The Joystick Thread

[Shelcoof]

Does anyone know where a good place is to find Hori's Real Arcade Pro V3 SA (in North America)? I'm really thinking about getting one.

I have a V2 but would like to get a 2nd one for friends when they come over?

Any opinions regarding the V3? Is it any better than the SFIV TE sticks?

[Killerwatt]

Guys, can anyone let me know if this stick is worth the purchase?

http://www.amazon.com/PS3-Fighting-Stick-3-Playstation/dp/B000MWE3BI/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1272861899&sr=8-14

I'm on a budget, and I prefer a more portable stick. It's Hori, but I want some feedback from folks who have experience with this stick.

[SIne]

I have that same stick....its complete crap....its really horrible unless you mod it can modded relatively easy if you still want it, but it better off getting a SF4 se and modding that just save up and get the se if you are on a tight budget...I have both i prefer the stock se over the stock hori fs3

[qwerty]

yeah, any hori less than an hrap isn't worth getting really.

but, maybe someone in your area could hook you up with an hrap 2 for cheap...

[Narcowski]

Despite its size, the TE is remarkably portable. The cable management compartment in the back works wonders.

Also, a modded SE will end up costing the same as a TE, so there's no real reason not to just get the TE in the first place.

[Killerwatt]

Despite its size, the TE is remarkably portable. The cable management compartment in the back works wonders.

Also, a modded SE will end up costing the same as a TE, so there's no real reason not to just get the TE in the first place.

OK thanks for the feedback guys. It looks like I'll be going TE after all; my only question is do I go with the Vanilla sticks or the Super sticks? If the differences are purely aesthetic let me know that too. It'll make my buying decision easier.

[sum1]

For modding you're hrap 3 with a vewlix layout your best bet would to get a replacement plexi panel. Specifically http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies/?loc=products&cat=11&subcat=&item=115 you can see the vewlix layout there. Be absolutely sure you read http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies/index.cfm?loc=about⊂=reppanel before you order anything. Art is a cool guy, he'll make sure you get whatever you need for your stick. If the technical side is too much for you, (it can be confusing) just send him an e-mail with what you want.

As for the buttons. The ones that seem to be used most nowadays are sanwa obsf 30mm snap/screw ins and seimitsu clear buttons. Any 30mm button will fit in a hrap, TE, Namco, hori fighting stick, etc. As far as button stiffness, all Sanwa 30mm feel the same. Madcatz has some oddities with their sticks. I've modded a few TE's and while most were sanwa buttons, 2 were not. Sanwa buttons will have a sanwa label on the bottom of them. These 2 sticks (still sealed in box when i got them) had some type of sanwa knock off that were a bit more stiff to the touch, and no label on the bottom. Either madcatz made their own buttons or they accidentally used the buttons from the special edition fight stick they made.

For getting sanwa buttons and different ball/batops I suggest www.lizardlick.com and www.gamingnow.net. Get whatever color of sanwa buttons you want and go from there. You might also try seimitsu buttons. My personal favorite button is white Seimitsu PS-14-GN. Feels almost identical to a sanwa as compared to other seimitsu buttons. If it's 30mm, it'll work. For the exact same buttons as a Hrap3 SA you would want to get white sanwa OBSF-30. Bubbletops look awesome. Meshballs are cool as well but they cost a bit more. Hope that helps some.

Wow thanks a lot. Everything here has exactly what I want. I already have a full seimetsu stick for my 360, and I feel they work better when I use them for shmups.

This post also explains why my friend's TE buttons feel kind of awkward. I also saw a TE review where the reviewer was mentioning how the TEs have mass produced Sanwa buttons made specifically for the stick, which he later explained may not be as good as buying them individually. This may also be the reason why their not so good.

Can art photoshop any artwork I send him, or do I need to do that myself? Also, does he do a full plexi replacement with the artwork attached or do I also need to attach the artwork to the stick?

I am thinking of doing all this after a month or so.

