Anyone here a fan of the NES Advantage?

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

I personally love my NES Advantage joystick and I use it quite often on my NES when I'm playing arcade games like TMNT II: The Arcade Game, Double Dragon II & III, Astyanax, Pac-Man, and other classic arcade ports. I remember first getting one in 1996 from Funcoland for like $15 or something and I really didn't like it and hated using the turbo and slowdown buttons (still hate them), but after a while I grew a taste for arcade gaming and went back to it and began playing all my arcade ports using the stick and have kind of kept doing so over the years and enjoy the games so much more now.

I want to get the Super Advantage for the SNES for playing MK, Street Fighter II, and other arcade ports even though it's made by a 3rd party with the NES Advantage being made by Nintendo directly. Heck, maybe I'll start an arcade stick collection to go along with my controller collection! So much fun to be had.

Discuss the NES Advantage!

[jperryss]

I used the Advantage exclusively for several years NES gaming as a kid. Even on games that don't seem to warrant using an arcade-style controller, like RPGs.

Once you hit the console generations with shoulder buttons on the controllers (SNES, PS1, etc) arcade controller usability is severely limited.

[bigbacon]

it is all I use and used for a very long time. I dislike the square controller. uncomfortable and I can't use it unless it is upside down.

advantage just feels good in the hands and the sliding pad is awesome or just using the ring. I think the buttons feel better also.

EDIT:

Opps, was thinking NES Max not advantage.

I still have my original advantage. I liked it for somethings. I actually had lots of fun learning to play games with my feet using it. I was pretty good at it for a while.
fed
EDIT 2:
Baaa, I fed the troll......

[SpaceHarrier]

Once I got it, NES Advantage was all I used as a kid. Strangely, I don't recall using it even once during my adult life.

[Greg2600]

Too big I always felt, but for most it was the only way to get turbo buttons.

[FoxNtd]

Cheaper than importing the original ASCII Turbo :)

I only use it for STG.

[Jack_Burton_BYOAC]

I was obsessed with it as a kid, but by the time I finally got my hands on one as a teenager I was disappointed because it isn't a real arcade stick. The joystick and button use rubber domes instead of switches.

I eventually came across one of these:

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss37/jjaammeessnneess/P1050544.jpg

Which did use switches. Being an idiot teenager, I gutted it and mounted the joystick part in a cardboard shoebox with a couple of pushbuttons like these I had begged off a guy at a chuck e. cheese.

http://people.cs.vt.edu/~vanmetre/arcade/big2/button.jpg

The result was surprisingly playable, but not long lasting :(. But it was my first taste of real arcade controls at home.

But, if you really want the true Nintendo arcade experience you could build a custom stick out of the components used real Nintendo cabs, the springy "nintendo joystick" and squishy buttons found on the VS and DK cabinets.

http://i.imgur.com/8mIYM7e.jpg

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

I just love the way it feels when I'm playing arcade ports, I can't really explain it but I love the feeling of playing games in an arcade and this is the closest thing to it on the NES for me. Also, the NES Advantage is a very sturdy and well made product for its time, a great piece of equipment.

[bigbacon]

do you have a clock or something that tells you when post a pre-prepared reply to all your threads or something? If the point of your thread is to make a discussion, you post the same exact reply on every forum you plaster your same exact threads at, you sure don't want to discuss just keep your posts alive.

[XYXZYZ]

There have been a few threads about the NES Advantage, and in most of them I post the same story about how it's the only NES controller I use, how comfortable it is and how I haven't touched a gamepad since getting one. I have four of them, still use my original and I've even made one into a Playstation controller (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?139474-The-multi-system-compatible-NES-Advantage) so I can use it on other systems with adapters. (Like modded Xbox emulators)


One thing I've always failed to bring up in the other threads though, is how much I hate seeing some dipshit play an NES Advantage with his thumbs, like it's a damn gamepad.

[Darkwing]

I definitely used mine more as a kid, but I will still use it occasionally. I think the first game I ever used it on was Zoda's Revenge: StarTropics II.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

I'm actually amazed at how cheap I usually see the NES Advantage going for at mom n' pop shops and on eBay. Usually I see the stick going for $5-$7 locally and around $10 online, which is a steal in my opinion.

Even if you don't use it to play your games and if you're just an NES collector than this stick is certainly worth having in your collection.

