What is the best arcade stick I can buy for the xbox 360?

Rebel Ninja · Post by **Rebel Ninja** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 5:48 pm

Just looking for some opinions on what the best arcade sticks to get are.

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:16 pm

'Best' is subjective based on what games you play, and what price range you're looking at.

For example you could spend $300 for a custom Byrdo stick built to your exact specifications, but you wouldn't necessarily be getting better buttons and sticks than a TE that costs $150.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:36 pm

He said best, not most expensive

Hmm, what's this TE then? I thought the Hori sticks were the greatest thing going, just swap out the actual stick and buttons if wanted.

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:05 pm

Ed Oscuro wrote:He said best, not most expensive.

You're missing my point. If someone just throws out the question "what car is the best?" I could say go buy a Ferrari, but that might not really be what he's looking for. A Ferrari is considered a 'better' car than an Accord, but if you drive 45 minutes to work every day, a Ferrari isn't the better choice for a number of reasons.

A Byrdo stick (just for example) is considered one of the best custom sticks you can get because it's designed exactly to what you ask of him, and it's made of quality hardwood and components.

But as far as the pushbuttons and joystick goes, he's just going to use Sanwa or Seimitsu, which you can get in a stick that is $150 (the SFIV TE stick I mentioned above).

So if you tell us what kind of games you want to play (just shmups or all sorts? like fighting and classic arcade stuff?).

And what price range are you looking at?

Hori for the most part does make the best sticks right out of the box, but there also aren't really many other choices here in America that aren't straight from the gray market in China, so that's not saying much.

Here's a good starting point for sticks right out of the box:

http://sdtekken.com/tech-area/arcade-sticks/

Keeping in mind this is a list geared at fighting games, there are some differences in what you'll look for in a shooter stick, but generally the quality is the same. The main difference is for shooters most people will tell you to lean towards something that is seimitsu compatible.

bostongeorge · Post by **bostongeorge** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:51 pm

This one http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?t=25609

Rebel Ninja · Post by **Rebel Ninja** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:07 pm

OK thanks for your messages. Well to be more specific what arcade stick priced between £50 ($73) to £130 ($191) would you reccomend. I see that a Hori arcade stick for BlazBlue is coming out anyone know anything about it? Also I am looking to mainly use it for shmups as i prefer to use controllers for fighting games.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-dd- ... -3c2h.html

neist · Post by **neist** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:26 pm

It all depends on how good quality of a stick you want.

That Hori probably has "Hori" internals, not Sanwa or Seimitsu. Also, the wires connecting the stick and buttons probably arent quick-disconnects, which means upgrading said buttons and stick will be a pain.

Not that Hori internals are terrible... but you won't have the best internals with the best options for future upgrades. As someone else who is also shopping for an Xbox360 stick at the moment, I'd say stick with one of the US SFIV sticks (either is incredibly upgradeable) or get a HRAP EX, if you can find one.

I'm sure there's probably quite a few standard edition SFIV sticks floating around there for not too shabby prices. The one bostongeorge linked is probably a good deal, considering its all Sanwa parts. A Sanwa stick alone will probably run $20-$30.

agustusx · Post by **agustusx** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:54 pm

so from what i can tell there aren't any xbox controllers with seimitsu stick outside of Hori Real Arcade Pro EX-SE (Xbox 360), which is $300 and hard to get.

Any suggestions for custom builders that have a few seimitsu options. Arcade-in a box doesn't have seimitsu sticks and has old-school button layout.

Lizardlick doesnt make SFIV sticks anymore, and akibhashop is still closed

Edit: Forgot to mention I have a hori fighting stick for 360 that looks identical to the blaze blue excluding the art. It may not have same internals but from this experience I would say its definitely a fighters stick. I couldn't use it seriously for shmups and I need something better before futari.

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:17 pm

From what I've read the LS-32 drops into both the SFIV TE and the SFIV SE with the s-mounting plate.

I know there are also other tutorials where you can do some work to some Horis and get a seimitsu in there.

And you're of course always good with putting the buttons in there at least.

You can also get a JLF and mod it with a stiffer spring for a quicker return to center, and thicken the shaft with electrical tape for a shorter engage.

Strider77 · Post by **Strider77** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 2:00 am

I'd say those SF4 TE sticks are. The casing are hands down the most attractive and made well out of all the ones I've seen and modded. I like them more than the hori's.

They are very much made with the the mind set of easy modding. There is a ton of space inside and they are easy to get into, come stocked with a JLF and sanwa buttons. All are hooked up via quick connects.

You get to the PCB and wiring ect via the top plate. But... you can unscrew the bottom plate and still have alot of space to work with for adding PCBs.

The hori's are nice also but not as quick to open ect.

You can see what I added here and all the additions were installed via the lower half of the stick accessed by that bottom plate screwed off.

Dai101 · Post by **Dai101** » Fri May 01, 2009 3:47 am

Strider77 wrote:I'd say those SF4 TE sticks are. The casing are hands down the most attractive and made well out of all the ones I've seen and modded. I like them more than the hori's.

The SF4 TE Stick is hands down the best one you can buy from "the shelf", it's parts are all sanwa and is very "moddeable" if you don't like the art or want or need to replace the stick/buttons.

