Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - Printable Version +- Tendo City (https://www.tendocity.net) +-- Forum: Tendo City: Metropolitan District (https://www.tendocity.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Tendo City (https://www.tendocity.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=42) +--- Thread: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs (/showthread.php?tid=7380)

Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - Dark Jaguar - 4th May 2022 Just another fun discussion on everyone's favorite controllers, but with a little nuance.  That is, your favorite parts of controllers! My favorite D-Pad is currently the Xbox Series controller d-pad.  It's this perfect marriage of the NES and Sega Genesis d-pads.  Now that d-pads are no longer protected by patent, they went with the classic Nintendo design, but with the added nuance of pronounced diagonals.  They tried this with a special cap in the XBox One Elite controller, but that one's diagonals were a little too pronounced.  This strikes a nice medium. My favorite face buttons belong to the Saturn's digital controller (second model).  It's a six button layout, which is already a winner in my book.  What sets it apart from both the Genesis 6 button and the N64 layout is just how comfortably positions the buttons are, and also very responsive. This one's going to stick out a bit, but my favorite digital shoulder buttons?  Virtual Boy.  My fingers rest directly on top of them in a natural way no other shoulder buttons ever have.  The rest of the contoller is meh, especially that right side d-pad, but the shoulder buttons are a dream. The best analog triggers?  Still the Gamecube, though the gimics in the PS5 analog triggers give that a run for it's money.  The Gamecube's triggers may not have fancy force feedback of the genuine kind, but they are so comfortable that Nintendo STILL makes these things to this day. Ah analog sticks...  I'll give the N64 some credit.  It's stick is very precise using a more accurate tech than even today's analog sticks tend to use.  Well, it is when you first open it.  They degrade far too fast, thanks to the cheap plastic used in their construction instead of metal.  The hard tip is also none too pleasant over time and gave me a number of actual painful calluses over the lifetime of the N64.  The best analog sticks, right now, are a split between the XBox Series and PS5 controller.  Sorry, the Switch's just don't quite match.  Responsible, comfortable, and in the case of the Xbox Series, more durable. Start and Select...  Alright, I'm going to say it.  It's the original model Gameboy.  Those rubber start and select buttons have yet to ever be matched. Handles...  Hmm... I'm going to say Virtual Boy again.  It's close though.  The XBox Series and PS5 both have very comfortable grips and one of those may edge out over time. RE: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - A Black Falcon - 8th May 2022 I should start by saying that I've never held a PS5 controller, but I doubt that affects anything here. Controller parts, huh?  That's tricky.  If we're talking controllers as a whole it's easier. My favorite non-analog controller is the 6-button Sega Genesis controller.  The regular Sega one, not the inferior one Majesco had or such.  It's an absolutely exceptional controller, so comfortable and well designed. My favorite analog controller is the N64 controller.  I really like the concept of having different ways to hold it for digital-control games versus analog-control ones. My favorite modern controller is the Xbox Series controller.  It's very comfortable and very well designed.  All it needs is a tilt sensor and it'd be just about perfect. For a handheld, Neo Geo Pocket Color.  It has the best-feeling A and B buttons on a handheld, and the clicky stick is amazing.  As for parts... hmm.  For dpads, I'm not sure.  My favorite might be the Genesis 6-button dpad, though Nintendo's classic dpads (NES, SNES, original Game Boy) are in some ways better.  The Xbox Series controller dpad is definitely the best by FAR in a current-gen system, I agree about that; it's quite good, far better than the Switch's or Sony's always-awful missing center junk.  The clicky digital stick of the Neo Geo Pocket Color is also AMAZING. Face buttons - my instinct is for the Genesis 6-button, though I can see the argument for the Saturn; it does have larger XYZ buttons, which is nice.  I just really like the feel of the Genesis buttons... Shoulder buttons - I don't like shoulder buttons much and definitely don't like dual-shoulder-button designs, so probably N64 since one is a trigger.  Or the Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad for PC, which has two digital trigger buttons on the shoulders.  