Best and Worst controllers in the history ofs

[Dark Jaguar]

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.