Im thinking of buying a second hand sega saturn to play games like XVSF and also will be getting arcade sticks with these games.
Which arcade sticks are the better quality, the official saturn arcade sticks or the Hori SS sticks
There is more than one official sega stick for the Saturn, the Sega Virtua Stick AKA HS-0130 comes with Seimitsu sticks and Sega buttons, there’s also the Virtua Stick High Grade which is full Sanwa.
All of the hori Sticks for the Saturn use Hori sticks and buttons, so there you go, If you have money go for the Sega sticks, it’s gonna be expensive but won’t need to spend more money swapping parts, or if you are in a lower budget just get a Hori one and swap parts later if you don’t like it.
Im thinking of buying this stick:
HSS-0104
HSS-0136 Good
Hori SS stick Good
http://www.oratan.com/projects/images/mame_333-img600x450-1016958344pro1.jpg
HSS-0130 Better
DIY Route, always good
HSS-0104 Avoid
The HSS-0130 is a two player stick and very pricy.
Your thinking of the HSS-0136
The VSHG is ONLY for the PS3.
With the official Sega-branded joysticks, depends on which generation you’re talking about…
There were two distinct lines of Virtua Joysticks released for the Sega Saturn.
I HATED the Hori SS Joystick. Very uncomfortable buttons. The stick feels like a JLF clone but that’s about the only thing that was good about it – IF you like the JLF. Ascii also made a Sega Saturn joystick with a similar feeling control lever (again, JLF feel) but much more comfortable buttons that feel like Sanwa 30mm OBSF class.
Both joysticks can be gotten last I saw for $40 or less online. I wouldn’t pay $60 for either one even new condition. NCSX.com still has the Ascii Saturn joystick in stock but are charging almost $50 for it last time I checked. The version NCS has is the Asian balltop handle model branded with SF Alpha box art. => http://www.shopncsx.com/fighterstickxzero2forsegasaturn.aspx
Both Hori and Ascii sold their lower-tier, non-arcade part joysticks in the US. The Ascii model was sold with balltop handles in Asia and bat handles in the US. The PS1 versions of these joysticks are essentially identical to the Saturn models with minor electrical differences in the PCB. I’ve read somewhere on SRK that it may be possible to rewire one or the other with minor changes (system adaptor cord change in addition to soldering?) to work on either system. That’s how similar the controller technology was between the Saturn and PS1.
The first Saturn Virtua Stick was awful… that was the Virtua Stick sold in the US. It was sold in Japan, too, but the later “Candy Cab” models never made it out of Asia to my knowledge – outside of import shops like NCS, that is. Here’s what that first-gen Virtua Stick looks like => http://www.shopncsx.com/saturnvirtuastick.aspx
I haven’t read anyone knowledgeable recommending this joystick. It has a bad reputation! STAY AWAY FROM IT…
The later “Candy Cab” Virtua Sticks modeled after the Astro City arcade cabinets are good-ish… Lemme explain.
They have a nice arcade-styled joystick body but the arcade parts themselves are mediocre. The joysticks themselves are fine – some production lots had Ascii joysticks, others unbranded Seimitsu LS-56 joysticks – but the buttons were Sega OEM and are not considered very good.
There are two basic versions of the second-generation Virtua Stick –
The HSS-0130 Twin version which is for two people; it’s a reproduction of an Astro City arcade cabinet joystick layout;
and
the HSS-0135 which is the one-person version but with L and R button positions mimicking the 8-button Sega digital pad for the Saturn. The HSS-0135 is by far the easier second-generation Virtua Stick (Candy Cab) to find and was made in Japan into the Dreamcast days; they/Sega just packaged them after a certain point in time with adapters to use on the Dreamcast. Sega later made a recolored version of the HSS-0135 for the PS1 or PS2. Again, Japan-/Asia-only sales.
(NOTE: The later Hori Real Arcade Pro models 1-3 lines used a joystick case style similar to the HSS-135 Virtua Stick model.)
Both Candy Cab-style joysticks are getting harder to find and more expensive to find in decent shape. There’s a also a general lack of availability outside of Asia and ridiculous shipping fees for hardware, too.
The HSS-0130 is so expensive to get now that you could almost build your own for the cost of buying one in near-mint condition today ($300+). It’s rare to be able to find one for less than $250 minimum; even a crummy condition one will not sell for much less than $200.
