**Warning: **This thread is heavily opinionated as are the nature of any product review. Movie and game reviews are heavily opinionated as well.
As well all have contrasting views on what is good/acceptable, as rule from the moderators, we shall not devolve into a VERSUS thread.
Personal opinions are fine, trying to argue that your favorite stick is better will not be tolerated. Do not confuse opinion with fact and vise versa.
Your Results/Mileage will vary. And don’t ask for us to make a choice for you, I am not holding anyone’s hand.
When it comes to my own reviews, I will not go through and point out what is my own opinions from what is fact (as my prerogative), and I encourage everyone to do your own fact finding research before you make a final conclusion for yourself. That is what google is for, finding your own research and making your own decisions.
Stop asking for Promo codes and sales for any Mad Catz or other products.
Mad Catz has a front page ad on SRK’s homepage. If there any codes to be had it be ether there or a insider like MarkMan will share with us the good news via a post in Tech Talk.
You will find out when everyone else dose.
I will come back and edit and update this thread as needed so if you spot something wrong, let me know. And you other experts on Tech Talk, feel free to add your own wisdom and insight.
I no longer have the time to update and maintain the thread *
Keep in mind I am purposely leaving out many limited edition and/or collectors sticks, as it goes outside the intentions of the guide. Collectors are going to collect.
ATTENTION ALL READERS
And I also like to keep custom sticks off the thread entirely, Custom sticks are outside of the scope of this guide and is considered off topic. If you want a custom stick go to the Need a Modder in Your Area? or you can try the Trading Post.
Quick tip on searching the forums. Courtesy of RosserRooster
At no time I will rate Sanwa or Seimitsu with each other or IL and Happs, or Japanese vs US/European vs Korean style parts.
Before I start with the cool part of this guide, we will first cover three more important objectives.
And what you need to consider above all else.
[LIST]
[]Needs
[]**Wants ** Budget
[/LIST] Needs. This covers what you absolutely have to have, strip down and basic. With any purchase this is what you should think of first. When it comes to Video Game controls this is usually covered by the Default game pad, only a few games require specialized controls or controls modified for those who have special needs. Example a One handed controller for a gamer who only have one useable arm.
I am assuming most people reading this guide now are hardcore fighter or arcade game fans who the regular d-pad is not cutting it for you, as we all hear complaints over the Xbox 360 or PS3 D-pad.
Wants. This is what you have your heart set for. For most people this is your end results.
Budget. This is how much money you have to spend. Budget is the more realistic and sobering part of the purchase process. Typically a stick will run you 60 to 250 dollars U.S. retail this figure will change with what the normal market price is in your region of the world.
Any stick you find** less than $50** is not worth your money and breaks easy. Sticks more than $200 are no longer considered Beginner Sticks.
If you find some cheap stick or pad somewhere from questionable sources, consider it highly risky and pass. Usually what is too good to be true usually is.
Keep in mind if you are broke (Budget), and the default game pad works fine enough for you (Need) that these 2 will and should over ride your Wants.
Now I am also going to cover other features of each stick/ controller here. These factors are also important to cover but goes secondary to the above. I be using this on almost every stick I list here.
[LIST]
[]Quality
[]Reliability
[]Ease of Modification
[]Purpose or special use
[/LIST] Quick Short Cuts Mad Catz Hori Sega American/ European Style , Korean Style, Qanba and others
Unless otherwise noted, each sticks are for the PS3 and the Xbox 360.
Read about PlayStation 4 sticks here
Difficulty Scale for Modding
From a scale of 1 to 5. This will factor in installing Buttons, Joysticks and replacement panels, and to a lesser extend PCB replacement.
This will not factor actual Dual-mods, replacement art or any painting.
[LIST=1]
[]Easy: Standard parts drops right into place, reasonable access to all parts.
[]Medium Easy: Still uses standard parts, access can be difficult/ time consuming
[]Moderate Difficulty: Requires minor case modding or appropriate mount plates
[]Medium hard: Requires some physical tool use to fit parts into place.
Hard: Requires Heavy modding using tools to cut, grind or drill to fit replacement parts.
[/LIST]
Last but not least I ask readers to go outside of this thread and do your research. Read reviews here on SRK and reviews on online stores and in magazines. Weigh the Pros and Cons before deciding which stick to get. And stop posting new threads on what stick you should buy, its why this thread is sticked.
How to Win at eBay.
Keep in mind eBay is not an online store. eBay is a listing and auction service, you are buying from that individual seller not eBay. And Every Seller is different.
For Experienced sellers who sold hundreds if not thousands, Look for sellers with a Feedback score of 99.5% rating or better. Huge time sellers with a 95% or lower are to be avoided like the plague. Pay attention to the text in the negative feedbacks, check to see if the negative feedbacks buyers actually have an issue or they are just jerks.
For people with a hundred sales or less, if they do not have a 100% rating, avoid them.
*When Bidding
Never, ever bid early. You only drive the price up higher.
Wait till the last possible minute, sometimes the last possible twelve seconds.
Also decide in advance the maximum you want to bid.
*How to know if you have a good price or not
Swing over to the reviews on PAGE 1 (it is required for this thread). I did not list the current price of a stick, I listed there original MSRP (or close to it). With the exception for huge collectors’ items avoid sticks that price them higher than I have them listed. (Examples Comic Con TE, Chun Li TE is going to be priced higher than other TEs) Many sellers have a terrible habit of over inflating the price of their sticks thinking the Market will bear, do not fall for it.
Also beware for sticks that are market high and are not in NEW/ Close to NEW condition. DO NOT pay full price on “customized sticks” with a few exceptions. Otherwise only pay full price on sticks that are keep stock.
Those exceptions are:
Sticks that do not come as Full Sanwa or Full Seimitsu (they used knock off Parts instead of authentic parts) are modded to be all authentic buttons and joystick. Example finding a Mad Catz WWE Brawl Stick that has a JLF and Sanwa buttons installed. You should not pay any more than (approx) 10% more than the cost of the stick + cost of the new parts.
Sticks that has been professionally Dual-Moded (if in doubt ask someone in SRK TT) The pricing should be cost of the stick + Dual Mod PCB Cost + 10% to 25% of the stick for labor.
Older era (Decades old sticks such as SNES and Genesis/MegaDrive Era and back) sticks that are refurbish. Many of these are collector items.
As for buying online outside the United States? This is a tricky issue as each countries fighting game scene is different.
The market strong in Parts of Asia (like Japan or S. Korea), Europe (mostly Western Europe), Australia and Canada (maybe Mexico) otherwise you have to eat heavily shipping costs.
Tip for you guys overseas is try to find a seller in your home country first if possible, better if he is in your home province/area.
If that not possible look at neighboring Countries that are friendly to your own. Example You are living in Span, try a French, British or German Seller if you can’t find someone in Spain (yes I know they are not right next to each other).
Here is another VERY GOOD guide for buying on eBay
It is on a website for cameras and photography but everything on that guide applies to arcade sticks as well. Just that all their examples are photography related. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/ebay/
P.S. Ken Rockwell is also having great advice and tips on photography.
Also there is no such thing as a “BEGINNER STICK” so do not ask. There are no Training Wheels in the FGC.
Also there is the thread FrankCastleAZ started, I am defaulting anything said to his thread.
DEFINITIVE PS4/PS3 RETAIL ARCADE STICKS LIST WITH INFO/FACTS/PHOTOS/ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES/ETC
Street Fighter IV SE
A basic 8 button arcade stick controller.
Case: B- Not bad overall, the stick body is nice and sturdy.
Parts: The Joystick and buttons are clones of Sanwa Parts so actual Sanwa parts are perfect drop in replacements. Earlier releases of the SFIV SE stick have reported issues with the PCB or Printed Circuit board. Reliability**:** Except for the above mentioned PCB this stick is not bad. Perfect for a low cost beginner stick. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1. Sanwa parts are perfect drop in replacements and Seimitsu parts would also work well. PCB replacement is do-able because of the space underneath . Only replacement art is for the top panel is difficult to replace due to the bent int he angle of the top panel, plexy is not an option here.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom (Wii)
Same body and lay out of the Street Fighter IV SE, but uses a different PCB dew to being made for the Nintendo Wii.
Case:** B. Slightly better than the SFIV SE.
Parts: Knock Offs Reliability: No reports of the Default Wii board dying Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1.same as the SE.
WWE Brawl SE.
Similar to the above two. Same Body design and clone Sanwa parts, the Brawl stick as higher quality Stick and buttons that the other two.
Case: B+
Parts: Still Knock offs but Better than the SFIV SE and on par if not better to the TvC Reliability: Mad Catz have improved with their PCB design so there no reported PCB failure. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1. Same as the SE and the TvC.
Mad Catz Arcade FightStick Korean Edition.
Same case construction to the rest of the “SE series”.
The Korean Edition uses the Crown CWJ-303A joystick (Korean joystick compatible with Japanese joystick mounts)
The Buttons are Sanwa OBSF-30 buttons, which sets it apart from other SE style sticks.
Case: B+/A-
Parts: Crown Joystick and Sanwa buttons Reliability: N/A Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1. The KE uses a special harness adapter so that you can easily swap the Crown joystick for a Japanese joystick very easily.
More Info here courtesy of D3v http://shoryuken.com/2013/10/18/shoryuken-review-mad-catz-arcade-fightstick-korean-edition/
Mad Catz Tournament Edition **
I am purposely leaving out some of the more rare TE variations such as the Evo, Femme Fatal and Comic-Con edition sticks,** as I do not recommend collector items for a beginners stick.
Wider than the SE, with out the slant edge
Round 1 TE
Type 1, 1st gen TE. Wider layout than the SE, with a leveled flat top. Red IV artwork. This is the TE that had the most issues with the PCB.
As with the Xbox 360 versions, they possess a xbox 360 [2.5 mm audio jack] mic port, the PS3 version lack the mic port. On the PS3 TEs instead of the mic port its place a small “square plug” is found in the plastic housing, This is normal.
Case: B- High better than the SE/ TvC series, the cable compartment can break.
Parts: Full Sanwa Parts Reliability: Has many issues with the PCB, this was improved with later versions of the TE. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1. Uses standard Sanwa parts so it easy to mod. Plenty of 3rd party options for modding such as replacement panels and side pieces. Most common sticks to mod here on Tech Talk.
**TE Round 2 **
Type 2, 1st gen TE. Has SFIV Character Artwork. Slightly more reliable PCB but still has minor issues.
Case: B. Better out of the 2 First gen TE sticks
Parts: Full Sanwa Parts. Reliability: Also it been reported that the door to the cable compartment can break. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
PCB Issues and the TE.
Xbox 360 version: For those who are dual-modding with an TEasy Strike, when you open up your stick, printed on the board should be its Revision Version printed on the board. If you have Rev A, that is the problem board. If you have Rev B you will be fine. Rev A = bad. Rev B = Good. I was also under the impression that Rev B boards are more reliable
PS3 Version: Because of USB protocol encoding or rather the kind of encoding use, The PS3 version of the TE has issues operating on PCs with Non-Intel USB controllers chipsets.
I am not sure if this is limited to AMD chipsets or this is all Non-Intel.
The exception to this is the PS3 Chun Li TE-S.
Older TE PCBs are issues, the newer TE-S and TE S+ does not have the same issues, same with the Pro and VS sticks.
**Marvel VS Capcom 2 TE **$159,99
MvC 2 variation of the Round 2 Stick. Features MvC art. Different layout swaps the Ls and Rs buttons around.
Case: B. High Same as Round 2,
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: it been reported that the door to the cable compartment can break. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
“Asian” TE (Xbox 360) Discontinued
Same as the Round 1 TE. White and Silver Stick, lacks any game art.
Case:B- High Same as Round 1
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: N/A Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
BlazBlue TE $159.99
Has the Round 1/2 side wings but the main case is similar to a TE-S (extra screw by the guide) has alternate button mapping (for BlazBlu) and BlazBlu Art.
Case: High Same as Round 2,
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: it been reported that the door to the cable compartment can break. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
MvC3 TE $159.99
Same as the Round 2 and MvC2 TE
Case:B Same as Round 2
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: it been reported that the door to the cable compartment can break. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
TE “S” $159.99
Updated shell with extra screw by the turbo panel. Possess much better PCB. Uses the "extended size top Panel"
Case:B+ High, improved over the Round 2.
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: None yet Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
Chun Li TE “S” $169.99
The same TE S body but in transparent blue instead of White or Black. No Borders.
Overall same construction as the TE S
Case:B
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: Better PCB that rest of the TE family Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
MLG TE
White balltop (PS3) black balltop (X360). MLG theme TE-S body with regular TE side wings.
Case: B+
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: Better PCB that rest of the TE family Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
The Tekken Hybrid TE (PS3 Only)
Made directly for Namco to be bundled with the Tekken Hybrid PS3 game
The Tekken Hybrid resembles an all black TE-S with a extended format top panel and no bezel.
The Stick it self is plain black, no art work and the Namco branding on the sides in large red letters
Case: B+
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: Improved PCB over the TE/TE-S Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
**The Soul Calibur V Soul Edition Fightstick **
Made simular to the TE-S line in terms of main body construction.
The Soul Edition stick used the Namco Noir Layout (similar to the Sega Astro City) instead of the veiwlix style layout that dominated the SE, TE and TE-S lines.
The Soul Edtion has a custom “Edge” bezel insted of the stock TE bezel. The Stick is also transparent with blue on the left edge and red on the right edge.
Technically the Soul Edition is not a TE and it lacks the TE brand.
Case: B+
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: Improved PCB over the TE/TE-S Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
TE S+
The same body appearance from the TE-S but better constructed
Case B++
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: None reported, improved from the TE-S pcb Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1
Additional Info on the Mad Catz TE series. courtesy of D3v.
TE 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3/PS4) Price $200
Mad Catz first entry into the 8th generation of consoles.
Case: B/B+. Earlier versions has issues with top plexy and how it fits. Later versions fixed this.
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: None to report Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1 Open Lid makes the stick easy to access, although the PCB is not common ground on the Xbox One version
TE S MKII (Tentative name) (PS3 PS4)
Case: Probability B+
Parts: Sanwa Reliability: N/A Ease of Mods: N/A
Mad Catz Pro Level Non-TE arcade sticks
**Street Fighter X Tekken Fight Stick Pro **(PS3/Xbox 360)
Completely different body style from the TE series. The Guide area is moved to the right side of the arcade stick, and the Fight stick Pro is wider.
Case: B
Parts: Sanwa
Sturdier frame in the main body Reliability: Better PCB that the TE family Ease of Mods: Difficulty 1/2 (odd PCB placement compared to the TE).
VS Series of Fight Sticks by mad Catz (PS3/Xbox 360)
Different body that rest of the Mad Catz sticks so far. Characterized by screws holding various parts and sections of the main case.
The VS stick main body is modular/semi modular and offer a number of customization options including a optional kit to make two 1 player sticks into one big 2 player stick.
Case: A-
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability:Better PCB that the TE family
Ease of Mods:Difficulty 1. Art Hong shown there lots of modding potential behind the VS stick, more so than the TE series.
Please Note: All the Mad Catz Sticks lose a letter grade on the issues with the Welds on the joystick mount.
This is a rare occurrence, for the typical gamer there should be no issues. There are those who some how broke the welds and the mount plate comes free.
Hori Stick section
Leaving out rare limited edition and game theme sticks as there non-game stick counterparts are listed.
See Frank’s Hori thread for a more updated list.
Quick identification key
SE: Special Edition. All Seimitsu Parts
SA: Special Addition. All Sanwa Parts
Fighting Stick EX (OG Xbox)
Case: C Different Case than the HRAP series. Metal top and bottom panels give the case strength
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: Reports of the PCB acting up.
Ease of Mod: Difficult 3.
Fighting Stick EX2 (Xbox 360)
There is also a DOA 3 variation of this stick.
Case: C Different Case than the HRAP series. Metal top and bottom panels give the case strength
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: Reports of the PCB acting up.
Ease of Mod: Difficult 3.
Fighting Stick Wii
Case: C- Different Case than the HRAP series. Metal top and bottom panels give the case
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: Better than its Xbox 360 Counterpart (Above)
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3.
HRAP 2 (PS2) Discontinued.
Hori Stick and Buttons, Also comes in a number of color, SA and SE variations.
Case: A
Parts: Varies. Knock off parts unless you get the SA or SE variants.
Reliability: No reports I seen of any issues.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2.
HRAP EX (Xbox 360) $130.99
Black color scheme, Sanwa JLF stick and Hori buttons. Also comes in SA and SE variations
Case: A
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: No reports I seen of any issues.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2. Top panel requires bottom panel to be removed first. Non-common ground PCB. Buttons can be replaced with Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons easily. Universal stick mount.
HRAP 3 $129.99 (PS3) Also comes in SA and possibly SE variations.
Black case with Red Ball top and face buttons, select and start are yellow. Sanwa JLF stick and Hori buttons.
Case: A Very sturdy and heavy case.
Parts: Sanwa JLF joystick and Parts: Hori-in-house knock off buttons
Reliability: No reports I seen of any issues.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2. Top panel requires bottom panel to be removed first. Buttons can be replaced with Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons easily.
HRAP 1 versions A & B (PS2)
Case: A
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: No reports I seen of any issues.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2/3. Top panel requires bottom panel to be removed first. Compatible with converters. Issues in mounting Seimitsu joysticks on Version B.
Wireless Fighting Stick (PS3/Xbox 360) Includes that wireless Tekken 6 POS stick.
Case: C+ All Plastic case is light but sturdy
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: Reported concerns with drop inputs, lag. Users report that the input drops and lag is terrible.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3
Fighting Stick VX (Xbox 360)
Quality: C Built better than Fighting Stick EX2
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2. Common Ground: yes
Fighting Stick V3 (PS3)
Case:C Built better than Fighting Stick EX2
Parts: Hori-in-house knock offs
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2. Common Ground: yes
Note for Fighting Stick VX and V3: Yes the hori buttons are soldered to a PCB, but the PCB that the buttons are soldered to are not the main PCB but a secondary board that does not needed to be saved for button swaping.
Real Arcade Pro.VX SA (Xbox 360)
Case: A-. Lose half a letter grade because of the cord compartment door will fall off.
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2. Common Ground: yes
Real Arcade Pro.V3 SA (PS3)
Case: A-. Lose half a letter grade because of the cord compartment door will fall off.
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2. Common Ground: yes
Hrap V3/VX comes in SA (Sanwa)
Hrap V3/VX do not have buttons soldered to a PCB. The buttons are connected to Quick disconnects.
Hrap V4 (PS3/PS4)
Case: B+ Cord compartment door falls off.
parts: Hori made Hayabusa JoysticK and Kuro Buttons. (some see this as a plus others a minus)
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Common Ground: yes
Hrap Hyabusa Xbox One Edition
Case: B. Cord compartment door falls off.
Parts: Uses Hori made Hayabusa/Kuro parts. (some see this as a plus others a minus)
Reliability: N/A
Ease of Mod: N/A
More to be added later
HORI Real Arcade PRO VLX (Xbox 360 and PS3 versions)
Case: A. Top of the line good (paint finish on metal parts can scratch)
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Easy access top panel.
HORI Real Arcade PRO VLX (Diamond)
Case: A+. Top of the line good. Unpainted “steel” parts more resistant to scratches.
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: No issues to report
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Easy access top panel.
HORI Real Arcade PRO VLX (PS4 version)
Case: A. Case build is just as great as the previous versions.
Parts: Hori’s Hayabusa Joystick and Kuro buttons (some see this as a plus others a minus)
Reliability: No issues to report.
Ease of Mod: Easy access top panel, PCB hard to dual-mod with.
HORI Real Arcade PRO VLX (“Falcon”)
Case: I will assume the Case build is just as great as the previous versions.
Parts: Hori’s own Hayabusa Joystick and the new Hayabusa matte buttons (some see this as a plus others a minus)
I am personally not trilled about the prospect of Matte buttons
Reliability: N/A
Ease of Mod: N/A
Hori Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (PS3/ Xbox 360) $149.99
Case: B+
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: A
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Common ground Yes
Hori Soul Calibur V (PS3/ Xbox 360) $149.99
Case: B Main construction is the same as the Gundam sticks, but the outer case differ greatly in design.
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: A
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Common ground Yes
Note: flip door for start button
Gundam Extreme VS (PS3/ Xbox 360) No US release yet
Case: B Construction is the same as the Hori Soul Calibur V Stick
Parts: Full Sanwa
Reliability: A
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Common ground Yes
Note: flip door for start button
Hori Real Arcade Pro N (PS3/ Xbox 360) $149.99
Main construction is the same as the Gundam and soul cal, but the outer case appears to be smaller. It also lacks a game theme
Case: B
Parts:
Reliability:
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1. Common ground Yes
Note: flip door for start button
Hori Fighting Edge
Hori stick with premium Hori made parts, petty LEDs and a touch Panel
Case: B
Parts:Hori’s own Hayabusa Joystick and Kuro Buttons (some see this as a plus others a minus)
Reliability: B+
Ease of Mod: Touch panel is a pain to mod, but the board is common ground.
Sega Virtua Stick HSS-0130 (Saturn or Dreamcast) Discontinued
Large 2 Player controller appears similar (key word) to many Astrocity Arcade control Panels.
Although many single player customizations exist.
The HSS-0130 uses the same metal top panels as the Astrocity’s controller panel but are constructed fundamentally differently. The HSS-0130 is Plastic with a metal top and bottom panel. While the Astrocity is mostly fiberglass and resin, same metal top panel, hinged construction and coin slot. Also the Astro City panel part of the Astrocity arcade Cabinet.
Parts are normally ether Sanwa or Seimtsu
**Sega Virtua Stick HSS-0136 **(Saturn or Dreamcast) Discontinued
Similar in visual style to the HSS-0130 stick and the Astrocity panel.
Made smaller and supports 1 player.
Case: B- Great
Parts: Depending on the version you have Seimitsu or Ascii made mediocre Knock Offs Reliability: No reports of problems with the main PCB (made for Saturn). Dreamcast variant of the stick has an internal Saturn to dreamcast pcb that is poorly secured inside. The Adapter’s PCB is wrap in bubble wrap and stick on with double sided tape. Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3. Common ground board.
Sega Virtua Stick HSS-0104 (Saturn) Discontinued
US versions are Black plastic while the Asian version colors fit the Grey colored Asian Sega Saturn consoles.
Not to be confused with the HSS-0136, the HSS-0104 is the cheaper made and more widely available of the Sega Saturn sticks. Using knock off parts and all plastic construction
This stick is only recommended for collectors and those who wants a serious challenge to mod. Not recommended for modding.
Virtua Stick High Grade (PS3)
Minimalistic when it comes to art or features. Where this stick shines is in performance.
Case: A+ Very good
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: Reported issues with First run PCBs.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2
Agetech (Dreamcast) Disconntinued
Quality: B-/C+ Excellent case and one of the better PCBs for dreamcast controllers. The Stick and buttons are below average
Reliability: Top notch PCB, although buttons and stick are cheap they work well.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3/5 (depending on the mod taken). PCB is common ground. Modding the case to accept modern arcade parts is not easy, especially when modifying the metal top panel to accept 30mm buttons or modifying the case to accept a Sanwa JLW or a Seimitsu joystick. Modding for a Sanwa JLF is slightly easier.
Razer Atrox (Xbox 360/Xbox One) (This review is based on the Beta version of the stick)
I originally gave this stick a great review, I since strike out and edited much of this entry as how they stick serves me (or rather fails me) down the road.
The stick features a clam shell design that makes it easy to acess the stick, optional storage compartments leave space for USB cord storage, extra ball or bat top, you can stick a whole bat top with the joystick lever.
Quality: F The case 6 months down the line is subject to breaking. This has been observed in both the Beta and Productions versions of the stick. The Eject button cover coves off easily. Some cases are known to have the hinges or the gas strut break from its plastic anchor about 6 -8+ months down the line. As a Stick modder I can forgive terrible PCBs or knock off parts, but a case that falls apart on its own makes this a Fail. Hopefully later versions fix this issue.
The Stick is stock as Full Sanwa.
Reliability: Case is known to break months down the line.
Ease of Mod: 1, Common ground (all versions). Easy access case and the button wires are labeled.
I would Avoid, do not buy.
Ascii
Ascii made a number of sticks for the PS1, PS2 and Dreamcast.
There is also a USB version made for the PC.
All Ascii brand sticks have the same basic body shape, Dreamcast versions have a VMU slot.
All are 6 or 8 button controllers and used Ascii parts.
Neo Geo
Neo Geo stick (classic)
Made for the AES console, usable on other Neo Systems (also compatible with some Super Guns) Uses a 4 button curved layout and a now discontinued Seimtsu joystick
This stick sets the bar (in its time) for home arcade sticks.
Neo Geo Stick 2 (PS/PS2)
A Remake of the AES stick for the PS2, it included 4 smaller buttons for the shoulder buttons on ether side of the main 4 button layout.
Note: 4 limited edition versions are made with various top panel design and colors.
Neo Geo Stick 2 USB edition (PC/PS3)
Same layout to the above stick but designed for USB. The USB edition lacks a PS or Home button for PS3 use.
Neo Geo Stick 2 (Wii)
Same as the above two but made for the Wii, cable plugs into a existing Wii Remote.
Made for fans of Neo Geo games on the Wii. There no Home button on the stick, but the home button still can be accessed from the attached Wii Remote.
Neo Geo X Gold stick (Neo geo X/PC)
A bad copy of the Classic AES stick
The buttons are worst than the 20+ year old original. The Dreamcast Innovation (Innovation brand) stick is a better source if you need to replace the joystick for your Neo Geo AES controller.
Not too terrible if you need to harvest for replacement parts.
Note: with the exception of the Original, the Neo Geo Stick is made more for the fans and enthusiast of Neo Geo games (and its ports to modern systems) rather than a stick to play more modern Fighting games on.
Nintendo
The NES Advantage (NES)
Small plastic Stick, using arcade style parts. The A and B buttons had there own Turbo buttons with adjustment knobs to adjust turbo individually on each. the joystick’s Ball top can be removed just like authentic Japanese Joysticks. The Joystick can accept Sanwa or Seimtsu Ball tops.
Note: this stick is now only a collectors item and isn’t easy to mod for modern system use.
Exar Stick
Normally Exar would go under my radar for sticks, but the current stock got noticed by some top level players and moders. So I am including Exar into the guide.
Exar Stick (PS3)
Small mostly plastic 6 button controller.Top panel is metal.
Basic but gets the job done
Quality: Surprisingly well for a small plastic stick like Exar
Reliability: No issues to report.
Ease of Mod: 2
Exar Stick (PS3) Sanwa Edition
Same as above but featuring Sanwa parts insted of Exar’s own.
Small mostly plastic 6 button controller.Top panel is metal.
Basic but gets the job done
Case:B+ Surprisingly well for a small plastic stick like Exar.
Parts: Sanwa
Reliability: No issues to report.
Ease of Mod: 2
Exar Wii Stick (Wii)
Nearly identical to the PS3 version of the stick minus cosmetic differences top panel is blue
and the A,B, X,Y took the Super Famicon color scheme.
The Tatsunoko VS. CAPCOM Dream Battle Stick is identical to its vanilla counterpart, except for the body color is reversed and licensed? TvC art.
Case: B+ Surprisingly well for a small plastic stick like Exar
Parts: Knock offs
Reliability: No issues to report.
Ease of Mod: 2
American/ European Style Sticks
**X-Arcade series **(PC/PS2) Requires adapters for PS3 and Xbox 360 play
X-Arcade Tankstick + Trackball $199.95
2 Player Stick with a track ball in the middle.
X-Arcade Dual Joystick $129.99
2 Player Stick
**X-Arcade Solo Joystick **$99.95
1 Player stick.
Case:B+
Parts: Knock Off clones of Happ parts Reliability: PCB not the greatest but there worst on the market. Terrible Adapter system. Skip the adapters. Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2 on non-track ball models. No data for the track ball model X-arcade stick.
Note: Don’t bet too much on X-arcade’s brand of adapters. Check out the Converter Compatibility thread
Note 2 : X-arcade has a undesired layout with the 2 extra lower end buttons.
Pelican “Real Arcade” Stick (PS2/Game Cube/ Xbox) Discontinued. $64.99 on Amazon
Case: A .Wooden case is very sturdy.
Parts: Knock Off clones of Happ parts Reliability: Reports on original PCBs are now wearing out after years of use (misuse) Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2
Note: the packaging on this stick clams this is a Universal stick. Some owners refute this claim.
MAS Systems Stick (Systems various) **DISCONTINUED **
Case Letter Grade A+ to B+ Case A Wooden case is very sturdy.
Parts: Mostly Happ Parts. Newer Models may have Perfect 360° and some models offer Sanwa buttons. Reliability: Earlier sticks used a custom PCB, Later sticks lack a PCB altogether, having a hand wired PIC chip taped down with scotch tape.
Newest wave of MAS sticks have actual PCBs again. Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1.
**Mortal Kombat PDP Tournament Edition Arcade Stick **$129.99 for stick alone or $149.99 for the MK Tournament edition (comes with MK game). Not Recommended for non-MK Games.
Case: A. Very sturdy and heavy MDF, velvet like material lines the insides.
Parts: Uses Custom Happ parts.
**Reliability: **No issues reported Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3/4. Accepts Happ and IL parts. Dual-Mod not possible with stock PCB. Specialty: Mortal Kombat Layout
****Mortal Kombat PDP Klassic Edition Arcade Stick (comes with MK Arcade Klassic Kollection).
Variant of the Tournament Edition Stick with Panel art inspired from the Original MK Cab art.
Not Recommended for non-MK Games.
Case: A- Very sturdy and heavy MDF.
Parts: Custom happ parts.
**Reliability: **No issues reported Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3/4. Accepts Happ and IL parts. Dual-Mod not possible with stock PCB.
The Klassic Edition lacks the Tournament Edition’s hinge and clasp to easily open up up the Mk stick. Screws holding the top panel in place are hidden under plastic screw covers on the front and back of the unit. So Opening up the Klassic Edition is more difficult. Specialty: Mortal Kombat Layout
**Nuby Tech Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Stick **(PS2, Xbox) Discontinued
Quality: B Similar to X-arcade.
Parts: Knock Off clones of Happ parts
Reliability: NA
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 3. Accepts Happ/ IL Parts.
eTokki’s Omni (PS3 and Xbox 360 Compatible) $150-$200
Designed by SRK member Laugh and sold on etokki.com
Well built Metal case. Accepts Korean and Japanese Buttons and joysticks. Comes as all Korean parts or all Japanese parts versions.
Case: A From what I seen in photos and heard from Laught, the quality is top notch.
Parts: Korean version-Fanta Stick and Crown buttons. Japanese version-Sanwa Reliability: come stock with a PS3/Xbox360 dual system PCB (Paewang)
**Ease of Mod:**1 Universally accepts Korean and Japanese parts without case modification (have to swap plexy)
Note: Uses the same PCB as the **Paewang Revolution **arcade stick.
Saulabi: For Powerful Game
Korean Wooden Stick [Saulabi] (PS2) $55
Basic Wooden Stick housing, uses basic Saulabi parts.
Case: C+
Parts: Knock Offs
Reliability: No issues reported. Reported Incompatibility issues with various converters.
Ease of Mod: 3 or 4 rating due to buttons soldered to a PCB. Replaceable with Korean parts, could get away with Japanese Buttons.
Saulabi SPS-3000 (PS2) $60
Large Plastic Housing.
Case C
Parts: Knock Offs
Reliability: No issues reported.
Ease of Mod: 3 or 4 rating due to buttons soldered to a PCB. Replaceable with Korean parts, could get away with Japanese Buttons.
Saulabi 4K (PS3) $60
Large Plastic Housing.
Case C
Parts: Knock Offs
Reliability: No issues reported.
Ease of Mod: 3 or 4 rating due to buttons soldered to a PCB. Replaceable with Korean parts, could get away with Japanese Buttons (needs more info on Japanese buttons in Saulabi stick).
Paewang Revolution (PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on same PCB) $55
White Plastic Stick.Valued more for the PCB than the rest of the Stick. eTokki does offer the PCB separately.
Case: C
Parts: Knock Offs, Japanese style non-standard.
Reliability: PCB is okay, Rest of the parts are not worth hanging on too.
Ease of Mod: 3 maybe 4 as buttons are solders to a PCB, bust since this is not the main pcb, this board can be ditched for direct wiring.
Joy Tron EXChanger Dual Console Arcade Stick (PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on same PCB)
Comes in versions the Joy Tron EXChanger comes with a easy to open clam shell case.
Case: Grade N/A Plastic case with metal panels.
