The very best joysticks for the Amiga in 2020?

Flimbo · 30 January 2020, 02:44

Back in the very early 90s I must have destroyed a whole range of beautiful but weak joysticks playing Sensible Soccer with my friends. My bedroom was an electric graveyard of bust up Cheetahs, Quickshots, Cobras and borrowed dusty, jam clad no mark joysticks. The only joystick that would survive for long in my useless hands were the Atari 2600 joysticks. Other than gimmicky fishing rods and sticks on the Dreamcast or Nintendo Wii, I actually haven't held a classic joystick in my hands for twenty odd years. The last joystick I held was potentially produced in 1982.

So as you can imagine, I am at a loss when it comes to good joysticks for the Amiga and a lot has happened since I last owned and Amiga. In 2020 what are the best options for a joystick for this platform? New, retro, or hacked...

I have ordered a Official Sega Arcade Power Stick, but have heard both good and bad reports about these for the Amiga.

The fella that sold me the new Amiga suggested I buy a Monster joystick which look beautiful but the casing looks like it would be uncomfortable to hold after awhile.

Does anybody use a USB joystick/pad with the Amiga?

005AGIMA · 30 January 2020, 03:01

It depends what you want out of the experience but....

For me, while I played about with and enjoyed Emulation, and used an Xbox controller as the joystick, it never felt "right".

Now that I have a real Amiga again, I am of course using a real joystick from that period (A Quickshot II) and I have to say, having the original joystick in my hand completes the feeling for me.

What's on the screen is actually a very small part of re-living those days. It's about how everything feels as well.

So personally my advice is think back to your favorite joystick from the past, and get another one.

They are no more expensive than buying a "new" Joystick and they can be found in excellent working condition.

My personal favorite was the Zip Stick and those things are almost indestructible

Flimbo · 30 January 2020, 03:14

That's some great points you made there regards nostalgia and recreating the authentic childhood experience. I will have a look on eBay.

aeberbach · 30 January 2020, 03:32

A vintage WICO is still good, but the very best is building it yourself.

Sanwa "silent" arcade joystick JLF-TPRG-8BYT-SK
Arcade buttons "Crown" SDB-202M
Your choice of colours... I chose metallic gunmetal ball and switch.

This stick is a little like Cherry MX "tactile" switches. You can feel the switches engage but you don't have that damn click-click-click noise all the time. The switches can be any kind of click you want because they disassemble all the way down to their heart, which is a MX compatible key switch rated for something like 30 million presses.

After that you need to do a little case work. You can buy a box, you can route a cavity in a nice solid piece of wood, you can do many things.

And do you want rapid fire? Add anything you want.

Perhaps make it compatible with systems that want a USB stick too? Just add a USB controller and as many buttons as you want.

grond · 30 January 2020, 06:51

You can buy pretty decent replica of the Atari 2600 joystick new. I would prefer a Quickshot 2, though...

Flimbo · 30 January 2020, 09:29

Aeberbach - building your own definitely appeals to me though is the more expensive option. I wonder if it is possible to setup a second button as a jump button like you can do with Monster joysticks? Adding an usb option would be ideal.

Grond - the quickshot was a great stick back in the day but didn't seem very durable but of course that could have just been my heavy hands.

Glen M · 30 January 2020, 09:57

How about one of these

While that is fantastic to play on it is a bit big so for day to day Amiga gaming I still go to the joypad and usually the CD32 pad.

I just find a single joystick difficult to hold while wrestling the stick in whatever direction and trying to smash buttons. Maybe I'm just to used to joypads. There is also the thing of old joysticks feeling very flimsy, I have a few on which the plastic groans as you move it about. A zip stick though has a nice solid feel.

Flimbo · 30 January 2020, 10:48

Glen- Not sure I have the space next to my Amiga for something that big though it looks awesome. You got a link to where we can buy one?

Foebane · 30 January 2020, 11:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glen M

How about one of these

While that is fantastic to play on it is a bit big so for day to day Amiga gaming I still go to the joypad and usually the CD32 pad.

I just find a single joystick difficult to hold while wrestling the stick in whatever direction and trying to smash buttons. Maybe I'm just to used to joypads. There is also the thing of old joysticks feeling very flimsy, I have a few on which the plastic groans as you move it about. A zip stick though has a nice solid feel.

The Amiga is NOT an arcade machine, even if some would like to think it is. I prefer the idea that the Amiga is more "portable" than that, and the controllers that existed for it back in the day are perfectly sufficient for it, and any such joystick will do, with a USB adaptor.

Also, the Amiga doesn't have support of any kind for six buttons. Two at most, but not six.

Flimbo · 30 January 2020, 12:13

I guess I need to find out which USB adaptors are the best.

DamienD · 30 January 2020, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flimbo

In 2020 what are the best options for a joystick for this platform? New, retro, or hacked...

There's this older thread that has many examples of Amiga joysticks: Your favourite/preferred joystick?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flimbo

Glen- Not sure I have the space next to my Amiga for something that big though it looks awesome. You got a link to where we can buy one?

