Mayflash F500 Arcade Stick (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
Take a moment to imagine this scenario: It’s the 1990s, and you’re in an arcade. All the cabinets for your favorite fighting games are neatly against the wall, just waiting to steal all your quarters. You choose one, and ready yourself by putting your hands on that classic arcade joystick and the satisfying, clicky, numerous buttons.
Even if you didn’t grow up in the era of arcades, you’ve probably heard older gamers pine for the days of playing their favorite 2D fighters not with a controller or keyboard, but with a fight stick. That’s why, even to this day, there’s quite the handful of companies still putting out fight sticks for players that love that tactile input. This includes Mayflash, a brand you’ve probably seen in passing numerous times, through their controller adapters and various console accessories. This time, we’re going toe-to-toe with their affordable arcade stick: The F500.
You might be thinking, “okay, this looks interesting, but what platform is it for?”. Well, that’s one of the biggest selling points of this arcade stick. This thing can connect to and be used on nearly any console you can think of, from the PlayStation 4, all the way back to the Sega Genesis. If you really wanted to, you could kick back and play some Street Fighter V, and then seamlessly switch over to your Genesis for some Streets of Rage. The way that you connect it is through a USB-female port, where you plug in your wireless controller to the arcade stick in order to connect it to your system. The method feels a little odd, but it certainly works well.
It also boasts support for the Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Switch, the Neo Geo Mini, and even Android. So, if you’ve got an expansive library of arcade games all across your consoles, the F500’s got you covered. In the case of more modern platforms, the fight stick also acts as a passthrough, letting you plug your headset and mic in, so you can comfortably hear your audio and your voice calls, if you so choose.
There were two things that instantly caught my attention upon opening the box: The absolute heft of the F500, and just how shiny it is. The fight stick has a very solid feel to it, weighing enough that you probably won't want to keep it in your lap, but rather rest it on a table; especially due to the fact it has large rubber feet on the bottom to prevent it from slipping on flat surfaces. Meanwhile, there's a reflective acrylic faceplate, which can be replaced or customized with decals to sport your favorite fighting game designs. If you don't want to go to that much effort, you could even print out a design and place it beneath the plate. I like the sleek black design that it comes in, but I could easily see the fight stick looking nice with a colorful Blazblue theme adorning it.
Another point in the F500's favor is that you can take the base arcade stick and modify it with parts of your choosing. You get the great build quality of the base, and you can mix and match whatever pieces you'd want, including Sanwa, onto it, making your own ideal custom fight stick. The options to trick it out with third party offerings makes it a fantastic choice if you're into customizing your fighting game experience.
Which is probably why the buttons included on the F500 don't feel the best. They're certainly good, but there's a bit of "mushiness" to them that you might notice. Almost as if they're decent, but just waiting to be replaced by higher quality parts geared toward the more discerning player. There's no tactility or feedback to accentuate your presses, though it also means that the buttons are very smooth to press, with little resistance. Whether or not you'll prefer this kind of button depends on your preferences, very much similar in vein to keyboard switches.
Just like the well-built frame and the customizability of the arcade stick, Mayflash also went the extra mile in adding a small compartment for the USB cable for the stick. It stores neatly in the side of the device. Not only does it remove the annoyance of dealing with tangled cords, but it also gets the cord to travel from the side, to help hide it better if you've got it hooked up to a computer for a permanent wired setup.
On the top of the stick are various buttons, including a much-appreciated home button, two different turbo functions, and a useful toggle between XINPUT and Direct Input to ensure compatibility. Also included in the box is an octagonal restrictor gate, if you need guidance on not moving the joystick too far in a given direction.
Mayflash has done a fantastic job with the F500, making for a great arcade stick that both entry-level players and more dedicated fanatics can both enjoy. Even if it doesn't come with Sanwa buttons, you can easily take these ones out and replace them with whichever kind you want, giving you freedom to create your own perfect fight stick.
Verdict
- Feels heavy and solidly built
- Wide compatibility with tons of systems
- Allows you to customize and replace pieces
- The buttons could really do with more tactile feel or response to each press
