Joystick Support & Recommendations?

[chirovette]

Hey everyone! In an endless search/quest for nostalgia, I am trying to make Ms PacMan "playable" in the modern era. However, as much as I love gaming PCs, PS4, and XBOne, the analog sticks, D-Pads, and PC keyboards just don't allow me to properly play any old style PacMan games.

Can anyone recommend a joystick that will work with this game?

[Hidron]

The problem I find with modern games is they natively only support X-Input (XBox) devices and leave the old D-Input (DirectX) ones out in the cold. I normally use a program called Joy2Key to be able to use my older Atari/Commodore joysticks through a USB adapter, but the game has to support keyboard controls.

I have heard Steam's Big Picture mode is supposed to support any controller, but I have never tried it.

[chirovette]

Thanks Hidron. Of course, I don't have an old Atari/Commodore controller. I am 99% sure all these old NANCO type games have full keyboard support, at least on the PC, so I assume the Steam versions have it. I don't know if I want to try and dig up an Atari 2600/800XL/Commodore joystick on eBay, but it seems to me that finding a joystick of any kind with at least one button support and that old-style analog stick in the middle shouldn't be hard, right? Though honestly, I haven't used a joystick like that in well over 30 years. lol So I have no clue.

[quandale dingle]

Best option would be to buy X-Arcade 4-WAY type joystick controller that can be set 4-WAY.

[negative1]

Any USB joystick played through windows works. I'm using a sega saturn joystick through a USB adapter for all my games.

later
-1

[quandale dingle]

Hi

Ok, if you really want to play correctly one has to have a 4-way joystick.

So you need to decide how much you want to spend.

The best compatible joystick for arcade games played on PC/PS4/XBOX is the :
https://shop.xgaming.com/collections/arcade-joysticks

It is quite pricy, so I do not have one but envy those that do have one.
It can be set as 4way or 8way using a retsrictor plate so to play "4way/maze" type games and 8-way/Street Fighter type games.

Someone else also did bought a cheap arcade stick that is compatible with a SANWA restrictor plate config. Buy the 4way restrictor plate and adjsut the joystick to able to be 4way.
https://www.amazon.com/Illuminated-Arcade-Joystick-Switchable-operation/dp/B00F1YQB1M
https://www.hollandcomputers.com/store/pc/Arcade-Joystick-Red-Top-Switchable-from-8-way-to-4-way-operation-p8068.htm

One cannot play Pac-Man type games with a joystick made for multi directions lie XBOX/PS4.

I do use keyboard currently. But planning to take on old keyboard and modify it to link the "green key encoder board" to an old joystick.

[roygantt]

Yep Amazon or Ebay have these one stick USB PC joysticks for original one stick arcades and it should work for this hopefully depending on steam that is?!

[Mizar5]

Originally posted by negative1:

Any USB joystick played through windows works. I'm using a sega saturn joystick through a USB adapter for all my games.

later
-1

So have you used a joystick specifically with ms pacman? The setting for the game don't seem to even support that option. Thanks.

[Mizar5]

Originally posted by chirovette:

Hey everyone! In an endless search/quest for nostalgia, I am trying to make Ms PacMan "playable" in the modern era. However, as much as I love gaming PCs, PS4, and XBOne, the analog sticks, D-Pads, and PC keyboards just don't allow me to properly play any old style PacMan games.

Can anyone recommend a joystick that will work with this game?

Hey have you found a joystick that will work with the pacman games yet?

[chirovette]

Originally posted by Mizar5:

Originally posted by chirovette:

Hey everyone! In an endless search/quest for nostalgia, I am trying to make Ms PacMan "playable" in the modern era. However, as much as I love gaming PCs, PS4, and XBOne, the analog sticks, D-Pads, and PC keyboards just don't allow me to properly play any old style PacMan games.

Can anyone recommend a joystick that will work with this game?

Hey have you found a joystick that will work with the pacman games yet?

Not yet, but I'm a lazy-ass and I haven't really been looking. The cheaper ones on Amazon claiming to emulate old school arcade games are often mixed reviews, and it seems like the ones that are really expensive are the only ones that are consistently rated high. Obviously, you get what you pay for, but as much as I love the nostalgia of Ms Pac Man a lot, it's not worth it for me to pay $100.00 or $200.00 just to play one lousy game on my PC, when I have a ton of much more sophisticated modern games.

[Mizar5]

Originally posted by chirovette:

Originally posted by Mizar5:

Hey have you found a joystick that will work with the pacman games yet?

Not yet, but I'm a lazy-ass and I haven't really been looking. The cheaper ones on Amazon claiming to emulate old school arcade games are often mixed reviews, and it seems like the ones that are really expensive are the only ones that are consistently rated high. Obviously, you get what you pay for, but as much as I love the nostalgia of Ms Pac Man a lot, it's not worth it for me to pay $100.00 or $200.00 just to play one lousy game on my PC, when I have a ton of much more sophisticated modern games.

I agree. Thanks for the reply. I might just buy a cheap one to try it out.

[Mizar5]

Originally posted by chirovette:

Hey everyone! In an endless search/quest for nostalgia, I am trying to make Ms PacMan "playable" in the modern era. However, as much as I love gaming PCs, PS4, and XBOne, the analog sticks, D-Pads, and PC keyboards just don't allow me to properly play any old style PacMan games.

Can anyone recommend a joystick that will work with this game?

I just took the C64 joystick out of the box 5 minutes ago, plugged it in and it worked perfectly with ms pacman. I think it was about $30. made or distributed by retro games ltd. Black base, red joystick handle, red buttons. https://www.amazon.com/Retro-Games-Joystick-not-machine-specific/dp/B07H25X279/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=usb+joystick&qid=1670987106&sr=8-7

[SiBullSki]

I bought the hyperkin trooper2. It's an atari styled controller with a decent joystick. I think it works well with pacman.
https://www.amazon.com/Hyperkin-Trooper-Premium-Joystick-Controller-Raspberry/dp/B08R23BTZ9

It doesn't feel cheap at all but it doesn't feel expensive either.