Very interesting! As someone who puts a lot of motion into the stick from my shoulder and prefers ball-top to bat-top, this may very well be the lever I didn't know I wanted until now. Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to spend more money on esoteric arcade stick parts.

I've been playing Tekken for years, and the Korean lever changed my game dramatically. I have more control.

3:46 The lightest one is so heavy because they are designed to be played with a bat top. It has so much more leverage because it sits higher and your index and middle finger is also so much higher that gives you even more leverage. Why Korean levers are technically superior is because you have better control and leverage when the point of control is higher and there is a higher amount of resistance than on a Japanese stick. That said i prefer a ball top and Japanese sticks because that's what i grew up with and fell in love with and i'll never switch permanently to Korean style sticks or HitBoxes even though they might be superior.

I just got Snackbox Micro from Junkfood Arcade, thanks to you and Mr Sujano highlighting the great product. Keep up the good content, sir!

I've had a sanwa silent stick with the high tension switches for a couple months now and love it. Very underrated stick.

Coming from someone that's played on an arcade stick for over 20 years, I'll say in almost all aspects a bat top is better at giving you control over your inputs. As far as the internals of gasket vs spring and gate, I'll again say gasket feels way better. This might be just personal preference, but to be honest, I've got about 10 years experience on ball top and maybe 12 or 13 in bat top and I would never go back to ball top. I've also owned and been using a custom golden lever (korean version) for the past 3 or 4 years...what I can say about that is that it is very good IF you know what you're doing when building the stick and not just going for either the lightest gasket with the thinnest lever or heaviest gasket with thickest lever...certain combinations of parts will basically make the stick bad. Personally, I go with the second heaviest gasket (purple) and the thickest lever with switches tilted a little outward just to follow the natural movement of the lever. With this setup, I can do the minimal amount of movement and return to neutral very quickly without risking misinputs. For me it works great--individual directional inputs are accurate, and CD, QC, HC, FC, and DP inputs are easy as well and rarely fail which means when they do, it's more than likely my own fault. When testing different levers, the main things i test are dead zone size, individual input accuracy, special input accuracy, and difficult just frame input accuracy. In tekken 7 yoshimitsu has a just frame B, F, U, D+1+4 input that is really good to test levers out, as well as Bryan's taunt jet upper or Kazuya's PEWGF. Out of the dozens of Korean levers and dozens of Japanese levers I've tested over the years, I can really only recommend a few. I do recommend the golden lever, if modded correctly and if you're willing to pay boutique level prices. The best bang for your buck korean lever is a typical taeyoung fanta lever. Myoungshin is another option, though I find it to be less accurate overall and I dont like the dead zone. The best overall value for quality is without a doubt the crown309 helpme lever if you can manage to snag an authentic one and not a counterfeit one. Its only about 10 to 15 dollars more expensive than a taeyoung (including the shipping from Korea) and it's a lot better, especially if you get a gasket you like with it better than the one it comes with. I've tried a lot more Korean levers, but these are the only 3 I like (also for those unaware, the golden lever is based off the fanta lever, so just getting a fanta lever is basically buying an unmodded golden lever). As far as japanese levers, you cant really go wrong with sanwa parts or newer crown levers. Some of the older crown levers were pretty bad so stay away from them. My advice is if you're hellbent on using stick, go Korean and buy a crown 309 help me if you can find it and if not just get the taeyoung fanta. If you play tons of fighting games and like to travel and compete in them, then sure go all out and buy a golden lever, but after the nearly 200 dollars I spent on parts and modding my golden lever, I can confidently say it's only marginally better than the 309 help me, but at 5x the cost...so if you want something cool and unique, go for it. If you just want a good lever thatll work great and last a long time, the taeyoung or 309 help me will do just fine. A side note though, the silicone gaskets you can get from golden lever seem to be way better quality than the ones that come in the fanta. Gasket quality wise-golden lever best, crown 2nd best, fanta last. Fanta gaskets last about 6 months of heavy playing...crowns last 8 to 10 months and golden lever gaskets last a little over a year before you start noticing input errors. Anyway, long comment but I figured I'd throw my two cents in since I have a lot if experience. Hope I could help someone.

