gen arcade stick on an SMS?

Yes. Start won't do anything and IIRC B and C become the buttons. Been a while since I played my SMS.

I thought I remembered using Gen controllers on my SMS back in the day.

[hashiriya1]

As for the PS3, the Virtua Stick High Grade. I love this damn thing.

[aaron]

The best Saturn stick its a SEGA licensed product called "Eclipse Stick". Its the most smooth and precise home arcade stick I've ever used, and I'm a collector.

You dont belive how great is to play Radiant Silvergun with that joystick.

I'm intrigued...have you played with other Saturn sticks? How does it compare to the JPN Virtua Stick or the Hori?

i had an eclipse stick but my 4 year old got ahold of the knob on the stick and kinda unscrewed it, making it really loose. i've been looking for another one because i really, really liked the way it played more than any other saturn stick i've used. still haven't used the 2nd model japanese virtua stick, though.

SMS - I have the "Sega Arcade Stick" with buttons on the left. Any better options?

This is the best for your Master System... And... drum rolls please..
It's compatible with your commodore 64, your msx and amiga!!

It has the smoothest joystick that can take a lot of abuse (mine allready works for 12/13 years or so) and it's just perfect! Doesn't have microswitches at all, but I don't miss them, have sticks with microswitches and somehow this stick works perfect without them.

also has switches for autofire and player 1 or 2, because it has 2 cables coming out of it, so you can play a shmup and when player 1 dies, switch to player 2 and game on!

I don't need it cause I have two of them

i have one of these for the super nintendo. it's pretty nice. i had a couple "quickshot" game pads that were okay but i'm a bit of a purist and can only really use the original snes controllers for anything. this stick is nice for shmups, though.

[Hobie-wan]

i had an eclipse stick but my 4 year old got ahold of the knob on the stick and kinda unscrewed it, making it really loose. i've been looking for another one because i really, really liked the way it played more than any other saturn stick i've used.

Sounds like it should be an easy fix.

[aaron]

i had an eclipse stick but my 4 year old got ahold of the knob on the stick and kinda unscrewed it, making it really loose. i've been looking for another one because i really, really liked the way it played more than any other saturn stick i've used.

Sounds like it should be an easy fix.

i thought that would be the case but it was strange, like it wouldn't "set" again. i didn't really want to take the controller apart so i sold it to a friend of mine. they are not that hard to find, really. if i could find a boxed one i'd be super happy.

[dsheinem]

So I have been doing some arcade stick researching/purchasing over the last month and was in the middle of that process when I started the thread. I think I am just about done, and here's a picture of what I have so far with some thoughts on each. Many of these were picked up on your suggestions, so thanks!



Back Row:
Dreamcast Agetec Stick- I never understood the allure of fighting games on the DC until I picked up this stick. The DC controller is passable for shmups if need be, but it is horrid for most CAPCOM fighters or other games. This is a solid and responsive stick that feels like it weighs half way between the Super Advantage in the row below and the HRAP2 next to it. Bonus points for the built in VMU slot.

Hori Real Arcade Pro 2 (modded with Sanwa buttons) for the PS2/1- This is the most recent addition to the collection and along with the TE stick next to it, the most expensive (although I got a great deal on it CIB). I haven't had it long enough to know whether I prefer it to the TE Stick, but the quality, responsiveness, and weight are quite comparable. It's a damn close call. Plays like a dream and feels great on your lap or on a table. My PS2 shmups and fighters just had new life breathed into them.

MadCatz PS3/PC SF4 TE Stick -The stick that made me search for other good sticks. Also weighty and built like a tank, it responds immediately to your command and has a perfect button placement for SF4 and anything else I've played with it (including PS1/2 games on a backwards compatible PS3). It isn't universally compatible with all PCs unfortunately (I have two that work with it and one that doesn't), but you'd be hard pressed to find a better out of the box MAME stick. You won't find a better PS3 stick.

Middle Row
Official 6 Button Arcade Stick for the Sega Genesis - I really like how the buttons feel and sound on this, and the stick is pretty good for what it is. I felt that I had to pull a little harder on the stick then I might on any of the sticks above, but it still works great for stuff like SF2 or MUSHA. It also has a mode switch for 3 button games, various turbo functions, and lots of nice bells and whistles for the time. Bonus: it can often be found relatively cheap on eBay.

