Best Nintendo Controller

Darran@Retro Gamer · Post by **Darran@Retro Gamer** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:44 am

For a feature we have planned.

Antiriad2097 · Post by **Antiriad2097** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:57 am

SNES from that list. Reasonable shape and size, shoulder buttons, nicely placed and functional face buttons, and of course the great dpad, so well designed it became the template most others followed (just look at the original PS1 pad for example).

NES is too sharp edged and square.

N64 is an abomination, an experiment that should never have left R&D.

Cube is alright, but those face buttons are horrible, the wrong shape, size and placement. Much as I like my Cube, I hate those curved X/Y buttons.

Wii I liked, works really well, but can be a bit specific - some games had to be shoehorned onto it.

Wii U - I'll pass. Might be great, but not tried one, so can't really judge.

Big Shoes · Post by **Big Shoes** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:05 am

Gamecube, I love that controller

dste · Post by **dste** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:09 am

Though I can use all of the pads no problem the SNES pad is the one that I find most comfortable to use.

Darran@Retro Gamer · Post by **Darran@Retro Gamer** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:26 am

I'm not a fan of any of their controllers, but I think the SNES has the least compromises (size for me).
I love the gamecube pad apart from its rubbish dpad.

theantmeister · Post by **theantmeister** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:43 am

Big Shoes wrote:Gamecube, I love that controller

++ The triggers are the best.

LAIS · Post by **LAIS** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:11 pm

I was a big fan of the Gamecube controller - and the Wii controller is far more maligned than it deserves to be. The Wiimote gimmick alone opened up gaming to a whole new demographic - for that innovation alone an argument could be made that it's the most important Nintendo controller ever.

But it's not the best - for me that's the N64 controller, and that's what I voted for.

I found it very comfortable to use, and it complemented the likes of Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time perfectly - it's just not the same playing them on the Virtual Console because of the absence of that controller.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:22 pm

They are all pretty good in general (if it's one thing Nintendo has always done well, is design the controllers) but the Cube pad is so perfect for my hands. Definitely my favourite, and one of my top three controllers of all time.

merman · Post by **merman** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:24 pm

The SNES is my favourite, fits into the hands well and is comfortable for longer play sessions.

The Wii was of course very innovative but I found it easy to press the wrong button too often.

TwoHeadedBoy · Post by **TwoHeadedBoy** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:34 pm

Don't really like any of them that much...

The NES one feels like it's going to break in my hands, same for the SNES one.

The N64 one took me forever to get used to.

The Virtual Boy one... I like it having two D-pads, so there's that.

The Game Cube one's great for SSX3 but not a lot else.

The Wii one does what it does but relies on gimmicks if there's more buttons required (flipping it to throw a grenade in Metal Slug?!?)

The Wii-U gamepad seems okay, from what I've seen of it.

Went for Wii in the end.

nokgod · Post by **nokgod** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:56 pm

Gamecube pad. The Wavebird, specifically. Far and away the best wireless controller of its generation, imo.....and batteries lasted forever.

the_hawk · Post by **the_hawk** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 12:58 pm

Wii U controller for me.

Easy & intuitive to use, the touchscreen works so well when it's used properly, de-cluttering the main screen by having the HUD/map etc on the gamepad.

Its also handy for getting a few sneaky games in when the TVs being hogged.

outdated_gamer · Post by **outdated_gamer** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:48 pm

From what I've held:

SNES - best for 2D games

N64 - best for 3D games

NES pad is ok and had the defining D-pad but it's button quality is poor and it wears out too fast and it lacks buttons (except the versions with two extra "turbo" buttons on top), SNES pad wears off and has a so-so D-pad but it has many buttons and a good shape (could use some grips though), N64 pad has a stick that wears off and lacks grip and the build quality is questionable (made in China instead of Japan like SNES pad was) but it's very comfortable and ergonomic (if you hold it right) but almost useless for 2D games due to it's bad (stiff) D-pad, NGC pad is okay and ergonomically shaped but I disliked the small C-stick and the poor Z-button placement and bad squeezy triggers and generally it was more a rip-off of Sony's Dual Shock design with a bit messed up button placement (except the main analog stick which is better placed and overall better than the one on DS; the smallish D-pad once again poor choice for games that require good digital control such as fighting games).

Haven't tried out the Wii and Wii U pads so no opinion on them from me. But generally speaking, I'm disintereted into motion-controls except if they really offer good precision and come coupled with VR equipment but that's too expensive for the average user and requires a good setup/implementation and touch screens hold no value for me, even if some implementation might be good/interesting.

RodimusPrime · Post by **RodimusPrime** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:49 pm

Easily the SNES.

Even better I now have a Retron 5 and can use Snes pads to play MD, MS, NES, Gameboy, and GBA games.

Being able to use one for GBA games is a pure joy.

William S · Post by **William S** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:51 pm

The SNES pad.

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