Cabinets Joystick Throwdown; Balltop vs Battop

[DarcyT]

Anyone who's interested in arcade machines knows the two original different joystick types; battops and balltops which are, as the name would imply, shaped either like a ball or a sports bat. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages, some people probably only grew up with one type or the other, depending on availability and region, so I'm curious to hear everyone's opinion; which do you think is/was better and why?

 

[It's Thinking 2]

Ball top. I know people say the bat top is more comfy, but i always grip under the ball and rotate for combos. It's what i'm used to. My PS4 fight stick has a ball top and so does my Saturn stick.

 

[DarcyT]

Ball top. I know people say the bat top is more comfy, but i always grip under the ball and rotate for combos. It's what i'm used to. My PS4 fight stick has a ball top and so does my Saturn stick.

Ball top is way more softer on the palm, I think people defend the bat top because it has the least amount of bone and joint twisting and rotating, so it seems more comfortable.

 

[Spike]

It might come down to personal preference, but I think the ball top is better—at least that's what I see most often in fighting game tournaments.

 

[PhrawzT]

Ball Top all the way. That's what I was always used to.

 

[DarcyT]

It might come down to personal preference, but I think the ball top is better—at least that's what I see most often in fighting game tournaments.

I just wish the actual stick part was longer, my fat hands can't get around that.

 

[Spike]

I just wish the actual stick part was longer, my fat hands can't get around that.

I'm pretty sure you can unscrew that ball yeah? You need to find someone with a lathe machine in your area they can make an extension with a piece of iron in minutes. The hardest part is finding a shop with that machine.

 

[DarcyT]

I'm pretty sure you can unscrew that ball yeah? You need to find someone with a lathe machine in your area they can make an extension with a piece of iron in minutes. The hardest part is finding a shop with that machine.

I just mean in general. Personally, I'm content with the ball top, I'll just never play competitively. I would, but even finding arcade machine manufacturers where I live is almost an impossibility, so yeah, I guess I could always do it myself, but I don't mix well with soldering irons.

 

[BinaryMessiah]

I have customized a couple of 1Up Arcade's and tabletop fight sticks and bat tops are a must for fighters. They're easier to smack around. Ball tops are great for more precision based games that need finer movement like Pac-Man. My Picade has a balltop with Sanwa buttons. Love it.

 

[PhrawzT]

I have been wanting to turn my Raspberry Pi 4 into an arcade machine. Right now I have it set up as a media player.

 

[DarcyT]

I have customized a couple of 1Up Arcade's and tabletop fight sticks and bat tops are a must for fighters. They're easier to smack around. Ball tops are great for more precision based games that need finer movement like Pac-Man. My Picade has a balltop with Sanwa buttons. Love it.

Yet I noticed, when I was younger, that a lot of arcade fighting cabinets in my local area still used the balltop sticks. As someone who is more experienced in machine maintenance, is there a deliberate reason you think they would have done it, or was it straight up laziness?

 

[BinaryMessiah]

Yet I noticed, when I was younger, that a lot of arcade fighting cabinets in my local area still used the balltop sticks. As someone who is more experienced in machine maintenance, is there a deliberate reason you think they would have done it, or was it straight up laziness?

A lot of arcades had conversion kits, which was a cheap way to get "new arcades." Usually this was a kit that came with a new decal and a new PCB board, and that was it.

I find it very hard to use ball tops on fighting games because of how frantic you are throwing that joystick around for quarter circle back, forward quarter circle, then quarter circle back, then immediately slam the joystick back to block, etc. That bat top allows for the full width of your hand to catch it. The ball top allows for a claw grip for finer movements.

However, the top isn't the full picture. The joystick gate is half the experience. You need an 8-way gate for fighting games, but you have to have a four-way gate for games like Pac-Man and platformers. A lot of the early 1Up arcade cabinets (like the 1st gen MK2 one) came with a four-way gate, and I changed mine out to an 8-way. The spring tension is also part of some of that experience. I prefer fighting games to have higher joystick spring poundage, say 3-4lb, rather than the 1lb or less that a lot come with.

