What stick is best for PS2?

Ramus · Post by **Ramus** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 11:43 am

Was thinking of getting a PS2. What stick is the best to get?

thchardcore · Post by **thchardcore** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 12:22 pm

SANWA POWER:
http://img474.imageshack.us/my.php?image=10009542qv.jpg

Neon · Post by **Neon** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:11 pm

All-sanwa hori real arcade pro.

the stock HRAP buttons aren't too bad. Not as good as sanwa but not terrible.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:54 pm

I dunno about all Sanwa; Seimitsu joysticks feel better to me.

DC906270 · Post by **DC906270** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:18 pm

I'm going to get a Hori Real Arcade Pro Stick, which i have heard good things about (i was originally planning on an X-Arcade but i have since heard bad things about them - US made too not jap). Can't beat the authentic Japanese arcade experience of the knobbly round head Sanwa stick on the Hori. Also, i have heard the Hori buttons can be easily replaced with Sanwa ones too!! Good if you can affiord $150 to spend on a stick!

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:47 pm

DC906270 wrote:(i was originally planning on an X-Arcade but i have since heard bad things about them - US made too not jap)

Yeah, I don't like the X-Arcade either. The stick, and buttons feel too cheap, especially for the price. I'd suggest a modified DC Agetec stick, or maybe a modified PS Namco stick (although, some feel the buttons are too close to the stick, and I have to agree). Real Arcade Pro would be good too. If I were choosing for myself: I'd probably go with the DC Agetec. It's good quality off the bat, it's somewhat easy to mod, and it has a comfortable layout.

Ex_Mosquito · Post by **Ex_Mosquito** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:23 pm

I go with a hrap with sanwa parts. I dont see the fasination with semitsu sticks tbh, sanwa destroy them in everyway.

whatever you get dont do this when you lose your temper

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.stevens53/temper.jpg

Post by **Dave_K.** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:29 pm

Ex_Mosquito wrote:I go with a hrap with sanwa parts. I dont see the fasination with semitsu sticks tbh, sanwa destroy them in everyway.

IMHO semitsu's are a little more sensative than sanwa, because they use actuators with bades. For shmups this is good, for fighters you'd want sanwa. Personal preference mostly, they are both equally awsome.

Ex_Mosquito · Post by **Ex_Mosquito** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 7:34 pm

I once modded a DC stick with seimitsu parts and i hated the damn thing, the shortness of the stick and tighter pressure really resticted me compared to a sanwa. Thats just me though.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.steve ... TSU_DC.jpg

greng · Post by **greng** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:31 pm

If you don't want to go to the trouble of making a custom mod. There are a few options available above the really sorry standard sticks. The HORI fighting stick is a good one, although it comes with two varieties of buttons, the flatter ones being better than the more rounded ones. Theres also the Hori Soul Calibur II stick which should be quite easy to get hold of.

The Fighting Stick is quite an old one but the Stick itself is really good. A halfway and very good option is to swap out the buttons and leave the standard stick in it. Buttons being much easier to replace than the stick.

Linked image below is the Saturn version, but shows good detail. These are the flat buttons which are much nicer. The stick is an older style short neck and smaller ball. Which feels much nicer to me than more modern larger balls...
http://www.thewestexit.net/images/fightingstickss.jpg

The Hori SCII stick. The stick isn't quite as nice, but like I said, for a commercial stick, this is pretty decent.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:38 pm

I'm pretty interested in the Namco Arcade Stick-the thing looks like it's been ripped right off an arcade cab and then modded for home use!

Plus, I own a modded PS1, and a PSTwo, and IIRC, it's compatible with both consoles.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 7:48 pm

No commercial stick has been ripped out of the arcade, except for the button layout. For that, you need to buy a stick and some solder (not that hard actually).

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:53 pm

Ex_Mosquito wrote: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mark.stevens53/temper.jpg

That to me sums up why I will never buy pre-made sticks. Cheap plastic shite. They are all so far from "Arcade Quality" it's not funny.

I make all my own sticks. I use 18mm (3/4" for you American kids) MDF, although you can get away with 16mm (5/8") too, but I'm a big bloke, and stronger is always better.

Knocking together a stick is not hard work. Even the clumsiest of home handymen can make a square box. The best thing about it all is you can use your own preference hardware and button layouts. Get EXACTLY the right stick and buttons for you, and lay it out EXACTLY in the shape of YOUR hand.

I make my sticks out of Happ Competition Pro's for fighters, and Sanwas for shooters. I buy the Happ sticks from "Ponyboy" on the www.ArcadeControls.com forums, and get the Sanwas here in Australia from a place called OzStick:
http://www.ozstick.com.au/

For the guts, I just buy a cheap controller for the console I'm using, or a cheap all-digital USB gamepad for PC/MAME (most of them work in Windows/Linux/Mac without drivers). Shouldn't set you back more than $10. You're only using it for the controller chip anyway, so as long as there's no lag (and there usually isn't if you are buying the right controller and not using a converter) then pad button/construction quality doesn't matter, as you're going to rip the sucker open anyway.

If you can't make sticks (don't have skills/tools/workshop) then check out the Shoryuken forums, as there are dozens of excellent quality stick makers there. One of the most popular in the world is Byrdo:
http://www.byrdo.org/arcade_joysticks.htm

And some other links:
http://www.arkadesticks.com/
http://home.comcast.net/~dreadedfist/
http://www.quartercircleforward.com/

I'd rather spend the extra cash on a strong stick that won't break after a few hours play, and with the added bonus that in many cases you can choose your own artwork (some nice black and white Ikaruga artwork on a unit with a black stick and white buttons or vice versa would look incredible!).

Ex_Mosquito · Post by **Ex_Mosquito** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:09 pm

That to me sums up why I will never buy pre-made sticks. Cheap plastic shite. They are all so far from "Arcade Quality" it's not funny.

