Your favorite console controller

Well, since the GBA emu topic was being hijacked with discussion about favorite console controllers, I thought I would start this topic to encourage that discussion to continue outside of that topic.

My favorite console controllers would probably be:

Sega Dreamcast
Sega Genesis

Since I have somewhat large hands, tiny little controllers are not my favorites. To me, the Genesis controller and the Dreamcast controller were the most comfortable for my hands, and the button configurations made the most sense. I hate the PS controllers, and most of the older NES controllers (NES, SNES, etc.) because they are too small for my hands. I practically have to fold my hands over top of each other to play with them. I hate the N64 controller, because the button configuration makes little sense to me.
I did like the old Atari controllers. They were simple. You had two buttons (maybe even one, depending on how far you go back) and a joystick. That was it. I also kind of dug the old Atari paddles, although they were awfully buggy sometimes.

SNES, perfect pad, never been improved, other than that i think the n64 pad was pretty innovative too.

My fave would have to be the PS2 Dual Shock pad, though I also have a soft spot for the old Megadrive 6 button pad.

As I said in the hijacked thread ;):

My favorite would have to be the Nintendo 64 controller. It's sturdy, durable, and it fits my hand like a glove.

the dual shock has the most buttons. makeing it hard for other controllers to compare to the amount commands at your finger tips. the dc controller throtle l and r buttons suck for serious fast paced fighters except mvsc2. the 64 and GC controllers have those idiotic misshaped buttons (the z for gc especially) the snes was the best until sony beefed it up with better grips and two more buttons. I bought one of those ps-pc adapters and max payne and bloodrayne kick serious ass. the genesis was the most comfortable but only 3 button and then the completly worthless 6 button that usually were broken right out of the box. and while we are on the subject of crappy controllers IMO pelican and mad cats controller really suck. what ever happened to ASCII yall remember them. snes advantage and that kick ass snes turbo controller with semi and full auto rocker switches for EACH button instead of having to hold the desired button and cycleing through the turbo funtions wondering if it's off or on.

all right i'm not done yet but I think i've flex my joystick knowledge enough for now

p.s. the worst IMO the jaguar controller.

I'm with souLLy.. I really like the SNES pad. I've made a mod to run on PC years ago ;D

I really like the Japanese SEGA Saturn one that was very similar to the SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis 6 Button Controller beside that it added two shoulder buttons like the SNES had.

DualShock1 isn't that bad too Â*;)

DualShock2 sucks because of the analog action buttons instead of digital ones! btw: Can you use DS1 with the PlayStation2 without any problems? They aren't that expensive atm but AFAIK they've compatibility issues with some PS2 games ???

I do not think the DC controller is as bad as most say. The digital pad is very well usable after a short time!

The best certainly is the N64 controller because of its amazing innovations though my personal fave currently is the GameCube controller 8)

The analog stick of the official GameCube controller is the best one ever created! It feels just great to play MarioKart or Zelda with it - Perfect that is!

Anyone has a X-Arcade stick? Wanna buy it for my DC/PC but I heard they aren't that good and before I spend my money on such an expensive thing I'd like to hear some opinions...

@Ian: These Competition Pro 2 Joysticks with microswitches one used for AMIGA500... Do they work with my SEGA Master System too? ...I mean it has two buttons but I've never checked it...

PS: The Jaguar controller IS the worst one ever ;D


Chris

thie 3do had two controller for two systems (same hardware different manufacturers) they where pretty much genesis controllers but what was cool was at least the panasonic controllers had there own headphone jack with a volume nob and the real weird thing was that the 3do had only one controller jack and for more joysticks you would daisy chain the joysticks together. that is plug p2 into the p1 controller, p3 into p2, and so on. a real neat innovation. the neo geo was a weird joystick because like everything else for the neo geo they where simply outrageously priced for joysticks.

p.s. the ps2 are pressure sensitive. just check out a game called the bouncer. sort of building off the world heroes system where a tap on the button is a weak attack and if you hold it it's a strong attack. but instead of tapping out morse code the ps2 can "throttle" to a limited degree. if this is digital or analog I don't know and don't care.

@Chris - I don't know if you can use the DualShock1 without any problems, but I know you can use it with very few problems. My stepson only has one DS2 controller, so whenever we play any two player games, I always use the DS1 controller.

8) Great news! They're pretty cheap atm! And I do have a PS1&2-to-GC and a PS1&2/DC/SAT-to-PC converter - I think I'll get some PS1 DS1 controller as they don't have these anoying analog action buttons...

Thank you, Curt :)


Chris

Heh, the jaguar pads are nothing compared to the Intellivision controllers. Egad, those things are terrible.

Unless of course you count the RCA studio 2 - the controllers are on the system itself - how's that for uncomfortable? ;)

hey metafox was the rca studio bigger or smaller than the atari lynx. the lynx was pretty bulky and weighed a ton compared to other handhelds, and your hands were far apart

[quote author=guymelef link=board=off;num=1086480973;start=0#11 date=06/07/04 at 06:46:20] hey metafox was the rca studio bigger or smaller than the atari lynx. the lynx was pretty bulky and weighed a ton compared to other handhelds, and your hands were far apart[/quote]Heh, the RCA Studio 2 is a console, not a handheld - so it's bigger than the Lynx. :)

But, I agree - the Lynx was quite the uncomfortable handheld.

curt_grymala: OT: Your avatar is just horrible to look at, that red colour makes me want to rip my eyes out. ;)

My favorite controller must be the Xbox Controller S, followed by the N64 controller. I was never a big fan of the PS1/PS2 controller. Hmm...what else...I guess the good old NES controller deserves to be on the list as well. 8)

[quote author=Martin link=board=off;num=1086480973;start=0#13 date=06/07/04 at 23:45:00]curt_grymala: OT: Your avatar is just horrible to look at, that red colour makes me want to rip my eyes out. ;)[/quote]

Yeah - I've been meaning to do something about that. Let me go fix it.