[MetalFRO]

I've owned one for years, and I like mine a lot. I haven't used it much lately, due to having not had as much time in my living room with my NES as I'd like. I should remedy that and pull it out of the controller basket again :)

[StarMan_NES]

I use my NES Advantage mainly on NES arcade ports like many others here, but that's about it. Using the NES Advantage on a game such as Pro Wrestling (shameless plug) is a tad difficult and just doesn't seem to feel right, same goes for RPG's and many side-scrolling action/adventure games. But as much as it isn't suited for a lot of the games on the NES you'll never hear me question the quality of the product itself. As it stands, my NES Advantage has sustained numerous "star kicks" throughout the years that I've laid on it, too bad the same couldn't be said for King Slender....

[StarMan_NES]

I used this stick the other day while playing Gun Nac and Tiger Heli and I was able to play both games almost flawlessly and everything felt smooth and well rounded. The stick and button configurations felt fine and made the experience enjoyable all around, but then I tried the Advantage on Rad Racer and I couldn't even finish the first stage so I guess using it for racing games is a different story.

[Daria]

Once I got it, NES Advantage was all I used as a kid. Strangely, I don't recall using it even once during my adult life.

This. I also never found a real use for the turbo setting. I'd turn it on ocaasionally (and accidentally) as a kid to see what happened. But the majority of my games didn't really support it.

I also had a bad habit of unscrewing the joystick ball and popping it in my mouth while I played.

[BlastProcessing402]

I used the Advantage exclusively for several years NES gaming as a kid. Even on games that don't seem to warrant using an arcade-style controller, like RPGs.

Once you hit the console generations with shoulder buttons on the controllers (SNES, PS1, etc) arcade controller usability is severely limited.

I could've written the exact same post.

It sure made the "save without dying" function in Zelda 1 quite easy to do with that little switch to change controller ports.

Re: Pro Wrestling, while it wasn't perfect, the turbo function did help a lot in later matches.

[Canadian Psycho]

I was/am a huge fan of Baseball Stars and Street Fighter 2010 and the NES Advantage works incredibly well with those (heck, it's the best NES controller for baseball games and shooters as far as I am concerned).

I didn't enjoy the Super Advantage as much for some reason, but it might be because of the short cord, if memory serves.

[TheRetroVideoGameAddict]

One thing I'm noticing with my NES Advantage is that the A & B buttons are sometimes getting stuck if I don't press them directly in the middle, has anyone else experienced this? Maybe I need to open it up and clean the inside of it or something, it looks like normal screws on the bottom so it shouldn't be too hard.

[Ed Oscuro]

Haven't noticed that problem but it's been a while.

I've got a couple of these now, didn't pay much, and like them quite a bit. I see now why the Epyx stick got rave reviews, but the form factor is just terrible.

I have wondered (and so have others) about modifying the Advantage with more modern pushbuttons or joysticks, but it seems there may be some roadblocks to success (http://forums.shoryuken.com/discussion/153967/nes-advantage-mod) in that project.

For the moment you can't go too wrong trying to clean it out carefully. I don't know if it needs lubricant, but if it does then make sure you're using something appropriate (I forget exactly what was recommended to me for replacing lube on another joystick, but it involves molybdenum grease.

[PizzaKat]

Funny I was playing this yesterday with Life Force and I couldnt get in the groove. Its bad enough I suck at the game with just a regular d pad. Its really cool but I totally can't play it. I recently bought the Super Advantage and that things a beast practically the size of an SNES. I got it for the fighters since I really can't do anything with the Dpad on those. New Gen fighters like Street Fighter and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom I can't play on Arcade sticks its too awkward for me but the small ones on the controller.

[8-Bit Archeology]

I love the NES Advantage for soo many games. It is the onlt controller I will use for Star Soldier, Zanac, TMNT, Lolo and I'll even use it for Roger Rabbit. It brings the feeling of an arcade to the game for me. Plus when I have friends over for high score battles it just seems more fun when its your turn you walk up to the joystick. It's a novelty somewhat but still a blast. And it is built tough.

[Ed Oscuro]

Funny I was playing this yesterday with Life Force and I couldnt get in the groove. Its bad enough I suck at the game with just a regular d pad.
I am better (often) with a keyboard or even a d-pad than a joystick...it just takes getting used to.

There's also more uncertainty about what direction you're pressing into with a joystick than with a d-pad and certainly compared to a keyboard.

So yeah, nothing to feel really bad about there.

[BlastProcessing402]

One thing I'm noticing with my NES Advantage is that the A & B buttons are sometimes getting stuck if I don't press them directly in the middle, has anyone else experienced this? Maybe I need to open it up and clean the inside of it or something, it looks like normal screws on the bottom so it shouldn't be too hard.

I remember something like that happening occasionally, but you had to be really off center to get them stuck.