MCA joysticks are the standard sticks used in most arcade cabinets in Australia and New Zealand. I’m quite curious as to what people here on SRK think of them in comparison to Sanwa/Seimitsu/Happ/Fanta.
Unfortunately I’ve entirely unable to find a website or any data online about them, but here’s a link to a currently-running auction for one, with a photo: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Gaming/Coinop-pinball/auction-118103395.htm?p=9
Personally I think they’re trash, one of the reasons I no longer go to NZ arcades, very stiff joystick which makes certain characters impossible to play(zangief). I’ve seen tekken players do fine on them though.
I’ve used pretty much the gamut of sticks, including Happs Competition and Seimitsu, and the MCA is a mixed bag. My first custom stick was an MCA (ripped out of a defunct arcade machine) so I’ve had quite a bit of experience with them.
The throw is very small - it takes little distance to hit the edge. This is in contrast to the Happ where it feels like you’re swinging a cat in a barn. I find double tap motions like dashes easy on the MCAs. I would be surprised to find people that prefer a wide throw to a small throw, so the MCA is pretty good here.
The MCAs have distinct corners, unlike the Happ competition - which is a full smooth circle. Which is better is entirely subjective.
The place the MCA falls down is the feel - almost every other stick uses a spring, whereas the MCA uses rubber, which is about as bad as it sounds. Some people like stiff sticks, but I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who prefers the MCA feel to other sticks. They do loosen up a bit with use, but still never feel like other sticks.
Personally I have no problem with MCAs, I actually prefer them to my Happs simply because the throw is so much smaller. I definitely don’t consider them to be unusable, however, I vastly prefer my Seimitsus to either.
My suggestion would be that if you actually have decent competition in your area and they use MCAs, you may as well get used to MCAs. If you don’t frequent the arcade, or the competition isn’t that hot, do yourself a favour and get something better like Seimitsus or Sanwas.
Best of luck,
–flux
PM sent to you, fluxcore
do not want
Most MCA sticks/buttons in Sydney are like 10+ years old and absolute rubbish.
Can’t see any good reason to replace them with new MCAs either. I always tell arcade owners to replace their controls with Sanwa/Seimitsu, or even knock-offs.
Those are the weirdest looking sticks I’ve ever saw in my life. :tdown:
True enough, and they generally don’t wear evenly, so very often some directions are worse than others. The rubber degrades over the years, too, and hard out mashing all day by young kids literally rips bits of the rubber off. Not so much an issue with a personal stick - mine is still “usable” after about 8 years in my possession and who knows how long in the World Warrior cab it came out of.
–flux
i’m thinking about getting mca sticks or sticks that look very similar.
i cant see the picture in the 1st post because the bids over… which type of mca sticks are you talking about?
I bought one of these sticks to make my first custom. I bought all my parts off trade me too. Just be a bit wary on it as most the parts are second hand. I was a bit peeved after asking for 8 red buttons two of them were a different shade. Also some of the microswitches were a bit tatty. It’s not too much of an issue just don’t expect mint parts. You can always try your local Coin Cascade for better parts if it’s an issue
I decided to use an MCA so it would feel like my local arcade stick. It does take ages to wear them in and I had trouble with some of my favortie Urien combos to begin with. It’s worn in nicely though now and feels like the real thing.
I played a guy a few months ago who was from the states and it took him a while to get used to it since it was so stiff for him.
Holy crap!!! :wow: :wow: :wow:
My local arcade’s MVC2 cab had two blue MCAs installed for the longest time. I always wondered what stick brand they were, and didn’t know till now when i did a google search for “MCA Joysticks”.
Here:
http://www.highway.net.au/parts/buttons_and_joysticks/2096.html
Yes i played on these in MVC2 for quite a while. They were actually pretty decent for the most part and held up well, i rarely has problems doing moves either. Judging by the way they’d return to neutral, they probably used pads and not springs also.
I’d say they’re ok, but theres no reason to choose them when you could have a Happ or sanwa. Unless they’re dirt cheap(and perform as well as mine did).
Yes, appears so. Same shape on the stick.
Yeah they’re “square”, kinda like a sanwa. This never bothered me when playing.
its only square when the configuration’s adjusted to 4 way. i thought mca sticks were closer to 360’s than 8 ways. infact the mca sticks i’ve used in the past felt smoother than any sanwa or happ stick i’ve ever used. you dont hear or feel the clicks when you go through the 360 motions.
whats the difference?
They look, and from the sounds of it, feel just like the European Suzo sticks.
With springs once let go, the stick kinda flops around a bit before returning to neutral. With pads it almost instantly returns to neutral once let go.
I don’t mind either one. Oh and from what another member said, the MCAs use rubber to hold the stick neutral when not in use.
what are the differences between Happs and Seimitsus sticks?
best troll ever
if thats directed at me i’m just a little curious to know why certain sticks are better than others. all the japanese sticks feel exactly the same to me.
There is a sanwa/seimitsu faq floating around that deals with exactly that stuff. It is probably better addressed there then in a thread about Australian arcade parts.
I have no idea as i’ve never played on a Seimitsu. I have played on a sanwa before, and from what i’ve heard they’re fairly similar to Seimitsus i think.
Sanwa/Seimitsu sticks have a much smaller dead space when compared to Happ sticks. Also, the springs are usually looser than Happ sticks since the handle is much lighter and whatnot.
It’s all preference. If you don’t really feel a difference, then that’s great as long as you are able to play on them well.