I feel like you should do a side by side with a crown stick, because some of the benefits you pointed out sound to me like basic korean stick features so it would be interesting to put them side by side and see if the difference are significant or not

veeeery nice! i was curoius about what makes this stick good, this explanation was all i needed!

I’ve been using a golden lever in a hori rap V for a year now, it definitely help my grip, all those kbds in T7 will get to you 😅 I’ve noticed with a bat top feels more comfortable, you can use your whole hand for dashes. Getting use to Qcfs and crap was weird in Guilty Gear Strive because its so damn heavy but thats not bad since it returns to neutral quicker compared to Sanwa.

I do not know why youtube recommended this for me and I dont know why I watched a 20 min video on a custom arcade lever, but I am glad I did. Nice presentation!

11:06 Seimitsu sticks have levered switches like on Korean levers and that gives you more information on where you are moving the stick (compared to Sanwa) and where the activation points are.

Really enjoyed this video! A while back I made my own arcade box from a wooden box and a DIY kit from amazon, because I wanted to experience an arcade stick without making a huge investment in hardware. Plus making stuff yourself is fun and rewarding! Just yesterday I finished up a new hitbox style arcade box, in the same type of wooden box, but as said, all buttons. I added some additional buttons for L3 and R3. I only recently started playing fighting games again (last fg was tekken 3 on the PSX) and even then I played a pad. It's quite a transition playing on box, let alone a stick, so suffice it to say I'm terrible, but it's alot of fun! The hitbox is a bit easier for me, considering I mainly play M & KB games on the PC. But I'm determined to build the muscle memory to also be able to play with the stick and be halfway decent at least. Making one yourself does really help appreciate how much goes into making these boxes/components and how much your experience will change based on the parts you use!

Straight up, you can just add a heavier spring and get a similar feedback on position. You can also get larger actuators to get different actuation/deadspace zones.

I have 3 Golden Levers, and a VS Case, and I am primarily a Tekken player, specifically Mishimas. Golden Lever + bat top = great for Tekken. If the person wants to stick with a ball top, my personal opinion is that that person would be better off sticking with Sanwa etc, just install a stiffer spring. If you are not using the GL with a bat top, you are really missing a big chunk of why the Korean Tekken players love it so much. Yes, if you don't want the customizability, other Korean levers will serve you just fine. But if you want the best experience you can have for YOU, then the customizability is no brainer. Especially in conjunction with the VS Case, there are configurations that are simply impossible with anything else. And NihongoGamer said repeatedly he is not a Tekken player, and not a Mishima player, so I don't blame him. But any semi-experienced Mishima player will IMMEDIATELY notice the positive difference a GL makes re: EWGF. As in... it's not maybe there is a difference, but I don't know... No, you notice the difference right away, and it is significant.

I like that "Square Uncertainly" momments

My first personal fighstick was a MAS stick, which had a really stiff response. When I picked up the SFIV TE1 stick the Sanwa lever felt way too loose for me but I begrudgingly put up with it. I just recently replaced the Sanwa lever on my Qanba Obsidian with an IST Alpha 49S and a 25 tension grommet. It was the best decision I ever made. I only really play 2D fighters yet my Korean lever is more precise and comfortable than my stinky old Sanwa.

I might be late to the party but bruh, keep dat intro. It feels professional and keeps the audience hooked because they know what they're getting (aside from the obvious title)

Damn you got a free golden lever?! Lucky! Enjoy it man.

This is really cool vid. One of my biggest issues with my Korean stick (Alpha 49s) is diagonals being a bit iffy. while I am playing tekken a lot more since buying it, I always play a bit of everything. Putting in higher tension grommets for taking a super helpful with that really fast spring back to neutral. But it makes certain things in 2D games considerably harder. I feel like that adjustable shuriken thing plus all the other bells and whistles can really make for a great stick for variety gamers like myself. Or at people who like Korean sticks but mainly play 2Ds.

I love your choices in fighting games. Played cvs2 for years.

I stand by the sentiment that unless one already has a specific custom setup in mind that can only be made using the Golden Lever, most people should stay away from it in general. It's extremely expensive for what it is, and the benefits you'll see are negligible (if you see any at all) unless you already have a specific setup/feel that's suited to you in mind. It costs way too much to get a range of parts to find a custom build from scratch if you have nothing particular in mind and it isn't worth it as you'll likely see no benefit anyway. You're better off just trying other levers until you know what you like before spending a ton on any of this

Great content 👍. I have my golden lever in my Razor panthera feels awesome looks awesome great stick for modding 👍

15:21 for the Korean backdash on a ball top all you need is your thumb and index finger. It's only about getting the idea of it down.