Either second-gen Virtua Stick is mediocre in stock condition only becoming very good with at least button upgrades… Many people leave the original joysticks in and upgrade with LS-56 parts if they need to repair the control lever. The buttons are where the problem is. Besides being lower grade and uncomfortable, they are soldered into the PCB’s!
Unless you NEED eight buttons on your joystick for whatever reasons – there ARE Saturn games that need all eight buttons to work on the system --, I’d say you’re better off getting an MC Cthulu replacement PCB or PS1/PS2-to-Saturn adapter and using PS1/PS2 joysticks with the Saturn. IF you have an HRAP 2, that’s a great base joystick to use on the Saturn, too. The Tototek PS1/PS2-to-Saturn adapters and the MC Cthulu do NOT support more than six 30mm buttons for the Saturn, though…
@GeorgeC
You mean the HSS-0136 not the HSS-0135, there is not HSS-0135 arcade stick.
Watch out in the HSS-0130 and HSS-0136 market, as some of those sticks are made for the dreamcast instead.
They were cheaply converted to dreamcast sticks with a adapter that was squeezed inside.
Also the Ascii brand Saturn sticks are no better than the cheaper model Sega Virtua sticks (HSS-0104).
Thanks for the responses guys
I guess the 0104 is the stick that i will avoid.
The same seller has also got the Hori SS sticks as well, they are the sticks that are better correct?
I know need to decide if its worth buying these sticks, sega saturn and a few fighting games like XVSF, SFA2 etc
I wont play these games much, but they are my favorite games. I want to get them but money is tight and like i said i will hardly play them.
If only all the old capcom and snk games were on xbox live/psn
The Hori FS SS is not bad. I have two, only because i got them at roughly $15 a piece. That’s the main point here really, price point. Most of these mid-tier sticks are okay, depending on the price. I can tell you right now that you can do way better than the prices listed in the auctions you linked. It’s not the most scientific reference, but gauge pricing based on Yahoo!AuctionsJapan listings, then add-in shipping fees to your country, thats a more decent price range to look for, especially for import items. But in the end, it’s all up to how much you’re willing to spend.
HSS-0136 is the way to go. personally.
this is unrelated but, and not meant for OP, but since the forum rarely talks about saturn sticks.
this might interested some people here. idk.
the Hori FS SS stock joystick is based on the Seimitsu LS-56 imo. all the measurements line up. so i frankenstien’d what i could, altered the actuator (dreme time), the LS-56’s pivot doesnt fit sadly, so that and the base are the only HORI parts left. and the shaft too. Used short-levered omrons from another another saturn stick actually. (hss-0104)
result:
more pictur http://hibachicandy.tumblr.com/post/70204101194/
tighter more decent joystick. somewhat similar feel to NeoGeo AES joystick. imho. I know i could have just installed an LS-56 in there directly, but that’s no fun.
They’ll never re-release ALL the old games… Just not gonna happen.
The audience was never there for them.
Street Fighter is Capcom’s fighting game bread-and-butter. The Marvel games had their heyday but unfortunately people only seem to want MvC2… As for the other CPS-2 games, they were never as popular outside of Japan – especially the Darkstalkers series!
Capcom will also not go after renewing licensing agreements unless they know they will sell.
[It’s a moot point for the most part. It’s so easy to get Saturn consoles and most Saturn ported games for reasonable prices. Most of us can get the MAME ports up and running, too. You don’t have to have the most powerful PC to run MAME… you just have to have a version of MAME that runs on your system and has a compiled version of the game that works for that particular version of MAME, too. That’s where things get interesting!]
Capcom had success with Marvel Vs Capcom 2; not so much the majority of CPS-2 ports to PSN/XBL.
The Marvel Superheroes Collection and Vampire/Darkstalkers Resurrection releases were considered commercial failures by Capcom.
There have also been issues with missing audio, cut animations, and bare-bones presentation of these games without a lot of the extras that were added to the more faithful SEGA console ports.
Makes me glad I kept my Sega consoles for this stuff!
You pay for what you get…
As for getting a quality Saturn-native joystick at an economical price –
“Dream a little dream…”
Not with arcade-quality parts, for sure, unless you convert an existing HRAP or Mad Catz TE with an MC Cthulu… with an MC Cthulu, you need to solder electrical lines. No getting around that for the most part.
It’d be better to save and pay someone who’s handy AND reliable with a soldering iron to mod a joystick to use with the Saturn. There’s no getting around the Saturn PCB or MC Cthulu for that in any case.
