Arcade Sticks and Controllers (Tekken 5 Stick vs HRAP2?)

Tech Talk
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Hi everyone,

After reading the stickies and the “noob thread” and doing some searches, I feel I’ve become a little more knowledgeable about arcade sticks and different brands, yet I still feel I have to post my questions on the board. I truly appreciate anyone who is willing to read through my post and help me out with my queries, so thank you all in advance.

Quick background info: When I was much younger I used to play at my local arcades quite often, and I always played fighting games. Fast forward about 10 years, I decided last year that I want to get back into fighting games just for the fun of it, so naturally I played games using the stock Playstation controllers. After blistering my thumb on the Playstation controller’s directional pad, I bought a new, unopened Street Fighter 15th Anniversary Controller. It worked quite well, and while I’m not really a harsh player, just last week the directional pad broke, so I decided I might as well search for a good arcade stick. After reading here on the forums that Japanese arcade sticks are generally preferred over American arcade sticks, I decided to borrow my friend’s Tekken 5 10th Anniversary Arcade Stick made by Hori.

After a few days of playing and practicing, I am happy to report that my thumb is no longer blistered, and that I seem to manage certain moves quite a deal better on the stick than I did on the controller. There are some problems however… While the buttons on the Tekken 5 Stick are light and responsive, the stick feels a little loose and a tiny bit wobbly (my friend has barely touched this thing, so it hasn’t become looser from overuse), and I feel I have lost the precision I had when using a control pad: I have great difficulty executing dragon punch motions on the stick, but most of all find it quite difficult to dash properly in games like KoF XI and Guilty Gear in comparison to the control pad.

After reading about the praise the Hori Arcade Pro 2 Stick gets, I was wondering, if I were to switch from the Tekken stick to the Pro 2 Stick, would my gaming improve? Is the Arcade Pro 2 more precise/vastly superior to the Tekken stick? Considering I’m more of a casual player who just wants to play at home with close friends and family, I wouldn’t mind procuring a decent controller either: How does the Saturn Controller for Playstation compare to the Street Fighter Controller? The last thing I was curious about is converters: since I only use the Playstation and the Dreamcast for my fighters, I would need a high quality converter so I can use my stick and pad to play on the Dreamcast

I apologize for this amazingly lengthy post, but I really do appreciate any and all suggestions, thanks for taking the time to read!

EDIT: Sorry! Just so peope know which Tekken stick I’m talking about: http://www.ps3blog.net/wp-content/uploads/tekken_5_arcade_stick.jpg
Also, has anyone tried SNK’s NeoGeo Pad 2? It seems interesting, considering the directional pad is like a mini-joystick: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-e-49-en-70-kuq.html

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^ The Sanwa kind of feels like the stock T5 stick. If you don’t like the way the stick feels loose I would suggest just modding the SF:AE stick that you have. The mod is really simple check this thread out. If your going to do the mod on the SF:AE stick do not I repeat DO NOT buy the Happ competition, buy the IL/Eurostick competition found here.

Edit: Do you have the street fighter stick or controller? If you have the controller disregard above post. I read it totally wrong lol. Just get a mas from here. Don’t forget to talk to them directly about the converters for some odd reason mas tends to “revise” their pcbs and they sometimes don’t work with certain converters. Also, don’t get a dual dreamcast ps2 pcb because the dreamcast pcb tends to just die after a while of use.

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I cannot do dragon punches for the life of me using a sanwa stick with a square restrictor. I purchased the octagon restrictor plate and that solved my problem.

My best stick is the Happ P360s though. I can do anything on those babies. And I don’t have a problem with Happ competitions either.

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Thank you for the replies so far. After looking at the converter thread, my questions regarding converters become completely negated (sorry about that). Also regarding the MAS sticks - the joystick is in the American style, I realize that using it will ultimately be a matter of preference (JAP vs USA style joysticks), but would a HAPP competition joystick be more suitable to my needs considering I don’t like the feel of my T5 stick? I would like to try to avoid hunting down multiple joysticks just to try them out, as my budget doesn’t quite reach into $300+, so again all the advice I get is greatly appreciated!

It seems that most people assert that the Saturn Joystick is superior to the SF Anniversary Controller, but still no ideas on the NeoGeo Pad 2.