The Switch (and Wii U Pro controller)'s are functional but aren't the best or worst of anything, and the triggers should be analog on that controller, it's just bizarre that they aren't. Analog triggers - Hmm... maybe the Xbox Series X?  I mean, the Gamecube's are great, but they have such strong resistance that holding them in makes my fingers tired after a while.  Xbox ones also have resistance, but it's not quite as strong as the GC's. Analog sticks - before they break down, the N64's are my favorite.  They do break down unfortunately quickly, but I love them anyway.  For modern controllers I do agree that the Switch is far behind the Xbox Series controller in this category as well. Start and Select?  Offhand I'd say probably the NES.  Simple and good. Handles?  Hmm... I'm not sure.  The N64, Virtual Boy, Xbox Series.. all pretty good. Hand comfort - Xbox Series wins for this one.  You can tell how much money Microsoft put into the controller's form. RE: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - Dark Jaguar - 8th May 2022 In the case of the PS5, Sony finally moved past the design they'd been using for four generations.  If you never liked how Sony's held before, you may like the new one, but frankly I can't make the argument it's more comfortable than the Xbox Series, even if it's got more features.  The touch sensor on the front is.... useless but tilt sensing has steadily found it's purpose to the point that it's a sore spot for the XBox to still be missing that functionality after all this time. When it comes to the Saturn digital controller, there's two versions.  The first version was a US exclusive that tried to make the pad bigger but ended up both making the controller more fragile and more uncomfortable to hold.  The second version, the only version in Japan, is a much more comfortable fit.  When I praise the 6 button layout, that's the version I'm talking about.  The analog controller (the third version I suppose) is still pretty nice though. Out of curiosity, which revision of the Genesis 6 button do you like?  Let's both discard the Majesco one.  That one's pretty terrible as you already stated, but there's like 3 different versions of Sega's own 6 button to consider, and each one has a significantly different feeling d-pad.  In my case, I'm using the Japanese six button which has a nice smooth followthrough, but personally I prefer my 3 button Genesis d-pad.  That ALSO has a large number of revisions, so to be clear it's the early release with no middle "ball" to balance on.  I just find it smoother than later revisions whether they use the metal or plastic ball bearing. RE: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - A Black Falcon - 10th May 2022 For Saturn controllers, I exclusively usese the 3D Controller.  I don't like the somewhat weird feel of the d-pad on the digital controllers, and strongly prefer the triggers of the 3D Controller to the shoulder buttons of the regular one.  The handles add to comfort, too.  The Saturn 3D Controller is fantastic and probably is my second favorite analog controller ever, after only the N64's.  I do have a regular Saturn controller or two but never use them.  Oh, I mean the Japanese-style regular controllers.  I've never used a first-style American Saturn controller before, maybe ever.  I don't own one and never have.  I've heard they're worse but can't say myself. As for Genesis controllers, I know there are variations of both the 3-button and 6-button pads, but as for d-pad differences... I'm not sure really.  I only own one regular 3-button Genesis pad.  It's okay, but is a bit oversized and the d-pad is significantly worse than the one in any of the 6-button pads. I wouldn't use it unless I had to.  I have several 6-button pads, both original ones and one modern Retro-Bit clone that looks like they were made with the original mold and are impressively close in quality to the real thing (though not QUITE as good), and all have good d-pads.  The 6-button Genesis controller is so, so amazing... the hand feel and design are just about perfect. RE: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - Dark Jaguar - 16th June 2022 So, there's the Turbografx controllers. And my ranking of the default PC Engine controller is, yep, it certainly is one of those.  It's pretty much like the Famicom controller, so rounded corners.  It's a little taller without being wider, which lets it fit in nice things like turbo switches more easily without being too big.  The d-pad is a circle, more closely resembling the Genesis d-pad.  It works, and it comes in a variety of colors.  I have a turbo pad matching the original white PC Engine release. Then there's the enhanced versions.  First off, the Avenue 3.  This doesn't add an extra button so much as map either select or run to a third button (with a switch to pick which one you want).  This is NEC's solution to games that mapped a move of some kind to select or run, like Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.  