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Which Classic 9 pin joystick is best across most platforms?

khaz said:
The only confirmed kill by a Megadrive controller is the C64. More specifically, if you use the keyboard while the controller is plugged in, there is a chance to fry some chips in the computer. http://www.floodgap.com/retrobits/ckb/display.cgi?26

Everything else is safe as far as I know.
Click to expand...

Thanks, thats what I was trying to get at earlier I had read that as well. Is there anyway to modify a megadrive controller for C64 use only to circumvent that issue?
 
The Gemstik is still the one that I use the most. But you can't get them for $4.99 at Target like you could thirty years ago.

They are cheap and cheaply built. But they do last a long time if you don't abuse them. And they're easy to fix.
 
Gonna go out on a limb here...but I actually really like the Cheetah Annihilator (cheap crappy 3 button joystick bundled with the C64GS). By the early 90's they were bundling them with C64Cs and it was my first Joystick. I found it really comfortable to use and despite lack of microswitches it seemed fairly accurate.

It's infamous reputation for shoddy build probably is fair enough as I did chew threw 2 or 3 of them in less than a year whilst the C64 was under warranty, any left probably aren't in very good condition.

For a better joystick, I really like the QuickJoy III Supercharger (which the Cheetah was replaced with after it failed out of warranty). Really nice microswitched design, very comfortable to use with enough resistance to be accurate but not so much that it is hard to move the stick around. Also has Autofire. Very solidly built for a low cost digital joystick. My example is over 25 years old and has taken a lot of abuse over the years, still works like new.
 
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