I recently (within the last year) upgraded 2 levers from 1lb and 2lb tension springs to 4lb tension springs, every movement feels more accurate because it *forces* ;) you to be intentional.

"Square of uncertainty" needs a t shirt design - Merch!!!

I’m sure I’m not the first person to say this but I don’t even play arcade style fighting games and your videos make me want to buy a stick and start.

It's very cool to see you try the Golden Lever. I have been using Korean style levers for a long time and it's awesome to hear your opinion on them.

Awesome lever you got there sir

I like the idea of a square gated stick with Korean levels of snapback. Got to jam the stick into the gate corners for claw/guile charge supers, or KoF instant air/tiger knee supers - but flabby snapback to neutral is not good for double-tap dashes.

Definitely interested in your button videos the most. Watched your videos on Sanwa vs Gamerfinger, and I tried out a buddies mixbox, and made the decision to switch all my Smashbox buttons to a mechanical switch button. Only thing I found was Crown 202s though, was wondering about your thoughts on those!

More driving videos! Love your channel

9:58 this is why I use battop with a grip between goblet and 5-finger claw

so ive used golden levers now for about 3-4 years. Ive had the full korean lever, current jp lever and the hybrid. I randomly grabbed my stick with my old ls 32 in it and i was amazed on how much i enjoyed and missed my seimtsu levers. I now have replaced 2 of my three with slightly modded ls32-01 levers in favor over my godlen levers.

It's an awesome product, but you have to maintain it like any mechanical item. Make sure it's assembled properly no upside-down parts, and lube any rotating parts with Honda Shinetsu grease. The bearing use a light oil just a drop like 3 in 1 oil. After that it's all good to go.

6:24 I do feel like it should be mentioned that you can get yourself the sorta Sanwa JLF equivalent Korean lever for, you know, a basically comparable price. The Golden Lever might be a nice thing, I'm not trying to claim it's 'not worth the money' because I don't have the first idea. Never used one. But you can lay hands on a Crown 309 or a Taeyoung Fanta for $30-35 no problem, which is a big, big difference from $132.

Lol @ using his full arm at “various” other things 🤣

Tekken players seem to swear by the grommet tension system and it makes sense for that game because neutral inputs are so important. I've always wanted to try a JLF with a grommet tension system but I don't wanna spend that much on a new lever...

The material itself had some problems back then specially the shaft. Screw base for the ball and bat top snapping. Some other cases, when it oxidizes, it forms these bronze decease in them near the base of lever. If you have sweaty hands, you might have problems with it. Their K version is really good though. Would still prefer Sanjuks V3/V6, but they're harder to get.

nice video ,we want more video about korean lever :)

I specifically got 2 quick release shafts with bat and ball top for when I played Tekken. KBD is much more comfortable with a bat top as well as side steps.

I had a fanta stick and the real diffference is with the charge characters, for shottos it feels good , but using guile it was hard , you should try that in your videos, also character like zangief for a more extensive review

I have one (jp setup), jlf with ottodiy v2 spring delete mods (with pas magenta) , standard jlf, seimitsu lsx nobi. The GL is the smoothest, the tension is very isometric, more than the ottodiy v2, and as you said, there is no noticeable dead zone, it doesn't overshoot neutral when you let it go, so, as far as the Japanese setup is concerned, in addition to the customability, it has plenty of qualities and sufficiently unique so that people may be interested by that (this seems to be a different story for the Korean version, where ppl advice buying a Fanta or else and using asi custom parts). My impression with the feedback is the opposite of you. I feel like the general smoothness makes it less communicative, in addition to the fact that motions happen so fast, that I don't think you have time to react to correct your position. this has been shown in some research papers for cherry mx buttons, with an average 100ms press, you cannot control the actuation point which results in quite a lot of error. I guess it is the same for a stick. Now, the fact that it is smoother also means less cross forces making you deviate for the correct path, so that might be it. As for the price you mentioned it, asi is small so prices are not competitive, I have a VS case and it is 275$, when a high quality stainless steel case is 130$. What saves asi is that their products have unique features like, for the vs case, the ability to rotate the lever, switch for wasd and so on. I agree with you that they should be supported.

