The Flashback wired joysticks are pretty great

[TampaBay]

I have Flashback wired joysticks for my FB 2, FB 9 (with Nexus), and FB 12 Gold.  I've always thought the joysticks were great, but had no point of comparison (except memory) since I don't have any classic CX40's from an O.G. 2600. 

 

The Atari.com store recently had the newer CX40+ joysticks in stock so I grabbed one.  These are the same joysticks that come with the 2600+.  The CX40+ is a great joystick too, but the Flashback joysticks are pretty similar.  I think I was expecting a drastic difference between the FB joysticks and the CX40+, but except that the CX40+ is slightly larger, they feel and play pretty much the same.  I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Also, I recently picked up this DB9 to USB adapter (link below) for about 20 bucks on Amazon, so I can use my Flashback and CX40+ joysticks on my mini-PC.  It works flawlessly and I personally find it so much better to use an Atari joystick for Atari games than a modern controller.  Well worth the $22.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089LSHW4T

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18 by TampaBay

[Alex_813]

This is what happened to my FB controller during some intense Jr. Pac-Man game play.

[TampaBay]

49 minutes ago, Alex_813 said:

This is what happened to my FB controller during some intense Jr. Pac-Man game play.

 

I did the exact same thing to mine, but it was several years old so I chalked it up to use and age.  Mine looked identical to yours when it snapped. 

 

I grabbed a spare Flashback 9 on eBay for 20 bucks to replace the joystics and never looked back.  Now I have a backup FB 9 if my other one ever goes.  All my other FB joysticks are fine.  (For the record, I was playing Bruce Lee for Atari 800 on my Flashback in the middle of some serious karate chops and ladder climbing when I snapped it just like yours).

 

Edited April 25 by TampaBay

[unaigalder]

Siguen siendo la misma mierda plastico que tiene mis joystick Atari 2600Jr

[Gabe]

On 4/18/2024 at 6:56 AM, TampaBay said:

I have Flashback wired joysticks for my FB 2, FB 9 (with Nexus), and FB 12 Gold.  I've always thought the joysticks were great, but had no point of comparison (except memory) since I don't have any classic CX40's from an O.G. 2600. 

 

The Atari.com store recently had the newer CX40+ joysticks in stock so I grabbed one.  These are the same joysticks that come with the 2600+.  The CX40+ is a great joystick too, but the Flashback joysticks are pretty similar.  I think I was expecting a drastic difference between the FB joysticks and the CX40+, but except that the CX40+ is slightly larger, they feel and play pretty much the same.  I was pleasantly surprised.

I found the opposite to be the case with the joysticks from my Flashback 12 Gold. They feel really cheaply made, and they're quite loose. I compared them with the joysticks that came with my Flashback 2, and the feel is quite similar. Don't get me wrong, they work just fine, and if it's all I had I've no doubt I'd be having a lot of fun using them. I had purchased an extra CX40+ for my 2600+, but I've now taken to using it with the FB12G, while using the multi-button joystick it came with in the right port for the sake of menu navigation. As soon as the CX40+ is back in stock on Amazon I'm going to order another one. The CX40+ just feels so much like the joysticks I had with my 2600 as a kid, and they feel much better made. 

 

I also found the paddles that came with my FB12G to not be very good. While they work just fine with the games, they're really stiff to turn. They loosen up a bit after using them for a while, but my hand eventually tires too much to still be fun. Once they cool back down they're quite stiff to turn again. I do have paddles that I got with the four game paddle pack for my 2600+, and they're a LOT better, so I've got a standalone set of the CX30+ paddles on order from Amazon, which are supposed to be released on June 7th. I actually contacted AtGames about the paddles, and they're only solution was sending the whole FB12G back to them for replacement, but I didn't do so. Once I get the CX30+ paddles I might try taking the FB12G paddles apart to see if I can loosen them up a bit. The fact that they get looser as they get warmer from use gives me hope that I can do so. 

 

I still love the FB12G though. I've got over 900 games on it now (using a USB flash drive). Far more games than I could ever really play, but I like that I now have so many to choose from. And though I still love my 2600+ and the cartridges because of nostalgia, I do like having all of those games right there and easy to choose from with the Flashback. 

