Gaming as the gods intended…with a joystick

You know I’m an arcade gamer. I’m not just a fan of old retro arcade games, but modern arcade-style games as well. I just find them much more motivating than many other genres and enjoy their simplicity. But as you probably know, the modern video game controller is less than optimal for these types of games.

Something to be desired

Specifically, the Xbox 360 controller is pretty much crap when it comes to arcade controls. It’s known far and wide that the direction pad (d-pad) on the controller is worthless. When I switched from Playstation to Xbox, one of the first things I missed was Sony’s d-pad…it was great for games that used it, especially fighting games. One solution might have been to find a third-party controller that had a good d-pad. But I decided that the only good solution was a joystick.

When the arcades are gone, what do you do?

Several years ago I had a thought to make a MAME cabinet and I researched what it would take to build my own arcade controls…joystick, buttons, and all. Overall it wasn’t too expensive, but it would have been a lot of work. That idea never materialized and several times since I’ve wondered what it would take to make my own console joystick by modding a controller and combining it with real arcade parts.

I saw that one guy turned an old NES Advantage joystick into a working 360 controller. And there are lots of findings where people have made their own custom stick. Even more recent is guy that made a true mash-up using a controller d-pad with arcade buttons. All great little projects that would have been fun to figure out but alas, I know myself enough that none of them would have really seen the light of day.

Why not just buy a joystick, you ask? Well, they’re expensive. Anywhere from $50 to more than $100 depending how fancy and big you want it. I love my gaming and my arcade games, but not enough to justify a $50+ controller purchase. Despite my love for gaming, I’m still a cheapskate. I would always check the GameStops and other stores to see if a joystick ever appeared at a price point less than $50, alas, that never happened.

The Hori Fighting Stick EX2

So you can imagine my excitement when Amazon did a deal of the day on an arcade joystick! The Hori Fighting Stick EX2 went on sale for $35 with free shipping and I couldn’t pass that up. I ordered one (probably shoulda got two) and with gazelle like speed, it was delivered within five days. Before I purchased the stick I did read reviews, however, and most of the Amazon reviews were 4+ stars, which is what you want. But I always read the low star reviews to see what people complain about, my favorite being one guy that described that his Pac-Man was “acting drunk” when he played. As much of a mental picture as that created, it wasn’t a very helpful review.

The Hori EX2 delivers the arcade control you want

I opened my delivery to find the Hori stick was a lot bigger than I had expected, which is good. It’s a good size and a good weight. It certainly doesn’t feel cheap and it sits on your lap wonderfully. The stick isn’t wireless, so you may need a USB extension cable, but thankfully it is just USB. So II booted up the console and anticipated awesomeness.

And I was not disappointed.

The Hori stick just feels good. The joystick and the buttons all work and feel like you would expect. It also comes complete with the clicking sound you loved in the arcades. Some of the reviews complained about the clicking, but I find it very soothing when gaming to hear the response of the joystick, if nothing else it confirms that you did something.

With the EX2, old games are brand new

This EX2 stick is also very fast…maybe too fast. The distance required to move the joystick in any direction isn’t that far so in some cases even the slightest movement will trigger a response. Personally, I don’t see this as a flaw as just something to get used to. The Hori stick is a 4-way stick, so when you go diagonal you’re really sending too commands at the same time up/left, and because the stick is fast, you’ll sometimes not pull straight enough and slide from diagonal to just up/down, for example. This lended to quite a bit of frustration when playing Pac-Man CE but again, just something account for as you learn the stick.

The button layout on the stick is also something you’ll have to get used to, especially for non-fighting games. Thankfully a lot of games let you customize controls so you can adjust, but for those that don’t, prepare to get your awkward finger positions ready. That being said, when it does come to fighting games this stick rocks out in its element.

Playing Pac-Man and my library of shmup shooters is great, but this stick was made for fighting and it shows. I played a couple hours of Tekken 6 and I can say I’ve never had a more satisfying fighting experience than with this joystick. Of course, I think this would be true with any arcade stick, not just this Hori, but the EX2 does the job wonderfully.

And prepare to relearn how to be awesome at fighters

It messes with your brain

But be prepared for HUGE learning curve when it comes to using a joystick. Not only do you have relearn button movements for fighting games and such, but I found that my eyes did not follow the objects on the screen as well as it does when using a normal thumb control. I’m not a doctor, but it seems like my eyes and thumb are connected…when my thumb moves right, my eyes move right. I’m sure this is due to 20+ years of “thumb gaming,” but now that the joystick involves my whole hand and more than just thumbs, it seems I have to re-train my brain. It is kind of frustrating, but it does breathe new life into games you might have otherwise written off.

A joystick will change how you game

In fact, the EX2 is so much fun to play with that I started looking for games that I can use with my arcade stick. Going to a real arcade (ie, Dave & Busters) to play some Ms. Pac-Man on a real cabinet is great, but having the arcade controls available in the comfort of your own home is incredibly awesome. It’s too bad more modern games can’t make use of an arcade stick like the Hori EX2. In a world of first person shooters and dual-stick action, finding quality arcade-style games is more of a chore.

The Hori Fighting Stick EX2 is a great purchase and one I should have made a long, long time ago, even at $60…but I’m glad I got it on sale! If you’re into fighting games or arcade games in general, you owe it to yourself to get a joystick, and unless you have $150 to drop on the super pro edition, the Hori EX2 is a great piece of hardware.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m thinking that since the EX2 is a USB device, in theory it should work with a PC too…and that opens up a whole new world of gaming. Oh the possibilities!