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Gamester Reflex Arcade Stick for PS2
On Friday I was visiting Anna at work and doing my patriotic duty as an American to shop at my local mall. I was a bit reluctant to spending money on a new videogame because I am going to be buying two new games next week. Both F-Zero GX and Soul Calibur 2 are going to be hitting the stores. I was a bit bummed that I could not find a Madcatz Retrocon but I was pleased to see that the impending release of Soul Calibur 2 in the US had rekindled some new arcade sticks to appear on the shelves of local game stores. Most notable was a very realistic looking arcade stick by Pelican for 60 bucks and a Gamester Reflex Arcade Stick for PS2 for only $25.
The Pelican stick looked like it would need three strong men to lift it safely and since my previous Pelican review is still generating a steady stream of unhappy customers I decided to get the smaller Gamester Reflex Arcade stick. Just for the record my Pelican stick has always worked for me and I don't know what is up with the Playa haters. $25 later I was the proud owner of one of the best joysticks on the market. I have owned the Xbox version back when I was dope and it was the ONLY way to play Capcom vs SNK 2 EO for Xbox Live.
This joystick is just like the Xbox version but with a few minor changes. There is an analog/digital mode button on the top where the Xbox Live hookup was. And the green Xbox colors have been replaced with a dark Playstation2 blue.
This stick is just the right size with out being too big or too small. It comes with two joysticks and an Allen wrench to switch them. It comes with one of the sticks installed but the screw needs to be tightened so if you get one and the joystick feels loose then remember "Rightly Tighty, Lefty Loosy".
The joystick has just the right click and snap to it and throwing fireballs and dragon punches is a joy. The buttons have a good click and bounce on them and there is a total of eight of them in two rows of four. This lets you play Capcom three by three and SNK four in a row just fine.
There is a rubber like hand wrest and rubber like grips on the underside so if you play it on a desk or table it is not going to slip. The smaller size means that you can use it on a couch and held in your lap with out feeling that you are playing a brick of lead. This is one of the more ergonomic joysticks that I have used but it is now with out it's faults.
The small start and Select buttons are in a slightly strange place and I would have preferred to have them above the rows of main buttons. There is three programmable action buttons but since I never touch the stuff I was glad to have them out of the way. The Analog/Digital button is pointless since this is not a Analog joystick and games that require an analog control and two control sticks are impossible to play on this. But people do not buy these things to play SSX Tricky or Wipeout Fusion you get this so you can kick ass at Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution and King of Fighters.
This stick worked very well with the PS2 to Gamecube adapter and I look forward to using it to play Soul Calibur 2 on the Gamecube next week. But when plugged into the PS2 Virtua fighter 4 and Street Fighter Alpha 3 are a pure joy to play with this stick. Using my PS2 to USB adapter I had a good time playing various emulators using this stick.
This stick is a damn good $25 investment and is full of all the right features with a size that is not too big or too small.
Jake at August 24, 2003 
Reviews
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Comments
Even though it's missing a few buttons, I really dig the Red Octane joystick: http://www.redoctane.com/joystick-capcom.html
It's $5 more than the Pelican stick + shipping.
Posted by: dE at August 24, 2003 4:29 AM
Cool. actually it the Pelican stick was $60 and the Reflex was $25.
Posted by: Jake at August 24, 2003 8:49 AM
60 bux!?? Man that is dedication to the cause!
Although I have been known to spend, oh a thousand dollars on an lcd projector...heh.
Posted by: pete at August 24, 2003 11:51 AM
the stick you ended up buying sounds like a great bargain in "outrageous controller" land. thanks for the review...sounds like just what i need for all of the great fighting games being released this year! and using it for emulated games is a great idea...i'll have to look into getting one of those adapters now.
Posted by: Jeff at August 25, 2003 8:19 AM
Those red octane don't use true arcade parts but they do fit in there if someone wants to do the swap. My site has a gallery of sticks that I've built.
j~
Posted by: john at September 8, 2003 3:07 PM
I like the idea of having a digital/analog switch for the reflex joystick. Can you convert this to use with Xbox? Are they going to add this switch on Xbox reflex joysticks in the future? Where can you buy these? I'm in Canada and some sites don't deliver here.
Posted by: terry at September 9, 2003 7:01 PM
The digital/Analog button does not do anything. The joystick is digital all the time. Also they do make a Reflex stick for Xbox.
Posted by: Jake at September 9, 2003 7:37 PM
How well does it play against heavy weighters like the Namco stick or Hori sticks?
Posted by: Ragnarok at October 13, 2003 6:42 AM
How well does it play against heavy weighters like the Namco stick or Hori sticks? I heard from other reviews that some had problems with direct inputs with the stick, but that was the Xbox version but the diffrence shouldn't be that big?
Posted by: Ragnarok at October 13, 2003 6:43 AM
I don't know I have never played with a Hori or Namco stick.
Posted by: Jake at October 13, 2003 9:00 AM
Well they are beatiful and are sposed to be the best there is. Unfortunately it's to much for me to purchase one now with the shipping rates and taxes. http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-m-70-26m-4-7.html
But you didn't answer my question bout if there is any problem with direct inputs with the stick.
Posted by: Ragnarok at October 13, 2003 10:13 AM
Were can I find that old game called Ultima 3 to down load to my PC. Last time I played that game it was on my c64.
Posted by: James N. at October 21, 2003 10:44 AM
Not here. Try the software publisher.
Posted by: Jake at October 21, 2003 11:02 AM
The analog button refers to the buttons, not the stick. PS2 games can support having how hard you press a button matter.
Posted by: David Zelman at November 11, 2003 7:15 AM
I am not sure if it supports Analog button or not. I will give it a test with a game of Mad Maestro
Posted by: Jake at November 11, 2003 9:26 AM
I built my own arcade sticks using parts ordered from an arcade part manufactorer (happcontrols.com the biggest and best arcade parts in america)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/XxhennersXx/P5190029.jpg
Posted by: Henry at May 25, 2005 4:58 PM
hey freaks nothing less than a xarcade twinstick will work for a true fighting game lover!!
i just wish they had one with a cast alinum cased one.
Posted by: daniel at March 2, 2007 8:01 PM
