^ ^ ^ The people who praise it are just really excited to have an arcade stick; honestly, for casual play from people who donât know any better, itâs probably great fun. The people who condemn it are mainly the hardcore players. Skilled fighting game players demand more out of their controllers than almost any other genre out there. Iâm sure itâs just fine for a rousing, nostalgic game of Pac-Man, but as soon as you start trying to do something that interests us, like [ j.hk, cr.mk xx super fb ], you are going to want to throw that thing against a wall and then in a bonfire.
As far as I know, the X-Arcade case is okay. The reason nobody likes them around here is that the price to get one is ridiculous considering weâd be replacing its parts and guts anyway. You can order a custom-built case from some of the builders here that will be cheaper and much nicer, or just get the MAS.
For the record, apparently both the PC MAS and the X-Arcade will have input lag right out of the box because their PCBâs are steaming trash. Youâll either have to padhack a different USB controller, or buy a PS1/PS2 arcade stick and use an adapter to convert to PC USB.
I wish I could help you out by making a recommendation on which stick is right for you, but Iâm having some trouble understanding what youâve actually tried. I understood that youâve used aâŚ
- IL Eurostick
- Sanwa stick
- Seimitsu stick
- Fanta (Korean) stick
And you didnât like any of them? The first thing I wanted to say was⌠have you considered using a pad?! 
Probably worth clarifying a few things anyway though.
No stick will immediately turn you into an execution god. If you didnât take the time (weeks) to get used to a (new) arcade stick, well thereâs your problem right there. Stick with it (whoops bad pun) and it will pay off in leaps and bounds.
The IL Eurostick is not considered tops with its default microswitches. Iâve never heard about problems with corners not working or anything, but the Eurostick is really only loved for being the basis of the original (good) Happ Competition joysticks. Happ would replace the microswitches with superior Cherry-brand ones and re-sell them in America. They donât do this anymore though, basically creating the entire stick by themselves now, so the new Happ Competitions arenât considered tops anymore either. Note about both, the stickâs motion should feel round, so thereâs nothing guiding you as to where the diagonals should be: you need to remember by feel where they are. Maybe you just donât like American sticks. Harder springs, big throws, big engages.
Some people just hate Japanese sticks on the whole so they just may not be for you. Note that you can replace the square restrictor gate with an octagonal one, but the short throw and engage, and softness of spring will not change. The usual complaint is it feels like a cheap little toy, but the real advantages are that itâs really easy to feel where you are and theyâre actually very precise.
Regarding the Fanta: unless you specifically specially ordered the right kind from Korea, I guarantee it was an inferior model. It would not be indicative of the quality of performance of a good, proper Fanta, even though itâs still probably a decent indicator of the ideaâif not the feelâyou can expect from Korean sticks in general. Some people like 'em, some people donât. They use rubber instead of springs and really canât be compared to any other joysticks in the world.
As for buttons, if youâre not happy with either Happ Competitions or regular Sanwas, arcade sticks simply just were not meant for you. Seriously.
Lastlyâunrelated but I couldnât help myselfâdo yourself a favour and check out GGPO or 2DF. The emulators they use should run fighting games (at least Capcom ones) much better than MAME, and the connection in netplay is strikingly better than Kaillera, even P2P.