American fighting cabinets also had Suzo Happ buttons rather than Sanwa which were seen in Japanese arcades. My MK2 Deluxe cabinet has Suzo Happs that I swapped out so it feels just like the arcades.

 

[Don Patch]

Depends if I'm sitting or standing.
If I'm sitting with a arcade stick in my lap I tend to like the BatTop because at that angle I usually hold the stick lower and rest my hand on the controller with my pinky and ring finger.

If I'm on a cabinet, Ball Top. Need something in my palm. It's more tactile.

 

[Don Patch]

I have been wanting to turn my Raspberry Pi 4 into an arcade machine. Right now I have it set up as a media player.

These guys have all sorts of awesome arcade kits for the Rasp Pi:

Monster Joysticks - Arcade Controller Kits, Joysticks, Buttons, Parts & Accessories

Monster Joysticks - Arcade Controller Kits, Joysticks, Buttons, Parts & Accessories

monsterjoysticks.com

 

[DarcyT]

Depends if I'm sitting or standing.
If I'm sitting with a arcade stick in my lap I tend to like the BatTop because at that angle I usually hold the stick lower and rest my hand on the controller with my pinky and ring finger.

If I'm on a cabinet, Ball Top. Need something in my palm. It's more tactile.

That's interesting to note since I personally go for the opposite, with balltop sitting down and battop standing, so I wonder if there's a key difference that means the two experiences are completely different.

 

[Sumea]

Ball top from Japanese style. I have tried few battops that are also standard for korean levers. There it also makes sense since you usually need more force that battop's longer length gives.
In general with japanese style parts of Sanwa or Seimitsu make, ball tops are best "in general". Not just fighting games I play a lot of other stuff with my sticks and tweaking them around and trying out stuff. I "finger operate" sticks myself which lends well for ball tops. Others can and do palm operate them, and more.

For me similar question is shaft cover (for sanwa) Yes (Modern) or no (Retro) where I have ended up with no cover.

 

[Goodie]

I say this with any peripheral when it comes to fighting games or any game in general. Play what feels best, if the standard Sanwa JLF stick and buttons do it for ya, then sweet. If you used HAPP bat tops and convex buttons growing up and that's how you play, sick. In saying this, there are pros and cons to each.

With Sanwa, or traditional Japanese 'Ball Top' arcade sticks, it's activated by when one/two of four micro switches are in contact with the lever. So, you really can only get 8 directions. I know that there is a HAPP Wico stick that does 360 degrees, so depending on what you're playing it could give you a slight advantage. I also do like a more 'tighter' feel in my arcade stick, so I have a 6 pound spring I put in my Sanwa. That's because I grew up in the USA on HAPP bat tops, which are inherently heavier levers. Anytime I see someone with a MAS stick at casuals or tournaments. I'm like, "What secerets are you keeping?" lmao.

ME, PERSONALLY, in my day to day use. It's a Madcatz TES+ that I've replaced the OEM Sanwa JLF with a newer one and newer buttons just because it was that time. I've smacked those OG buttons and churned butter on that stick for over 6 years, so it was time for a change. Also, like I said before. I have a 6lb spring in it for imidate 'return to neutral' gotta get those Electric God Wind Fists in!

 

[Kannibal]

Ever since I got my first Japanese lever with a square gate, the Mad Catz Street Fighter IV stick, there has been no going back to an American lever and callous-causing concave buttons. I would still like to have a proper American-style stick as a novelty, though. I did own an X-Arcade Dual Joystick setup at one point, but it made the experience feel cheap, so I stopped trying to recreate it.

 

[zilbert25]

Ball top, feels better in the hand and between the finger grip. Easier to pull off moves, etc.

 

[Stingy Perry]

I prefer ball top especially for fighting games and shmups.