Glen made this; you can see more details in his thread: Casual Retro Gamer - my new youtube channel

Glen M · 30 January 2020, 14:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by foebane

also, the amiga doesn't have support of any kind for six buttons. Two at most, but not six.

cd32.

Flimbo · 30 January 2020, 14:47

Damien thanks for the advice and links to older thread.

Foebane · 30 January 2020, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glen M

cd32.

How does the CD32 support as many buttons as it does? Is it some sort of hack?

jotd · 30 January 2020, 21:11

The extra buttons of a CD32 joypad are read using a serial polling routine. You have to configure I/O port to read them.

And they work on any amiga, including A500. Not a hack. Just that there aren't dedicated CIA or POTGO bits for those. You have to program the I/O to read them, using POTGO but controlled by CIA registers (it may be slightly inaccurate, I'm apologizing to the hardware experts out there)

The best JOYPAD is MickGyver KTRLCD32 IMHO. However, my advice is that diagonals are harder to pull on joypads. This can be remediated easily for all those "up for jump" games (by remapping jump to the second button), but not for games like Chaos Engine where you really need diagonals (or Speedball II). For those, only my Wico does the job properly.

I would dream of a normal stick with CD32 buttons.

RunsilenT · 30 January 2020, 22:30

I use a Monster Joysticks Retro stick
https://monsterjoysticks.com/retro-g...-joystick-kits
Get what you pay for, buy cheap, buy twice, etc.
Especially like the option to have the second button as jump as opposed to joystick UP which was usual on Amiga games. Arcade quality joystick and buttons, compact, class!

jotd · 30 January 2020, 22:34

Quote:

Especially like the option to have the second button as jump as opposed to joystick UP which was usual on Amiga games

not enough when games have ladders too

actually there are a LOT of games where the mechanics aren't that simple as "UP = jump". But it's already a cool option.

Flimbo · 31 January 2020, 00:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunsilenT

I use a Monster Joysticks Retro stick
https://monsterjoysticks.com/retro-g...-joystick-kits
Get what you pay for, buy cheap, buy twice, etc.
Especially like the option to have the second button as jump as opposed to joystick UP which was usual on Amiga games. Arcade quality joystick and buttons, compact, class!

These look like top quality but the case just looks uncomfortable.

dreadnought · 31 January 2020, 11:22

I grew up with joysticks on Amiga and C64 but have never liked them. They were ok in the arcades and for some games, but overall too much hard work (and noise). In fact I miss being able to use keyboard, like on the ZX Spectrum. And after a couple of decades of using joypads this feeling has only intensified.

But I did get a bunch of real 8 bit micros recently and so had to buy a joystick too. After a couple of cheap comedy ones that came bundled with some hardware I got a Cruiser PowerPlay - it's a bit like Comp Pro. It's not bad, and orks with Amiga too but I still much prefer a Quickshot joypad I have also managed to score.

I also had bought that Sega Comp Pro joypad for Megadrive, advertised by seller as totally compatible with Amiga but then read somewhere these things might damage the hardware so it languishes in a drawer now.

Other thing I need to research is if my Dualshock4 could work with the Tom adapter I have and use for wireless mouse on Amiga. The manual says it should but I haven't managed to get it going yet. It'd be a perfect solution, unless that Tom has some sort of lag...

30 January 2020, 02:44	#1
Flimbo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Gateshead/Tyne and Wear Posts: 175	The very best joysticks for the Amiga in 2020? Back in the very early 90s I must have destroyed a whole range of beautiful but weak joysticks playing Sensible Soccer with my friends. My bedroom was an electric graveyard of bust up Cheetahs, Quickshots, Cobras and borrowed dusty, jam clad no mark joysticks. The only joystick that would survive for long in my useless hands were the Atari 2600 joysticks. Other than gimmicky fishing rods and sticks on the Dreamcast or Nintendo Wii, I actually haven't held a classic joystick in my hands for twenty odd years. The last joystick I held was potentially produced in 1982. So as you can imagine, I am at a loss when it comes to good joysticks for the Amiga and a lot has happened since I last owned and Amiga. In 2020 what are the best options for a joystick for this platform? New, retro, or hacked... I have ordered a Official Sega Arcade Power Stick, but have heard both good and bad reports about these for the Amiga. The fella that sold me the new Amiga suggested I buy a Monster joystick which look beautiful but the casing looks like it would be uncomfortable to hold after awhile. Does anybody use a USB joystick/pad with the Amiga?

30 January 2020, 03:01	#2
005AGIMA Re-loading. Please wait. Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: Perth, Australia & England Age: 49 Posts: 472	It depends what you want out of the experience but.... For me, while I played about with and enjoyed Emulation, and used an Xbox controller as the joystick, it never felt "right". Now that I have a real Amiga again, I am of course using a real joystick from that period (A Quickshot II) and I have to say, having the original joystick in my hand completes the feeling for me. What's on the screen is actually a very small part of re-living those days. It's about how everything feels as well. So personally my advice is think back to your favorite joystick from the past, and get another one. They are no more expensive than buying a "new" Joystick and they can be found in excellent working condition. My personal favorite was the Zip Stick and those things are almost indestructible Last edited by 005AGIMA; 30 January 2020 at 03:40.

