I need opinion of fighter fans

[Narmer]

I currently have this stick I got from Japan 2 years ago for the equivalent of $100:

http://www.hori.jp/products/ps2/controller/realarc_pro2_sa/

I use it with a USB adapter for my PS3. Are there better sticks out there? I ask because arcade cabinets have a smooth 360 degree rotation whereas this stick is 8-way, which doesn't feel right. I see a lot of arcade sticks for $40, some from MadCatz or Hori. Are those better? If not, does a 360 stick exist?

 

[Pia]

I currently have this stick I got from Japan 2 years ago for the equivalent of $100:

http://www.hori.jp/products/ps2/controller/realarc_pro2_sa/

I use it with a USB adapter for my PS3. Are there better sticks out there? I ask because arcade cabinets have a smooth 360 degree rotation whereas this stick is 8-way, which doesn't feel right. I see a lot of arcade sticks for $40, some from MadCatz or Hori. Are those better? If not, does a 360 stick exist?

That's a top quality stick. There are equal sticks out there, but not any better ones. It represents the Japanese standard style with square restrictor (what you call "8-way"), a balltop joystick, and convex buttons with low actuation force. This is the configuration you get on every high quality mass-produced stick, on every Japanese arcade cabinet, and it's what the vast majority of top players use.

More info here:
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/attributes_brands.html
Discussion of restrictors:
http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/restrictors.html

The HRAP2SA uses the Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT-SK joystick. If you could find a circular restrictor for it, swapping it in would get you the smooth 360 degree rotation. Quick googling only finds an octagonal restrictor which sits halfway between circular and square:
http://www.lizardlick.com/Sanwa-GT-Y-Octagonal-Restrictor-Plate_p_242.html

Unlike many cheaper sticks, the HRAP is easy to open and work on. You'll find plenty photographic how-to threads on SRK.com and elsewhere.

If you must have a stick closer to US arcade standard in all regards, you might want to look at X-Arcade offerings.

 

[purbeast0]

the HRAP is one of the best ones out there. it is a solid stick that can be easily modified.

the reason you are feeling the 8 way is because it uses japanese parts. i believe it uses the sanwa joystick, and if it is 8 way it has an octo gate. sanwa sticks either have octo (8 way) or square (4 way), and the sanwa jlf (the most common japanese one) comes wih the square gate by default. personally i cant use it and i haev an octo gate.

i'd say the stick you have is probably as good as it will get, but maybe you can go for a better build. the mad catz sf tourney sticks are pretty solid as well. you can find em for like $100 on sale sometimes.

also i do not know if you have any lag due to the converter. there is a 3rd party homebrew PCB called Cthulu which you could uby and solder to your joystick parts which costs like $20, and it is a PS3 PCB so it will work with your ps3 natively.

if you really want to get fancy, the best bet is to build your own arcade stick from scratch. that is what i have and i built the layout and height and spacing exactly to my likings and it definitely feels better than my other joysticks. i own a TE as well and don't like it compared to my custom one.

 

[Narmer]

Thanks guys. I don't sense any lag at all. PB, is your custom-build octo as well or 360?

 

[purbeast0]

yea it's octo. i have a square gate but i just don't like it. i cant get the hang of it.

it is odd too because i play balrog as my main in ssf4 and he is a charge character, and charge characters are the ones who benefit the most from square gates cause you can find the corners easily.

however, growing up playing on american arcade cabinets, i am like you in the sense that i am used to the full 360 motion and riding the outer edge of the joysticks all the time. with the square gate i will jump or duck on accident because im pressing DF or UF when i just want to press F. this also causes me to do some of balrogs moves wrong as well.

i used to play on a modded sf:ac joystick i modded with happ parts (american) and it felt great, however i wanted to try something new so i built a jap stick. and now i can't really go back to the american stick. i did also however put some extra springs in my joystick because i don't like the looseness of the sanwa joysticks either, i wanted them stiffer.

my joystick works on ps3 and 360, i modded it to work with both.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

HRAP is great. I have one but even after modding it with Sanwa buttons, I still like my Madcatz TE sticks better. That is just because of the height/shape of the box though.

