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RetroGameBoyz Atari 5200 joystick


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32 minutes ago, CrossBow said:

Some games that really only work with the analog controller would be Galaxian, (Although the paddle trimmer on the Retrogameboys controller will do this), Star Raiders, The Last Starfighter, Blaster, Pole Position... I'm sure there are more I'm just not thinking of right now.

 

Of the ones you mentioned, only Pole Position is one I play.

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I have 62 of the 69 officially released games and over the years I found that for me, these games are best played with analog control.  

Blue Print, Centipede (best with CX22 Trak-Ball), Choplifter!, Defender (also plays well the Sega Sports Pad in Sports mode), Dreadnaught Factor, Galaxian, Gorf, Gremlins, Gyruss (best with CX22 Trak-Ball), Kaboom! (best with trimmer/paddle control), Missle Command (best with CX22 Trak-Ball), Pole Position, RealSports Baseball, RealSports Football, RealSports Soccer, Rescue on Fractalus!, Robotron 2084, Space Dungeon, Space Invaders, Star Raiders, Star Wars: The Arcade Game, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Death Star Battle, Super Breakout (best with trimmer/paddle control), Tempest (best with CX22 Trak-Ball)

Edited by intellicolecovisonary
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I have found that trying every game with both analog and digital control is a good idea. There are some games that seemed to require analog or digital control, others that are playable with either control mode but with individual preference, just play bit betteron with one control scheme or the other. I played and enjoyed Dreadnaught Factor using digital control but when I used analog the game became so much better.

Edited by intellicolecovisonary
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9 minutes ago, intellicolecovisonary said:

I have found that trying every game with both analog and digital control is a good idea. There are some games that seemed to require analog or digital control, others that are playable with either control mode but with individual preference, just play bit betteron with one control scheme or the other. I played and enjoyed Dreadnaught Factor using digital control but when I used analog the game became so much better.

I had forgotten about Dreadnaught Factor but is an excellent game on the 5200 and I agree, you really need the control of the analog to pinpoint your shots against the enemy ships and cannons. The others mentioned I don't know that I've tried with digital controls as I honestly use my original CX-52 all the time LOL! It is more usable than the 7800 proline at least!

So yes quite a number of the original released games were designed with the analog control in mind but I know that quite a few are playable at least with digital with some of them playing much better with digital controls.

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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The Atari 5200 is a great system for someone like me who's first car was a 1959 MGA, but I would not reccomend it to people who never figured out how to program the clock on their VCR (blinking 12:am forever). You have to be dedicated and a tinkerer to fully enjoy the Atari 5200. I have 3 systems, two 2 ports and one 4 port that is my daily driver because for some unknown reason the graphics on my 4 port are just a tiny bit crisper and cleaner than on either of my 2 ports. I have 7 CX52 controllers, 2 that are perfectly calibrated and are rebuilt with the Best Electronics gold kit and new 1/2" high rubber boots, a CX52 parts junkyard along with a Wico 5200 Command Control, IKONSGR Sega adapter and a RetroBoyz 5200 controller. I can't recommend the official 2 controller coupler enough. It is a must for just 2 games, but oh what great games they are! I'm still waiting for the Edladdin 5200 controller because I love the build quality of his stuff and already own his Atari 7800 Twin joystick and his Super CV joystick. I bought my first console in 1979. It was an Intellivision because at the time I just thought the 2600 was inferior which I now know was true with some things but not true with others. In 1982 I bought a Colecovision and totally ignored the Atari 5200. I then didn't follow trends and bought a Turbo Grafx 16. In 1999, The Dreamcast finally brought me back into the fold with the PS2, Xbox, Gamecube. Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii closely following. I eventually converted my OG Xbox into a MAME/Console emulator. I'm a late adapter by nature, but the Nintendo Switch's siren call is difficult to resist (I'm waiting for the price to drop significantly which up to now it has not).

Edited by intellicolecovisonary
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3 hours ago, CrossBow said:

I had forgotten about Dreadnaught Factor but is an excellent game on the 5200 and I agree, you really need the control of the analog to pinpoint your shots against the enemy ships and cannons. The others mentioned I don't know that I've tried with digital controls as I honestly use my original CX-52 all the time LOL! It is more usable than the 7800 proline at least!