Parts: Korean or Sanwa
Reliability: Uses a Datel PCB, similar to Datel’s Dual-system stick and the Paewang in terms of function and performance
Ease of Mod: 3, assumed to be common ground. Easy open panel and easy to disconnect wiring harnesses make it easy to swap from korean to sanwa joysticks with out having to re-wire the controller
*Chinese made sticks ***
Qanba Q1(cut) (PS3, Xbox 360) $59.99 - 64.99
Case: D All Plastic case, case does not seem as sturdy as it should. Cord storage compartment door breaks easily
Parts: Qanba made Knock Off or Sanwa
**Reliability: ** Reports of occasional drop inputs Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1, some editions come with optional gates and button plugs
Qanba Q2 (Non LED version) (PS3, Xbox 360)
Case: C- Plastic case, metal panels, Cord storage compartment door breaks easily
Parts: Qanba Made Sanwa clone Knock offs
**Reliability: ** Reports of occasional drop inputs Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1, some editions come with optional gates and button plugs
Qanba Q2 (LED version) (PS3, Xbox 360)
Case: C- Plastic case, metal panels, Case is chrome plated and weighs more than the TE. Cord storage compartment door breaks easily
Parts: Qanba Made Sanwa clone Knock offs
**Reliability: ** Reports of occasional drop inputs Ease of Mod: Difficulty 2/3, some editions come with optional gates and button plugs
Both versions of the Q2 as a side area for the Start, Select and home buttons and side cord storage. Crome will eventually peel if you are not careful.
Qanba Q4 (PS3 OR Xbox 360)
Case B- Rugged Plastic case with metal panels, Cord storage compartment door breaks easily
parts: Sanwa parts.
**Reliability: ** Reports of occasional drop inputs Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1, some editions come with optional gates and button plugs
Qanba Q4RAF (Dual mode PS3 AND Xbox 360)
Case: B- Rugged Plastic case with metal panels, Cord storage compartment door breaks easily
Parts: Sanwa
**Reliability: ** Reports of occasional drop inputs Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1, some editions come with optional gates and button plugs
Additional review
Toodles Test of the Cthlhu vs the Qanba PCB
Note: It has been reported that Xbox 360/ Dual-Mode Xbox 360/PS3 variant of Qanba arcade sticks have major issues with the headset port.
EightArc http://eightarc.com
Eightarc is a partner compny of Qanba and some of there sticks have very Qanba like qualities, and all bear the Qanba logo. Unlike Qanba are the USB disconnects***, ***top panel art, and the support of clear plastic panels for custom art mods (sold separately). Eightarc unlike Qanba does have US offices.
From EightArc Listings
Ease of Mod: 1 Easy Access and accept stock Japanese parts.
Eightarc do not make game themed sticks, so no unlicensed art.
PDP/Qanba?
Injustice Stick
A PDP made stick with Bad Qanba clones of Sanwa parts. They light up (whoopie doo).
Case: B- The case is sturdy similar to a Mad Catz Case but very light. No Metal Panels.
Parts: Qanba Made Sanwa clone Knock offs
Reliability: Reports of issue with both the Pulse setting and for some drop inputs.
Ease of Mod: Difficulty 1/2 depending on mod.
Will take 30 mm Japanese buttons with no issues, It need modification to fit a Sanwa or Seimitsu Joystick. The PCB is common ground.
Stock joystick takes some Sanwa parts.
CUSTOMS (only listing you see for Customs)
**Custom Sticks. **System and cost varies greatly with each.
Minimum cost about $75-ish for a [very] cheap DIY project, as much as $500+ for some of the better made pro sticks. These sticks will greatly vary with the construction, parts used, PCB used and the Skills of the person building it. Customs goes outside of the scope of this guide.
Mayflash Version 2 (PS3)
Case: C+ (compatible with Sanwa parts)
Parts: Knock Off Sanwa Clones
Reliability: N/A
Ease of Mod: 1
Venom (PS4) (virtually identical to the Mayflash version 2)
Case: C+ (compatible with Sanwa parts)
Parts: Knock Off Sanwa Clones
Reliability: N/A
Ease of Mod: 1
Note: Only available in Europe
Try theNeed a Modder in Your Area? thread or the trading outlet for Custom made sticks from builders/Modders in the SRK community.
Reading down this guide gives you basic information on each stick. I encourage future buyers to do additional research on there stick before continuing.
Top Picks as been removed, alot of that information is now out of date.
My view on Overseas Imports (this is directed to mostly US gamers).
Sticks found overseas are nice but for a beginner I feel (for the most part) a beginner needs to stick to what they can find Domestically. This does not apply to Regions of the World where you been SOL over ordering good sticks. Keep in mind I have little to no information on finding sticks outside of the US or Japan.
Systems: PS3 ($159.99). Multi-system (Xbox 360 and PS3) ($225.00) Quality: Full Sanwa and a Toodles PS3 Cthulhu with custom SOCD controller firmware or a PS360+ PCB with custom SOCD controller firmware for the Multi-system version Reliability: No Issues to Report. Ease of Mods: Difficulty 2. Common Ground: yes. Easy Access and standard a Toodles PS3 Cthulhu.
Note: PCB is glued down heavily to the internal MDF case and is covered in a type of hotglue
**Please do not post Hit Box questions in this thread. **
Please direct HitBox questions to the following link
Any other Stick-less arcade controllers can be addressed here
Game Pads
Here I list game pads, including some pads from now disconnected systems as a comparison.
Mod info is included for those who are shopping for pads to use for PCBs.
Mod info is listed as Common ground, Non-common ground and N/A as information not available and a ease of mod score to rate how difficult the pad is to wire up.
My default no pad is a difficulty of 1 for modding as soldering (or some other technique) is involved.
Nintendo SNES Game Pad (SNES) Discontinued.
Quality: Very Good. This pad set the standards for pad since.
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes, Difficulty 2
Ascii Pad (SNES)
Quality: Very Good. Almost like Nintendo’s
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: ?, Difficulty 2
Has Switches to toggle turbo for each button.
*Note for SNES/SFC The European version of the SNES, the PAL version does not accept US and Japanese controllers with out some modification.
Sega Saturn Pad Type 1 [MK 80100] (Sega Saturn) Discontinued
Quality: Extremely Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Sega Saturn Pad Type 2 [MK 80116] (Sega Saturn) Discontinued
Quality: Extremely Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Super Pad 8 (Sega Saturn)
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues to report.
Ease of Mod: Common ground: yes, Difficulty 2
Note: MK 80116 is the most preferred game pad of Japanese pad players. Often used with a converter for other systems if converters can be found.
Sony Digital Controller (PS1) discontinued
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported. Complaints made with the unique (now trademark) design for the d-pad.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes, Difficulty 2
Sony Analog Controller [pre-dual shock] (PS1) discontinued, RARE
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: ?, Difficulty ?
Note: No Rumble Support
Sony Dual Shock [1] (PS1)
Quality: Very Good. So good that the Dual-Shock is the number 1 most copied controller design, and it has influence other systems controllers.
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes (except Rev H), Difficulty varies with revision. 2 to 4
Slag Coin Warring: Avoid Rev H Dual Shock pads if you plan to mod them. For regular play the are fine.
Sony Dual Shock 2 (PS2) $15 to $25
Quality: Very Good. Based off of the PS1 Dual Shock, but has “analog” buttons.
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No. Difficulty 4-5. For pad hacking avoid all except the Late version A.
