Your Favourite Type Of Controller

[Sky10w10w]

What is your favourite type of video game controller? For example, do you prefer control pads (wired / wireless), joysticks, racing wheels & pedals, lightguns, guitars (for Guitar Hero, etc)...?

Since 2D Fighting Games are my favourite game genre, I consider the Sega Genesis 6-button (wired) gamepad the best controller that I have personally ever used. I don't care for playing fighting games on modern gamepads (i.e. the Playstation or Xbox gamepads) because the button layout is terrible for fighting games that use the light-medium-strong attack system for punches and kicks.

I probably would've loved the Japanese-style Sega Saturn gamepad if only I had a Saturn. The Japanese-style Sega Saturn gamepad is like the Genesis 6-button gamepad except for the fact that it has 2 triggers atop the controller.

[Areala]

I think the Super NES pad is the most perfect gaming controller ever created, which is clearly why Sony ripped off the layout when they created their Playstation controller, and later the Dualshock. Sits comfortably in your hand, has six buttons, a super-responsive D-pad...yeah, I'm all about it.

*huggles*

Areala

[bombatomba]

For 2D games I'm torn between the SNES and Japanese style Saturn controllers. The Saturn controller was excellent for KOF '96, but there was something about how the SNES one felt. I still have a boxed (but opened) SNES controller and I'm holding it now. Mmmm...

For 3D my personal fav is the Xbox 360. I know, I know, the D pad stinks, but the mix of dual triggers and bumpers with the weird but cool off-set analog sticks makes for something magical. Plus, the 360 controller is the only one that fits comfortably in my gigantic, gorilla/sausage hands.

[Data]

List of Bad in order

NES Somewhat bad

Turbographx

Playstation Digital

Genesis 3-button

Saturn digital

Colecovision

Atari

Intellivision Worst

List of Good in order

Nintendo 64 Good

Saturn analog

Playstation Dual Shock

Super Nintendo

Genesis 6-button

Gamecube

Dreamcast Best

I haven't used the new stuff.

[Mister Zero]

I like wireless control pads best of all because there's no restriction to how far away I can sit. But there are many perfect wired ones which are my favorite.

I'll always love the Saturn's pad best. I liked having the 6 buttons right there in front of me, with two simple top buttons under your fingers. Best controller IMO.

Second is Nintendo because of simplicity and control response, and then Super Nintendo. After those would be Playstation 2/3 and XBOX 360. The X360's controls are terribly unresponsive sometimes. Wii is last in line. I love how Wii's controllers work when you don't have to use them in the sideways position, but the button layout and having to add on(and thus buy) so much stuff all the time is annoying. The often used sideways position makes the Wiimote's novelty null, which sucks. So it is last on my list of favorites.

1. Sega Saturn

2. NES

3. SNES

4. Playstation 2/3

4. XBOX 360

5. Wii/add-ons

I left out stuff like Gamecube and Dreamcast because they just have too many buttons laid out annoyingly for me to bother with. I've played a lot of games with them, and always had some kind of trouble stemming from having the buttons all splayed out everywhere.

I left out the old controllers just because I always had trouble with response. I like accurate, quick controller response(who doesn't?). I usually always prefer a nice, strong D-Pad over an either highly-sensitive analog or a choppy one. Analog response for me was best on Wii, N64 and Playstation 2. Xbox 360's is good for 3D games, but not good at all for fighting games with complex control patterns.

[Thor]

Saturn controller or the SF4 pads for PS3 and 360 they are all basically the same. But yeah great controllers.

[Mister Zero]

Yeah, I need one of those pads. I heard they break easily, though.

[Data]

The saturn analog controller was nearly identical to the Dreamcast's. The analog shoulder buttons would have been perfect for racing games. The D-Pad was soft and sensitive but not too sensitive. I never had a chance to test the analog stick because no game I heard of supported it. All the Saturn controllers would work well with fighting games of the time but the one packed in seemed to slip out of my hands.

The Playstation dual shock spawned many remakes. I bought this blue one from China for 5 dollars. The D pad only has four buttons and the cord is kinda short but a great spare for most emulators.

The turbographx was a little more comfortable than the NES because of rounded corners. It also came with turbo switches.

I stand by the Intellivision being one of the most uncomfortable and unresponsive controllers. There is no good way to hold it and the 4 fire buttons are all mapped to the same wire.

The only thing that seemed more useless was Nintendo's Power Glove. I could never play super Mario Brothers with that thing. I'd fall in the ditch on the first level until all lives were lost.

[Mister Zero]

I have an American dual shock 2 that looks like that, it's my favorite one. I also have that Microsoft pad for PC and I was pretty happy with it. The TGX controller is neat but I never had chance to play much TG-16. =/

The Saturn controller IS kinda slippery. I love how the buttons click and everyone on it though. It's also kind of fragile, being made of hard plastic. Just something about it is perfect to me and I can't put my finger on it.

[bombatomba]

It's always killed me that Sega never made the Dreamcast controller look more like the 3D Saturn controller. Imagine owning a DC controller with 6 face buttons as well those great triggers. That would have been my favorite controller of that generation.

[8bitforever]

Does anyone remember the NES Max. That was the coolest controller when it came out. I used one for years on my NES. Nintendo was always ahead when it came to controllers.

[Data]

My friend owned an NES Max. We would fight in Blades of Steel to see whose controller could punch faster. I used a generic controller with turbo buttons and the Max always won. After that I had to avoid punch-outs and just use my Wayne Gretzky finesse.

I also owned an NES Satellite that took 6 C batteries but handled 4 controllers wirelesely from 20 feet away. Good for a game of Kings of the Beach.

I always fancied Aklaim's wireless controllers I seen in magazines but never in stores. It came to 70 dollars at the time.

Here's the first wireless controller Aklaim made for NES.

I think the messiah was made after the Nintendo 2 came out. That was the NES that loaded games like the SNES.

This is another one of Aklaim's wireless.

I remember reading about the Robotic Buddy. It was made as a novelty to sell with the deluxe NES set in 1985. It only worked with 2 games. Too technical to write about here but Wiki has all of the data here.

[Mister Zero]

I love the NES Satellite! Those wireless conrollers there look pretty cool, too. It's kind of cool that they had those back then, I wonder how bad the battery life was..

R.O.B.! That worthless fool! He's like an icon now. I always remember wanting the set that he was in just because I thought it was a real robot. Little did I know how pointless his life was.

[jayrox]

Allways really liked the playstation controller they just feel right when playing games, they fit the hand perfectly, the worst one has to be the old xbox ones they are too big, after palying for a bit my fingers start to really hurt :(

[Crazylightsaber]

Best "classic" controller has to be the SNES pad. It works for all types of games, especially fighting games. Honorable mention goes to the original dualshock 1 controller. It rocked.

The best "current" controller is the Xbox360 in my opinion. Works great for FPS and racers. Not as good for fighting games, but it works.

[atik]

The DualShock 2 is probably my favourite controller of recent time's. It just seems to work really well for most types of game's and feel's very comfortable even after hour's of play. The Super Nes controller is another favourite from back in the day. It looked great, had lot's of button's and was such a step up from all the controller's that had gone before it.

[Data]

Recently I've been hearing the use of Nintendo Wii controllers used in our University as teaching tools. Students write their own software and find new uses for this technology.