Help Buying My First Arcade Stick

[RainerV]

Hello i'm an new from this forum and i have a question about to buy my first Arcade stick. I'm totally unexpert and i wanted an advice for to can get an solid Arcade stick and to have the possibility to getting close to fighting games like Tekken 7.

im thinking about to buy and Arcade Stick for PC, the price isn't important, and i just want the quality. I want to know if it's better Rap4 Kai With hayabusa buttons and sanwa lever (modding It) or to go directly With Qnba obsidian ?

[vteckickedinyo]

I have limited experience with Arcade sticks, but the Arcade stick platform I bought is the Mayflash f500 v2. Can be used on PC, Switch, xbox360/one, PS3/4, and also works for the MiSTer. replaced the 8 buttons and stick with Sanwa parts.

The original buttons and stick functions pretty good, but the buttons were mushy, the stick is fine. Nothing special but defiantly functional.
After the mod, the experience is very pleasing for those looking for that authentic arcade feel.

<Edit: I installed a 4 way gate onto my stick, and if I would buy a different stick, it might be the Mag-Stik-Plus, only because I would like the ability to switch over to an 8 gate without having to disassemble the stick from the platform. Does so by pulling up on the stick and rotating.)

Probably spent $120 total back in 2019. Would buy again if I had a player 2 wanting to game with me.

I also don't remember ever having any minor or major issues, but I also don't usually use it with a consoles. You need a controller plugged in to make it work on some consoles, I think I remember reading the Xbox one requires a controller plugged into the Mayflash to get it to communicate properly with the console.

[PistolsAtDawn]

I'm not an arcade stick connoisseur, but I am happy with my Ultimarc Ultrastik 360 joysticks. They can be switched between various modes like 8 way or full analog, can have up to 8 buttons wired directly to the joysticks and then the whole thing works over USB (so no key encoders necessary).

I use mine in a Gauntlet Legends arcade cabinet on both my MiSTer and a Raspberry Pi 4 in full analog mode. They feel great and they'll basically work with everything that has a USB port. You can get restrictor plates for them if you prefer that feel, and you make get the joystick into a spinner too with some additional parts.

[Blamo]

Obsidian is a rock solid stick. I enjoy having a hefty base and prefer sanwa levers. I wouldn't worry too much about parts since you don't really have preferences yet from having played on different sticks.

Just consider how you might prefer to hold it and choose vewlix or noir accordingly. Also if you're interested in Tekken a square gate seems like it might be better in the long run.

Also keep in mind that you will need to force yourself to learn stick. It's going to feel weird and you're going to suddenly suck at games for about a month. So be prepared to force yourself some and DO NOT USE OTHER CONTROLLERS WHEN YOU'RE STILL UNCOMFORTABLE WITH IT. You need to build muscle memory for the stick and using other controllers will mess with that. Play a lot of console games that you're already good at with it. You'll acclimate quickly that way(also NES and Genesis games are really fun on a stick).

[RainerV]

What do you think about nacon daija for 150 euros? you can advice it?

[Dad_b0d_82]

I own way too many sticks. I have so many, I hide them in the basement so my wife doesn't see them together and realize how many I have. Hori and Qanba are well known and reputable. I have no personal experience with the Nacon.

I'd consider the following (in no particular order):
Build quality/materials - do you care if it's plastic/mostly plastic? Sticks with metal frames and bases are usually more expensive. I own a Vewlix premium and it's cool, but heavy and a pain in the rear to move around. My Rap N is much more practical on a day-to-day basis.
Button layout - Vewlix/Noir/etc. Vewlix is really common, I happen to like the spacing on Noir better.
Parts - what feels best to you? You could buy a stick and change out everything, but unless you are in love with the frame it's a little wasteful.

The Hori parts are generally similar to Sanwa but feel a little different. The Hayabusa lever has less resistance than the JLF. It isn't better or worse, it's just personal preference. My wife HATES the sound of Sanwa buttons, so as much as I like the feel I had to switch to gamerfingers. They feel great and are much quieter. I also went through every version of the JLF and silent JLF to find something she could tolerate. She hated them all, so I finally got an optical Hayabusa.

If price is no object, HitBox is another option.

[RascalUK]

What do you think about nacon daija for 150 euros? you can advice it?

I got sent a Daija for review (perk of the job) a year ago, I really like it. It's a sizeable beast, I like the way you can open it up and all the tools are inside. For that kind of money, you can't really go wrong and it's super easy to swap out the stick and buttons if you want.

In fact, the one thing that annoys me about it the most (as an example of how good I find it, this is the worst thing about it) is that because it is large I can't keep it on my desk full time so I tend to put it on it's side next to my desk, however, to open it up you press the buttons on the side, so putting it on its side depresses the button and causes it to half-open. No big deal but, it's piddles me off!

I'd say get it though if you have the option.

[PistolsAtDawn]

What do you think about nacon daija for 150 euros? you can advice it?

I got sent a Daija for review (perk of the job) a year ago, I really like it. It's a sizeable beast, I like the way you can open it up and all the tools are inside. For that kind of money, you can't really go wrong and it's super easy to swap out the stick and buttons if you want.

In fact, the one thing that annoys me about it the most (as an example of how good I find it, this is the worst thing about it) is that because it is large I can't keep it on my desk full time so I tend to put it on it's side next to my desk, however, to open it up you press the buttons on the side, so putting it on its side depresses the button and causes it to half-open. No big deal but, it's piddles me off!

I'd say get it though if you have the option.

I usually look to 3D printing to solve such issues, and it seems like a good fit here. Personally, I'd just design a thin block with a cylinder (or other appropriate shape) cut out for that button to sit under the stick. Maybe make it out of TPU/TPE so it's squishy and doesn't scratch anything.

I guess you could do the same thing with some foam rubber as this doesn't need to be complicated.

[RascalUK]

That's not actually a bad idea! Might give it a go, have some TPU on a shelf I think.

[PistolsAtDawn]

That's not actually a bad idea! Might give it a go, have some TPU on a shelf I think.

I have my moments.

That's cool that you have a printer too. Aren't they amazing?

[RascalUK]

They really are. I have a resin one as well. I don't use them half as much as I should really.

[aberu]

They really are. I have a resin one as well. I don't use them half as much as I should really.

Fun side note: Technically FFF/FDM 3d printers are printing with "resin" as well (same with Powder Bed Fusion and Digital Light Processing, etc...). In the plastics industry we call the little pellets that are fed into the injection molding machine "resin", and filament is just slow and low extruded resin that is still in a state which can then be extruded again. You probably meant that you have an SLA printer I'm assuming.

[XtraSmiley]

I would be happy to help. Please send me your credit card information....


If price is not a factor, why not use the money to build a great stick instead of buying an OK stick?