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30 January 2020, 03:14	#3
Flimbo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Gateshead/Tyne and Wear Posts: 175	That's some great points you made there regards nostalgia and recreating the authentic childhood experience. I will have a look on eBay.

30 January 2020, 03:32	#4
aeberbach Registered User Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 423	A vintage WICO is still good, but the very best is building it yourself. Sanwa "silent" arcade joystick JLF-TPRG-8BYT-SK Arcade buttons "Crown" SDB-202M Your choice of colours... I chose metallic gunmetal ball and switch. This stick is a little like Cherry MX "tactile" switches. You can feel the switches engage but you don't have that damn click-click-click noise all the time. The switches can be any kind of click you want because they disassemble all the way down to their heart, which is a MX compatible key switch rated for something like 30 million presses. After that you need to do a little case work. You can buy a box, you can route a cavity in a nice solid piece of wood, you can do many things. And do you want rapid fire? Add anything you want. Perhaps make it compatible with systems that want a USB stick too? Just add a USB controller and as many buttons as you want.

30 January 2020, 06:51	#5
grond Registered User Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Germany Posts: 1,919	You can buy pretty decent replica of the Atari 2600 joystick new. I would prefer a Quickshot 2, though...

30 January 2020, 09:29	#6
Flimbo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Gateshead/Tyne and Wear Posts: 175	Aeberbach - building your own definitely appeals to me though is the more expensive option. I wonder if it is possible to setup a second button as a jump button like you can do with Monster joysticks? Adding an usb option would be ideal. Grond - the quickshot was a great stick back in the day but didn't seem very durable but of course that could have just been my heavy hands.

30 January 2020, 09:57	#7
Glen M Registered User Join Date: May 2017 Location: Belfast Posts: 750	How about one of these While that is fantastic to play on it is a bit big so for day to day Amiga gaming I still go to the joypad and usually the CD32 pad. I just find a single joystick difficult to hold while wrestling the stick in whatever direction and trying to smash buttons. Maybe I'm just to used to joypads. There is also the thing of old joysticks feeling very flimsy, I have a few on which the plastic groans as you move it about. A zip stick though has a nice solid feel.

30 January 2020, 10:48	#8
Flimbo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Gateshead/Tyne and Wear Posts: 175	Glen- Not sure I have the space next to my Amiga for something that big though it looks awesome. You got a link to where we can buy one?

30 January 2020, 12:13	#10
Flimbo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Gateshead/Tyne and Wear Posts: 175	I guess I need to find out which USB adaptors are the best.

30 January 2020, 14:47	#13
Flimbo Registered User Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Gateshead/Tyne and Wear Posts: 175	Damien thanks for the advice and links to older thread.

30 January 2020, 21:11	#15
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,246	The extra buttons of a CD32 joypad are read using a serial polling routine. You have to configure I/O port to read them. And they work on any amiga, including A500. Not a hack. Just that there aren't dedicated CIA or POTGO bits for those. You have to program the I/O to read them, using POTGO but controlled by CIA registers (it may be slightly inaccurate, I'm apologizing to the hardware experts out there) The best JOYPAD is MickGyver KTRLCD32 IMHO. However, my advice is that diagonals are harder to pull on joypads. This can be remediated easily for all those "up for jump" games (by remapping jump to the second button), but not for games like Chaos Engine where you really need diagonals (or Speedball II). For those, only my Wico does the job properly. I would dream of a normal stick with CD32 buttons.

30 January 2020, 22:30	#16
RunsilenT Registered User Join Date: May 2016 Location: Gateshead UK Posts: 28	I use a Monster Joysticks Retro stick https://monsterjoysticks.com/retro-g...-joystick-kits Get what you pay for, buy cheap, buy twice, etc. Especially like the option to have the second button as jump as opposed to joystick UP which was usual on Amiga games. Arcade quality joystick and buttons, compact, class!

31 January 2020, 11:22	#19
dreadnought Registered User Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Ur, Atlantis Posts: 1,944	I grew up with joysticks on Amiga and C64 but have never liked them. They were ok in the arcades and for some games, but overall too much hard work (and noise). In fact I miss being able to use keyboard, like on the ZX Spectrum. And after a couple of decades of using joypads this feeling has only intensified. But I did get a bunch of real 8 bit micros recently and so had to buy a joystick too. After a couple of cheap comedy ones that came bundled with some hardware I got a Cruiser PowerPlay - it's a bit like Comp Pro. It's not bad, and orks with Amiga too but I still much prefer a Quickshot joypad I have also managed to score. I also had bought that Sega Comp Pro joypad for Megadrive, advertised by seller as totally compatible with Amiga but then read somewhere these things might damage the hardware so it languishes in a drawer now. Other thing I need to research is if my Dualshock4 could work with the Tom adapter I have and use for wireless mouse on Amiga. The manual says it should but I haven't managed to get it going yet. It'd be a perfect solution, unless that Tom has some sort of lag...

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