I very much prefer levers with a very short throw and activation, and some decent resistance. Then again, i dont play that much fighting games with my stick, i use it alot more for shmups and bullet hell games, i'm pretty used to customising my lever anyway.

Woah, NihongoGamer using a korean lever?

I have two golden levers. The biggest thing to get used to is the amount of travel is much longer than a sanwa

its funny you way you mention a stick made out of "aircraft grade aluminum" because im actually doing that right now. I work on planes and also love fighting games and had some scraps saved from work and am currently making an aluminum fighting stick.

Everyone’s on hit box this era it seems. I had tons of sticks pads Korean sticks AND IT DONT MAKE U BETTER!

I try to reserve my opinions of mechanics or techniques until I've mastered them. At that point I'll have an understanding of what I might have been doing wrong. For instance, KBD is just a hard motion in general. It's just as awkward as learning how to triangle in MVC2. Once you get it. You get it, and frankly I don't see much of a difference between a ball top or a lever.

I'm not sure but looks like you have an extra input in your backdash, Might be why you had a hard time with it. the first input is pure back but then you are just crunching the lever b,db,b. No further b inputs are required. Love the informative content been a fan for a while man!

Would you do a review of the 8Bitdo arcade stick? Seriously affordable so would be curious to get your opinions on it!

Hoping you would get a otto diy v2, it is a sanwa mod where the pivot is replaced by rubber grommets, you still get to use your springs though...

10:26 maybe it's due to me playing on Arcade 1ups where I stand, and now I rock a 6lb spring... But don't you allow the stick to return to center? I like to let go, shadow the stick whilst moving in the new direction I want, kinda more or less meeting at the center to move In the direction I want... I mean I guess kindas thinking of it, it can feel weird to engage, and then disengage only to reengage muscles for the stick... But... This whole time I have been trying to recreate a American Happ/IL Feel through a Sanwa... Even got D44Xs on my Sanwa Foundation sticks and I have become a custom to it. Honestly... The shortest distance between all directions is neutral.

Doesn't the stick only recognize one direction anyway and not how far you have pressed in one direction? isn't it then the most optimal to keep the paths as short as possible? What would be the advantages and disadvantages then for short and longer way? Bigger or shorter dead zone?

I found using a larger shaft made the GL much better for 2D fighters. That coupled with a faster return to neutral is where the GL shines over the JLF. 🤔

That "spacial awareness" of where the lever has moved is incredibly important to me, a non-stick user, as i am not yet accustomed to the stick and constantly find myself lost and mis-inputting. But, like i said, i'm not a stick main so i expect my opinion here has -50% relevance.

Cool video

You should try your golden joystick lever out on Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown.

Otto V5 is the only true upgrade to a Sanwa JLF i've felt makes a difference and now I cant go back

i might have to try one of these because that "square of uncertainty" is what gets me killed in SF 5 ALL the time as a rose player.... not knowing if im holding down+forward vs down when using crouching mk gets me killed all the time cause of how bad her slide is. thanks for the review

Wouldn’t just changing to a square/octagonal gate give you more accuracy on diagonals?

Just bought one as a 2d player who wants to get into K-levers...I'll be honest the customization played a part, but yeah it just looks cool and I'm extra.

I almost want to pick one of these up, problem is, I don't know if I am a bat top person or a ball top, and buying both sounds super expensive just to see.

Wait so do the "Shuriken" gates come with the lever or do you have to buy them seperately? And if so where do i get those!?

In case you ever see this comment for tekken kbd you do double tap but don't release the stick before going down you keep the second tap in the chamber and pull it down. In other words its back back (hold) pull down release while keeping it glued to back and completely release. Edit also top of the stick doesn't really effect kbd but restrictor gate makes a very big difference and its considerably easier to kbd on 8 gate while its harder to do fast electrics on 8 gate its much easier to use 4 gate for that and in general korean backdash is easier on p1 side and harder on p2 opposite to electrics.

the knee lever is the best lever i had ever used

Hey my son has to play on an arcadestick for accessibility reasons. I bought him a nacon dijah for ps5, it came with bad switches I'm looking to replace it because I don't have the money for a full new arcade stick.i been ripped off b4 and don't know where to get one plz do you have any tip where I can get sticks or new switches

The only advanced sticks i ever used were optic sticks, most sensitive and precise.

