best 8-way joystick?

[Felice]

I'm looking for the best 8-way joystick so I can find the diagonals very quick, easily, accurate and responsively.

And what is the best joystick with the same features but with a firebutton on top of it?

Any help is welcome.

[TalkingOctopus]

I am not sure if there really is a "best" joystick.  Some joysticks are better than others for certain types of game.  With that said, I really like Japanese balltops like a Sanwa Joysticks.  They are kind of pricy though.  However, I think they are looser and are more responsive than the happ sticks.  Note: The only joysticks I own are the Happ p360, Super and a Seimitsu, but I think that is more than enough for one house.

[Bloinkxp]

Take a look at www.retroblast.com

Kevin did a great job (IMHO) on his reviews of common joysticks.

-d

[spiffyshoes]

If you need something to find the Diagonals easily with then you probably want a Happ Competition.  I have to say I'm a big fan of the sanwa sticks too though.  They are great for finding diagonals but they take some getting used to if your not used to the japanese style square joystick motion.

[RandyT]

I'm looking for the best 8-way joystick so I can find the diagonals very quick, easily, accurate and responsively.

And what is the best joystick with the same features but with a firebutton on top of it?

Any help is welcome.

Drop by my store and take a look at the FireTop Prodigy.  It's not cheap, but it's 4/8 way switchable from the top of the panel, has a Fire button on top of the stick and the square restriction makes the diagonals an easy target.

Just click on the sig.....

RandyT

[paigeoliver]

I will second the idea that there is no BEST. Different games play better with different joysticks. So there is no BEST, but I can tell you the WORST, Happ's Ultimate and Competition are pretty much the worst joysticks commercially available at the moment. Both use a defective design with diagonals that are much larger than the primary directions, no games NEED that, and it makes a lot of games really hard. Circle games like Robotron especially suck with those sticks.

No one ever talks about the Happ's Universal, but I like it, it has been growing on me over the years. It is especially good for Q*Bert.

[Gradius]

The best is the TStik. Second place is for the Universal Stick.

[telengard]

Just throwing in my 2 cents.

I like Wico Leaf 8 ways personally.  I guess there are repro ones that are close to the original available.  Diagonals are easy but once in a while you may have to adjust the leafs.

~telengard

[Nailz]

Another for the Wico 8-way leafs, I love them, they even work great for me in 4 way games.

[AmericanDemon]

I personally prefer the P360s for my 8 way fighter sticks.  Just so smooth!

[Felice]

As the topic starter I'm looking for a stick that never miss the diagonals for 100%. I don't know if this is the case with f.e. the Happ competition with the square bottom or with another stick. I've now a X-arcade stick (it's like the Happ super) which is ok but I don't feel if I hit the diagonals so sometimes I miss them.

[TalkingOctopus]

As the topic starter I'm looking for a stick that never miss the diagonals for 100%. I don't know if this is the case with f.e. the Happ competition with the square bottom or with another stick. I've now a X-arcade stick (it's like the Happ super) which is ok but I don't feel if I hit the diagonals so sometimes I miss them.

You probably want to avoid the Happ P360s then.

[KenToad]

As the topic starter I'm looking for a stick that never miss the diagonals for 100%. I don't know if this is the case with f.e. the Happ competition with the square bottom or with another stick. I've now a X-arcade stick (it's like the Happ super) which is ok but I don't feel if I hit the diagonals so sometimes I miss them.

 

I will second the idea that there is no BEST. Different games play better with different joysticks. So there is no BEST, but I can tell you the WORST, Happ's Ultimate and Competition are pretty much the worst joysticks commercially available at the moment. Both use a defective design with diagonals that are much larger than the primary directions, no games NEED that, and it makes a lot of games really hard. Circle games like Robotron especially suck with those sticks.

No one ever talks about the Happ's Universal, but I like it, it has been growing on me over the years. It is especially good for Q*Bert.

Felice,

I also started with X-Arcade sticks from their DIY special and wasn't happy with the way they felt playing Street Fighter games particularly.  I also checked out the Retroblast joystick roundup and did a lot of research on these boards and decided finally on Happ Competition joysticks (Paige's opinion seems overly harsh, as I also have played a lot of other types of games, including Robotron, although I'm no master, with these sticks--however, he may be just comparing the performance of these types of sticks to the performance of the actual sticks on the actual machines).  These feel a lot better for all the fighting games I have tested.  I currently have no desire to change again, although The GPWiz49 with a Happ 49 way joystick seems like a very possible alternative, as far as having great controls for the widest variety of games.  So, I don't know about best, but the Competition will let you and your friends play SFII type games and many others without thinking the controls are holding you back.  Good luck with finding a replacement that suits you.

KenToad

[Flinkly]

i'd have to say p360.  their great and silent.