Looking for a specific Amiga joystick..

[save2600]

One joystick that comes to mind is the Epyx 500XJ. It has everything you're looking for and is comfortable during extended use. I've got a mint one myself, but will be keeping it. 2-button joys are not common  :-(  

 ePay's got a similar one here.

He lists it as an Atari joystick, but mine (same model number) has TWO firing buttons (different and discrete I might add) on the right hand side. His joystick is also missing the rapid-fire switch, so I'm guessing they made at least a couple different versions of this joystick. Just wanted to give you the basic idea of what it looks like, etc.  

And it looks like Amigakit has a 4-button USB Joy bundled with Amiga games. Anyone here have this and know if the software included on that disk are for REAL Amiga computers (.adf's, etc.)? Is it robust enough or feel cheaply made?

[save2600]

Atari 2600 type joysticks are the best to use IMHO on the Amiga. Yeah, they usually only have one button, but they're the best when it comes to that annoying_as_hell diagonal 'UP' jump on Miggy platformers. I agree with your console playing mates: many Amiga platform games suck because of the LACK of a joystick standard. Commodore and these other 3rd party joystick/hardware producers should have instituted more of a standard that way.

OTOH, since platform gaming kinda blows on the Amiga because of this, I've found that the Sega 6-Button gamepads perform best. Their directional pads allow for much easier diagonal 'UP' movement and you can use them with the (very) few games that took advantage of 2+ button configs.

And yeah, one of my favourite games that could/should have easily utilised a second button scenario would be the awesome R-Type. :madashell:

 Linky to Sega control pad driver software

[save2600]

@beller:

My EPYX joystick came with a bunch of other Amiga stuff I got in a deal. I typically do not like it for platformers because of its loose feel and orientation. It's also a microswitch joystick, which I HATE. If it had been designed with leaf switches, you'd have the feedback necessary to handle the diagonal movements much better. And come to think of it, my memory has just been jogged... I DO remember these in stores that sold Amiga gear back in the day. I can envision the box looking like all the other 500XJ boxes, 'cept w/ an Amiga/AtariST sticker slapped on it.

Thanks for the info on the Amigakit joy and the software. I may have to place an order here soon and give it a try.

[save2600]

@pVC:

 Yep - the EPYX joystick I am talking about looks exactly like yours, except mine does not say 'Speedkings'. And where your date and numbers are stamped toward the front, mine does state 'by Konix' under the 500XJ & EPYX designations. And oh, I've got a pair of those new 2600 Taiwanese rip-offs. They're junk to be sure. I'm not worried about joysticks actually. Have rubbermaid bins full of Wico, Tac's, Competition Pro(my least favourite) and the like from back in the day. I've also got this heavy duty tank of a joystick with paddle controllers built in as well. This used to be advertised in the TI-994/A catalogues back in the day. That's the joystick I use on my A2500. I should post a picture of this sexy thing sometime soon. So with this and all the other joys I've got, should last me the rest of my life I would think  :-)