Nubytech Street Fighter Controller (PS2, Xbox) Disconintued [Collectors Item]
Quality: Very Good. Based off of the PS1 Dual Shock, but has “analog” buttons.
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: Yes, Difficulty 2.
Xbox L (Large Sized) (Xbox)
Quality: Good
Reliability: No major issues reported. Although this pad is large and difficult to hold for some players.
Ease of Mod: Ease of Mod: Common Ground: Yes, Difficulty 3 (triggers)
Xbox S (Small Sized) (Xbox)
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Ease of Mod: Common Ground: Yes, Difficulty 3 (triggers)
Sony Six Axis (PS3)
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 2 (with 3rd party adapter board)
4 solo
Sony Dual Shock 3 (PS3)
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 2 (with 3rd party adapter board)
4 solo. Some later revisions are not compatible with adapter boards.
Microsoft sidewinder game pad. Game port version (PC)
Quality: Very Good. Why can’t Xbox 360 controllers made like this?
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common ground: Yes, Difficulty 3.
Microsoft sidewinder game pad Pro. USB version (PC)
Quality: Very Good. Why can’t Xbox 360 controllers made like this?
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common ground: Yes, Difficulty 3.
Note:
For some ill-conceived reason the whole Sidewinder series of game pads are not supported under Microsoft’s Games for Windows initiative which many PC games now carries. Instead they op for the Xbox 360 Controller (Why?)
USB version works under Vista/ Win 7 with out drivers
Mircosoft’s Xbox 360 Wired Game Controller (Xbox 360)
Quality: Good
Reliability: No major issues reported. D-pad is Terrible, not very good for fighters.
Ease of Mod: Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 3. might require Trigger inversion
Mircosoft’s Xbox 360 Wireless Game Controller (Xbox 360)
Quality: Good
Reliability: Few players report lag, this is unconfirmed. D-pad is Terrible, not very good for fighters.
Ease of Mod: Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 3. might require Trigger inversion
Batteries are required, ether AA or Microsoft’s Battery pack kit.
Hori turbo command ex 2 (Xbox 360)
Not a fight pad, but has a 6 button front layout as it was one.
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported. Actual functional d-pad.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 3. might require Trigger inversion
Hori Fighting Commander 3 (PS3)
6 button layout fight pad.
Quality: Very Good
Reliability: No major issues reported. Actual functional d-pad.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 3. might require Trigger inversion
Mad Catz Xbox 360 Pad 4716 (early version) (Xbox 360)
Quality: Good
Reliability: Some claim the pad will break after 6 months. Use of PCB for customs/ mods are fine. At least the D-pad is useable unlike MS Xbox 360 pad.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: No, Difficulty 3. might require Trigger inversion
Mad Catz Xbox 360 Pad 4716 (Late version) (Xbox 360)
Quality: Good
Reliability: No major issues reported. At least the D-pad is useable unlike MS Xbox 360 pad.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: YES, Difficulty 3. might require Trigger inversion
2nd most recommended Xbox 360 PCB for Dual-Mods
Neo Geo Pad (Neo Geo AVS, CD and MVS)
Quality: Good.
Reliability: Excessive grinding in the thumb stick.
Ease of Mod: Common ground: Yes, Difficulty 2. No PCB. The controller connects directly to the system’s main board. Easy to wire adapters for Jamma connections with a custom adapter. Uses a 15 pin connector so easy to make a adapter (with a host controller board) to use with modern systems
Neo Geo Pad (PS3) RARE [Collectors item]
Quality: Very Good.
Reliability: No major issues reported. The issue with excessive grinding in the thumb stick is elimnated.
Ease of Mod: N/A
Sega Saturn PS2 Pad (PS2) Discontinued, RARE [Collectors item]
Near duplicate of Sega Saturn Pad Type 2 [MK 80116] except for the Sony style Select and Start buttons. As both Saturn and PS2 button labels.
Quality: Extremely Good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: (Why) Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Note: comes in serval color variations
Mad Catz Fight Pad (both SF and WWE) Xbox 360 Versions
Quality: Very Good.
Reliability: No major issues reported. Wired controller.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: YES, Difficulty 2.
Most Recommended PCB for Customs and Dual Mods
Mad Catz Fight Pad (both SF and WWE) PS3Versions
Quality: Very Good.
Reliability: No major issues reported. Wireless Controller, comes with USB dongle.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: N/A, Difficulty 3.
Some how the Xbox 360 version is more reliable that the PS3 version.
PDP Fight Pad, Marvel (not MvC) (Xbox 360)
Quality: Good. Thumb stick has similar issues to the original Neo Geo pad.
Reliability: Reports of failure after a few months. While it works this pad was very responsive, like a high quality stick.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: Yes but logic is held high as default making dual-mods next to impossible, Difficulty 3 if this is a solo PCB, Difficulty 6 if dual-mod is attempted as each button and the directions need to be hacked with a diode.
Note: Nothing has a difficulty 6 rating other than the PDP Fight Pad for Dual-Mods
Also please not this is not a Marvel vs Capcom 3 Pad, So stop calling it a MvC 3 pad.
Capcom never authorized PDP to make any product. This is a strictly a Marvel pad, pad art is literately scanned from a Avengers Comic 2 page spread action panel, including the crease where the 2 pages meet. Due to it not being Capcom authorized, Marvel ended up pulling Licensing to avoid being confused with MVC branded Mad Catz products.
PDP Fight Pad (2nd revision, White) (Xbox 360)
Quality: Below the SNES Standard. Better than the older Marvel pad. Button colors gives the pad a look of being cheap. Even if the quality is physically better. Thumb stick has similar issues to the original Neo Geo pad.
Reliability: Some Reports of failure after a few months. While it works this pad was very responsive, like a high quality stick.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: Yes but logic is held high as default, Difficulty 3 if this is a solo PCB, 6 if dual-mod is attempted as each button and the directions need to be hacked with a diode.
PDP Fight Pad (Black) (PS3)
Quality: Good. Better than the older Marvel pad. Looks better Quality than the Xbox 360 version) Thumb stick has similar issues to the original Neo Geo pad.
Reliability: Reports of failure after a few months. While it works this pad was very responsive, like a high quality stick.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: Yes but logic is held high as default, Difficulty 3 if this is a solo PCB, 6 if dual-mod is attempted as each button and the directions need to be hacked with a diode.
PDP Fight Pad (Wii)
Quality: Good. Minus the thumb stick this pad is almost up to Nintendo standards.
Thumb stick has similar issues to the original Neo Geo pad.
Reliability: N/A While it works this pad was very responsive, like a high quality stick.
Ease of Mod:
ASCII Fight Pad (PS1/2, Saturn, Dreamcast).
Quality: Very Very Good, compairable to Sega Saturn Pad Type 2 [MK 80116]
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Nintendo Game Cube Controller (Game Cube)
Quality: Very good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Nintendo Game Cube Wave Bird Controller (Game Cube)
Quality: Very good. Wireless has to be set to the same channel on the controller and receiver.
