Best replacement joysticks for Mortal Kombat machines

khabbi

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Best replacement joysticks for Mortal Kombat machines

I just bought an MK2 cab that was converted to an UMK3, and I must say that I am excited about the project... but the joysticks are garbage and need to be replaced.

I love the original, stock joysticks that were used in the MK series games, but I've heard that the Happs competition joysticks aren't the same... can someone who knows that plays the MK series games help me decide what to get? I think that unless you play the game and understand how the stock sticks feel, it may not be as straight forward as to which replacement will work best.

Thanks in advance!
 
I replaced the joysticks in all my fighting games with the Happ Competition joystick. you'll be amazed at how nice they perform. my only knock on them is that sometimes when you install the stick part, the metal end of the stick is sometimes slightly too big around for the actuator assembly and when you twist the stick the actuator can get jammed in-between the switches. lol it's a problem with the manufacturing process I guess. I've had some where I could just install them and they were fine.

easy fix though is to take a Dremel or equivalent piece of hardware and put a sanding block (the cylindrical kind) and just go over the whole chrome part with it. you want it where the actuator doesn't turn with the stick.

doing this, you'll have a very accurate performing joystick.

I don't know what they came with originally, probably the IL kind. there's a place called Lizard Lick Amusements that sells these, but another user on here said that the red joysticks didn't even come close to color matching the red for their MK2 project, had like a faded pinkish tone.

the ones in my KI1 are like a hybrid of the Happ Comps and the IL kind, I saved the white actuators off the old joysticks (ILs, I think) and installed those on there. maybe you can get away with the same thing.

stay away from the Happ Ultimate joystick. very inaccurate, has a weaker spring, gives it a more floaty feel. I have no choice but to use those on my Street Fighter Alpha 3 because of the wooden CP being modified with double plexi (the Comps are for metal CPs only) and well... you can get used to it, but it's nowhere near as good.

one day I might experiment with using a stronger spring, see if that helps any, but the actuator designs are totally different than the Comps.

hope this information was helpful.
 
in my expereince the happ competition joysticks are fantastic. when i ran an arcade i replaced them all with these.
 
in my expereince the happ competition joysticks are fantastic. when i ran an arcade i replaced them all with these.

My concern is that they don't make them like they used to, as a few searches have shown that the quality of them have come down... perhaps it makes sense, they were making millions of them when the video arcades were flourishing, and now they're just being sold in small numbers (relatively speaking).

Still interested in everyones feedback, I'm looking at both of the happs joysticks, the competition and the ultimate.
 
I said Lizard Lick, I meant Groovy Game Gear (www.groovygamegear.com) sorry!

the actuator assemblies are what kinda suck the most. like I said before, the older white ones were awesome.

you can tweak them out by sanding them or doing whatever you want with them, I still maintain that they're the best, especially for fighting games. if you're concerned at all though, I think for MK you can get away with Ultimates. maybe get one of each and see which you like better.
 
I've bought the new Ultimates and Competition sticks and the Ultimates suck really hard. Stick with what Mecha187 suggested in the competition sticks. The problem with the new competition sticks is the actuator is too tight on the joystick shaft preventing it from rotating freely. They are still good though. Most people won't notice a problem at all.

If you don't want to take a chance just buy the higher priced IL competition sticks from Lizard Lick.
 
I said Lizard Lick, I meant Groovy Game Gear (www.groovygamegear.com) sorry!

the actuator assemblies are what kinda suck the most. like I said before, the older white ones were awesome.

you can tweak them out by sanding them or doing whatever you want with them, I still maintain that they're the best, especially for fighting games. if you're concerned at all though, I think for MK you can get away with Ultimates. maybe get one of each and see which you like better.

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and ordered 2 of the competition joysticks from GGG. Red of course! :)

I just can't believe how bad these aftermarket joysticks feel in my UMK3 right now, they suck SO bad that it changes the entire feel of the game! And I just don't think the black ones look good there, either. Can't wait to tinker with the new ones...
 
my KI2 had some really bizarre joysticks. didn't help that the wiring loom in the CP had an intermittent ground problem, like you'd lose half the inputs. had some extra stuff laying around, was able to fix that, but the joysticks that were in it (I'm assuming they were original too) had these massively stiff springs in them they just never "flowed" right.

I tried interchanging different parts off some old Comps to create frankensticks, but that didn't work either.

I've ordered so many sets of blue Comps in the last year for all my games and a MAME controller I got, it's sickening. LOL

and I stand corrected, GGG just sells Happ's Comps. so, any of my sanding tips above will still apply.
 
If you don't mind spending a little extra, you could get the Suzo inductives a shot.

They're very smooth, have a great feel to the (very short throw), and their reaction is spot on.

Just an idea... I don't see many people using them in fighting games... I think it probably has to do with cost and the height of the stick... but I absolutely love them. If they came in a Wico ball style, I'd be beyond thrilled and would put them in every machine that I could. No more replacement leaf/cherry switching, no more clicks, no more headaches.
 
in my expereince the happ competition joysticks are fantastic. when i ran an arcade i replaced them all with these.

I bought a set of Apps for my MK2 but they seem to be too short and won't fit..
 
The original sticks USED to be Happ Competition sticks, when Happ was just rebranding IL sticks. But, the Happ Competitions are something different now (since the whole Suzo-Happ thing) and not as good.

To get the originals now, you don't want Happ Competition, you want IL (Industrias Lorenzo), like this:
https://paradisearcadeshop.com/home...eurojoystick-series/165_il-eurojoystick-black
(they have them in different colors, this is just an example)

I've purchased from Paradise several times and have always had a good experience.
 
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