[MacenKrace]

Hello there! I'm a casual player who wants to get better so I decided to get an arcade stick. I used to play GG in the old days and I got my Accent Core plus this week and I'm gonna get BlazBlue as well. I saw a few arcade sticks and read quite a lot about them so I was wondering which one I should get.

I want to get a good stick which should last quite some time, and not a cheap replica from the market. I heard that the best out there currently is the MadCatz TE.

I first saw the MadCatz SFTE and I think it's cool enough, but I'm not so sure about it, since I saw a lot of bad reviews about all their other products.

I saw the BlazBlue PS3 stick and it looks ok, but I haven't seen any reviews about it.

I know that Hori makes real good ones, but from what I read the HRAP uses some cheap parts. I don't know if the PCB is also cheap but I don't want to risk it.

I don't want to spend too much money on a stick, but I also don't want to buy something that will break easily, so I decided to put a little extra effort and buy a good one.

So what do you recommend? I would like one with Sanwa parts. I could also try getting a custom one, but the thing is that I live in Eastern Europe, a place most people want to avoid shipping to. I would like to get within the range of 150$~125 Euros~100 pounds. Also I would like to avoid SH products if possible and not trustworthy.

[Narcowski]

MadCatz used to make really cheap knockoff gamepads, hence bad reviews of their other products. The Tournament Edition fightstick is great. It's probably the best stick you can get in its price range, so I recommend that.

[MacenKrace]

Well I also saw Hori Fighting Stick 3, not the pro version, the one with 'kiddy' buttons. I saw some good reviews about it and thought about it since it look like it can take some punishment.

[ZONG_one]

FS3 is SUPER CHEAP. (Only reason to buy it.)

Other than that, it's shit parts, a shit stick, and the buttons are actually soldered to a floating pcb.

Meaning, modding = bitch.

[RagnaTheBadguy]

My friend had on of those he had it for only a month until he threw it away. But anyway basically the thing sucks there's no weight to it, terrible button placement, no Sanwa, and trying to do any motion on the thing is a bitch. Even though it's cheap you should avoid the thing.

[Narcowski]

If you want a cheap stick with knockoff parts, get a Madcatz SE. Easiest mod in the world.

[Squared]

what would be the best idea for my first stick?, should I get a cheap stick to get a feel then move on to a good one or should I just go all out on my first?

[KokuHime]

Hello! I'm a very avid Blazblue fan and I would like to say it's the first fighter I've taken seriously. By recommendation of a friend, they said if I truly wished to step my game up that I would need to get an arcade stick. I bought a Hori for my 360 for CT and well...I basically bought a $90 dust collector. After researching on the forums last night I bit the bullet and dipped into my wallet. Here's what I ordered:

1x Mad Catz SE (The Street Fighter IV one, I'm still getting used to the shorthand)

6x OBSF-30-W Sanwa buttons

And apparently Lizardlick is down until Aug. 9th, but I plan on purchasing:

1x Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK Ball Handle Joystick, 4 & 8-Way Adjustable

1x Sanwa GT-Y Octagonal Restrictor Plate

and a white balltop to go with it.

And well, this is my first time going this deep into commitment for a fighter. I was hoping to get some opinions or advice on what I am getting. Will this be sufficient for a beginner such as myself or should I start with something else? I'm pretty much working within my budget seeing as it'll set me back a little under $130. Also if anyone knows, does LizardLick have a moderately fast shipping rate? In terms of the octogonal gate and JTF, most of the retailers I find online are shipping from Hong Kong or Europe.

Any and all information and help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Kurushii]

You could of got a TE on sale for like $100 and be all Sanwa stock. LizardLick has fast shipping so no problem ordering through them.

[KokuHime]

You could of got a TE on sale for like $100 and be all Sanwa stock. LizardLick has fast shipping so no problem ordering through them.

Hnnng. Well now I feel a bit dumb. X_X I probably should have done more research. Thank you for the advice though! I know what to get now if I end up killing my SE in the modification process. And thank you for clarifying about LizardLick, that really puts me at ease.

