What is more authentic? Ms. Pac reunion or J-stick?

[Arcade82]

For Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, and Galaga, what would be more authentic

the Happs Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Reunion stick or a Sanwa stick (like J-stick from ultimarc etc.)

I just got a Sanwa stick from himuragames.com and I'm really really ecstatic for it, I'm using it in my Tekken 5 replica arcade stick, it has a 1 1/4" diameter ball and is completely smooth.

Now Happs says the reunion stick is 1.25" as well but my friend has one and the diameter seems smaller for sure. It is also moderately textured. The throw on it though is a bit longer than the Sanwa.

What do you all think? J-stick or Reunion stick?

I am too young to recall the classic games in their heyday so I can't say what the originals were really like.

I guess the true question is which one is most like the original which was made by a company that slips my mind. I also know it used leaf switches but I'm thinking the J-stick might have better performance than the Reunion stick. Damn't why can't I remember the name of that company? Oh ok I found it, Wico..

[JODY]

If you really want authentic you may get a Wico 4 way NOS (new old stock) on Ebay.

[Arcade82]

Yeah that's probably true

but maybe you could help me then,
is the ball part smooth or moderately textured?

how big is the diameter? like can you measure it side to side with a ruler

[OSCAR]

I have a J-stick, Happ reunion, and original Pac stick right here.  Here are the diameters of the knob:

Reunion - 1 7/32"  (1.215 measured actual)
Pac - 1 11/32" (1.346 measured actual)
J-stick - 1 3/8" (1.376 measured actual)

So the J-stick ball diameter is actually closer in diameter to the original Pac stick, but I feel that the action of  the Happ reunion is closer to the real thing.  The original Pac stick had a textured ball similar to the Happ reunion.  For a dedicated 4-way for Pac games, I would go with the Happ reunion.  A true Wico 4-way would be a very close second choice.  I would usually never pick a m'switch stick over a Wico leaf, but only in this particular case for the Pac's.

Here's a closeup of my Pac stick (pardon the dust...)

[Arcade82]

hmm texture or size texture or size..

what do you all think?

Not that this means a whole pile of crap but the sanwa stick I got feels like those little TV-games pac-man sticks lol

[spiffyshoes]

Out of the two I'd go with the Happs Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Reunion.

[quarterback]

Out of the two I'd go with the Happs Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Reunion.

[JODY]

Read this thread:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,27429.0.html

[quarterback]

Read this thread:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,27429.0.html

Yeah, but a week later GGG released their VersaBall replacement sticks (which is what I was particularly wondering about).   

Paigeoliver says "The reunion stick will take the super handle, but the super won't take the Ms. Pac handle" which means that there's some slight discrepancy between those two and Paigeoliver also says "If those work on super, then they SHOULD work on the Ms. Pac Reunion stick, do they?" but nobody has confirmed it.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding spiffyshoes' post when he says "I'd go with the Happs Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga Reunion.  You can get a replacement ball top for it from GroovyGameGear"   I figured he was referring to the VersaBall sticks.   If he was, and anybody's actually tried the Versaball sticks in a reunion base, I'd like to hear it first hand

[Matt Berry]

The J stick is ok, the overall feel is kind of sloppy needs a heaver spring, The Ms pacman stick has a better feel to it, just needs a replacement handle. Best bet is a 4 way old skool wico leaf, that is where it's at.

[Kremmit]

The reason the Reunion handle won't fit the Super is because it's too short.  The Versa-Ball handle is as long as the Super handle, which is known to fit the Reunion base, so, while nobody's actually tested it yet (as far as I know), it seems awfully darn likely.  Buy one and make sure!

C'mon, be our guniea pig!

[Apollo]

I just got my t-stick plus red ball top shafts today and they would look pretty cool on a PacMan cab. Taller shaft but short throw works well.

[quarterback]

while nobody's actually tested it yet (as far as I know), it seems awfully darn likely.

[JODY]

I'm going to try one but want translucent.  So, if you want to wait and make sure, I'll let you know.