[TampaBay]

1 hour ago, Gabe said:

I found the opposite to be the case with the joysticks from my Flashback 12 Gold. They feel really cheaply made, and they're quite loose. I compared them with the joysticks that came with my Flashback 2, and the feel is quite similar. Don't get me wrong, they work just fine, and if it's all I had I've no doubt I'd be having a lot of fun using them. I had purchased an extra CX40+ for my 2600+, but I've now taken to using it with the FB12G, while using the multi-button joystick it came with in the right port for the sake of menu navigation. As soon as the CX40+ is back in stock on Amazon I'm going to order another one. The CX40+ just feels so much like the joysticks I had with my 2600 as a kid, and they feel much better made. 

 

I also found the paddles that came with my FB12G to not be very good. While they work just fine with the games, they're really stiff to turn. They loosen up a bit after using them for a while, but my hand eventually tires too much to still be fun. Once they cool back down they're quite stiff to turn again. I do have paddles that I got with the four game paddle pack for my 2600+, and they're a LOT better, so I've got a standalone set of the CX30+ paddles on order from Amazon, which are supposed to be released on June 7th. I actually contacted AtGames about the paddles, and they're only solution was sending the whole FB12G back to them for replacement, but I didn't do so. Once I get the CX30+ paddles I might try taking the FB12G paddles apart to see if I can loosen them up a bit. The fact that they get looser as they get warmer from use gives me hope that I can do so. 

 

I still love the FB12G though. I've got over 900 games on it now (using a USB flash drive). Far more games than I could ever really play, but I like that I now have so many to choose from. And though I still love my 2600+ and the cartridges because of nostalgia, I do like having all of those games right there and easy to choose from with the Flashback. 

Yes!  The paddles from the FB12 are definitely stiff.  They do loosen up over time though, like you said.  I actually really like them for games like Super Breakout where I prefer the precision.  For games like Kaboom! they can get tiring though.  Do you still have your Flashback 2?  The FB12 paddles on the Flashback 2 hidden paddles games are AMAZING.  Playing paddles games on the FB2 which is not emulated like the FB 12 is a revelation.  It's beyond night and day.  So much so, that I don't often play paddle games on the FB12 anymore, and I'm thinking about doing the cartridge mod on my FB2 to play more paddle games than the couple of hidden ones.  Emulation doesn't seem to affect joystick games nearly as much as it does the paddle games.  Emulation is not great for the paddle games, at least compared to the FB2.

 

As for the joysticks, maybe there some differences in production runs, or maybe the ones I use the most are from my FB9 and they're different, not sure.  Or maybe my CX40+ are from a different production run than yours.   My FB joysticks are CX40+ are nearly identical.  There is definitely no difference in build quality.  As a matter of fact, my CX40+ makes a horrible clicking noise in both horizontal directions (when I push left or right), that I don't really use it any more because the sound is too annoying.  I may try to use it more to see if the clicking goes away.  I guess I could take it apart and try to solve it that way, but I have half a dozen Flashback joysticks laying around that I like just as much, so I'm in no rush to take the CX40+ apart.  My FB and CX40+ are so close in most respects, in a blind test I'd be surprised if anyone could tell them apart (minus the clicking noise).  I grew up on the 2600 as well and all of these joysticks feel great to me from that perspective.

 

I have a CX30+ paddle set ordered as well, and I'm looking forward to trying them.  Assuming they're looser than the FB12 paddles, that will be much better for games like Kaboom!.  I ordered mine direct from the Atari website, so who knows when they'll ship.  I'll post on here whenever they ship.

 

 

[Gabe]

16 hours ago, TampaBay said:

Do you still have your Flashback 2?  The FB12 paddles on the Flashback 2 hidden paddles games are AMAZING. 

Unfortunately, no. I still had it when I got the 2600+ and the paddles, and I tried the hidden paddle games in it, which were pretty neat. The sensitivity was a bit high, especially with Super Breakout, but it was still pretty neat to finally have paddles to try those hidden games. 