[evilbob2200]

How is the HORI xbox 360 Real Arcade Pro EX-SE stick?

I would like to start saving for this arcade stick, but I read that HORI likes to wear out after a while in other parts of this topic. It has seimitsu buttons and such so thats a huge plus.

[FormerlyUnknown]

i've been interested in buying a stick for a while now. I can play on a 360 controler fine but I'm left wanting hopeing that it would be more my style and help to finally bring me up past 'casual' player level. I want to eventually learn all about modding sticks and make my own fantasy stick but i figured just getting one would be a good start. The only problem I'm running into is exactly what stick to buy. I've been looking at the street fighter TE S sticks, specifically this one :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038KUNII/sr=1-6/qid=1281569177/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1281569177&sr=1-6&seller=

I enjoy it's slimmer design over other sticks and i've heard nothing but good news about it. the only problem is: I'm a 360 player.

I know most serious tourneys are played on ps2/3 over 360 for various reasons, I don't personally own a ps3 and I just think that buying a ps3 would just be stupid for me. The other thing is i also really with to learn to play Guilty Gear (specifically ADA). I haven't heard anything about any next gen ports/remakes or the like in the works aside from reload on xbox (which has no netplay, or ADA). I have a ps2 and i've played accent core before but I am REALLY bad at playing pad, I mash my thumbs into it and it just hurts. I know about adapters that let you use ps2 controlers for ps3, but i'm not sure if the same aplies to fightsticks.

so as far as I see it really I'm left with 3 options:

1) suck it up and just buy a 360 stick, learn to use pad for gg

2) wait and buy a ps3 stick after i eventually get a ps3, keep useing analog for 360 (not very plausible answer),

3) buy a ps2 stick and an adapter for ps3. will give me a stick for GG and tourney use, and keep useing analog for 360.

any suggestions? and if it's the 3rd option, any recomendations on a stick?

[Narcowski]

360 TE + TEasy Mod + MC Cthulhu & IMP + RJ45 = A stick that works on everything.

edit: And by everything, I mean:

PS1, PS2, PS3, NES, SNES, Gamecube (Wii by extension), Genesis, Saturn, Xbox, 360, TG16, and 3DO.

Everything you want and more

[FormerlyUnknown]

ook... thank you =D

now if only i understood that

message me easy instructions?

[Narcowski]

Actually, forget the TEasy PCB. It's $30, and you'll have to do some soldering anyways if you want PS2 support. The best advice I can give you on the subject is to follow this guide which deals with MCC + IMP installation in the SE Fightstick (not the TE), but it goes step by step and has lots of pictures. If you don't want to read the whole guide, this diagram explains how to hook up the MCC, IMP, and TE PCB. The guide as a whole explains everything though, so read it

Edit: The thread says you need a dremel tool with a grinding bit, I disagree. I purchased a spade bit ($5) in the right size and used a power screwdriver (low speed, or you could ruin things!) to put it through plastic the first time I did something similar. I wouldn't recommend it for the long term, but if you're only going to do one mod, it's the cheap way.

[FormerlyUnknown]

wow thanks, it's greatly appreciated. I'll gather up all my info and figure out what i want to do. i've never bought a fightstick so i'm trying balance cost with quality. hopefully this will help!~

[Narcowski]

Whatever decision you make, I hope it works out for you

If you don't want / have the ability to do the soldering yourself, there are plenty of modders and custom builders out there. Personally, I own a PS3 Arcade In a Box stick, so I can recommend them (they do PS2/PS3/360 now). If you wanted to splurge, I'd recommend b15sdm - his sticks are absolutely beautiful. The prices are quite steep (especially with the current exchange rate between dollars and pounds) though.

[ATGMantenbo]

square gate, octagon or full circle

what is better for BB .. I use Litchi and her combos involve a lot of DP and have circle motions

I use square gate, but I'm interested in trying out full circle since it doesn't half any corners so it would be easier for me to pull off combos .. what do you guys think?