Suggestion for a new arcade stick?

[Mischief Maker]

It is with trepidation that I step into this corner of the shmups forum. Embarassingly my arcade stick for the last 10 years+ has been an X-Arcade Solo that I got on discount, and the wood body's starting to fall apart. Plus it's really huge and awkward to hold on my lap, despite being one-player.

I'm looking for a new stick for the PC that's comfortable sitting in the lap, preferably with a metal plate on the bottom for stability, if not a metal body entirely. I prefer an 8-way joystick gate. I play a lot of older doujins so if it has the ability to map to keyboard buttons natively (preferably in an easier way than the X-Arcade method) that would be a huge bonus.

I'm not really interested in doing custom modifications myself. Just a really good stick straight out of the box.

I'm willing to go above $100 for long-term quality/durability but $150+ is pushing it.

Thanks in advance!

[orange808]

Apologies in advance. I know, you don't want to build one. But, give this a look before you completely rule out building yourself a stick.

https://inputlag.science/controller/results

[Xer Xian]

I think the Mayflash F500 Elite is the best stick you can get for the money today.

It is well built and compatible with several systems. It has Sanwa parts and is easy to open up if you want to install an octogonal gate (it might even include it in box, not sure). And it also looks nice with its simple, no-nonsense black and white case.

The new Hori's all mount proprietary parts (and cost more), and I've never liked Madcatz sticks for some reason (heard their quality control isn't the best, dunno if true).

That said, all these sticks will feel radically different than the X-Arcade. Not many bat-top sticks+concave buttons combo available on the market I think (and this is for the better, if you ask me).

As for the button mapping I think there are dedicated apps for that - joytokey, inputmapper, etc. Never used them, but shouldn't be difficult to work with.

[bigbadboaz]

Since the rise of USB as a console stick connector, there are really a lot of options for you in the $100-150 range. The really good thing is that almost all of them will have a metal base as requested, and they're ALL guaranteed to end up easier/more comfortable to rest in your lap than that X-Arcade was (I honestly have no idea how you stuck with that kind of arrangement for so long).

The thing is going to be narrowing your options. There are different sized cases, different button layouts, different stock parts, etc. I think your preferred stick size for lap play and preferred button arrangement will be the first big things to narrow down.

[Taiyaki]

The best arcade stick I've ever used is the Madcatz TE2+. The ergonomics were just perfect on that, and I liked that you could swap out parts and just make it all black. Unfortunately they went out of business so I don't think there's much in terms of parts that are available anymore.

[XtraSmiley]

The Razer PS4/Xbone stick is really nice, no mods needed and very heavy. It retails for $200, but is often $100 on Amazon.

Same for the Hori PS4/Xbone sticks. Especially the clear blue or red Soul Calibur 6 sticks. I picked one up for $80 (normally $150) and it's fine out of the box.

These sticks all use good joysticks and buttons, and will probably get even cheaper as the PS6/XsX come out, so keep an eye on them. Of course they may sell out and get discontinued as well.

Between the two I prefer the Razer one due to weight and quality of build (easy access inside), but if you just want a solid stick, the Hori one is great.

https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Atrox-Drag ... 461&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LYYNZ30/re ... 461&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Razer-Panthera-A ... 461&sr=8-7

I have the MvC one, but I love the way the Dragon Ball Z one looks.

Here is the Hori

https://www.amazon.com/HORI-Real-Arcade ... 595&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/HORI-Real-Arcade ... 595&sr=8-2

[Mischief Maker]

they're ALL guaranteed to end up easier/more comfortable to rest in your lap than that X-Arcade was (I honestly have no idea how you stuck with that kind of arrangement for so long).

I used to have a standing desk setup for my computer in my old apartment and could place the stick at perfect arcade cabinet height. Now that I'm back to a sitting desk, there's really no comfortable place to put it, desk or lap.

[SCARTicus]

If you are adamant about a turnkey solution, then there are many acceptable options. I would go with a Hori RAP.

I put a stick together, though, and it is much more suited to my needs and tastes than anything I was able to just buy. I had an X-Arcade early on, too. I hated it for it's straight-line button arrangement. Who can play Samurai Shodown like that? Hurts my fingers. I know that most SF2 machines here in the states uses a very similar straight layout, but I always hated those, too.

I bought a wooden body off of Etsy, a Seimitsu Ls-40, and 30mm Sanwa buttons. Wired up to an old DB15 female cable. I got a four (and only four) face button curved layout because I play NeoGeo fighters the most, and they are not super-comfortable with 6-8 button layouts. The stick works plugged straight into my NeoCD, and I installed an MC-Cthulhu into an external project box with a DB15 input port so I can plug into the box for near universal compatibility. I did it all without a soldering iron or hot glue as well.

Allfightsticks make better, all metal cases, but they were out of my budget.

It's hard to get all of that in a ready-made stick, but HORI does make good ones, and the Real Arcade Pros use good parts.

[Austin]

Pretty much anything at $150 will be to your liking. It'll be easy to swap out the stick and buttons if you feel the need. I have a RAPV and love it. Probably going to try swapping out parts soon just to experiment, but I enjoy how the stock parts feel.