Cheapest decent Pac-Man style setups?

[TurboC--]

#1: Say I wanted to build just the cheapest GOOD Pac-man / Galaga type control with minimal buttons (maybe 2.) Say I pick the Tornado Terry for its quality (which is $30? but out of stock), a couple buttons and connection via USB to a PC. Has anyone built this type of minimal pac man control, and what's the cheapest total I could manage?

#2: Say I wanted instead to also include a CHEAP Raspberry Pi or similar onboard computer, have my controller be the complete emulator, and run HDMI out. Along with a few more buttons. What's the damages then?

Mainly just want to play with a real-ish Pac-Man control again, without spending too much.

I mean, I already have THIS:



But the joystick and button is crummy, and the games are knockoff roms or remakes, not even the arcade. Love to just have something like that but a quality stick (and real arcade roms if it's going to emulate also.)

Also - sorry about 2 topics, at the time I didn't realize I'd bump the other one. However this one is slightly different anyway.

[pbj]

https://arcade1up.com/products/pac-man-couchcade-10-games

[leapinlew]

You can't say cheap arcade without thinking about Arcade1up. They have made a plethora of Pac-man options.

If you are looking for something more portal, you're still in luck. There are just so many options available right now. I've been happy with the generic sanwa clones all over Amazon for 4 way games. They aren't great for 8 way, but for 4 way, they are good.

https://www.amazon.com/Joystick-Adjustable-Competition-Classic-Cabinet/dp/B0824P1CDS

[Howard_Casto]

Get on ebay and wait for an authentic pac-man joystick to come up.   It may take a while and you are going to pay a premium for it.   There are ZERO sticks that feel like a pac-man joystick except the original.  There are plenty of decent options out there but none of them, not even your multi-hundred-dollar arcade1ups feel the same.  Also please quit complaining when people suggest you roll your own.   This is build your own arcade controls, not purchase your own turn-key arcade controls.   

[TurboC--]

There are ZERO sticks that feel like a pac-man joystick except the original.

Need to address this directly. Are you specifically saying that even the Tornado Terry is just not good enough? I was told that was the closest. That stick is currently out of stock and was $30 a year ago, not sure if it's gone up. Can you estimate what a true Pac-man control would run, on average? And why in over 40 years can't this be replicated?

To the other posters - thanks for the info on those prebuilt options. But reading the comments, leaves me thinking it's still not for me - multiple people unhappy with the controls. It must use another shoddy control and I just couldn't accept that.

Last question for now - what prebuilt units could I be on the lookout for, where I could maybe find it cheap used and then swap in a real Pac-man stick (or maybe Tornado Terry etc.) ?  In the other thread someone said the Hotrod SE, which they modified with better sticks. That certainly is a big control panel but it's an interesting possibility.

OOPS, 1 more question - if I go for the original, what options would be functionally identical to Pac-Man? Like, I know Ms Pac Man was just a romhack. So the "authentic Ms Pac Man joysticks" - are those effectively the same? And then Jr. Pac Man, Super Pac Man, etc... which ones can I go for if I want the same authentic Pac-Man experience?

There is a Ms Pac Man controller on ebay right now for $64 shipped. But I just can't spend that right now.