 

[borisvodofsky]

the HRAP is one of the best ones out there. it is a solid stick that can be easily modified.

the reason you are feeling the 8 way is because it uses japanese parts. i believe it uses the sanwa joystick, and if it is 8 way it has an octo gate. sanwa sticks either have octo (8 way) or square (4 way), and the sanwa jlf (the most common japanese one) comes wih the square gate by default. personally i cant use it and i haev an octo gate.

i'd say the stick you have is probably as good as it will get, but maybe you can go for a better build. the mad catz sf tourney sticks are pretty solid as well. you can find em for like $100 on sale sometimes.

also i do not know if you have any lag due to the converter. there is a 3rd party homebrew PCB called Cthulu which you could uby and solder to your joystick parts which costs like $20, and it is a PS3 PCB so it will work with your ps3 natively.

if you really want to get fancy, the best bet is to build your own arcade stick from scratch. that is what i have and i built the layout and height and spacing exactly to my likings and it definitely feels better than my other joysticks. i own a TE as well and don't like it compared to my custom one.

DON"T get the fucking cthulu,,, I got it because i was afraid of input lag... HOWEVEr it is WAY more trouble to put in than it's worth..

The Korean converter works with zero input lag.. get that instead..

The reason they have square gates is so you don't fuck up the DP..




Swearing is not allowed in the tech subforums


esquared
Anandtech Administrator

 

[purbeast0]

DON"T get the fucking cthulu,,, I got it because i was afraid of input lag... HOWEVEr it is WAY more trouble to put in than it's worth..

The Korean converter works with zero input lag.. get that instead..

The reason they have square gates is so you don't fuck up the DP..

if you had trouble installing a cthulhu, you must just not know how to solder at all.

it is so simple to install (and build if you buy the unbuilt version). it's solder points are like as big as the solder points when modding psx back in the day.

 

[digiram]

Here's another question... sorry about the hijack.... How is the Tekken 6 fight stick that is bundled with limited edition Tekken 6 games? Thinking about picking it up just to get the stick. Anyone have an opinion on those?

 

[gorcorps]

FYI, Amazon has the Hori 360 fight stick for $30 today. Check hot deals

 

[borisvodofsky]

if you had trouble installing a cthulhu, you must just not know how to solder at all.

it is so simple to install (and build if you buy the unbuilt version). it's solder points are like as big as the solder points when modding psx back in the day.

I put it together just fine... it took 2 hours with the unscrewing, drilling new holes,, solder,, testing etc....

WOULD'VE been hellavalot easier just to buy the converter... and save yourself some frustration,, and looking up wiring schematics for randomly colored wires in the ps2 connector..

REALLY not worth the work... I mean it works,,, but if you can buy a converter,,, and it DOESN"T laggg or drop inputs.... THATs the way to go,, since you're spending the same amount of moneyyyyy.

 

[I4AT]

Pretty much all arcade sticks are 8-way, including Happ's, 4-way means up down left and right for OG games like Pac-Man.

The difference you're feeling is in the restrictor, or gate, as other people have explained. Most American sticks use circular restrictors while Japanese sticks use square.

Sanwa JLF sticks have optional octagonal gates which are supposed to incorporate the best of both worlds. Smoother 360 motions while still being able to feel out diagonals. Some people like them, some don't, you'd have to try one out for yourself. One issue a lot of people have with the octo gate is that it increases the throw, or distance the stick is able to travel, left to right. The square gate has a uniform throw in all directions. Sanwa also makes a circular gate for their less popular JLW series joysticks. It's the closest feel to an American style stick you can get with Sanwa.

Seimitsu makes an octagonal gate for their LS-33, LS-55, and LS-56 sticks. Unlike the Sanwa gate, this one maintains a uniform throw in all directions. There's also a circular gate available for the LS-32 stick.