OP
- Thread Starter
- #7
I wanted to add some more info for people looking to buy something that find this thread. Listing off some quick personal opinions for currently supported sticks. I have personally used and at least fiddled with every stick on this list at some point in time. Keeping it to sticks that you buy complete and work straight out the box. Between the info in the OP and this, I don't think I could do much more to inform somebody who's curious at a base level,
Hori:
HRAP 4 Kai/ HRAP V: Light, cheaper plastic cases. Can be scooped pretty cheaply on the right deal. Easy to swap JP parts in with some exceptions. Would rec if somebody wants to save money and finds it on the cheap.
HRAP N: The "N" stands for Noir layout, which is the official Namco layout. Has one of the current best and most easily moddable Japanese cases out there. My personal favorite from them.
Fighting Edge: These are pretty nice, but the case and top panel are kind of divisive at that price range. Quite nice sticks and very pretty, but I'm not entirely convinced on the premium pricetag for that.
VLX: Do not pay $300+ dollars for this thing unless you are a serious ass collector. They are just designed purely to show off and look nuts, and outside of that are just pains to carry around. Everything in the stick is quality, it's just not very practical as a daily driver.
Hori Minis: Just don't. Cheap garbage that you can't even use as a modding base,
Qanba:
Obsidian: The flagship stick sitting at the $200 price point. Quite nice for somebody looking for a Sanwa stick and also likes the case. The aftermarket support for them is actually quite strong for modding. I have heard reports of weird shit happening with their drivers on PC. That was supposedly resolved, so I could rec it in that case.
Dragon: I have no idea why this thing is $300. You get a big ass stick that is functionally identical to the Obsidian, but is harder to carry around with a pop top case feature. Similar to the VLX, it just exists to show off impractical money for people into the style.
Crystal: Knock off parts and shit prone to failure. The case is quite nice for modding purposes, but that's it. I've known 3 different people to buy them just to have them break later. Personally would avoid.
Drone: These things are cheap, tiny cases with knock off parts. But, sometimes you want that small form factor and you can replace the parts. These things go on sale super low (like less than $50 low) and are just a part swap away from being pretty solid. Great way to get a small, budget case to work with. Also good as a "non-commital" stick for people flirting with the idea of getting more into arcade style games.
Razer:
Panthera: I really quite like the case and features on this stick, and the company has been fairly transparent about the drivers and functionality of it. A good option for the $200 price point with Sanwa parts. As mentioned above, the connector is the only sore point for this thing. Not that they are prone to breaking as far as I know, but they are proprietary so if the cable or connector fails, have fun dealing with that, Would be my top recommendation at that price point otherwise.
Panthera Evo: I only have hands on with this at a demo once, but I'm pretty confident in talking about it. Is more or less the same stick as the Panthera, but sacrifices the easy to work with nature of the Panthera's case for a much slimmer form factor. Also does not have the connector issue as it is just a non-detachable USB cable on the thing. At $200 I miss the pop top, but still one of the top sticks so far at that range. I should mention these use Razer's own mechanical switches inside Sanwa clone buttons. Impressions seem fine, but time will tell how they hold up. I'm not worried about them.
Victrix Pro: For people who have more money than sense. You do get more or less everything you want from a strick, but at $350 you're better off putting together your own with everything you possibly want under your own control. Great sticks and they look sleek, but personally I find the price to be absolutely laughable.
eTokki: Don't own one these guys either, but have used one. One of the best quality sticks you can buy. Unfortunately they are also hard to get your hands on and ship out of Korea. If you are interested in Korean style sticks, you can not mess up going with these guys.
Mayflash: I forgot to put this up earlier in the OP. Cheap and requires a licensed controller to get going on consoles. They do accept JP parts though, so it's another small form factor case to work with. Would not buy unless you plan on putting a real PCB and button set into.
Hori:
HRAP 4 Kai/ HRAP V: Light, cheaper plastic cases. Can be scooped pretty cheaply on the right deal. Easy to swap JP parts in with some exceptions. Would rec if somebody wants to save money and finds it on the cheap.
HRAP N: The "N" stands for Noir layout, which is the official Namco layout. Has one of the current best and most easily moddable Japanese cases out there. My personal favorite from them.
Fighting Edge: These are pretty nice, but the case and top panel are kind of divisive at that price range. Quite nice sticks and very pretty, but I'm not entirely convinced on the premium pricetag for that.
VLX: Do not pay $300+ dollars for this thing unless you are a serious ass collector. They are just designed purely to show off and look nuts, and outside of that are just pains to carry around. Everything in the stick is quality, it's just not very practical as a daily driver.
Hori Minis: Just don't. Cheap garbage that you can't even use as a modding base,
Qanba:
Obsidian: The flagship stick sitting at the $200 price point. Quite nice for somebody looking for a Sanwa stick and also likes the case. The aftermarket support for them is actually quite strong for modding. I have heard reports of weird shit happening with their drivers on PC. That was supposedly resolved, so I could rec it in that case.
Dragon: I have no idea why this thing is $300. You get a big ass stick that is functionally identical to the Obsidian, but is harder to carry around with a pop top case feature. Similar to the VLX, it just exists to show off impractical money for people into the style.
Crystal: Knock off parts and shit prone to failure. The case is quite nice for modding purposes, but that's it. I've known 3 different people to buy them just to have them break later. Personally would avoid.
Drone: These things are cheap, tiny cases with knock off parts. But, sometimes you want that small form factor and you can replace the parts. These things go on sale super low (like less than $50 low) and are just a part swap away from being pretty solid. Great way to get a small, budget case to work with. Also good as a "non-commital" stick for people flirting with the idea of getting more into arcade style games.
Razer:
Panthera: I really quite like the case and features on this stick, and the company has been fairly transparent about the drivers and functionality of it. A good option for the $200 price point with Sanwa parts. As mentioned above, the connector is the only sore point for this thing. Not that they are prone to breaking as far as I know, but they are proprietary so if the cable or connector fails, have fun dealing with that, Would be my top recommendation at that price point otherwise.
Panthera Evo: I only have hands on with this at a demo once, but I'm pretty confident in talking about it. Is more or less the same stick as the Panthera, but sacrifices the easy to work with nature of the Panthera's case for a much slimmer form factor. Also does not have the connector issue as it is just a non-detachable USB cable on the thing. At $200 I miss the pop top, but still one of the top sticks so far at that range. I should mention these use Razer's own mechanical switches inside Sanwa clone buttons. Impressions seem fine, but time will tell how they hold up. I'm not worried about them.
Victrix Pro: For people who have more money than sense. You do get more or less everything you want from a strick, but at $350 you're better off putting together your own with everything you possibly want under your own control. Great sticks and they look sleek, but personally I find the price to be absolutely laughable.
eTokki: Don't own one these guys either, but have used one. One of the best quality sticks you can buy. Unfortunately they are also hard to get your hands on and ship out of Korea. If you are interested in Korean style sticks, you can not mess up going with these guys.
Mayflash: I forgot to put this up earlier in the OP. Cheap and requires a licensed controller to get going on consoles. They do accept JP parts though, so it's another small form factor case to work with. Would not buy unless you plan on putting a real PCB and button set into.
If you like that type of mod, you might eventually want to try throwing a Seimitsu in as a fun little project. They just are very well tuned out the gate for those styles of games. You can mod the JLF to hell to reduce throw, but it still won't be as finely tuned as a Seimitsu. I keep an LS-40 in my VLX just for STG stuff.
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