What's a good, solid joystick for the PS2 for shmups?...

[dave4shmups]

I know about the Neo Geo one that's coming out, but I don't want anything NEAR that big. So, what's a good joystick to use with a PS2 for shmups like The Raiden Project, In The Hunt, etc?

[mannerbot]

The best commercial stick for shooters would be one of the special Hori Real Arcade Pros, but if you're complaining about the size of the Neo Geo stick I'm guessing they're not quite what you're looking for.

I started a similar thread a while ago, here it is: http://forum.shmups.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14.

Since then, I've picked up two Namco Arcade Sticks and the Tekken 5 stick, and I have to say, I'm very fond of the Namco sticks.

[Ord]

I've had no problems with the Soul Caliber Hori stick. I'm waiting for the Tekken 5 Hori stick to come through the post, which looks very cool.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I have an original Neo-Geo arcade joystick controller and it's size isn't as big as say either the Sega Agetech Arcade Stick or the Hori PC Fighting Stick (for PCE Duo or PCE using Duo to PCE controller adapter).

You could pick up a Hori PS Fighting Stick as it's a good joystick (with required short-throw Japanese ball-type of joystick) although you could replace it with either a Sanwa or Seimitsu type of joystick and also replace the stock buttons with either brand of push buttons as well and still end up with a world-class joystick for your PSX/PS1/PS2 console setup. It even has seperate auto-fire switches for each button but no slow-motion function (like that on the PSX Ascii Fighting Stick which is essentially the same thing as the Hori PS Fighting Stick but has built-in adjustable auto-fire rate slider and built-in slow motion capabilities).

I picked up a used Hori PS Fighting Stick at my local Funcoland for a mere $10.00 back in 2000. With a bit of cleaning, it looks pretty good considering it got some very heavy use from a previous owner who decided that it was time to retire this particular joystick. Still has plenty of milelage on it and still works like a charm! Very good joystick for playing the PSX Strikers 1945 II import on my modded PSX. When Toys-R-Us first sold the "Hori PS Fighting Stick" brand new back in 1996, it retailed at $59.99. This was the only time Hori sold it's full-arcade sized joystick for the PSX in the USA.

If you have some $$$ to burn, why not just buy a Hori Real Arcade Pro or either a Special Addition or even a Special Edition version...the latter two are reported to have Seimitsu produced Japanese arcade joysticks and push buttons which are perfect for shmups. The original Hori Real Arcade Pro joystick comes with a Sanwa joystick and Sanwa push buttons.

It all comes down is your preference for either Sanwa or Seimitsu brand of joysticks & buttons. I have both brands of joysticks and push buttons and prefer the Seimitsu ones over the Sanwa ones myself. Some people don't like either and go back to use the Happ Supers or the Happ Competition joysticks when playing the fighting games/shmups on their console setup to replicate the arcade experience at home.

At the U.S. arcades, there are some Tekken 5 dedicated arcade uprights that still have the original Japanese Sanwa or Seimitsu short-throw joysticks and push buttons on them (assuming the arcade distributors didn't take them off and replace them with Happ arcade joysticks and push buttons).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[mannerbot]

If you have some $$$ to burn, why not just buy a Hori Real Arcade Pro or either a Special Addition or even a Special Edition version...the latter two are reported to have Seimitsu produced Japanese arcade joysticks and push buttons which are perfect for shmups. The original Hori Real Arcade Pro joystick comes with a Sanwa joystick and Sanwa push buttons.

Not quite. The Hori Real Arcade Pro Special Edition has a Seimitsu stick and Seimitsu buttons, but the Special Addition has all Sanwa parts. The regular Hori RAP has a Sanwa stick, but Hori buttons.

[Cugel]

If you have some $$$ to burn, why not just buy a Hori Real Arcade Pro or either a Special Addition or even a Special Edition version...the latter two are reported to have Seimitsu produced Japanese arcade joysticks and push buttons which are perfect for shmups. The original Hori Real Arcade Pro joystick comes with a Sanwa joystick and Sanwa push buttons.

Not quite. The Hori Real Arcade Pro Special Edition has a Seimitsu stick and Seimitsu buttons, but the Special Addition has all Sanwa parts. The regular Hori RAP has a Sanwa stick, but Hori buttons.

It's very easy to mod the Hori RAP. I replaced my Hori buttons with Sanwa buttons. The Sanwa buttons are much better.

You're correct: the Special Edition is all Seimitsu parts, but many Japanese shmups fans prefer a Seimitsu stick with Sanwa buttons. In any case, I should be getting my Special Edition at the end of the month.

