let's talk Saturn arcade sticks

[noiseredux]

My bday is in a few weeks, so I'm thinking about asking my wife for a new Saturn arcade stick. I have the US Virtua Stick, which is absolute garbage. I want to hear some thoughts on various options (and links to buy would help a lot as well). Thanks dudes.

[ninjainspandex]

I own both the hss-0136 stick


and the Hori Fighting Stick SS



while I prefer the look of the official stick I much prefer the Hori one, the official one has an extremely loud stick. I mean really noisy like a banjo. Also the buttons arnt the greatest on it if you dont hit them dead on they can stick and not register. Not to mention the Hori one can usually be found a bit cheaper then the official one.

But of course if your wife really loves you and has $400-$500 to spend then get a HSS-0130

[mjmjr25]

The HSS-0136 is a really quality stick if you can get used the non-traditional (at least for the past 2 generations) button layout.

Avoid the buy now prices in the $70-75 range, should be had for closer to $50-55. Everything is soldered to a single PCB, so it isn't easy to swap out if you have a wonky button, so def. buy from a reputable seller who has tested it.

The HSS-0130 weighs about 20lbs and isn't meant for your tiny lap. It is an AMAZING stick and easy to mod, even for a relative novice, just because there's so much room in there. The encasement itself holds a $150-ish value. I wouln't pay more than $350. They sell all day for $200 in JP, but it's the shipping part that gets you. If you don't mind waiting for a boat, a JP middleman should be able to snag you one for $300 shipped.

The Virtua Stick from Sega is absolute crap, but it's $12, so, it is what it is.

There are (2) other options, ASCII sticks, but for the $40-70 price tag, neither is as good as the HSS-0136.





Oh, these are a good economical option, but as they are 3 or 4 button layouts, no good for 6-button fighters, the sell for about $15-20 and shipping, usually another $20-25, so $40-ish:

[marurun]

I have an HSS-0136 I bought in Japan in '99. Getting it back to the US in my bags was an interesting packing challenge. My stick on this unit has become rather loose, though. Does it take a standard stick? Is it something I can easily fix/replace?

[flojocabron]

I also have this one



Got it real cheap last year.

I'm not an expert on arcade sticks, but this one works fine.

I also have this one too



Its okay I guess? I have to find a second one. But I haven't gotten lucky. Over the years I keep finding them broken on the stick part just at the base

Fleamarkets do not treat these well.

[mjmjr25]

I have an HSS-0136 I bought in Japan in '99. Getting it back to the US in my bags was an interesting packing challenge. My stick on this unit has become rather loose, though. Does it take a standard stick? Is it something I can easily fix/replace?

Trying to recall...this should have a 4 or 5 pin connector that goes a mini molex connector to the sticks separate pcb, so a relatively easy replace...I think. I have one disassembled in my garage, i'll try to make a point to go look at it later.

[noiseredux]

Are there any shmups that require buttons missing on the V7?

[mjmjr25]

Are there any shmups that require buttons missing on the V7?

Radiant uses 6 buttons, but I "think" you can map them via combo, meaning A+B = D, B+C = E, etc. That's the only one more than 3 buttons that jumps out at me.

[noiseredux]

How could I forget RS?

What about Cotton games?

[SpoonyBard]

Trying to recall...this should have a 4 or 5 pin connector that goes a mini molex connector to the sticks separate pcb, so a relatively easy replace...I think. I have one disassembled in my garage, i'll try to make a point to go look at it later

The harness is a 5-pin, and should be fairly easy to replace.

Earlier HSS-0136's came with Seimitsu parts, later ones came with Ascii parts. According to SRK - Seimitsu LS-40, LS-55 and LS-56 sticks fit without modification to the case. The harness may not be the same, but at worst you'll just have to reverse some wires. Should be simple to fix.



Also a note, these don't use microswitches for the buttons, so if you're buying one to mod you will probably have to do a little bit of soldering. The button holes are also 29mm, so they may have to be opened up a slight bit to fit Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons.