Neo Geo joysticks suck!

What the heck? I just put down a decent chunk of change for a beautiful boxed Neo Geo gold system on eBay. Then I anxiously awaited its arrival only to find that I constantly get my ass handed to my by the AI in KoF, not because I suck but because I can’t pull off a single move. This is not a problem with the joysticks I received, the entire system is in absolutely mint condition, it is with the design of the joystick itself. Every joystick I ever remember using in the past had a nice smooth circular motion when doing a 360-degree rotation of the stick. This makes for a pleasurable experience when pulling off one of those classic fireballs, yoga flames, or even the occasional spinning piledriver. I also became accustomed to this when playing SNK ports on my two good pals the Saturn and Dreamcast. My trusty old $15 liquidation sale Saturn joystick has never let me down. On the other hand the highly praised Neo Geo sticks follow a squared off pattern when rotating them 360 degrees. How am I supposed to do half circles and quarter circles when I’m clunking around against corners like that? To hopefully solve this problem I promptly ordered a Hori fighting stick rush delivery from JGN. (From what I’ve heard the pinnacle of joysticks for the Neo Geo) If the Hori stick has that same squared off action I just may have to sell everything and buy a Turbo Grafx 16. That bald guy with the big head looks kinda cool… I guess. What I’d like to know is how the heck does any one use these things in a fighting game, and why are they so well praised?


Man, somebody please assure me that these Hori sticks are good….

AngryKeith said:

I constantly get my ass handed to my by the AI in KoF, not because I suck but because I can’t pull off a single move

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.......Doesnt make sense

AngryKeith said:

If the Hori stick has that same squared off action I just may have to sell everything….

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Ill give you $50 shipped.

AngryKeith said:

Man, somebody please assure me that these Hori sticks are good….

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Yes, they're really nice sticks - a bit sturdier than the old-style sticks for the NGH. But I actually love the old-style sticks, so I can't really identify with you on that one. I do remember that it took me a little while to warm up to 'em though. Since you've already got your Hori stick on the way, I guess that's that, but you should at least spend a little more time with the old-style stick before you totally write them off.

Frankly i agree, the neo stick does suck. meh, whateves.

Nearly all Japanese cabinets and joysticks use square acuators. Give it time and you'll get used to them.

^ or get a massytems joystick.

I love the old-style NEO sticks. Best damn controllers in the world.

All japanese sticks are squared like you describe. It makes it a million times easier to pull off SNK-specific moves that require you to find the corners, like Raising Storm, or even the more simple things like Power Geyser. The problem is, you are used to crappy american part joysticks. It's like not being able to eat with a fork and knife, because you grew up using salad tongs or something. Do yourself a favor and try to adjust. Your game will improve.

yes, once you get used to a sqared off restrictor plate, you learn to love being able to nail the diagonals EVERY time.

I had the same problem when I first used a Neo stick too. Give it a bit of practice and it won't be much trouble for you at all any more. The one that really annoyed my at first were the qcf-hcb moves with this controller at first though... just takes a bit of getting used to. The thing that I still don't really like about the original stick is the way the buttons are angled they are only comfortable to play with three fingers and thumb, I by far prefer the newer neo joystick because of the button size and layout.

hmmm... maybe you guys are right. This is only the first day I've used them. I have been playing on crappy american joysticks for years, but I like crappy american stuff. I have a crappy american car and it kicks ass. Trans Ams rule!!! I did always have a trouble pulling off that damn raising storm too. I guess I'll give 'em a shot for a bit longer. No sense putting two mint condition joysticks to waste. The damn thing still smell new. mmm... new video game equipment smell.



and how are those maas system joysticks xtoo_short20x? looks like they might be the way to go for a real arcade at home experience (for those who don't want a cab)

Not trying to butt in, but the MAS sticks are very nice. I had a couple for a brief time with a SuperNova; the only thing I didn't like was that they put t-molding along the front and back edges of the top surface. My right wrist would chafe on the molding when playing, and it would get quickly uncomfortable. I am supposed to be getting another MAS stick with a Mega modded AES I have inbound; I will shave off the protruding T-molding on this one if I decide to keep it.

I have some Wico bat sticks and buttons from an old X-Men vs. Street Fighter cab (and, no, I'm not the one who stripped the cab); I might build a couple of custom sticks for the AES. Like you, that's the closest to an arcade feel without having a cab for me.

xtoo_short20x said:

^ or get a massytems joystick.

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yar

I used a Hori II stick back on April, the stick was very very lose making it a pain in the ass to do any moves. You're better off getting a MAS stick. The Neo home stick is perfect for me, I rarely make mistakes with it.

What?!

Are you playing with boxing gloves on or something?

The Neo Joystick is awsome, probally one of the best controllers ever.

In fact i dont believe you cant do the moves on it

I can only speak for myself, but the newer-style stick feels very smooth to play with. The controlstick is very comfortable and the buttons are placed in a nice way. I highly recommend that one

AngryKeith said:

On the other hand the highly praised Neo Geo sticks follow a squared off pattern when rotating them 360 degrees. How am I supposed to do half circles and quarter circles when I’m clunking around against corners like that?

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Yep, like some already mentioned, the squares (or rather, 8-way corners) are there for help. With them you can begin and end your QCB precisely where you want it to.

The Neo oldstyle stick is great.

If I were to complain about any part of it though, it wouldn't be the stick, it would be the buttons.

They are fine for fighting games, but when you are playing any game that requires rapid button presses, the buttons just aren't responisve enough.

My perfect setup consists of a Sanwa J-stick and Happ competition pushbuttons.

AngryKeith said:

and how are those maas system joysticks xtoo_short20x? looks like they might be the way to go for a real arcade at home experience (for those who don't want a cab)

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Mas system joysticks are awesome. It's the arcade experience at home. The controls are precise and the joystick is sturdy. I defintely recommend it to anyone who wants the best joystick for a home system.

Ralf501 said:

Mas system joysticks are awesome. It's the arcade experience at home. The controls are precise and the joystick is sturdy. I defintely recommend it to anyone who wants the best joystick for a home system.

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I have to agree. I like the old style Neo sticks, but they just dont give you a true arcade feel like a Mas stick. Were talking about HAPP buttons, and sticks here. The sticks survive daily bouts of eight year old abuse. How many of you seen kids just hanging from them? A Neo stick wouldn't last 5 minutes in an arcade, and the buttons aren't worth shit for rapid fire. I have to say Neo sticks are the baddest controllers ever to be packaged with a home console.

Electroman said:

I love the old-style NEO sticks. Best damn controllers in the world.

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I totally agree, the neo geo original controllers are perfect in every way!!! I've been playing video games for 24 years and I 've had just about every system thats ever hit the market; and let me tell you that the neo geo original stick are the best i've come across.





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I personally have problems with the original Neo-Geo Joystick, but I believe that the PRO Joystick (New style) is the most perfect joystick ever designed.

I like old style joysticks but button reliability becomes an issue because I become a (s)Masher in the heat of a battle and new style sticks IMO have a better layout of the buttons and the buttons feel more responsive but the joystick is too short for an old school gamer. I used a joystick from an old broken "old style" controller and put it in new style joystick and I got the best of both worlds. I find after playin LB2 for more than I should my wrist doesnt hurt as I dont have large hands and I find it difficult to hit CD buttons together a bunch of times. Now I'll probably never use old style stick again .

Get a Sanwa stick:

http://www.himuragames.com/images/joystick_8Y_03.jpg

It has a square guide also but the corners are more roundish than those of the Neo stick and you can alway replace it with the octagonal one that will give you that round feel you're looking for:

http://www.himuragames.com/images/gty_01.jpg