[oxtsu]

Technically, this is true about the buttons. Though I'd like to point out that original RAP buttons use Seimitsu regular switch with custom 'Sanwa style' case. Some peeps think it's no good just because it's not an off-the-shelf part, but I think it's more 'trend-following' in that case, not experience. All other Hori never used the real arcade button switch.

With the new Hori SA/SE's, the buttons are upgraded further to the Sanwa 'RG' and Seimitsu 'X' type respectively, which are using the x5 durability switch (cost x3 price of normal, that's why increase over original RAP). These buttons feel very similar to normal, but it's 'metal-like' with a full button push (little more solid).

[dave4shmups]

"It all comes down is your preference for either Sanwa or Seimitsu brand of joysticks & buttons."

Will someone please explain to me what the main differences beteween the Sanwa and Seimitsu brands are, or even WHAT these brands are?? I've never even heard of them before.

And I definately don't want a joystick I'll need or want to mod, I don't care how easy it is to do so.

[Blue Lander]

What I did was buy a cheap Pelican Real Arcade Stick for 25 bucks and replaced the stick with a Sanwa and the buttons with Happs.

Personally, I prefer my Sanwa stick to my Seimitsu one. The Seimitsu one as a longer throw as well as leaf switches. The Sanwa one feels more precise and "twitchy"

[mannerbot]

Then it's a simple decision, Dave. If a small joystick is what you want, then the Namco Arcade Stick is the way to go.

[dave4shmups]

Thanks mannerbot, that Namco one looks mighty nice! It doesn't look any smaller, at least in the Ebay pics I've seen, then the Hori's or the Neo Geo one. But, pictures don't tell the whole story.

[mannerbot]

Sanwa is a Japanese manufacturer of arcade parts, Sanwa sticks/buttons can be ordered at himuragames.com. Seimitsu is another Japanese arcade parts maker; supposedly, their parts are better for shooters while Sanwa's are better for fighters (though both are top-of-the-line for either genre).

Seeing as how you don't want a big stick, you're not interested in modding, and it's not likely that you would notice a difference anyway, you basically need not concern yourself with Sanwa, Seimitsu, or Happs parts. If you changed your joystick size preference though, either the Hori Real Arcade Pro Special Edition or Special Addition would be the best commercial stick available.

Here's an example of a custom Sanwa stick: http://www.byrdo.org/images/Arcade%20St ... 0Flash.jpg.
And here's one of a custom Happs stick: http://www.shoryuken.com/forums/attachm ... ntid=35457.

The Happs of course is the American style stick.

[mannerbot]

Yes, the stick you linked to is what I'm talking about. You won't find a quality stick in a smaller formfactor, and yes, PS2's are backwards-compatible with PS1 controllers.

[mannerbot]

Dave, if I had a camera I'd compare the size of the Hori Tekken 5 stick (which is housed in a HRAP body) with the Namco stick. It's a monster difference, and the Namco stick is deceptively light as well.

[dave4shmups]

Thanks!

Well then, it seems like the Namco one is the best way to go! There are two on Ebay right now, and they both look great!

[iatneH]

Glad to hear you'll be trying out the joystick route. I guess you've heard this before, but it will take getting used to, but once you get it, you'll play much better than you ever had with a pad.

I'm actually using some two PS1 sticks which I picked up from Future Shop's bargain bin for $6 CDN each :)

They measure just a little over 6" across.

Another cheap option (don't know if they're available where you live) are some Soul Calibur arcade sticks made by Nuby... I have a friend with two of them, I can't comment on the quality though since I bought an open-box one once whose stick was completely busted beyond repair so I returned it right away...

[mannerbot]

Nuby sticks are garbage.

[PsikyoPshumpPshooterP]

im selling my stick tekken 5 hori stick for $55 plus $15 shipping...Its only been used about 5 times..and I will package the stick in the Tekken Bundle Box..This stick is indeed awesome and im just selling it cuz I got the Special Edition HRAP preordered..Let me know,Dave!

[Cugel]

im selling my stick tekken 5 hori stick for $55 plus $15 shipping...Its only been used about 5 times..and I will package the stick in the Tekken Bundle Box..This stick is indeed awesome and im just selling it cuz I got the Special Edition HRAP preordered..Let me know,Dave!

That's a good price and the Tekken 5 stick is good though it uses a stock HORI stick and buttons. It's very easy to mod if you have some basic soldering skills. Shoryuken's forum has a good guide on how to do this.

