Best Commodore 64 Joystick?

A fun fact for those of you who love the Epyx joystick.
Konix released a successor for the 500XJ called the "Konix Navigator" which featured a design evolution to a ambidextrous trigger-style grip.
Has the same clicky mini joystick and and fire button, but with a black and blue color scheme and somewhat cooler design. They were mainly only available in Europe and were rarely seen in the US. I snagged one off eBay a while ago, but they rarely show up domestically.

FUN FACT -- the Konix Navigator was going to be the pack-in joystick for the ill-fated KONIX MULTISYSTEM
 

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TAC-2. my 2 cents. Plus it looked super cool.

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Agreed there.
That and the Slik Stik have a very unique feel compared to all other options out there at the time.
Everything used either 'dome' switches, leaf switches or microswitches.

The Tac-2 used a metal ball on the bottom of the shaft to actuate some solid metal switches. Has a totally unique feel (a satisfying solid plastic kind of feedback -- hard to describe) and I can't recall any arcade games that used a similar type of joystick mechanism.
 
BITD, we had two C-64s and a VIC-20 (still have).

Atari 2600 sticks were the norm. However, we also had these two joysticks--acquired from local retail shops in England:

The Quickshot II was great for flying games, such as F-15 Strike Eagle, Blue Thunder, and Blue Max. There are suction cups under the base allowing it to be attached to the table and controlled with one hand--adding realism to the (flying) game experience--especially with the trigger button and auto-fire feature. This wasn't too bad for the 1980s.
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The Moonraker stick sounds and looks cool but was useless. The stick had very limited range causing the user to exert more force than necessary which would sometimes separate the stick from the base. Unfortunately, the stick was designed to plug into the base.
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Atariage had some fancy joysticks that were a bit too pricey for my tastes. I was gonna shit on the original VCS joystick, but I've had all in this thread except for the moonraker one above and due to age or build quality the Atari one tended to be the most reliable.

I actually liked the 500xl for the 5 minutes that it worked LOL
 
For the Vic-20 and Atari 800, my parents and I had our favorites: Mom used the Wico Bat, Dad used the Epix, and I used (and still do) the Tac 2.
 
no such thing as an Atari 500XL. never existed. I do believe you were referring to the Atari 600XL (or 800XL or 65XE or 130XE or 1200XL or 1400XL or 1450XLD)...
Epyx? That controller above, the little one
 
Bumping this up.

My recommendation, though not authentic, is BackBit GenAssister with Sega Genesis Arcade Joystick. I like the ability to enable turbo fire at the joystick rather than at the port.

GenAssister Features
  • START button toggles between port 1 & 2;
  • MODE button returns to menu when attached to BackBit cartridge via included cable;
  • "A" button performs fire on alternate joystick;
  • "B" button performs REGULAR fire;
  • "C" button mimics UP direction;

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I used a standard Atari joystick as a kid and that's what all the other kids seemed to have.
In later years I got a slikstik and loved it. Still use it.
I don't like the 500XJ personally. Too clicky and awkward to me. A lot of people love them, though.
 
Agreed there.
That and the Slik Stik have a very unique feel compared to all other options out there at the time.
Everything used either 'dome' switches, leaf switches or microswitches.

The Tac-2 used a metal ball on the bottom of the shaft to actuate some solid metal switches. Has a totally unique feel (a satisfying solid plastic kind of feedback -- hard to describe) and I can't recall any arcade games that used a similar type of joystick mechanism.
Fun fact- it's a standard automotive tire valve. Parts re-used for another purpose.
 
Loved the Tac 2 as well and spent a ton of time on my Commodore SX64 using them. That said, for the more twitchy games like Hyper Sports, we used these because of the short throw:

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Loved the Tac 2 as well and spent a ton of time on my Commodore SX64 using them. That said, for the more twitchy games like Hyper Sports, we used these because of the short throw:

s-l500.jpg
The Slik Stik is a much-loved stick by just about anyone who grew up in the 80's playing console and computer games. It was affordable, easy to hold and is basically just a miniature Tac-2 with great tactile response.

These things were popular for a reason!
 
Haha I remember the grenade joystick from watching Ashens (or whatever that YouTube channel is called).
Despite it's weird premise and shape, it seemed to be a decent microswitched joystick.
 
The Sega Genesis 3 button controller. Best DB9 controller ever. And yes, for C64, too.

Probably not gonna be a popular opinion, but just try it, and then tell me I'm wrong. :)

Yep, I did mod an Odyssey2 just so I can use CX40's and the Genesis controllers with it.

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