Animaitor · Post by **Animaitor** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:36 am

If you don't want to go the custom route the best 360 arcade controller for shmups is without a doubt the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX-SE.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Fri May 01, 2009 8:39 am

LuckyDay wrote:You're missing my point. If someone just throws out the question "what car is the best?" I could say go buy a Ferrari, but that might not really be what he's looking for. A Ferrari is considered a 'better' car than an Accord, but if you drive 45 minutes to work every day, a Ferrari isn't the better choice for a number of reasons.

I would definitely like to see a stick with a performance differential that wide. You can mod the "best" (again not most expensive sticks) with whatever parts you'd like; I'd love to see that happen with the Accord (or my Hyundai Sonata).

Personally I'd go with some kind of HRAP modded with Seimitsu parts, although as I'm still working on getting my arcade stuff my opinion is uninformed (seriously).

neist · Post by **neist** » Fri May 01, 2009 10:52 am

Animaitor wrote:If you don't want to go the custom route the best 360 arcade controller for shmups is without a doubt the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX-SE.

May be, but it's also just about impossible to locate outside of Japan.

I've tried looking.

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Fri May 01, 2009 4:17 pm

Ed Oscuro wrote: I would definitely like to see a stick with a performance differential that wide. You can mod the "best" (again not most expensive sticks) with whatever parts you'd like; I'd love to see that happen with the Accord (or my Hyundai Sonata).

lol, of course I used the biggest gap I could think of to exaggerate the point.

But here's a fun comparison:

This stick is to Yugo:

As this stick is to Ferrari:

Again, I didn't mean to say the fact that it was expensive was the reason it was such high quality. I was just saying there are different sticks I would recommend him based on what he was looking to spend.

Rebel Ninja · Post by **Rebel Ninja** » Fri May 01, 2009 4:19 pm

neist wrote:
Animaitor wrote:If you don't want to go the custom route the best 360 arcade controller for shmups is without a doubt the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX-SE.
May be, but it's also just about impossible to locate outside of Japan.

I've tried looking.

Is this it here? Is the one I found on amazon the same as the DeathSmiles Hori stick? Also is that a good price?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... enguild-21

agustusx · Post by **agustusx** » Fri May 01, 2009 4:32 pm

Rebel Ninja wrote:
neist wrote:
Animaitor wrote:If you don't want to go the custom route the best 360 arcade controller for shmups is without a doubt the Hori Real Arcade Pro EX-SE.
May be, but it's also just about impossible to locate outside of Japan.

I've tried looking.
Is this it here? Is the one I found on amazon the same as the DeathSmiles Hori stick? Also is that a good price?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASI ... enguild-21

the one pictured has a sanwa stick, so thats not exactly what im looking for meself, it may be a blast for you though.

Animaitor · Post by **Animaitor** » Sat May 02, 2009 12:38 am

The one Rebel Ninja found in Amazon is the EX version that came before the EX-SE (the SE refers to Seimitsu both on the stick and buttons the same way that SA to all Sanwa part). So it's not the same joystick and as agustusx points out, it has Sanwa stick plus Hori buttons. Still a pretty decent joystick and easily to mod if you want to swap the parts with Seimitsu but at that point it might be cheaper to just buy a custom one.

Naiera · Post by **Naiera** » Sat May 02, 2009 11:44 pm

What if I am just looking for a stick of comparable quality to the old Namco Stick? I just want something where the feel of the stick and buttons is the same, because that's what I've used for Cave shmups as long as I've played them. Build quality does not have to match, just the feel when in use.

I'm not too bothered with how it looks and what shape it has, and a low price would not offend me either

corbie · Post by **corbie** » Sun May 03, 2009 12:12 am

After wrestling with the decision for the past two months, I finally just broke down and paid and arm and a leg to get a Hori Real Arcade Pro EX-SE stick from Yahoo Japan. I considered getting one of those Deathsmiles sticks, but I'm so used to the Seimitsu stick on my Egret 2 that I figured the extra money I'd spend on the HRAP EX-SE would be worth it in the long run. But they are hard as hell to find.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Sun May 03, 2009 1:12 am

I take it the HRAP EX could be modified into being functionally equivalent with this one, right? Wonder if that'd be more expensive (even if you could find somebody to pay market for the replaced parts).

LuckyDay · Post by **LuckyDay** » Mon May 04, 2009 1:31 am

Ed Oscuro wrote:I take it the HRAP EX could be modified into being functionally equivalent with this one, right? Wonder if that'd be more expensive (even if you could find somebody to pay market for the replaced parts).

I would think so, but somebody mentioned once that the HRAPs were all a little different depending on when they were manufactured. I think you might have to expect a little bit of slight modding to get Seimtsu into some of them.

Battlesmurf · Post by **Battlesmurf** » Mon May 04, 2009 1:44 am

Man...just bothers me. I've been wanting a 360 stick for awhile now- was really hoping Madcatz would do another run of those stupid TE sticks already. 4 months just about and they still are a little over retail.

neist · Post by **neist** » Mon May 04, 2009 2:29 am

Battlesmurf wrote:Man...just bothers me. I've been wanting a 360 stick for awhile now- was really hoping Madcatz would do another run of those stupid TE sticks already. 4 months just about and they still are a little over retail.

Keep watching Ebay and you might get lucky. I managed to find one at 200 shipped. Considering I'd probably be paying shipping and tax if I bought mine from website, I don't think it was too horrible.