I also got the Genesis version of the stick. I didn't particularly like the buttons, but the joystick itself felt really nice to hold. I assume it's made with the same material as the SFC/SNES sticks?
I wouldn't classify the stick as "sucking" by any stretch of the imagination - I will note that it's Joystick is Japanese-style and thus may not have as many fans among the "Retro" group as it does the "Hardcore tourney fighter" group.

If the joystick is arcade-quality as it is, I wonder how possible it'd be to replace the buttons with something more arcade-like as well.