[quote author=Martin link=board=off;num=1086480973;start=0#13 date=06/07/04 at 23:45:00]I guess the good old NES controller deserves to be on the list as well. Â*8)[/quote]

Oh, yes! Maybe the highest quality a controller ever had - and the first joypad - not joystick - ever! Anyone ever broke one of them? Or will the last ...like forever? ;D I believe my ones are 13 years old now.

Chris

sometimes the buttons woud wear out a bit. but when this happens I usually just open up the joypad and shim it with some paper or broken guitar picks. this only works with some joystick though.

For that matter - has anyone ever broken an official Sega Genesis controller? That thing was made out of plastic that was probably half-an-inch thick.

Their weak point are the buttons. They used to wear off very fast. Not comparable to the SNES or NES controllers - They really seem to last forever
... at least the European ones!


Chris

yeah the genesis buttons were crap. mine stopped working virtually 5 minutes after buying it. nintendo pads appear to be the most solid.

Thinkin of it, the official Japanese 6-Button-Pads were far better.

Within the ordinary 3-Button-Pads there were lots of differences, some were good in every way, others were crap or broken the day you've brought them.


Chris

what about pc controllers?
I've got a sidewinder freestlye pro that kicks ass with tie fighter and other flight sims but really sucks with just about everything else. The gravis gamepad pro is probably the workhorse of pc joysticks but everysince I started using my PSDS1 i haven't used except when my roommate wants to get schooled at street fighter.
my friends use xbox grips. I guess you can splice them with usb cords and download a driver from somewhere. I think the trick was to connect all the same colors and leave the odd one out and tie it off. and with detachable cord thingy you don't neccasarily(sp?) have to ruin a perfectly good controller. anybody know of similiar tricks? like for the snes controller? or the DC?

my favourite is the gamecube controller and the sp controller

Japanese, and evolution 2 saturn pads were the best. Light, good wearing, well designed and great D-pad! the nights pad was excellent too. Jus that bit more to hold onto than the DC pad.

The Saturn arcade stick is believed to be better than the DC one as well!

Well there is no perfect controller because everyone had different size hands and different ways of thinking.

I perfer the Sega Saturn controller. 6 button and the L and R.
It doesnt have a select button which I like because select served no perpose on snes when it was there.
The 6 buttons make much sense for fighters.

X Y Z
HighPunch middle low
A B C
high block low

The dpad was smooth and large. The problem with dc is that its so small you hit mutiple directions alot.

The only problem with saturn is MegaMan X 4 the jump and charge are side by side making them hard to press at the same time.

[quote author=Christuserloeser link=board=off;num=1086480973;start=15#20 date=06/08/04 at 19:37:49]Thinkin of it, the official Japanese 6-Button-Pads were far better.

Within the ordinary 3-Button-Pads there were lots of differences, some were good in every way, others were crap or broken the day you've brought them.


Chris[/quote]Yeah I have one thats super thick and you could throw it aganist the wall (i have -_-) and it didnt phase it. However the Genesis 2 6 button controllers where pos's and always broke.

the saturn controller and the xbox s pad (perfect for halo)..... the DC as well me thinks

but it depend on the game, the dc pad sucks for fighting games

btw i HATE the PS controller

Although i am not going for confort just good ol memories I like the:

NES Controller
SNES Controller
Sega Controller

I will start liking newer system controllers when years pass by and I say to myself I miss those Dreamcast days lol.

my fav is saturn 3D pad kinda like a dreamcast
very sturdy

the one that came with NiGHTS? really hard to play that game well with the normal pad

I can play nights with the noraml pad and get all A's its really not the hard.
Anyways i've noticed DC has the worst Dpads as i owned about 13 controllers how and everyone of them the dpads seems to break. Its always the right button on the dpad too.

maybe you have a steroid thumb, i have 7 saturn pads and they rule saturn model 2 and the #d kick so much ass best for any fighting games

You just said Saturn pads and I was talking about Dreamcast Pads. So honestly did you have a point?

sorry about that i can't read Â*:-X
*hits self with hammer in the forehead

*open mouth insert shoe

mmm soul food

I may buy a converter so i can use me sat pad on my DC and Xbox, the DC pad is arse for usin in fightin games, I keep not bein able to do fireballs!

The original x-box controller. Everyone complained about the controller but it fits my hands wonderfully. Plus I have tortured the dang controller and is still ticking. Though the best controller I have ever used is nintendos glove controller. That was an amazing device because it was a glove, plus it made me feel like I was in a really bad scifi movie when I put it on. Oh well the memories.

original genesis, nuff said.

Nobody remembers the first Saturn controller? :'( The Nights 3D Pad was also good, tough. I also love the Megadrive 6 button controller and the GP32 and NGPC sticks.

Segata several people have said the Saturn controller was the best, me included :-/

[quote author=Christuserloeser link=board=off;num=1086480973;start=0#6 date=06/06/04 at 10:58:43]I really like the Japanese SEGA Saturn one that was very similar to the SEGA MegaDrive/Genesis 6 Button Controller beside that it added two shoulder buttons like the SNES had.[/quote]