ausretrogamer

Does size really matter? What exactly are we referring to here? Get your mind out of the gutter – we are talking about joysticks! When it comes to controlling your favourite video games, everything matters – the size, feel, stability, precision, ergonomics and durability of the joystick.

Not all joysticks are made equal, some feel great when playing shoot’em ups, only to let you down when it comes to those waggle-the-stick 100m sprint games. Others are durable during those wrist breaking manoeuvres, only to leave you feeling as if you sustained major trauma to your wrist and fingers. So how does one judge a joystick objectively? It is hard, but we are willing to give it a crack.

Let’s dispel the ‘one joystick fits all’ myth – there isn’t one. There, it has been said. In this regular Joystick Battles feature, we will pit two joysticks against each other, with the winner progressing to the last round, JoystickMania 1. The judgement criteria will be based on: ergonomic feel, precision/stability and durability. To ensure we remain objective, we will use the joysticks on a variety of gaming genres; shoot’em ups, platformers and wrist-breaking wagglers. This should sort out the wheat from the chaff.

The first joystick battle is between the Commodore C-1342 joystick and the Konix Speedking. I know what you are thinking, we shouldn’t pit a pack-in joystick with an aftermarket one. Hey, it is a free world and we can do whatever the hell we like.

So how did the C-1342 fare against the Speedking? Lay your peepers on the below table:

After getting all hot and bothered on the C64, there could only be one winner in this joystick battle.

Verdict: Konix Speeding
Being an aftermarket joystick, you would have expected the Konix to breeze through this battle. The C-1342 put up a great fight, but the durability of the stick lets it down big time. The Speedking does seem gimmicky in style, but it does the job admirably and it feels great in the hand – if you are a right handed player!