Joystick rec.

[burt92]

Hi Guys,
This is my first attempt at a stand up arcade,
My issue is that there seem to be alot of this and that of which joystick is the best; sanwa, happ, zippy, etc.
The main games im planning on running are;
Streets of rage, 1 & 2
Street fighter 2
Donkey kong
Pac man

And a few more very similar,

My question is, what will be the best joystick to play these games? 

[Vigo]

Welcome!

Well, the first 2 games and the last two games on your list ask for a very different style joystick. What I think is the best joystick for Street Fighter is the Sanwa JLF, but i would say it is the absolutely worst joystick for Pacman and Donkey Kong. It is not even that good with a 4-way restrictor plate, IMO.

If you are looking for something that can play those different styles well, I would simply recommend something that can switch between 4 and 8-way easily. Ultimarc Servo Stik or Mag Stik might be a good option.

[thewisteron]

You might consider a U360 if you are looking to play a wide range of games.

[burt92]

Thankyou for answers which would you have if you were in my situation?

[chopperthedog]

Build 3 different cabs.


good day.

[yotsuya]

Build 3 different cabs.

True true.

[Slippyblade]

Build 3 different cabs.

This is my long term plan.  It's a good plan.

[EMDB]

To be a bit more realistic: if you want to play the full range of games you should be able to switch between 4-way and 8-way. The MagStik Plus can do this from the top, the ServoStick and the U360 can do this automatic (based on the selected game) from which the first is a genuine micro switch based stick, the latter an analog stick to whom you can automatically download mappings per game and therefore even cover special games like QBert more precise.

[severdhed]

Personally, i think it is best to have 8 way sticks, as well as a dedicated 4 way, although that can lead to a cluttered panel.  If you aren't going to build dedicated cabinets, you have to compromise.  If you really want a single stick to play them all, you have to decide on how much effort you want to put into it.

 The U360 is smooth, silent, and very versatile, however they are expensive, and dont feel like the joysticks you remember using in actual arcade cabinets.  They are fully automatic though, you don't need to worry about switching anything.


The Ultimarc J-Stik (Sanwa JLW) is an awesome option as well.  It is much cheaper than a u360, and has microswitches and a physical restrictor plate.  I recommend the ultimarc version since it is modified so that you can rotate the restictor plate without loosening any screws.   It has a square gate so the corners are easy to hit in 8way mode, and when rotated, it makes an amazing 4 way stick.  With it being square, it makes a decent qbert stick as well. ( just set the game to move when two switches are activated).  The big downside to this stick is you have to physically rotate the restrictor from the bottom of the panel, which is inconvenient....which leads me to the:

Ultimarc Servo Stik:  This is a motorized JLW, so it has all of the benefits of a JLW, but it switches automatically so you don't have to manually rotate it.  Once again, it isn't cheap, but it might just be the best option ever. 

I currently have U360s in my 2 player cabinet, and J-Stik/JLWs in my 4 player cabinet.  I fully intend on purchasing the servostik upgrade kit when i have the extra cash for the p1 stick in my 4 player cabinet.

[Vigo]

Thankyou for answers which would you have if you were in my situation?

I don't know how involved you want to get with joystick setup, but options like the U360 or Servo Stik is gonna include setup with software, using a control board and be more advanced than just connecting the joystick to the encoder. Go with those options if you really want something more advanced, but just be prepared for extra work and effort in figuring things out.

To echo EMDB, the easiest and at least cheap enough solution would be to just go with Mag-stik plus. To switch between 4 and 8 way, simply just pull up and twist the joystick. It is simple, and it works.

[EMDB]

I found the (big) disadvantage of the Magstik Plus to be that you don't know when to switch. You can't see which position it is in and you don't know (or don't wanna know) which position to select for each game. Especially you don't want to explain guests how and why you must switch. Therefore I moved from Magstik Plus to U360's. And with my tooling (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,134128.0.html) it's not so hard to configure the switching