So, you ordered the HRAP Special Edition. How did you order it since HORI will only ship to Japanese addresses? My friend in Tokyo pre-ordered two of them and received confirmation. The Seimitsu is the popular one as Japanese shmups fans are ranting about them on the Japanese shmups boards.

[Cugel]

If you're looking for smaller sticks, here's a site with custom-made sticks that use either Sanwa or HAPP components:

http://www.byrdo.org/arcade_joysticks.htm

I like these two:

Crimson Beauty: http://tinyurl.com/4k5xu

Silver Streak: http://tinyurl.com/7xr4l

[PsikyoPshumpPshooterP]

im selling my stick tekken 5 hori stick for $55 plus $15 shipping...Its only been used about 5 times..and I will package the stick in the Tekken Bundle Box..This stick is indeed awesome and im just selling it cuz I got the Special Edition HRAP preordered..Let me know,Dave!

That's a good price and the Tekken 5 stick is good though it uses a stock HORI stick and buttons. It's very easy to mod if you have some basic soldering skills. Shoryuken's forum has a good guide on how to do this.

So, you ordered the HRAP Special Edition. How did you order it since HORI will only ship to Japanese addresses? My friend in Tokyo pre-ordered two of them and received confirmation. The Seimitsu is the popular one as Japanese shmups fans are ranting about them on the Japanese shmups boards.

ncsx.com had the preorders up for about 3-4 days last week when preorders got over exhausted..i was one of the few who were able to pre order the white seimitsu

[visuatrox]

Arghh!!, What is wrong with those Hori guys, don't they want my money. The consumers evidently want sticks with real arcade parts, so why make such an limited run and distribution.

I was going to pre-order the white sticks, but had to wait until payday (because NCSX seem to charge the creditcards at once). But unfortunately the pre-orders were already closed when I was going to order

[Trevor spencer]

Arghh!!, What is wrong with those Hori guys, don't they want my money. The consumers evidently want sticks with real arcade parts, so why make such an limited run and distribution.

I was going to pre-order the white sticks, but had to wait until payday (because NCSX seem to charge the creditcards at once). But unfortunately the pre-orders were already closed when I was going to order

you could buy a hori RAP stick and replace the parts yourself , this is what i have done and im well happy with it

[Trevor spencer]

If you're looking for smaller sticks, here's a site with custom-made sticks that use either Sanwa or HAPP components:

http://www.byrdo.org/arcade_joysticks.htm

I like these two:

Crimson Beauty: http://tinyurl.com/4k5xu

Silver Streak: http://tinyurl.com/7xr4l

OMG those sticks are awesome

[Tychom]

Just a quick note on those new Neo-Geo sticks, the buttons are just awful, they're incredibly loose with huge gaps around them. I imagine they'd be quite useless for shmups.

[captain ahar]

they sure are. it's too bad though that they go for so much ($160-$400 according to the guy who builds them). I am particularly fond of the White Flash and the Earthquake

[Thunder Force]

Just a quick note on those new Neo-Geo sticks, the buttons are just awful, they're incredibly loose with huge gaps around them. I imagine they'd be quite useless for shmups.

I was really close to ordering one of those out of nostalgia... guess I'm glad I didn't.

[iatneH]

I'm debating whether I should buy some parts (probably Happ... but I hear good things about Sanwa.. where to buy?) to build my own stick... how feasible do you think this is?

Mount the sticks and buttons inside a box, and just wire the microswitches to plugs of some sort, probably a molex connector for the stick, and individual RCA plugs for the buttons.
Then, buy a bunch of controllers for various systems ( Genesis, Playstation digital, Saturn, SNES, JAMMA, and whatever else I can think of that's cheap) and rip out the PCBs. Then I can wire up RCA jacks to each of the buttons on the controller PCB and a molex connector for the D-pad, so I can use the sticks with multiple systems with customizable key mappings (except for directional movement)...

Think it's worth it?

[Tychom]

Think it's worth it?

It's what I use, it's been tricky at times to find pads that'll mod properly (destroyed 2 GC pads so far ) but overall has been well worth it and I'm glad I went through the time to do it.

I used the official DC arcade stick as a base (aka the Agetec stick, with the green buttons) with a sanwa stick and buttons put in as these are fairly simple to fit (currently doing a second with a seimitsu stick - much more cutting involved there).

I have a DB15 connected to the back and a few joypad pcbs connected up inside project boxes that I can switch around per system.

[PsikyoPshumpPshooterP]

the new HRAP is delayed another week according to one of the reputable sources at shoryuken.com who called NCSX himself for the update of it