Reliability: If set correctly and no one else is operating in range in the same channel your fine.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: N/A , Difficulty ?. Not Recommended for Stick mods.
Nintendo Classic Controller (Wii)
Quality: Very good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Note: Requires to be plugged into a Wii remote.
Nintendo Classic Controller Pro(Wii)
Same as above, includes elongated side grips like a game cube or more so a Dual Shock controller would have.
Quality: Very good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Note: Requires to be plugged into a Wii remote.
Nintendo Classic Controller, Super Famicom Edition (Wii) Rare, Collectible.
Resembles a Japanese Super Famicom (SNES) controller. Lacks analog sticks.
Quality: Very good
Reliability: No major issues reported.
Ease of Mod: Common Ground: yes , Difficulty 2
Note: Requires to be plugged into a Wii remote.
I will request a sticky when I get this guide more polished off and organized.
I want to cover the Needs, Wants and Budget area more. And I need a good beginning or intro and a good summary later on.
Your description of the HRAP 2 SA is inaccurate. It uses ALL Sanwa parts as every HRAP SA (1, 2, 3, V3) does. High-quality all-around. Limited edition. Considered a highly desirable PS2 joystick.
Most HRAP SA editions (1/2/3) have been accompanied by a corresponding HRAP SE (1/3) with the exception of the HRAP 2 SA. SE standards for “Special Edition” aka Seimitsu Edition. (SA stands for “Special Addition” aka Sanwa Edition.) All HRAP SE variants have LS-32-01 joysticks. The HRAP (1) SE had higher-quality Seimitsu PS-14-?? buttons that are out-of-production. The HRAP 3 SE had PS-14-G (30mm) and PS-14-D (24mm) pushbuttons. No official HRAP 2 SE variant was ever produced. HRAP SE’s (1 and 3) were produced in very limited numbers and are among the hardest HRAP variants to obtain post pre-orders…
Faceplate joystick mounts differ between the HRAP series production. Initial HRAP 1’s had universal joystick mounts allowing for easy replacement of the JLF with Seimitsu brand joysticks. Later Version B HRAP 1’s had JLF-only joystick mounts. HRAP 2’s (according to the info I’ve read) were all universal excepting HRAP 2 licensed variants such as Arcana Heart 1/2, Fate: Stay Night/Unlimited Codes, and Tekken 5 (Japan). HRAP 3 production reserved universal mounts solely for HRAP 3 SA/SE joysticks and JLF-only mounts for standard HRAP 3’s and HRAP 3 variants.
JLF’s mount on universal mounts (HRAP SA/SE series) with the Sanwa JLF flat plate. JLF’s mount on non-universal mounts without the flat plate. JLF’s are screwed onto the non-universal faceplate mount by the plastic “wings” incorporated into the JLF design casing.
The non-universal mount issue has been countered by direct faceplate mods and alternate drilling/modded joystick plates as well as joystick lever/shaft extensions (for LS-32 and LS-40 series). Seimitsu joysticks can be mounted to the non-universal mount with alternate Seimitsu mounting plates; note the LS-32/LS-40 series will only mount (unmodded) with the flat mounting plate that is standard equipment for the LS-32 (no -01) and LS-40-01 joysticks. LS-56-01 will mount directly onto the non-universal mount with no swapped mounting plates or shaft extensions necessary. Note that mounting of any non-Japanese or alternate Sanwa joysticks will most likely entail severe modding of the HRAP 3 faceplate up to and including removal of the existing welded joystick mount.
Another distinction between top of the line HRAP SA/SE joysticks and standard production joysticks are the cap socket/button head screws that allow for easy faceplate removal on the SA/SE lines. Standard production HRAP’s have carriage bolts that secure the faceplate to the main case body. The cap sockets allow for faster removal of the SA/SE faceplates versus having to remove the baseplate and 20+ screws, hex nuts, and washers on standard production HRAP’s before the case interior becomes accessible! An easy mod for the standard HRAP’s is to glue the existing hex nuts in place under the carriage bolt holes and replace the carriage bolts with M4 button head screws or alternates to allow for easy faceplate removal.
The faceplates on the HRAP 2 SA and HRAP 3 SA/SE feature mildly reflective carbon fiber backgrounds on their faceplates. Standard HRAP 3’s have a faux carbon fiber background printed on a dark grey faceplate sticker.
The standard production HRAP’s (1/2/3; no SA or SE) and licensed HRAP variants (Arcana Heart 2/3, Tekken 5 US edition, Fate: Stay Night, etc.) are the HRAP’s with the (disappointing) Hori stock buttons. Standard production HRAP’s have quick disconnect buttons allowing easy swapout for Sanwa and Seimitsu pushbuttons.
Also, note that most licensed HRAP variants have JLF joysticks but pushbuttons are Hori stock soldered directly into the PCB board (making them a nightmare to mod for beginning modders).
The American Tekken 5 joystick uses an HRAP case but otherwise all-Hori parts including a Hori joystick (no JLF) and PCB-soldered buttons as noted above.
The Tekken 6 HRAP 3 variant (Japan-only) is different… It has quick disconnects for the buttons and the spacing between the 20mm and 30mm buttons are different. Incompatible with existing plexi’s offered by Art Hong. The Tekken 6 HRAP was the last HRAP variant manufactured in the either the HRAP 2 and 3 series.
The Arcana Heart 1/2 HRAP variants have a different PCB than their sister HRAP variants. The PCB reflects the button layout unique to the Arcana Heart fighting game series and does not follow standard Playstation button layouts. The Arcana variant PCB’s are also more susceptible to damage due to more sensitive tracing. (They break easier under soldering irons if exposed to soldering iron heat too long.)
HRAP 1/2/3 SA are all out-of-production; they were limited production to begin with. HRAP 1/3 SE are also out-of-production. There is still some question as to whether the standard HRAP 3 is still in production since the variant can be easily found online and purchased at MSRP prices.
Keep in mind this is a beginners Buying guide, Not a modding guide. I only include limited mod info for the purpose of selecting a stick to purchase. I am not concern with the actual in depth modding or each variation of each stick as it goes outside of the scope of what I want to do here. If anything I will scale back the modding info. The Sticks I did marked with a price is still sold with a MSRP price tag as per Google searches for online retail stores and Amazon.
GeorgeC thats alot of info I will take it into consideration. Maybe a rating system for Ease of Mods would be a good idea
I not going to do Customs the same way I did commercial sticks. Every custom stick is unique. To a Beginner A Custom might be over their head or out of the range of their budget. So I have to think this over carefully. In hind sight I might decide to leave alot out on purpose just because as a beginner guide you do not want to over whelm the poor beginner who only wants a basic stick to play his 1 fighting game on.
then i’ll mod to be all seimitsu 