I dont own the golden lever .. YET.. but I own a crown 301 the Infiltration lever. And its great for 2D fighters cuz it has a semi circle semi square gate. I have tried going back to the JLF and just feels odd.

good stuff

Can you do a review on the extremeRate Face Clicky kit and the extremeRate Ergonomic Split Dpad Buttons for PS5 dualsense? I am a pad mortal kombat player looking to buy a PS5 this year and am wondering how well a dualsense with these mods works for omni directional input heavy fighting games (like mortal kombat, injustice, tekken) and i don't want to spend a fortune on a custom dualsense controller when i can get everything i need $60-$120 cheaper.

I think the distinction between Japanese and Korean levers is that the better one is usually the one you learned on.

Dead ass, no one talks about it who plays tekken at high level, but you can Korean backdash with, backdash, quarter circle downback, back, quarter circle downback, back, etc. Life's good.

Golden liver... sounds like a fine dish.

The all mighty NEUTRAL

I just want their ball top with engraving. Anyone knows if their ball top is compatible with a sanwa joystick?

Is bat top lever fits for playing Street Fighter,Guilty Gear and KOF?

The shaft is brass, if I haven’t gone completely mental just yet. There was a thing about them breaking on the top threaded neck due to the lightness and softness of brass. Anyhow. Apply WD 40 to all the golden metal parts, so they don’t lose their lustre (and there was at least another reason I cant ‘member) Cheers.

Awesome gadget

Quick question: I'm new to fighting games and purchased the Qanba Obsidian a few months ago and struggle with consistency in terms of activating Overdrives or dashing/moving fluently. Would a Korean Stick help with that? Or is it simply just adjusting to a stick that takes this long? I reached the Celestial floor in Strive but get bodied against ultra defensive players because I can't move around freely. Thanks!

You should do some videos on Brook retro controller converters

One thing I really struggle with is getting a stick that works both for platformers like, say, Mega Man, but also on fighting games on my MAME arcade. Right now I have a Sanwa, which is great for fighting games, but kinda terrible for plataformers (Mega Man keeps doing the sliding move with it against my wishes). Really wish there was a solution for this problem.

Is gold not a color now?

This made me want a Korean lever with a bat top. I'm really bad at knowing where my input is

it helps to know i guess, called feedback. its very helpful, depending on how your brain works.

Wow! How did you get a PS4 arcade stick to work with Dreamcast?

Dayum... I was already grabbing them...

How does this perform with hexagonal gates?

How versatile is the Golden Lever with The Link EX Groove?

Actually there’s gold in the chips. Also has anyone tried turning a flight sticks inners into a fight stick? They feel great but a bit heavy so it might be similar to this stick. The only difference really is you gain feedback from the rubber and that’s the important part of this controller.

Do you have a video talking about good introductory Korean style levers? I've been curious about them ever since my friend got the Knee lever for his fight stick and I enjoy the customizability of the rubber grommets and how they make snapping into neutral without the risk of snapping into the opposite input (my hand movements can get crazy and sometimes I'll slip into a super jump back from a roll forward input, so I recognize a bit of that is also user error).

Kazuya's PEWGF, Heihachi's OTGF and Hwoarang's JFSR requires perfect diagonal (d/f). these moves should prove GL's diagonal accuracy...

For kbbd I use a ball on a Korean and brass oversized actuator

Longboard bushing tech making its way to Arcade Sticks, I see.

My customed Hori stick “clicks” like a slightly stiffer NeoGeo pad.

can u make a review on 8bitdo arcade stick as well?

HAPP perfect 360 is the best I ever played on. Nothing else comes close.

"Based on the Korean style-" that's all I needed to hear to actually want it. Korean sticks are godly.

Anyone know if these are good for 2d Games . Xmen vs Streetfighter Magneto , SF4 CViper

I use a durgod venus 60 percent keyboard for tekken and a mayflash f300 elite for street fighter 5 I'm wierd

Te sobra algún control stick? Soy de Ecuador. Saludos