Thanks again!

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If you prefer American sticks, get a MAS. If you prefer Japanese sticks, get a HRAP2.

Also, paragraphs are top tier.

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Sorry about not dividing my first post into appropriate paragraphs, I will edit it in order to make it more readable.

Yes, I realize that it comes down to a matter of preference, but I have never played/used an American stick before (maybe I have, when I was younger, but I can hardly remember). The arcade at the closest Chinatown to where I live has all of their machines equipped with Japanese sticks, so I don’t really have anything to compare with.

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don’t worry about that. use a controller is legal in tournament SRK. now you’re happy.

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If you’re used to playing on Japanese sticks, I’d just go for a HRAP2. The quality of the stick is higher than on a Tekken stick.

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Sorry! Just so peope know which Tekken stick I’m talking about: http://www.ps3blog.net/wp-content/up...cade_stick.jpg

I want to buy tha stick too! anyone knows from where could I get it that ships to the uk.

thanks!

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I want to know the answer too… If using a HRAP would definitely increase your execution.

Because as far as I know, when playing on my T5, I really have to grind the corners for my moves to come out. I’ve gotten use to it, but sometimes I miss it and stuff. Sometimes I wonder if the sticks really make that big of a difference or I just need to work on my execution some more.

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It’s not the controller itself, but the stick that these joysticks use. HRAP uses Sanwa JLF with a square restrictor. Whereas the T5Stick uses a generic made by hori stick.

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This is exactly what I face with my T5 stick… sometimes I feel like small motions just to get the stick to “click” will do fine, but other times I have to grind the corners to execute anything properly.

Anyway, I bought a HRAP2, so I’ll write a comparison when it arrives and I get to test it out. I’ve read that a lot of people seem to switch the Sanwa stick for a Seimitsu for a tighter feel and more precision, and also recommend getting Sanwa snap-in buttons. I’ll get around to doing so if I’m not satisfied with the feeling of the HRAP2.

I also found and bought a NeoGeo Pad 2, so when it arrives I’ll post how it preforms.

Still can’t find a Saturn pad or a Darkstalkers Saturn pad for PS2, if anyone knows the location of one, please let me know!

Thank You for all of the replies so far!

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Practise practise practise

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Where did you get the NG pad 2? Was it new? If you do not want the Neo Geo Pad 2, may I buy it off of you?

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The Saturn pads for the PS2 are extremely rare and fetch upwards of $100 when you can find them.

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Yeah, I know. It’s hard to get long hours of practice in while balancing work, school, and family, but I haven’t given up yet! Still looking forward to the arrival of my HRAP2

Well, considering I haven’t got the pad yet, I’m not really willing to sell it! If you’re looking for it though, I imported a copy of KoF 94 Re-bout, the deluxe edition comes with a Neo Geo Pad 2.

Wow. I never imagined I would ever be paying $100+ for a controller. Can anybody confirm whether or not it is worth the money? or if I should just invest in another Street Fighter 15th Anniversary Pad?

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Sounds like you’re not using the stick correctly. You’re not supposed to hit the edges of the guide when doing motions.

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Dood some of us in here have thousands of dollars invested in sticks. I got two HRAP2s a custom happ an EX2 and a custom sanwa JLW. You might have to experiment with different sticks to see what suites your liking. For example one of my HRAPs has a jlf and the other an ls32. In the begining I liked the ls32 but recently I went back to playing with the JLF. I like both of them a lot now so its hard to decide. On the other hand at least with the HRAP you could swap things out to see what you prefer.

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Oh no no, I hope you didn’t misunderstand me! I have no doubt that many people who visit these boards invest thousands in arcade parts and controllers to find what’s right for them. I realize that joysticks like the HRAP and others tend to cost $100+, i was just surprised to hear that a gamepad can cost $100+, as I’ve never really seen a gamepad that exceeds the $40/$50 range. I figure for a standard, 6-button controller with a good directional pad, people won’t dish out exuberant amounts of cash, so the Saturn Controllers for PS2 must be something else entirely then! (or perhaps just a collectors item?).

Again, anyone who has played on a Saturn Controller for PS2, please let me know how it handles/if it truly is worth the price. Thank You!