Get that bat in your hand, give those buttons a good walloping!

Pyongyang

I've gotten myself a bit infatuated with my XE-1 HE Pro. So much so in fact it drove me to write a rather sizeable musing on arcade sticks in general and my championing of it as the greatest 'home' arcade stick of this or any time.

I'd love it if you had a read and let me know what your favourite is.

http://www.pinkbullets.co.uk/blogs/micomsoft-xe-1-he-pro/

o1s1n

My XE-1 ST2 has been sitting out in Bray for the last week waiting for me to collect it. Maybe reading this will have me get off my arse and get it

Pyongyang

What time is the last train?

Andrew76

Hey dude, nice write up and lovely pictures of the stick. You have a lavish way with words! You never really mentioned any other console sticks except that Turbo Stick thing though. No Namco, Virtua Stick or AES sticks for comparison?
The stick certainly looks excellent but a couple of questions; is it weighty (always important )? Those two main buttons are seriously concave, how well do they play? That mechanical 4/8 way switch, not going to break anytime soon and render the stick useless?

Console stick wise, I've only had the pleasure of the Namco, SFIV: TE and Hori EX2. The Namco feels the best for shmups anyway, lovely feel to it.

P.S. Not sure if you left out a couple of words in two places, "solitary confinement..." and "four port (yes a MULTITAP)..."?

o1s1n

Anyone who has used Seimitsu sticks will likely be aware of the LS-56 series of sticks. The throw on this feels almost identical. The LS-56 is my favourite arcade stick, hence the XE-1 HE Pro scores top marks in this area


Seriously?

/Runs out to Bray, arse in hand.

Great article man! Some beautiful pictures too. I can't wait to hook this thing up to a Megadrive and play some MUSHA!

Pyongyang

Andrew76 wrote: »

You never really mentioned any other console sticks except that Turbo Stick thing though. No Namco, Virtua Stick or AES sticks for comparison?

I didn't include them on purpose. I intended the feature to be more about generalising over arcade sticks and a sort of love letter to the XE-1 HE Pro. It's not really a review per se.

is it weighty (always important )?

It has enough weight to it, but it's not chubby. I think it feels just right for it's dainty figure.

Those two main buttons are seriously concave, how well do they play?

Like sticking your fingers in to a swiss roll to scoop out the filling. Glorious.

That mechanical 4/8 way switch, not going to break anytime soon and render the stick useless?

Nope. Rock solid. It was built with arcade spec parts by the arcade equivalent of audio/videophiles.

Pyongyang

Seriously?

I think so yes. The throw is fractionally longer, probably to allow for differing styles of game play. But it's the closest I've felt to a 56 yet.

It's all personal choice though, what works for some may be treacle for others.

Pyongyang

P.S. Not sure if you left out a couple of words in two places, "solitary confinement..." and "four port (yes a MULTITAP)..."?[/QUOTE]

Nope. Intentional. Although I did a quick second proof and edited a couple of sections for typos and grammar.

K.O.Kiki

Interesting.

You should take it apart so I can learn what microswitches etc. it uses.

FOR SCIENCE!

o1s1n

STanding at a bus stop in bray with my st-2 in a bag. The rotate mech had me giggling like an eejit. Come om bus!!!!

o1s1n

Pyongyang wrote: »

Like sticking your fingers in to a swiss roll to scoop out the filling. Glorious.
.

You know, I thought this was just the usual Pyong flowery language (:pac:)- it's really not though.

These buttons were handed down by god himself. And I'd consider myself an athiest.

They are the nicest buttons I've ever had the joy of pressing on a home controller. Even the start and select buttons are amazing. They feel very similar to seimitsu ones, but with a slightly shallower press. I'll have to get some seimitsu buttons down to have a good press comparison.

The stick itself is also fantastic. Overall, the stick and button action is nicer than the original AES stick - that's really saying something.

My main niggle with it is the size. Pyong, you really weren't lying when you said this was small! I'll do some comparisons with a Dreamcast stick when I get a chance.

The problem here is that I usually wine glass it up. It seems to be a bit of short on space on the left, so my hand is falling off a bit. I'll have to adjust how I hold the thing.

But overall - wow. Arcade sticks with a DB9 connection are usually terrible. Not only does this blow them all out of the water, it steps up and challanges more modern ones.

Anyway, took some quick snaps. I am a very happy bunny





50Hz boarders! evilll!!!



Oh and just to note, I read somewhere that the third button was a mix of the other two and it's only a two button stick. This is not true, ABC work exactly like ABC on a Megadrive pad. To my relief!!

Pyongyang

It's true. These really were designed and crafted by God. Best sticks ever made. Nothing touches them in the home market. Not the Namco, not the Agetec, not the Virtua Stick Pro, AES stick or even the mighty JB King Super Famicom stick that snuggles proudly alongside the other sticks in my collection.

They are the best home sticks ever made. End of.

I grip the ball top in a similar fashion to yourself and found a similar issue with space on the left side. You have to remember though these were manufactured solely for the Japanese market so shovel hands probably never entered the equation at any stage.

That said, a slight adjustment to your grip pays dividends. Especially when placed on a flat surface and not on your knees.

You spotted the Seimitsu button comparison too huh? That's what I love about these concaves. They feel Seimitsu-ey and as ye know my entire Astro CP is populated with Seimitsu everything, even the start buttons. Love Seimitsu I do.

