New to this forum, so I don’t know if this is the correct thread to post this in or not.
Anyway, I saw a few guys at ECC9 walking around with this stick: http://www.gamechoice.com.hk/navigateProduct.asp?product_id=2767
If anyone owns this or knows about it, could you drop a few lines on it as to whether or not it is any good.
Thanks,
Hmm, well I’ve owned mine for about a year and a half now, and I can at least give my thoughts on it, but be aware that people have varying opinions of this stick.
When it first came out, it received lukewarm reviews because the stick took some getting used to. That is, when the stick is new, it’s somewhat tight/sticky and hard to execute on. However, having had mine for a while now, I can say it becomes very usable, and is very durable and responsive in the long run. I personally like it, but I am also used to Japanese style sticks. Compared to a Japanese cabinet, it’s pretty close, and is a good buy in that regard. The buttons are pretty good, nothing bad to say about those.
The other thing you might take issue with is the specific button layout. If you play only Guilty Gear, then it’s nice because you can play straight on default setup. However if you’d like a similar stick with a more versatile setup, I’d suggest the SVC Chaos stick, which is basically an identical stick, but with a more regular button layout, that, and you might have a hard time getting a GGXX Custom at this point in time.
So overall, I can personally recommend it if you like Japanese style sticks, I think it’s suitable for everything you will need to do in Guilty Gear. I’ve had great players tell me it was great, and other greats say it was a piece of crap. So it depends on you.
Overall, it’s solid once you get past the break in.
Geez, I realized I have a problem getting to the point, oh well, if you have any questions about specific motions or whatever about the stick let me know.
I’d say go with hori sticks. They have the same layout but have the missing button and as far as quality goes, it’s the best stick I’ve ever used.
Thank you for both of your input.
Does Hori make any other game themed sticks (not a SC2 fan)?
Definitely going to check out that Hori stick.
A warning about the Hori stick, the SC2 one in particular.
If you’re planning on playing GGXX you might want to reconsider, because it doesn’t have all of the shoulder buttons accounted for (which the GGXX and SVC stick have).
What this means is that if you use it, you won’t be able to select the SP and EX modes in the home version. To elaborate the button config is set in stone for the character select menu, so you must have the L1 and L2 buttons.
It’s a minor thing for some, and a major thing for others. Me personally I like some of the SP colors, so the buttons are important to me.
The ASCII FT2 (GGXX and SVC) stick is of comparable quality to the Hori stick, they’re both good sticks.
A warning about the Hori stick, the SC2 one in particular.
You can select SP mode in GGXX/#R with the SC2 Hori just fine since it has a L1 button. You can’t select EX Mode, but who uses them anyway? However, you cannot do soft reset (all shoulder buttons+start) with the stick, but that’s a minor annoyance.
Thanks for the clarification.
You could also just get this instead.
Hori makes the best sticks on the market if you’re a fan of Japanese-style sticks. They’re more responsive than the XX customs. When I first acquired my XX stick I had to remove the spring and compress it for a few hours before it became reasonably useful. I’m seriously considering buying the above stick since it will be a good “universal” choice.
Hey Blake, thought you might be interested to know I bought the above stick today, just because I found it pretty cheap 
. Let’s just say that NCSX is selling it for 71% more than I bought it for, and that’s not including shipping…
But yeah, for all those that are interested, it’s definitely a very nice stick. The most interesting thing about it is that it’s not just a good universal choice for fighters, but it’s the first stick I’ve seen that has absolutely all the functions of a standard dual shock 2, so you could actually use this universally for any game…sorta at least. There’s an interesting switch on the upper right hand corner, that let’s you choose if the stick will be mapped to the pad, left analog or right analog, definitely a nice feature. It has vibration feedback (a little weight at the base of the stick) and even the L3 and R3 buttons.
The stick feels more responsive than the GGXX Custom, although, I must say this is the only strange thing about it, as it doesn’t actually execute better than the GGXX Custom, could just be a learning curve for me, but there are some things I have a harder time doing on this stick than on the GGXX stick. Keep in mind I have no such problems on the actual arcade cabinets, which are the best in terms of sensitivity. So with regards to this stick it means…? I intend to use it more to see if my impressions change any.
EDIT: Man I feel dumb, the difference between the two is that the Hori has a square gate compared to the octagon gate of the GGXX Custom. That’s what was throwing me off (greater travel to the contacts).
Uh, so my point was that if you intended to get it Blake, it’d be a good buy.
The ascii FT2 is really nice.
I have a few japanese sticks. Agetech/Sega , ASCII FT2, and Soul Caliber 2 stick. I like that the ASCII FT2 stick is 8 buttons, but it is the cheapest feeling stick that I know of. Every about it feels cheap (plastic instead of metallic). Nothing on it feels solid. The only plus I see to it other than the 8 buttons is that the stick switches are really good. I’ve taken apart the Agetech and Soul Caliber 2. They have have really cheap/loose sticks. However the button and sticks are more solid/better than the ASCII FT2. SC2 might feel a bit too unresponsive for some. Japanese style stick are suppose to move with hardly any movement.
However none of these sticks are comparable to an japanese arcade stick. With enough use, the difference between the arcade vs console sticks is like night and day. I think people sell modified arcade sticks for 100$. Given the price of the japanese console sticks, it is worth it to spend a few more $ to get the very best. Check about it on the technical forum.
Some updated impressions…
Specifically addressing the GGXX Custom (ASCII FT2) vs. the Hori mentioned above, the GGXX Custom feels more solid (has more metal than the standard FT2). While the Hori above feels lighter and more plasticy, and actually has a somewhat cheaper feel. And in terms of the stick, I dunno if it’s the square gate that’s doing it, but the Hori definitely feels less responsive I’ve decided. I think, although I’m not sure, that the Hori has cheaper contacts than the XX Custom FT2. I have to sometimes make larger motions than I’d like, and the GGXX Custom just feels closer to an arcade cabinet, in that I don’t have to modify the way I use a stick between the two.
And if you don’t mind my asking neoKEN, does one of the threads in the techincal forum specifically address custom made Japanese sticks? And even more specifically, one that’s like a Versuscity cabinet? I see mostly threads on MAS sticks. Because I agree, there’s nothing that really matches the feel of a Japanese cabinet. No need to reply, but if you have any information or can point to a specific thread it’d be appreciated. Thanks.