So yes quite a number of the original released games were designed with the analog control in mind but I know that quite a few are playable at least with digital with some of them playing much better with digital controls.

 

i agree, the CX52 is an excellent controller with an avante garde design. If it had been self centering or better still, had the option of not, like the Wico 5200, that would have helped. Then came James Rolfe's satire which I love. My problem with the CX52 is the ergonomics of that type of side button controller design. It just feels akward to me. I love the Colecovision, but I never loved the cramped feeling the controller gave me. I have always prefered a joystick. I've bought all the joystick adapters I could find like the Stickler, Injoy-A-Stick, INTV joystick adapters. All have their pros and cons.

Edited by intellicolecovisonary
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I do  have one Intellivision controller with a stickler on it that replaces the original disc and it is nice to use. I actually added ball tops to my CV controllers and that has made them much better to use. The side buttons haven't really bothered me too much but I could see how people wouldn't care for that.

 

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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The Stickler is permanently attached to controller 2 on my Intellivision II. I still have the original box. I modded one Colecovision controller with a Samwa ball top and one with the Injoy-A-Stick plus ball top.

WIN_20211020_14_15_50_Pro.jpg

WIN_20211020_14_17_17_Pro.jpg

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My favorite joystick for digital liking Atari 5200  games is this GIM Fire Command that I modified with 2 IL PSL-H Concave buttons, Cherry micro switches and a Sega Master System OEM model 3020 controller PCB. IMO the GIM Fire Command is the best feeling leaf switch joystick I own and I own a lot. The base is sold steel and very heavy.

WIN_20211026_11_21_20_Pro.jpg

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I accidentally posted the same thing twice. Sorry. Here's an teresting photo in it's place, "First succesfull Atari Space Age joystick head transplant".

 

Atari Sapce Age Joystick.jpg

Edited by intellicolecovisonary

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The Retroboyz joystick is very nice but the joystick he uses is a cheap Blee Sanwa knock off, so I installed a real Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT. If you do this you have to swap out the original Sanwa micro switches with the 3 terminal micro switches previously installed in the Blee. The JLF has a much smoother feel. The buttons are cheap Blee also but I really like their feel so I left them in for now.

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21 minutes ago, intellicolecovisonary said:

The Retroboyz joystick is very nice but the joystick he uses is a cheap Blee Sanwa knock off, so I installed a real Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT. If you do this you have to swap out the original Sanwa micro switches with the 3 terminal micro switches previously installed in the Blee. The JLF has a much smoother feel. The buttons are cheap Blee also but I really like their feel so I left them in for now.

The words, "less expensive", instead of cheap, which suggest poor quality might be a better choice of wording.  When building any product, affordability must be taken into account and weighed against real-world product use.  Somehow I doubt many, if any of those joysticks, will get the kind of abuse expected in an arcade environment.  Honestly, when mine gets here it'll probably get the most use of it's life (a couple of hours at one time) then maybe an hour at most every couple of weeks after that.  

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9 hours ago, - Ω - said:

The words, "less expensive", instead of cheap, which suggest poor quality might be a better choice of wording.  When building any product, affordability must be taken into account and weighed against real-world product use.  Somehow I doubt many, if any of those joysticks, will get the kind of abuse expected in an arcade environment.  Honestly, when mine gets here it'll probably get the most use of it's life (a couple of hours at one time) then maybe an hour at most every couple of weeks after that.  

In this case "cheap" is a better choice of wording for the Blee Sanwa knock off. If it was close to the same in level of quality and the same in form, fit and function then it would be inexpensive, but it is definitely not. The tactile difference is night and day. The Blee uses "cheaper" plastics in it's build, the Sanwa uses Nylon, delrin and ABS plastics and the overall build quality is so much better. It's like comparing a Volkwagon to a Porsche, they'll both get you to where you need to go, but the ride is not the same. There are "inexpensive" knock offs like the Quanba that are pretty nice but the Blee is the ALiExpress Bottom of the barrel special. I used it for months with the Blee joystick but everytime I used one of my Sanwa JLF joysticks after using the Blee I told myself I have to upgrade this and 2 months ago I finally did. The Sanwa JLF is only $22 shipping included from Walmart.

Edited by intellicolecovisonary

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