Just when I thought it was finished:
I was lucky enough to blag another trip to Japan with work. I’ve not been since the acquisition of my Gradius IV game two years ago, and It’s such a lovely time of year to go I couldn’t refuse. The cherry blossom was just starting to bloom and the temperatures were beginning to pick up after Winter. I knew I couldn’t come back home with another arcade game…..she would have killed me……but there was no harm in looking, right?!
Amazing view of Mount Fuji on final approach to Haneda (HND):
It was a little early for the full cherry blossom season but there was still some to be found:
The Tokyo tower looked fabulous in the Spring sunshine.:
As soon as I landed, I quickly dumped my stuff in the hotel room and got changed. I had packed some special trainers that I don’t often wear, but because of the dry weather, and because of where I was, I put them on straight away!
Posh Nintendo inspired Puma trainers:
My colleague and I left the hotel straight away to catch a train from Yokohama to Tokyo. He was meeting a family member in Shinjuku, so I remained on the train for a few more stops and alighted at Akihabara (Electric town gate) because this time I was on a shopping mission - and that was to find joysticks and buttons for project cabinet number two which is secretly underway….! I know I can buy them online in the UK, but where’s the fun in that?
I had seen a shop on the Internet that I had wanted to visit, however, there were some amazing arcade places en-route, so I decided to stop off there on the way and begin by heading to Super Potato to see their cabinets, and also Taito (Hey!). I had seen the cabs in Super Potato before, but this time I came armed with a stash of 100Y coins! I also really wanted to inspect the cabs up close.
The cabs in Super Potato are a little rough around the edges but considering they’re still very much work horses, the screens were well adjusted and the atmosphere in there was great. It gets a bit hot in there so be prepared to strip a bit if you want to stay. After a light bash on Metal Slug X, and a serious hankering for a Sega Astro City machine, I headed towards Taito Hey!
Well…..what can I say? If you’ve never been there, it’s incredible. On the first floor there are some claw machines and a plethora of Egret 2 machines. I have never seen so many together all in one place - I counted them……62 in total!
There were six machines in a row…..Gradius, Gradius 2, Gradius 3, Parodius, Parodius Da and Gokujo Parodius.
Obviously I was disappointed that there was no Gradius IV but no worries, I was still armed with my stash of coins and I decided that I wanted to play me some Gradius 2. All the machines were in use because it was a Saturday afternoon and was busy. But no bother, I thought to myself…..I’ll just sit and wait. Well, the guy on Gradius 2……what a pro he was!! I was in awe of his ship placement and skills - there was no way I was getting on to that machine any time soon. At one point he arrived at a boss, parked his ship in an area of screen and picked up his bottle of tea to casually take some sips (no pause screen). The boss was rapid-firing like mad, yet all his efforts missed the player’s Vic Viper!! Meanwhile, the player casually placed his drink back down on the cabinet and screwed the cap back on. Then he simply resumed where he left off, and obliterated the boss within a few seconds. Absolute skill and dedication - he was clearly a very experienced player and it was a pleasure to watch.
The players on Gradius 2 and Gradius 3 were seriously skilled. Also, check out the high scores on the games:
Anyway, enough arcading and I finally found the shop I was looking for, called “MAK” - I needed two Sanwa joysticks and 14 buttons. Whilst I was in there, I saw a limited edition Seimitsu 45th anniversary joystick on display. Sadly, it was already sold and they didn’t have any more left. What a shame!! It looked soooo nice, with its shiny gold shaft and special knob…..
I managed to buy the new bits I was after and had a look at the game boards for sale. I was tempted to get a Marvel Vs Capcom but decided against it in the end. On the way back to the hotel I stopped off at some second-hand shops and bought a couple of PlayStation games that I had been secretly after (Parodious, Jikkyo Oshaberi Parodius, and Espgaluda for the PS2). I also bought an official PS1 RGB cable that I found in a junk bin for £15. I thought that was a bargain despite it being a JP-21 connector (even though it looks the same as our European scart leads, it’s wired differently and is incompatible). I knew I would need an adaptor for the cable to work with my UK spec Trinitron, so I swiftly ordered one from Ali Express whilst I was on the train heading back to the hotel.
It would have been be rude not to stock up on some rare Japanese treasures whilst I was there. Amazing second-hand condition as always - don’t forget to take your passport for tax-free prices!
Meanwhile, that night back in the room, I was reading up about that fabled joystick I had stumbled upon, and I discovered that
@Arcade Parts UK had some in stock! Omg what a coincidence! They had secured 10 items and I ordered one straight away. It was a little expensive considering what the cost was in Japan, but beggars can’t be choosers, and seeing as I play Gradius IV pretty much every single day, I thought how great it would be to have a stick that I can literally customise however I wanted it.
I eagerly awaited the delivery of my posh new individually numbered joystick (850 units) but with work and stuff I didn’t really have time to install it when it arrived. Well, roll forwards to today and it was raining this afternoon, so I thought I would spend some time customising the joystick and then get it installed into the Windy 2.
The 45th edition joystick comes packaged in a green box:
You’ll recall from my Windy 2 build that the Sanwa joystick I installed had an extended shaft. In hindsight it was actually a little too long, despite the fact that I spaced it away with some rubber washers. I also fitted a slightly stiffer spring. I actually prefer the stick on this machine to be quite loose because Gradius at times requires some finesse so some light finger movement is all that is required.
I opened the bright green box and was greeted with the rare pre-order bonus of the 45th anniversary Seimitsu sticker pack. What a treat that was, and one which I definitely wasn’t expecting. As usual, a little packet of sweets was also enclosed - a little sustenance for the afternoon!
Inside I was surprised to see the sticker pack, which was meant for customers who pre-ordered:
Inside the box were a load of customisable parts. There was obviously the golden joystick, two types of dust covers (interior and external), two types of joystick tops (ball and bat type), three additional springs, four spacers for extending the shaft, four different pattern gates, and an adapter mount.
Ooooh where to begin!!!! I was buzzing with excitement! I offered the joystick up to the Windy 2 control panel, and I realised that Seimitsu orientate their stick in landscape, rather than portrait. It did fit on the mount sideways, but it was really close to the D button blank.
My OCD couldn’t deal with that - if I put a button in that hole, it would definitely interfere. So, I rotated the mount plate by 90 degrees to orient it portrait style. The shaft, was way too short though, so I added all four spacers. It was still a little shorter than my extended Sanwa joystick, which was actually a good thing, because in hindsight, that was a little too tall for a candy cab.
The pattern gate attached to the new swanky joystick was circular, and that was weird to use! I mean, it would be perfect for a fighting game, but the 8-way direction of Gradius would be better with something else. The box contained an octagonal adapter which I thought would be perfect!!
Spoiler: I tried the octagonal gate, and it just felt a bit odd. I don’t know if it’s because I’m used to the square gate, but in the end I took it off and installed the square gate (with rounded corners).
I tried all four springs and in the end I went with the basic spring. I stretched it out a bit to make it feel a tiny bit stiffer. The other three were just too stiff for the Gradius games.
There’s a lot you can change with this joystick straight out of the box:
The springs in order of stiffness from soft to hard: 1)black, 2)green, 3)purple, 4) yellow:
