I haven't played on American parts in such a long time, so I can't make a very good comparison... but yeah, the ASCII + circular gate does feel like a mix of playing on a JLF and P360. My muscle memory for playing on Japanese sticks serves me fine for executing motions with minimal movement, but I can also ride the gate all I want for spins and circular motions like on an American joystick._dementia said:That's awesome. The only optical sticks I've ever played on were Happ perfect 360s (and I hated them!), but I love the standard Hori Namco PS1 sticks. How does the ASCII Answer flash compare to a Happ P360?
I also popped in a square gate on the thing for a bit, and then it plays like a non-clicky, very smooth JLF - engage distance is identical, as far as I can tell. There's no noise whatsoever except if you tap the gate.
Yeah, I probably should have clarified - as _dementia said: the optical joystick is not stock for a Namco and was pulled out of an ASCII case.Grifter said:That looks awesome! But I don't get the appeal of this stick and the Dreamcast Ascii. Is it optical like a Happ Perfect 360?
Optical sticks are highly coveted mostly because they're rare - even though using optics has some advantages over microswitches (silent and no wearing down), the parts are so much more expensive so all Japanese-style optical sticks have been discontinued. It seems that most people buy Dreamcast ASCIIs just to gut out the joystick, lol.
The Namco's appeal is wholly separate - it was a cheap (around $30 originally, which is insane compared to today's stick prices), low-profile joystick that is still much better than any of the "budget" retail sticks that have come after it. In terms of part feel/sensitivity, it's somewhere between Sanwa and Seimitsu, and they're possibly as reliable and durable - I know of tons of Namco sticks that people have been playing on since the PS1 days, and their stock parts are still going strong.
I've been looking for a mint Namco with box for a while now, getting to try an optical joystick as well was just icing on the cake.
