MiSTer FPGA Forum

Morning all - I'm looking for a recommendation for an arcade stick. I've got the one below (the ten-button one on the left) but it's a bit big. I'd ideally like a compact version of it, USB for preference. Black or chrome would be ideal. So far my Google-fu is failing me.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Joysticks are really a matter of personal preference.
If tou want something small there is this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AJSAAV6/

8bitdo has also a nice looking stick:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GJC5WSS/

Neither holds a candle to a larger HORI RAP or Qamba stick with Sanwa parts, but those are much pricier (150 to 250 USD) and bigger

I have a slew of them. I have a MadCatz Tournament Sticks (still crossing my fingers someone is able to make a firmware for the OG Playstation 3 stick just so I don't have to mod it). I also got the dual Saturn Astro City Style Stick and use daemonbyte adapters to connect via MiSTer and PC.

It's really about personal preference and intention. What do you want to play and how do you want it to feel? Are you trying to replicate childhood memories of 90s arcades? Then, I'd probably go HAPP. If you are playing Tempest...you'll need a jog wheel/spinner. So on and so on. Great then about all of it is the options and flexibility.

Just starting, I'd recommend the 8Bitdo stick or something similar within that range. Get a feel and see if it's something you really like. You can either then mod the stick you have, or use that lesson to understand what you actually want out of it and get something for that.

I've modded the 8bitdo Stick with a Sanwa Stick and an octagonal restrictor plate. Good enough for me. At least for that money.

I've got the Mini Hori Fighting stick. It's a nice compact size, but fairly loose on the controls. There's not much depth to be able to swap out parts.

Make one, and preferably with a coin mech. If you can make a wooden box put a hinge on top and do some soldering and buy authentic arcade parts you can make a low latency compatible stick that is exactly the way you want it. You can go with Japanese sticks which are all the rage or base on what was in the arcades when you were younger for example Streetfighter / Mortal Kombat used happ sticks which would be similar to to happ competition pro or IL Eurostick. You can make your own arcade encoder with a daemonbite or gp2040 I would recommend the latter if you want to use it on PC or the Switch, both will give you ultra low latency 1000hz polling and a better result than what you could normally buy unless you threw crazy money at it. Lastly any stick you buy won't have a coin mech, and you really lose out by not having one, the tactile feel and sound putting the coins in and adding credits, being able to set your own budget while playing a game or just enjoying the games, pressing a button for credits just are not the same experience. Also going to the bank and getting $100 worth of quarters to play with like a Skrooge mcDuck is fun on it's own. Yes I made this and have done this so feel free to ask me anything or if you need any help with anything.

My personal favorite for that classic rubber grommet centering and non-clicky is the Dominux8 from Groovy Gamegear with the smaller circular restrictor. You need to mount it in something.

Many thanks for the suggestions - I should have mentioned it would be primarily for old arcade games (Galaga, Joust etc). I use a PS4 Bluetooth joystick for other stuff.

The HORI Mini looks interesting, but at under 4" square (if the Amazon details are to be believed) it's perhaps a bit too small.

Sadly, making anything myself is out of the question - I am probably the single most inept person on the planet where that sort of stuff is concerned. Last time I tried soldering something I ended up welding the cat to a table, and we don't even have a cat..!

However, my Google-fu seems to be improving so I'll go take another look and see what takes my fancy.

Many thanks, all.