José Moreira

Batocera and two arcade sticks

I almost built two Bluetooth sticks from scratch with an ESP32. Then I bought them instead.

The plan was a weekend of soldering. The reality was a shopping cart. No regrets: two sticks, zero latency surprises, and the box in the living room finally feels like an arcade.

Placeholder image: Arcade sticks 1
Unboxing
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Side by side
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Button layout
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Paired on the first try

Setup notes

  1. Update the stick firmware before pairing.
  2. Pair one stick at a time in Batocera’s Bluetooth menu.
  3. Map hotkeys once, globally.
  4. Enjoy losing at Street Fighter II to a family member.
Placeholder image: Arcade sticks 5
Metal Slug
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Street Fighter II
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Bubble Bobble
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Victory screen (not mine)

Placeholder post for layout testing.