I used to manage a Namco owned arcade for 3yrs. In that time, I found that:
1) Happs Ultimates were highly flawed. They shredded up the plastic spacer like a cheese grater, leaving a pile
of white plastics in the cabinet... and causing the stick to have issues only a few months time. They also had too much
slop... and If memory serves correct, they have a boxy restriction, which was bad for smooth rolling transitions.
2) Supers Stink. They were stiff, and awkward... and the leaf style micros often bent to the point where it made diagonals
inaccurate. Adjusting the leafs usually just made things worse. The problem with those style of leafs, is that they use a
very thin and flimsy 'tin like' metal. It does not maintain its shape well. But worse, is that once you bend the lever too much,
it breaks the switches functionality...Often popping right out of the switch itself. I love classics, but I also love fighters too,
and I can tell you that Id never play a fighter on a Super ever again. The stiff-moving stick, is way too fatiguing and slow..
and those micro-leafs, are not precise nor durable enough.
3) Comps Rule. They are fluid, with a circular outer path, and easy to move, so less fatigue than joys like the supers.
They use standard micros, and are precise in all directions. They are durable... lasting many years before the spacers had
to be flipped over... and no problems with hitting accurate diagonals. They worked good in almost any game that I,
or others, put them into. Generally, all fighters after a certain year, used them. And the ones that didnt. were often swapped
out with comps anyways. However, note that Classics play much better with Leafswitch sticks and buttons. And 4way
games, will not be anywhere near as good, without a real physically restricted (diamond path) 4way.
4) Standard joysticks do not work well for true 4 way games. While you can make them work if your really precise... its still
often not good enough. A true 4 way, has a diagonal outside restricted pathway. This allows faster changes from one
direction to another, as you travel a shorter distance. Games like MS Pacman with speedup hack, are nearly impossible
without a real 4way.
5) Leaf Buttons are the Bomb for rapidfire classic games, like Asteroids Deluxe, Track n Field, Galaga, etc. You can bounce
the button lightly, barely making the contacts activate, rather than pressing the button fully down. Microswitch buttons
have a greater initial tension that exists right before activation. That extra tension eventually fatigues you, if your playing
a game which requires a constantly fast fire pattern. Its also nearly impossible to stop right at activation.. and you slam
the button fully down, making a hard impact into the button end. The collision energy travels into you, also causing fatigue.
On slow fire games, fatigue isnt really that noticeable, because theres less of it, and much more time to recover.
6) Wico Leaf Joysticks: Are probably the best for many of the older classic games. Having the same spring metal
leaf switches, they activate easily and can respond much faster than micros. The stick also uses a rubber grommet for
centering the stick in a pivot like manor. Typical modern joysticks use springs to center them. Initially, the Wicos feel a little
stiff or muddy, but theres a magic about them, once you get playing. The distances to activation are much less than
most microswitch joys... which means much faster response times. Theres also less of a collision if you hit the outiside edge,
as the grommet absorbs most of it. The pivot point also feels better, as you are directly centered. Where as many
Micro-Sticks have a little slide effect, that tosses the pivot to the sides.
Leafsticks work great on games like Robotron (which really does not play well at all with anything else)... where you often
are rolling the sticks along the outside edge in a circular path. The faster response times are also really needed on this game... as typical micro-sticks take too much time traveling from left to right, or up to down. However, Wicos are not that good in games which require super precision with diagonals, like fighting games. The extra travel on a micro-stick, actually
helps a player by giving them time to adjust their vector to the precise diagonal point... without hitting another direction
on-accident.
The biggest downside to any leaf stick or button, is that they can eventually get out of whack. You may have to bend them
back into place as the metal starts to lose some of its spring. You also have to clean the small contact discs often, as they
get dirty, and eventually wouldnt make a reliable electrical connection.
* Note: That Micro-Leafs are far different from Actual Leafswitches. Microleafs do not use spring-steel, and they only
use the metal extension for leverage and helping to keep the activation point from wearing down. Real Leaf switches,
have blades made of spring steel, which snap right back into place once you release their tension. They can be bent with
needle-nose pliers, and adjusted for near zero distance to activation (a hair-trigger) ,and they will stay in that position for
some time without falling back into the original position.
Japanese Sticks: Ive only bought one, and have not yet hooked it up. They can have a much shorter throw than the
typical happs stick. Some prefer this for quicker reactions... however, it could lead to accidental presses, if you are not
accustomed to being so precise. It may feel too restrictive and 'tight' for some people. They do have a spherical
center pivot however, unlike the typical happs micro-sticks. The construction is similar to the Monroe Leaf sticks.
Monro Leaf sticks: were very different from Wico leafs. They use a ball & socket pivot point. Used in games like
Gyruss, and I believe Time Pilot... where constant outside-circles were dominant in the gameplay. Downside to these
sticks, is that they often froze up, due to the ball rusting to the socket.. as both were made of metal.
Optical, Magnetic, and other modern tweaked offerings:
Im out of time to discuss these. Each one has its positives, as well as negatives. You can figure them out by
comparing the reviews, the mechanics, and your budget. Some claim to work well in all games... but you often
have to buy distance restriction adapters anyways... and even then, may not feel and play as good as, for example,
a real diamond restricted stick. Its typical with anything that tries to do too much, that something is compromised.
Its up to you if you can accept those compromises.
In conclusion, If I was restricted on a single stick, it would probably be the comps, because I like older and modern games,
equally. However, personally, Id rather put in multiple controllers than lose original functionality and control. You can for
example, put two sticks about 2" apart vertically, with about 4" distance horizontally. (making a diagonal, with the
lower stick on the bottom right, and the upper stick to the top left) And grab and use either stick with ease.
(using less horizontal space, and also not having to reach too deep into a panel... nor having to rest your arms over
any buttons or other controls)
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Topic: Choosing the right joystick...So many options (Read 5862 times)