The Hori SS is no better than the Sega Virtua Stick Mk I or the Ascii… NONE of these three joysticks are made to be upgradeable and I know for a fact that neither the Hori SS nor Ascii Fighting Sticks won’t take new parts easily at any rate. The room is barely there for a replacement PCB let alone trying to adjust the hole size to fit anything like arcade spec buttons. IE, don’t bother to try and upgrade with better parts, it’s not worth it!
I owned both the Hori SS and Ascii Fighting Sticks. On balance, not anywhere near the great quality you can get in a joystick today. Buying a used Mad Catz TE/Hori HRAP joystick and THEN modding with a replacement PCB (MC Cthulu) makes more sense unless you get an old Saturn control pad or get a broken Saturn joystick and use its PCB as the guts for a new Saturn joystick (used HRAP or used TE) WITH arcade-quality parts!
IF you don’t plan on playing these games much on the Saturn, then get the cheaper Hori or Ascii joystick.
Just don’t cry when the joystick breaks or fails to perform well…
You were warned ahead of time!
You get what you pay for…
No, I was talking about the HSS-0130, I know it’s a dual stick, pricy and IMVHO… shit,
Some people say it’s an exact replica of the Astro City panel but it is not, the actual metal plate is thinner not as “sturdy” as a real Astro Panel, the metallic paint used in the art overlay is lower quality, the holes for the buttons have little tabs and the sega microswitches are soldered into a PCB…oh and it has 8 buttons per player which is a waste of space and it makes the stick uglier…all Saturn FG’s require only 6 buttons max.
You are right, I was thinking in the HSS-0136 when I wrote that.
The HSS-0130 will fit a Astrocity panel. I didn’t know the stock HSS-0130 panels where thinner metal.
I guess they were thinking cheaper, and reduced weight would not be an issue with a home arcade stick, as people tend to be more careful with their own property than some public piece of equipment.
You need all 8 buttons on an HSS-0130 for Guardian Heroes, though…
8-button HSS-0130 also has different spacing and button alignment compared to official astro/blast/sega 2L12B panels, naturally to accomodate the 4 extra buttons,… this makes 1P pushed more to the left etc,… only saying this just in case one plans to buy a precut blast city / or new net city (hot sexy shit) 2L12B overlay, none of the holes will match up, only start buttons.
I would go the toodles route. Plus if you need different button layout you could get plexis made by arthong
Thanks for the responses.
Well me living in Australia in a isolated small area it will be hard for me to mod the sticks, let alone find better sega Saturn arcade sticks.
I have been hunting Saturn arcade sticks for a while and hardly see them advertised. So its desperate times for me
But as I have said, im deciding wether its worth buying these sticks, console games etc. In Australia Saturn games are expensive for example XVSF is $60AUD all the time on ebay
Im thinking I might just try get sega Saturn roms to work and play the games that way, or if I cant get them to work try get MAME up and running
Ok, knowing that, I would buy a Sega dreamcast instead. You can burn all the games, all you need is a cd burnerand blank CDs. Might be just as hard to find a stick. So either way it will be worth to learn how to solder, and modify a case to fit Japanese parts. I love the dreamcast. But if your specifically looking to play and xvsf and games like that, then try emulators
Good luck
Mame is probability you best bet, specially with the rising prices of Retro gaming collectibles.
As for a Stick, if you are using MAME better off with something more modern and use a USB interface
hello
please help. I want to replace default sticks in HSS-0130
I need these stick Seimitsu LS-56-SS ?
https://www.akishop.jp/joysticks/188-ls-56-ss.html##
Yes that be the right joystick.
Get the version that the part number ends in a -01
The -01s use a 5 pin wire harness instead of each switch being separately wired.
it save time and effort.
^Uhm no.
**HSS-0130 **is the two-player Virtua Stick Pro (full size Astro City style stick), it uses Seimitsu LS-32, the panel uses old-style mounts, using an old discontinued mounting plate, so save those.
HSS-0136 is the single player Virtua Stick, early models of had Seimitsu LS-56-01., later versions (most likely what you can find these days) have ASCII branded stick.
this is if you wanna stick to “stock” parts.
the problem with the HSS-0130 panels is that it uses an older mount, you need the Seimitsu NA mounting plate for LS-32 (http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac8/chinitosoccer/100_0149_zps71efac8a.jpg), if you plan on using LS-56, none of its plates will be usable.
Sanwa JLF has the JLF-P-1S plate which is compatible. you can use it on Hayabusa if you want more options.
-hibachi