 

A short time later I decided to take my FB2 apart again to see what revision of system board it had, as I couldn't remember. I probably still wouldn't have ended up modding it, but I was curious. When I took it apart, one of the wires snapped off of one of the boards (I can't remember which), which wasn't a huge deal, as I could have fixed that. However, a few minutes after that, through a series of unfortunate events involving my cat, the main system board ended up being cracked, completely ruining it. So I kept the two joysticks and power supply and trashed the rest. Only one of the joysticks works though. The other one was problematic from the start, but hitting it on the side usually got it working. It finally stopped working altogether, so I only have the one that actually still works.

 

If I didn't have the FB12G, the 2600+ and even a GSP, I'd probably look into replacing the FB2, though I know I'd have to be careful due to all of the knockoffs out there. 

 

That is interesting about the CX40+. I saw a video on YouTube where a person had one and it was clicking like that, almost like the old CX10, but worse. Neither of mine do that, thankfully. And if your soon to have paddles are like the ones I got with the four game paddle pack, you're going to love them. They feel practically identical to the original VCS/2600 paddles. Just the perfect amount of resistance. Not at all stiff, but not too loose either. I'm hoping the new set I get are like these too. 

[TampaBay]

38 minutes ago, Gabe said:

Unfortunately, no. I still had it when I got the 2600+ and the paddles, and I tried the hidden paddle games in it, which were pretty neat. The sensitivity was a bit high, especially with Super Breakout, but it was still pretty neat to finally have paddles to try those hidden games. 

 

A short time later I decided to take my FB2 apart again to see what revision of system board it had, as I couldn't remember. I probably still wouldn't have ended up modding it, but I was curious. When I took it apart, one of the wires snapped off of one of the boards (I can't remember which), which wasn't a huge deal, as I could have fixed that. However, a few minutes after that, through a series of unfortunate events involving my cat, the main system board ended up being cracked, completely ruining it. So I kept the two joysticks and power supply and trashed the rest. Only one of the joysticks works though. The other one was problematic from the start, but hitting it on the side usually got it working. It finally stopped working altogether, so I only have the one that actually still works.

 

If I didn't have the FB12G, the 2600+ and even a GSP, I'd probably look into replacing the FB2, though I know I'd have to be careful due to all of the knockoffs out there. 

 

That is interesting about the CX40+. I saw a video on YouTube where a person had one and it was clicking like that, almost like the old CX10, but worse. Neither of mine do that, thankfully. And if your soon to have paddles are like the ones I got with the four game paddle pack, you're going to love them. They feel practically identical to the original VCS/2600 paddles. Just the perfect amount of resistance. Not at all stiff, but not too loose either. I'm hoping the new set I get are like these too. 

 

Ah, gotcha.  About the FB2, yep, that's the reason I haven't bit the bullet and tried the FB2 cartridge mod yet.  There's nothing you did wrong that caused yours to break, things just happen.  These can be delicate pieces.  🐈 🐈‍⬛   I'm "fairly" handy with stuff around the house, working on my truck, etc., but the electronic stuff / soldering work is by no means in my wheelhouse.  I'm sure I'd manage to snap something and I'm not sure I'd be in a position to fix it.  I won't bore you with a long story, but I tried to work on a Flashback joystick and let's just say it ended up in the trash.  Thankfully I had several others from my other FB purchases.

 

It's funny you mention about the slightly high sensitivy of the CX30+ with the FB2.  I wonder if the stiffness of the FB12 paddles is a slight avantage for that one particular game.  As we both mentioned though, the FB12's can be a bit too stiff for quick action games like Kaboom!  Assuming my CX30+ paddles eventually ship, it will be interesting to see the difference on the FB2 compared to the FB12 paddles.  I have a feeling that you're going to be right and that I'll definitely prefer the CX30+'s less resistance.  They were a pre-order and I think they're supposed to ship "sometime in May" but I saw comments on other threads that some Atari hardware is shipping late, so who knows.

 

Yeah my CX40+ jotstick feels fine and is perfectly able to be used, I just need to sort out the clicking and I'll be good to go with it.  I've seen teardown videos of it, and it seems super easy to do, so I might as well just try.  Maybe a mini-project this weekend.  😀