QuickShot "2 Player" Stick for the NES - This stick is interesting because it has two controller cords coming off of it and a switch that allows both player 1 and player 2 to use it by taking turns, a feature which might come in handy for any NES game that features this functionality (e.g. SMB). I haven't played with it much, but from what little I have I already know that I prefer it over the NES Advantage, which feels flimsier and less responsive.

Super Advantage - I was hesitant to pick this up based on my impressions of the NES Advantage, but this stick feels much better. Design wise, everything is a bit "blocky" for my tastes - but the actual stick and button response feels great, the stick has a good weight to it (slightly more than the Genesis stick), and if you can learn to adapt to the less than ideal button placement you have a stick worth picking up for your SNES arcade games.

Mayflash Arcade stick for PS3/PS1/PS1/PC - This stick is a good deal for the money, but don't let its appearance trick you into thinking it is anywhere close to the same league as Hori sticks, MadCatz sticks, Sega sticks, or any of the other choices you have for PS consoles. It feels a little bit lighter than the Agetec DC stick, and while the buttons are decently responsive and as good as the SNES or Genesis stick buttons, the stick is quite loose and didn't always feel like it responded to me how I'd have liked. The versatility is nice, and apparently the stick is one that people can easily mod.

Asciiware Arcade Stick for PS1 - The stick here is quite stiff and a little tall for my liking, and the buttons are almost the same as those on the Advantage sticks (which is to say passable). To me it feels light and like a stick from a previous gen - there are much better PS1 alternatives.

Front Row
MadCatz Arcade Joystick for the 360 - Great for Pac-Man, Arkanoid (it has a spinner), and many other arcade classics, the stick has limited use. I couldn't imagine playing fighters or complex shmups with it as the stick is quite light and loose really only useful for games that benefit from using a joystick with a wide range of motion and loose control. For niche use only.

Wico Arcade Stick for TI99/c64/Atari 2600/etc. - Like other joysticks of the era it is quite light, but it is much more responsive than most. I'm a fan of the fire button on top of the joystick as it is here, and this is a much better alternative to most of the stock or first party controllers that shipped with most early computers/consoles. If you can use to the soft feel of the stick (a drastic contrast to something like a 2600 stock joystick), you will come to love this stick.

Sega Arcade Stick for the SMS - Yes, it is backwards! This stick is actually well built, and the responsiveness of the stick (and where it falls on the loose/tight scale) is quite good. The buttons are not as good, and it can take some getting use to the giant handle on top of the stick. If you have a good genesis stick, you can use that instead for most (but not all) games.

Various adapters. I bought PS>Saturn, PS>PCE, and PS>N64 adapters. The HRAP2 stick works flawlessly with each of them, and I don't see any reason to now hunt down platform specific sticks for those consoles. In fact, I plan to pick up some more adapters so that I can use the HRAP2 on a few other systems:). Tototek has a great selection of these, and I recommend them.

The only thing I really need now is something for my GCN/Wii. Does anyone know if there's a good PS>GCN adapter that also functions well on the Wii? If not, is there such a thing as a PS>Wii adapter? I do like the GCN Hori stick, but it is no better than what I have now - so if the adpater will fix the problem for $10-$15, that is better than spending $100+ on another stick.

[noiseredux]

there are PS>GCN adapters that work great for about $20. You want this guy:



or one of the similar-looking ones.

Personally I prefer the Hori for GCN, but I'm also a bit of a crazy perfectionist about my collection, so I really wanted an "official" GCN product rather than something with a PS1 logo on it. That being said, you should REALLY be all set with one of yr PS1/2 sticks (or get a RetroPort to use the SNES Advantage on the Cube for GBPlayer stuff).

I don't know about PS1/2>Wii.

[dsheinem]

there are PS>GCN adapters that work great for about $20. You want this guy:



or one of the similar-looking ones.

Personally I prefer the Hori for GCN, but I'm also a bit of a crazy perfectionist about my collection, so I really wanted an "official" GCN product rather than something with a PS1 logo on it. That being said, you should REALLY be all set with one of yr PS1/2 sticks (or get a RetroPort to use the SNES Advantage on the Cube for GBPlayer stuff).

I don't know about PS1/2>Wii.

Is the GCN Hori stick's build identical to the HRAP2? Is it the same but with a different color and logo?

What do you know about how that converter maps buttons? Anything weird? Have you run into Wii games that haven't supported the GCN stick that you wish did?