I'm going to invest in a XE-1 ST2 like you did, once I can find one. Just remember to look after yours, they are really quite rare. None of the XE range of sticks was ever mass produced, so really do take care of it.

Heck, if you search YouTube there's a video of an XE-1 HE Pro unboxing where the guy opens the box, thinks he's too filthy from working all day so he has a shower (not on the video thank God), comes back to finish the unboxing but cuts away again while he goes to get changed in to a suit and a pair of antique handlers gloves. No messing, look it up on YouTube!

Anyway, mind that stick of yours and welcome to the XE owners club. It's kinda exclusive!:D

o1s1n

Don't worry, I'll care for it! I'm not one of these freaks we're seeing online a lot lately who seem to bury their games and consoles in muddy flower pots.

I'm just so suprised the revolving buttons/gate mech weren't used on more sticks. Even the really modern super expensive ones. It's just so..well..classy!

Gave Gleylancer a whirl. My oh my. This stick is going to become my new best friend for Megadrive shmups. Game instantly improved.

Thanks for putting me on to it dude, I only pounced on that auction because you'd been singing their praise so much. Can't say I ever heard of them before.

In fact, where'd you come across these sticks yourself?

CiDeRmAn

Just looked at that joystick on the Japanese Yahoo auction site, man, to ship in Japan is a BIN price of €95, I can only imagine the cost of shipping here...
Otherwise it's not that expensive, works out around €60 or so.
There's one at about €20 in an auction, with 3 days to go, I have emailed the guy/gal to see if he/she/it will ship to Ireland and for how much...
That or wait for our resident hipster and Journey lover to head over and bring it back for me!

K.O.Kiki

Is the balltop removeable?

If yes, you could try a 30mm balltop.

o1s1n

From what I've read, it is. I've a few Seimitsu and Sanwa ball tops about the house I wouldn't mind trying out.

However it's one of those cases where I feel like I'd be defiling an archaeological find, so I may just keep it stock.

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

From what I've read, it is. I've a few Seimitsu and Sanwa ball tops about the house I wouldn't mind trying out.

However it's one of those cases where I feel like I'd be defiling an archaeological find, so I may just keep it stock.

For the love of God don't mod it! :eek:

Steve X2

Pyongyang wrote: »

For the love of God don't mod it! :eek:

What are ya talkin about. Get some blue and green leds in that thing and install an illuminated balltop

.

Pyongyang

Doctor DooM

Pyongyang wrote: »

It's true. These really were designed and crafted by God. Best sticks ever made. Nothing touches them in the home market. Not the Namco, not the Virtua Stick Pro, They are the best home sticks ever made. End of.

Dangerous words to be saying, and I'm a Virtua pro fan not a Namco (Those guys are some rabid stick fanboys)

Fun fact: I literally nagged kiki into swapping me his VSP.

Pyongyang

Doctor DooM wrote: »

Dangerous words to be saying, and I'm a Virtua pro fan not a Namco (Those guys are some rabid stick fanboys)

Fun fact: I literally nagged kiki into swapping me his VSP.

Aye, dangerous words indeed. Happy to lay cards on the table though and declare it the best stick (in my humble personal opinion of course). I have the Namco, VSP, AES, Super JB King etc in my collection but the X-1 is just a phenomenal piece of work.

Next best thing really would be a bespoke solution I think. I had a bespoke idea planned and was thinking of getting it made, but materials and labour had it weighing in at around €450. It was around the time I bought my arcade cabinet so I shelved the bespoke stick and went for the cabinet instead for the extra few bob.

Doctor DooM

Pyongyang wrote: »

Aye, dangerous words indeed. Happy to lay cards on the table though and declare it the best stick (in my humble personal opinion of course). I have the Namco, VSP, AES, Super JB King etc in my collection but the X-1 is just a phenomenal piece of work.

Next best thing really would be a bespoke solution I think. I had a bespoke idea planned and was thinking of getting it made, but materials and labour had it weighing in at around €450. It was around the time I bought my arcade cabinet so I shelved the bespoke stick and went for the cabinet instead for the extra few bob.

For a decent quality bespoke stick, that'd be about the right price.

I think most of the lads seem to go to B15 these days, and to be fair, some of their sticks are actual works of art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMK1Qnbq8bc

Pyongyang

Doctor DooM wrote: »

Pyongyang wrote: »

I think most of the lads seem to go to B15 these days, and to be fair, some of their sticks are actual works of art.

Yep, that is who I had in mind. Maybe one day...

K.O.Kiki

Shadaloo.eu are another European custom maker you could consider.

They're not as fancy as B15, but also nowhere near as expensive!

As for keeping it stock though -- NONSENSE! :pac:

The main reason I swapped a rare VSHG for a common Madcatz TE was because I hated Sanwa's JLF stick, and the VSHG cannot fit anything else.
Then, I realised I hate the TE's bulky size too, so I sold it and bought a Konami Hyper Stick.
THEN, I realised I don't actually like Seimitsu PS-15 buttons, so I swapped in Sanwa microswitches.
And then, I realised I should buy a Namco. Which I modded with Cherry switches in the stick. And then...

Oh, but if you're saving your pennies:
Hori Fighting Edge coming soon. It has touch-screen things!

Doge

Now this I can fap to!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phOjmGxK5EQ#t=5m46s