SANWA Black Joystick

I used the SANWA JLF-TP-8YT to replace the broken joystick in my MadCatz TE stick, and it worked perfectly. Installation was quick and easy, and it fit exactly like the original part without any issues. The quality feels identical to what came stock with the stick — smooth, responsive, and built to last. It restored my arcade stick back to the way it felt when it was brand new, which is exactly what I was hoping for. There wasn’t any improvement in performance because it’s essentially a direct replacement, but that’s exactly what I needed. Everything feels natural again, with clean inputs and reliable movement during gameplay. If you’re looking to fix a worn-out or broken stick, this is the exact part you want. Highly recommend it for anyone maintaining their MadCatz TE or similar arcade sticks!

Due to the issues with a joystick on both of my Arcade1up machines I have now put one of these in two different Arcade1up machines (Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam). They feel kind of similar to the stock sticks but there is certainly a quality difference. The clicking is a little quieter and less cheap sounding than the stock sticks in the Arcade1up cabinets. It comes set up as 8-way but can be switched to 4-way if u are using it for Pac-Man or something like that by adjusting the retainer on the bottom of the stick. It’s pretty easy to do but you have to take the control deck off to access the bottom of the joystick. I like the standard square 8-way gate and even don’t mind the light tension springs for the NBA Jam but hate both in the MK. I put an octagonal gate on the one in the Mortal Kombat machine and love it. I plan on putting 4 lb tension springs in the MK cabinet and maybe 2 lb springs in the NBA Jam (just so it dosnt feel so cheap). As far as install goes, you have to be somewhat handy, but it’s pretty easy to install. You will want to take the metal plate off of your stock Arcade1up joystick and install it on your new sanwa. This way the screw holes match up and you don’t have to make a bunch of new holes. The other thing is this joystick comes with a 5 pin connector and the 1up has 8 wires soldered in. This is where you may spend a little extra time figuring it out. Basically, under your joystick, there are four switches/buttons (up, down, left, right). On the stock setup, each switch is connected to the control board with two wires (power and ground). To wire in the new joystick, you just have to use the included connecter and splice 5 wires. You will use the positive wire from each switch and connect to one of the four colored wires on the connecter. You can use just one of the old grounds and connect it to the black wire on the included connecter. You could solder the wires, but I just twisted and used heat shrink tubes and a heat gun. Electrical tape would work fine too. A little trial and error may be needed to have your directions correct if your like me, but the second time was a lot easier. Size wise the sanwa is about the same as the Arcade1up sticks so the only issues fitting should be able to be resolved by orienting the stick so the 5 pin connecter isn’t obstructed. I will try to add pictures if I do another one or when I do the springs.

This is a very good joystick for 4-8 way arcade consoles. I installed it in my DIY 412-in-1 vertical shooter cocktail table, and it works very well. Easy install to JAMMA harness. 4-to-8 way restrictor easy to switch during installation (remember to go easy on the tabs!)

Why did you pick this product vs others?: still being used in 2025. great for custom fight sticks

Replace Arcade 1-up 8-way joy sticks with these. Much improved feel and reliability. Night and Day difference. Wiring is different, these have a common return for the four switches. Must replace the 8 original wires which are two wires for each switch. With the connector on the left (bottom view) wires are as follows. Yellow - Right, Green - Left, Red - Up, Org - Down and Black common. It does not seem necessary to wire all the common returns, I replaced the JST 4-way 2.5mm connectors and just wired one return connection which left three empty pins across the two four pin connectors. If you just cut off the old Joystick, just connect one of each pair to the new black return. Will save up to buy more and replace more of the originals.

There's a reason I've purchased three of these. They're reliable and smooth. While not top-of-the-line Sanwas, they're more than enough for most users. Installation is a breeze - although you may have to top- mount them if using a thick wood panel. And the restrictors are easy to remove and rotate. I even added a GRS mechanical restrictor on mine with little trouble. Keep in mind that if you're using one of the encoders off here, you may want to pick up some of the five pin cables with headers on both ends. Otherwise, you can use the included cable and crimp on some quick disconnects. I will be buying more of these in the future for new projects.

I got it to work perfectly on my Walmart Pac-Man cabinet. Just take it easy and you will figure it out with no directions.

Installed it on my mayflash 500 and it works wonderful.

Gran refaccion para Victrix, muy recomendable

ist und bleibt einer der besten Sticks die es zu kaufen gibt.

Awesome joystick, replaced my current old ones looks so much better now

Già ne avevo acquistata una tempo fa, ora ne ho acquistata un'altra per sostituzione e upgradare così il mio secondo stick. Ottima qualità Spedizione veloce e aggiungerei ottimo imballo

Excelente