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Capcom vs. SNK 2 ASCII Stick FT2
  PS2HardwareJ  
  opened by paleface at 17:42:06 09/16/05  
  last modified by paleface at 12:25:50 03/05/24  
  paleface [sys=PS2; cat=Hardware; reg=JPN]
           
Download added: ps2_ascii.jpg (53067 bytes)
  "Complete with cheesy base overlay!"
 
An arcade stick made to coincide with the release of Capcom vs SNK 2 on PS2, this stick differs from the earlier DC model (see entry 895) in that the stick uses traditional clicky contacts, giving more of a standard arcade feel, and in that the buttons support the PS2's analog style, giving them a slightly squishier feel. These sort of cancel each other out in terms of pros and cons, to me, but the PS2 version pulls ahead thanks to its heavier, rectangular base, and rows of four buttons--perfect for SNK fighting games. Clicky buttons would have been preferable to the analog ones, however.
 
  paleface 12:54:48 01/25/17
           
Unlike the DC ASCII sticks, these PS2 sticks really hold up! Coming back to them after years of using fancy, more recent sticks on later consoles, featuring real Sanwa arcade levers and buttons--so smooth, so light--the controls on the PS2 ASCII sticks definitely feel heavier and not as razor-sharp as Sanwa parts, but this isn't necessarily all a bad thing. The ASCII lever here, for instance, takes more effort to move, but moves much more smoothly around its square gate than the Sanwa JLF, which tends to clack into the corners, so fireball-type fighting game moves on the ASCII are, in a way, more natural; and its stiffer spring and tighter range of motion make it more suited to twitch-style games like bullet hell shooters than a Sanwa JLF lever would be.
 
And I complained years ago about analog buttons being kind of mushy, and they are, but, like the stick, this also translates into a more cushioned, less clacky feel than Sanwa buttons--not necessarily better, but not all that bad. And unlike the buttons on, say, ASCII's DC stick, the ASCII buttons here depress evenly and reliably. I did find one corner button got stuck in its pressed state for a bit until I massaged it free; maybe a little stiffness to work out after years on the shelf.
 
Worth noting that the button layout here is different than that on modern arcade sticks; the two rows of buttons in modern sticks go
 
S T R1 L1
X O R2 L2
 
whereas on the ASCII PS2 stick they are
 
L1 S T R1
L2 X O R2
 
I was momentarily hoping I could swap these around by opening up the stick and exchanging wires, but a) unscrewing the visible screws on the bottom of the stick does not allow it to open freely--there might be more screws hidden under the little stuck-on rubber feet, but I don't really want to peel those off, and anyway b) as I understand it from a few vague internet references, the buttons (apparently) are soldered onto a board, so they'd take actual hardware soldering and maybe dremeling, etc skills to alter.
 
  paleface 12:37:22 09/08/17 [title updated]
           
My sticks are the "SNK Version" in blue; there were also Capcom versions in red.
 
I said earlier it had a square gate but it is definitely feeling octagonal to me at the moment, which would explain its smoother rotation.
    
downloads:
· ps2_ascii.jpg
 
references:
· Capcom vs. SNK ASCII Stick FT (DC)

 
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