It's a nice feature that makes it desirable for those games, and the controller itself is about as comfy as the standard. Now let's talk about ABF's favorite, the Avenue 6.  This one truly does add extra buttons, no "remapping" here.  There's a switch to make it compatible with 2 button games (which is most of them so you'll need it if this is your replacement).  It's perfectly fine, and fighting games make use of it so it's pretty much a must in those cases just like the six button Genesis pad.  Sadly, the remapping feature from the 3 is missing, so if you want a good experience in games like Rondo of Blood you'll want to pull the Avenue 3 back out.  Is it the best 6 button controller?  Hmm... well it's distinct so I gravitate towards it to keep that PC Engine identity intact, but for comfort we can go even further beyond.  Haaaaaaaa! Alright um... this one's more comfortable AND it adds individual turbo for every single button unlike the Avenue 6 (though it loses "slowmo").  But... it's very dull to look at.  This looks like the knock-off pad you'd find attached to a "rental" Genesis in a hotel.  Functional at least, but we can do better. And here's Hori, once again showing all of us how it's done... which in this case means completely ripping off the SNES controller design, but with a six button layout instead of shoulder buttons.  No I don't have one of these, but I have an SNES controller, so I know how comfortable this is just looking at it.  It still provides more turbo than the avenue 6, but not completely.  It combines buttons 1 and 6 into a single turbo switch in order to keep that slow-mo switch.  As much as I love Hori's controller design, I've never liked how they stick the slow-mo right next to start/run in a way that kinda blocks that button.  The Asciipad does the same thing, but it angles it and tucks it a little more out of the way, which is appreciated. The Turbografx side only has one controller worth mentioning, a typical "joystick" design, so if you like that go for it, but these are the best the system has to offer.  I'd say Hori comes out ahead and it's interesting to look at, but only because it looks exactly like the also well designed SNES controller.  It's a good one, but it's rare, expensive these days, and the system kind of loses it's own identity if you play with it.  The second choice is going to be that Arcade Pad 6, except it's by far the most dull and uninteresting to look at.  At least it's a distinct NEC design and not cribbing off Nintendo's. Yea, at the end of the day, I'm going to end up going with ABF's choice, the Avenue 6.  It may not be the most comfortable or the most fully featured, but it has both an interesting visual design and one that's distinctly NEC (their Avenue branch designed it).  The Avenue 3 is going to get switched in and out with it though, since some games really benefit from that "button mapping" feature. RE: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - A Black Falcon - 16th June 2022 There is one more first party kind of PCE controller you don't cover -- the original controller, which has two buttons and no turbo switches.  It's identical to the turbo version just, well, without turbo.  Kind of odd things but they exist. When it comes to the Duo-RX controller (the second from last one you show a picture of, the grey six button one), I don't have one of those so I can't say how it feels, but it looks nearly identical design-wise to the PC-FX controller, just for the original PCE, and I do have a PC-FX.  Assuming the Duo-RX version is indeed very similar, I'd say that it is a good controller and the slightly larger handles and higher dpad position may be good for comfort, but there's something about the PC-FX pad that I just don't like quite as much as PCE controllers.  Maybe it's the pretty different feel of the dpad and buttons?  It's a fine controller, but while I probably should get a Duo-RX pad, my guess is that I'd continue using the Avenue 6 pad for most games, and the Avenue 3 for the few that benefit from the third button. On that note, I quite agree with you that it is disappointing that the Avenue 6 pad doesn't have a 3 button mode.  I'm sure it could have been done, but they didn't do it so you need to switch between controllers if you want ideal controls in a few games.  Ah well... RE: Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs - Dark Jaguar - 18th June 2022 I certainly did leave out that original original model, because of exactly what you said.  It's just a turbo controller in every way except the turbo part.  There's a pretty good reason they just ditched that model pretty quickly after the turbo pad came out.  It's not even worthy of consideration for the purposes of my review, but as a historical footnote, sure, you can bring it up.