/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.8464492]

The most controversial controller of all time. What are your thoughts on it, anon?

[Anonymous No.8464527]

>>8464492
It's unoffensive but weird. Most games use the layout that is essentially stick + 2 back buttons + face buttons. So, it's not too unfamiliar, really.

[Anonymous No.8464554]

>>8464492
Thumbstick is really good considering it’s the first one most people used. Trigger on the bottom kinda inspired. Modular slot on the bottom was a good idea but underused. Fairly durable.

Controller is strange but pretty well thought out imo. I can’t really come up with a complaint other than the fact that most games use the thumbstick and that’s the more awkward way to hold it

[Anonymous No.8464564]

I love the concept of different games using different ways of holding the controller. I also like collecting games that use the D-Pad so I frequently have opportunities of all three major ways of holding the controller, although I personally hold it a fourth way that Nintendo didn't foresee.

[Anonymous No.8464635]

The "claw" just seems like a rough draft of a better design, which is what followed in the following generations of stock controllers. Using the center prong means losing the d-pad and shoulder button, it's a poor design choice (not a dealbreaker but needed improvement)

[Anonymous No.8464646]

>>8464492
Don't compare it to an Xbox controller, compare it to Nintendo's direct competitor at the time of its design.

[Anonymous No.8464648]

A good enough attempt considering it hadn't really been tried before, but the dualshock and even the Saturn 3D pad simply made more sense.

The stick is too stiff, though.

[Anonymous No.8464669]

>>8464635
>it's a poor design choice
Not really. When 2D gameplay was all there was, it makes complete sense. The left prong was for 2D gameplay, the middle prong was for 3D gameplay. After all, why would you ever need a d-pad in a 3D game? You don't, unless you want extra buttons for switching weapons or something, but that isn't something people thought about until years later. Before that, a d-pad was ONLY for movement (and menus, but the N64 joystick can handle menus more-or-less fine), and buttons were for actions.

It's not the controller's design that was bad, it's that the requirements of 3D games outstripped it quickly, mostly as a result of camera control requiring its own set of inputs.

[Anonymous No.8464738]

>>8464492
Name ten games where you need to use both the D-Pad and the control stick.

[Anonymous No.8464818]

I thought it was fine

[Anonymous No.8464832]

>>8464738
name ten games where you use the dpad

[Anonymous No.8464851]

shit design botth ergonomically and physically

the analog stick grinds against a piece of plastic and once it's worn out it's done, there's no repairing it, it's a horrible design

ergonomically it's only different for being the sake of being different, and forces you to either use the analog or dpad setup, never both, so games never utilized it

overall, a shit design just trying to be different for the sake of it. at least the game cube controller design was different and made sense.

[Anonymous No.8464882]

>>8464832
Bomberman 64: The Second Attack
Bomberman 64 Arcade
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Tarzan
F1 Pole Position
Gex 64: Enter the Gecko
Gex 3
Goemon's Great Adventure
Pokémon Stadium
Mischief Makers

[Anonymous No.8464887]

It's really not controversial at all. It had a configuration for analogue use and a configuration for d-pad use. Other than that it was a fairly standard setup with 6 face buttons and two usable shoulder buttons at a time.

[Anonymous No.8464893]

>>8464851
>and forces you to either use the analog or dpad setup, never both, so games never utilized it
Most FPS games allow both. And the C buttons mirror the dpad, so most games where you use the analog and c buttons together are using both analog and digital inputs together. No matter how you hold it, you always have access to two pads.

[Anonymous No.8464938]

>>8464492
Being late to the party I'm still having some issues getting use to the controller. I've owned a N64 for four days now and it's still tricky, but I can see tell that it is not nearly as bad as people claim it is.