The DC stick base is actually pretty strong. The Damage on the stick in the picture was actually done by me hitting the thing with my foot.

oky i jumped on it.

Never again..

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:22 pm

Ex_Mosquito wrote:The DC stick base is actually pretty strong. The Damage on the stick in the picture was actually done by me hitting the thing with my foot. oky i jumped on it.

Yeah, the Agetec sticks are actually pretty good quality. I've played plenty of arcade setups (western) that feel pretty cheap compared to even a stock Agetec. (Tekken 5 for one. Not much of a Tekken fan, but there wasn't much of a selection.)

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:05 pm

What I like about the Agetec's is that they nailed the button layout perfectly. Just dremel the holes and put in your own stick and buttons and you've got a great stick. If you're not playing on Blast/Astro City all the time, you may be able to live w/ another button layout, but when I actually was playing arcade games, this was all I had.

I need to get off my ass and finish my other sticks. :/

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:54 pm

Ex_Mosquito wrote:The DC stick base is actually pretty strong.

To me, plastic sticks will never be "pretty strong".

MDF or steel. My old HES "The Tank" stick is 2mm sheet steel, and has survived everything from falling of tables to psycho ex-girlfriends throwing them around the room:

http://pcdb.overclockers.com.au/view.ph ... &page=pics

Now *THAT* is what I call "pretty strong".

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:48 am

So, how is the Namco Arcade Stick? Looks pretty solid, at least.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:31 am

dave4shmups wrote:So, how is the Namco Arcade Stick? Looks pretty solid, at least.

Crap from what I understand. Never used it. Ever thought of spending about $50 on some Sawna parts and modding one? Good fun, and better than anything you can affordably find in the states.

superhitachi4 · Post by **superhitachi4** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:03 am

dave4shmups wrote:So, how is the Namco Arcade Stick? Looks pretty solid, at least.

I have a Namco stick (which is made by Hori by the way), and it's not bad. It's decent, but I'd rate the DC stick quite a bit higher in terms of quality / layout. The stick on the Namco is a little too close to the buttons for my taste, and the quality of the stick itself could be better.

Naiera · Post by **Naiera** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:26 pm

I love the old Namco Stick. MUCH better than the DC stick IMO. Too bad that the painting peels off with a bit of sweat here and there...

Ex_Mosquito · Post by **Ex_Mosquito** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:08 pm

Naiera wrote:I love the old Namco Stick. MUCH better than the DC stick IMO. Too bad that the painting peels off with a bit of sweat here and there...

The stock stick is yes, but the dc base is better for sanwa modding.

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 7:35 pm

Ex_Mosquito wrote:
Naiera wrote:I love the old Namco Stick. MUCH better than the DC stick IMO. Too bad that the painting peels off with a bit of sweat here and there...
The stock stick is yes, but the dc base is better for sanwa modding.

Ugh, I haven't modded anything since an SNES!

At any rate, the attraction for the Namco Stick is that it works on both the PS1 and the PS2. Friggin' expensive when you find it, though. Same with the Agetec official DC stick. I would like to get both, though, because I've been told that joysticks give you more freedom of movement then D-Pads.

rib · Post by **rib** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 12:17 pm

whats the difference between the hori arcade sticks 1 and 2?
there are two of each:
1a black border, green buttons
1b black border, red buttons
2a white border, blue buttons
2b white border, red buttons

the 2 cost the double of the 1, can anyone bring light into this.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:48 pm

The RAP2 uses the JP arcade style button layout for the first 6 buttons (which is why the L buttons have been moved all the way right) whereas the RAP1 uses a custom formation with the L buttons on the left. The RAP1's metallic facecover is also highly prone to both scratches and fingerprints.

If you live in the US, you can snag up either for about the same price here: http://www.vgonetwork.com/article.aspx?id=181

rib · Post by **rib** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 2:16 pm

well i still dont get it completelly, here are th pictures from the hori site, maybe someone can tell the most important differences between them:

Pro

Pro SA

Pro SE

Pro2

DC906270 · Post by **DC906270** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:26 pm

The HRAP 1 & 2 have identical spec (Sanwa stick and Hori buttons), but V2 has the japanese arcade cab button layout (as per the astro city cab i think)

The HRAP SE has sanwa buttons as standard as well as the Sanwa stick.

I just received my HRAP 2 this morning and for the record I Love It

rib · Post by **rib** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:04 pm

ok i will try to make a list, can you tell me whats with the SA and try to fill the ? gaps, if there are any other differences please post them, thanks.

PRO:
layout:?,
stick:sanwa,
buttons:hori

PRO SA:
layout:?,
stick:?,
buttons:?

PRO SE:
layout:?,
stick:sanwa,
buttons:sanwa

PRO 2:
layout:japanese cab,
stick:sanwa,
buttons:hori

dave4shmups · Post by **dave4shmups** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:18 pm

What the heck's Sanwa?

And which arcade stick plays the most like what you'd find on a slimline cab? Those sticks are really comfortable; I actually played a slimine cab here in Denver-it was a fighting game called Joy-Ro, or something like that.

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:11 am

dave4shmups wrote:What the heck's Sanwa?

Sanwa are a joystick, microswitch and other electronics manufacturer in Japan. They make the balltop sticks you see on the vast majority of Japanese-built candy cabs.

The main characteristic of Sanwa sticks is their light springs and high sensitivity (as well as excellent build quality that take a beating over time), making them much preferred for games requiring quick reflexes (like shmups as well as 2D fighting games).

You can buy them from Himura:
http://www.himuragames.com/home.php

And for the Aussies reading this, OzStick:
http://www.ozstick.com.au/

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What stick is best for PS2?

What stick is best for PS2?

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