What Is the Minimum Number of Buttons Needed for Most Arcade Cores?

[Fuzzball]

I am looking into buying a joystick. I want it mostly for Amiga but want something that can be used with most cores. I only really want one to cover them all as I don't want multiple controllers. Thing is most Amiga joysticks have just 2 buttons which, looking at most arcade sticks, I assume is not enough for arcade cores. How many buttons should I be looking for to cover most arcade cores?

[Hodor]

It depends on what genre is the game. Fighting games often use six buttons while shooters or platform only two or three. I would buy one with at least six buttons because it will be more convenient for the majority of games whatever be arcade, computer or console.

[AmanoJacu]

Depends on what "most" means for you. Definately quite a lot of arcade cores only use 2 buttons, but many modern ones use 3. Then the neogeo uses 4 buttons, but most of the non-fighting ones only use 2 or 3. Finally most capcom fighting games use 6.

If you are going to buy an arcade stick, in my opinion it doesn't make any sense to have one with less than 6 buttons (not counting start and select). And the same for any pad, it would be very strange to have one with less than 6+2 buttons.

[LamerDeluxe]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

[Fuzzball]

Depends on what "most" means for you. Definately quite a lot of arcade cores only use 2 buttons, but many modern ones use 3. Then the neogeo uses 4 buttons, but most of the non-fighting ones only use 2 or 3. Finally most capcom fighting games use 6.

If you are going to buy an arcade stick, in my opinion it doesn't make any sense to have one with less than 6 buttons (not counting start and select). And the same for any pad, it would be very strange to have one with less than 6+2 buttons.

Good point. I never really played arcade when I was a kid so I don't really know what I mean by "most". I have played a few neogeo games (Prehistoric Island comes to mind) so I would definitely want to include neo geo.

So sounds like I need one with 4 buttons which starts to sound like I am not going to find what I need in one joystick.

[Fuzzball]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

Thanks but I am looking for something with a "proper" joystick. Something like the Competition Pro or Zipstick but with 4 buttons.

[LamerDeluxe]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

Thanks but I am looking for something with a "proper" joystick. Something like the Competition Pro or Zipstick but with 4 buttons.

The only ones I know that match that, are the ones for the 'The 64' and 'The VIC-20'. Those are not as good as the classic DB9 joysticks though. I have an arcade controller as well, which works great with MiSTer (modded HRAP3), but that kind of controller is quite large.

[Fuzzball]

I saw The64 controller but I have read the input lag is pretty bad on it.

I am slowly leaning towards getting a small arcade stick. I was looking at the Hori Fighting Stick Mini as it is fairly cheap and seems to have low input lag on the Mister. One of the big complaints people have is it being too small and only for kids but I am looking at it as more of an oversized Amiga joystick that I can also use for arcade rather than as a too small arcade stick.

I've never wanted an arcade stick as even the mini ones take up more space than I want but I am slowly conceding defeat. Alternatively I might just concede that an "all in one" solution isn't a great idea and just buy the mini arcade stick and a amiga joystick.

[limi]

I have quite enjoyed my RetroRadionics “ArcadeR” joystick, in the style of Competition Pro and Zipstik, it uses standard arcade parts (which means you can replace the buttons, the stick, and the gates with standard arcade parts quite easily, whether you’re a Seimitsu or Sanwa person — personally I like both for different uses).

It has 4 buttons on the front, and while they aren’t perfect for all games, they do quite well with games that mostly rely on two main buttons, and it has 6 buttons in the back that you can map to lesser-used functions like Start/Select.

It’s one of the few joysticks that work for me, since I use my right hand for directions (the way $DEITY intended, and how you hold the classic joysticks), and I can easily use the two buttons on the front left for the main operations in most games.

If you’re playing a game that really relies on more than 2 buttons actively, I would go for an arcade joystick, but this covers 90% of what I realistically end up playing. (e.g. I’m not big on fighting games)

Downside: Mine took quite a while to arrive, I think they are put together on-demand. Some retro shops also stock the 4-button version around the world, but I haven’t seen this 10-button version anywhere else.

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You can order it here:
https://retroradionics.com/ArcadeR-USB- ... p307829369

[J3RK]

I typically build with six main control buttons. That covers the most ground IMO. Then I have a Start / Coin button for each player, and a menu button when possible. (sometimes more, but never less)

I would say the ABSOLUTE bare minimum would be to have four action buttons, but then you're ruling out quite a few games, and not all of them are fighting games (though most will be).

One useful tip. Arrange the first four buttons in a plus/rhombus configuration. That way you can use them as directional fire for games like Robotron, Total Carnage, Smash TV, etc. that use two joysticks for two players. When you're playing alone, you could use two sticks. When playing two-player, you can use the stick and button layout.

Example:

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Of course, I think you said you're going for compact. I would say the stick and buttons are the least of your worries. You can pack those in pretty tightly and still have it be pretty ergonomic. I'd say getting it to be shallow enough depth with decent controls is trickier.

Also, if you want the FPD file for the panel I made above, I'd be happy to send it. It's really easy to edit and order from Front Panel Express. I also have a half-layout for single player. It could be shrunken down further by pushing things closer together, ditching the spinner, etc.

[Fuzzball]

I have quite enjoyed my RetroRadionics “ArcadeR” joystick

Thanks. I think I am going to give one of them a go. I'm also not into fighting games so I doubt I'll be looking at needing too many buttons very often.

[16Bittt]

I am looking into buying a joystick. I want it mostly for Amiga but want something that can be used with most cores. I only really want one to cover them all as I don't want multiple controllers. Thing is most Amiga joysticks have just 2 buttons which, looking at most arcade sticks, I assume is not enough for arcade cores. How many buttons should I be looking for to cover most arcade cores?

this will depend on the game.
some only need 1,but many will need 6 (fighters).
so a 6 button arcade stick is the way to go and the standard.
you can get Mayflash F101,F300 and easily replace the buttons and the lever with higher quality Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons / lever if you like.
that's what I did and it's really great for all arcade cores.

[16Bittt]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

mine was also shipped,but delivery from Aliexpress /China takes around 2 weeks which will be near official release date..

[LamerDeluxe]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

mine was also shipped,but delivery from Aliexpress /China takes around 2 weeks which will be near official release date..

I've had AliExpress orders arrive in a week, but there have been no tracking updates yet, so I'm keeping my expectations low.

I hope the thumbstick will be similar to that of the Neo Geo Pocket.

[16Bittt]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

mine was also shipped,but delivery from Aliexpress /China takes around 2 weeks which will be near official release date..

I've had AliExpress orders arrive in a week, but there have been no tracking updates yet, so I'm keeping my expectations low.

I hope the thumbstick will be similar to that of the Neo Geo Pocket.

same here.
I've never used a Neo Geo Pocket or even a Neo Geo CD controller,but according to 8Bitdo it will be microswitched,clicky and identical to thumb stick of real Neo Geo CD controller and that's what I want.

[Slipard]

Official JAMMA specs default to three buttons wired, with two more spare buttons when needed. So three buttons should be a good basis.

[Bernouilli]

I would say that the minimum of button needed is one. With one button, you can play most of the games on most of the cores.
With zero buttons, you can't play.

[Fuzzball]

I have quite enjoyed my RetroRadionics “ArcadeR” joystick

Got mine last week. Only the 2 button version as I decided to use that for Amiga and other computer cores and in the end also order the 8bitdo Neogeo pad for Arcade. Decided on that as the arcade sticks were just too big. I came to the conclusion that was better than my original plan of one controller for all cores.

Anyway, great recommendation - thanks.

[Fuzzball]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

I already made some comments on that pad in the topic on it but thought I'd thank you directly here. My original reply to you was I was looking for a more Competition Pro / Zipstick style joystick but ended up getting one of the Neo Geo controllers too and I am finding I use that more than the ArcadeR joystick. The ArcadeR is good but the 8bitdo Neo Geo just feels good with every core I have used it with so I have not felt the need to switch back and forth.

The one issue I have with the ArcadeR joystick and the main reason I've ended up using the 8bitdo more, is that nostalgia can play tricks with your mind. I had various joysticks back in the day so to me playing those systems it was the only way. However, using Mister now, I find it really difficult to use a joystick especially games where you need to use both fire buttons on the front of it. Perhaps that's an age thing but I find it a little bit cumbersome using a joystick now.

[LamerDeluxe]

My wireless 8BitDo Neo Geo controller shipped today (much earlier than I expected). It has a microswitch thumb stick and ten buttons in total (including start and select). Should be a great and compact solution for arcade games:
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005005795535578.html

I already made some comments on that pad in the topic on it but thought I'd thank you directly here. My original reply to you was I was looking for a more Competition Pro / Zipstick style joystick but ended up getting one of the Neo Geo controllers too and I am finding I use that more than the ArcadeR joystick. The ArcadeR is good but the 8bitdo Neo Geo just feels good with every core I have used it with so I have not felt the need to switch back and forth.

The one issue I have with the ArcadeR joystick and the main reason I've ended up using the 8bitdo more, is that nostalgia can play tricks with your mind. I had various joysticks back in the day so to me playing those systems it was the only way. However, using Mister now, I find it really difficult to use a joystick especially games where you need to use both fire buttons on the front of it. Perhaps that's an age thing but I find it a little bit cumbersome using a joystick now.

Thanks for your message! Glad to hear you decided to get one and are enjoying it!

I am really happy with mine, I like how compact and light it is and it works well for the games that I play. Ever since getting a Neo Geo Pocket I wanted to have a controller with a thumb stick like that. I have an arcade controller as well, but it takes up a lot of space, so it doesn't get a lot of use.

Good point about joysticks, I love my Suzo Arcade sticks, but I only ever use one button with them.

The joysticks that come with the The C64/VIC-20 have more buttons and I agree that they are tricky to operate. Come to think of it, I never even tried using them on my MiSTer.

Apart from all that, I recently visited a large arcade with a number of eighties cabinets and I was surprised by how disappointing a lot of the sticks on them are. Especially compared to how much we have come to expect from arcade controllers that are used at home.