[Anonymous No.8464965]

>>8464492
Ah yes, the infamous three handed transexual N64 player

[Anonymous No.8464970]

>>8464492
its unique, but people that bitch about it just like to be angry
they had a design and a desire for two different controllers, each better for one or another thing
rather than making two people would need to buy, they made 1 in a strange way.
any game you play pretty much only uses 2/3 of the controller at a time, its just using one controller layout or the other and the biggest issue is they didnt handle ergonomics great for the second layout

[Anonymous No.8465002]

>>8464492
I can't tell which handle is supposed to go up the ass

[Anonymous No.8465068]

>>8465002
Left one, trigger gets in the way if you use the middle

[Anonymous No.8465170]

>>8464492
What the fuck is controversial about it? No 3D console had succeeded in the past and Nintendo, and nobody else for that matter, really knew what kind of controller would work for future 3D games. It was the wild west as far as any 3D developer knew, and the N64 controller was Nintendos strategy that would work for both 2D and 3D yet not pidgeonhole them into either one. Saying its controversial is retarded - nobody complained in 1996 when it came out. The whole "N64 controller sucks" narrative is constructed by post PS2 children who live in an era where controller design has been homogenized

[Anonymous No.8465171]

>>8464492
I love it

[Anonymous No.8465174]

I get that some people have nostalgia for the N64 but it's time to move on and accept that thiswas a terrible controller when we've been given the option to play this with the superior Gamecube controller or any PC controller.

[Anonymous No.8465180]

>>8465170
And to think you do this for free.

[Anonymous No.8465185]

It's based for being the only controller that filters people, besides maybe The Duke.

Pic related is ideal though.

[Anonymous No.8465187]

>>8464669
>why would you ever need a d-pad in a 3D game?
Winback and Jet Force Gemini used it for weapon shortcuts, surprisingly modern scheme

[Anonymous No.8465217]

>>8464882
nice

[Anonymous No.8465238]

I'd love someone to have another go at that type of analogue stick. Slightly stiffer and springier, long throw, octagonal gated, optical sensor, just without the grinding plastic.

[Anonymous No.8465406]

>>8464882
I thought on Mischief Makers you only used the c- and d-pads. I don’t recall using the stick anyway.

[Anonymous No.8465421]

>>8464492

>Saying the N64 has the worst controller ever, when the Dreamcast and original Xbox controllers exist
>And at least the N64 doesn't use a disk and keypad like the Intellivision and Colecovision

[Anonymous No.8465501]

>>8465187
Body Harvest as well. As I said, devs slowly learned they needed more buttons in 3D games.

[Anonymous No.8465507]

>>8464646
Yeah people seem to forget the N64 controller had MORE functionality than the other controllers at the time. Nintendo should have updated it a year or two later but didn't for some reason.

[Anonymous No.8465512]

>>8464492
It’s difficult to mentally map the layout onto a modern controller when emulating.

[Anonymous No.8465518]

>>8465507
>Nintendo should have updated it a year or two later but didn't for some reason.
What would you have done in a revision?

[Anonymous No.8465556]

>>8464492
It plays Mario, it just barely plays Zelda, and isn't good for much else

[Anonymous No.8465608]

>>8465556
>it just barely plays Zelda
Elaborate

[Anonymous No.8465625]

>>8465406
The post I responded to was about games that use the d pad, it said nothing about the analog stick

[Anonymous No.8465679]

>>8464669
Today you just have to move your thumb to use the analog stick, the shoulder button or d-pad aren't out of reach

picrel was all N64 needed, even if the direction controls were swapped because of the "2d era"

[Anonymous No.8465749]

>>8464738
Perfect dark
Golden eye
Turok 1-3
Turok rage wars
Sin and punishment
Bangai-O
Robotron
Quake 2

[Anonymous No.8465756]

>>8464832
The wrasslin games used the dpad for some reason

[Anonymous No.8465771]

>>8464492
Comfy because I grew up playing on it for hours, but I'm not going to go full /vr/ and claim it has SOVL or whatever cope word is trendy now, it's pretty fucking bad from a functional standpoint. The C buttons are awkward, having to move your hand between the stick and D-pad is dumb, and the angle you hold the stick with your thumb limits mobility
>>8465185
There's no better manlet filter than The Duke

[Anonymous No.8465772]

>>8464492
N64 is kind of a big downgrade from nes/snes other than the racing and Mario party

[Anonymous No.8465775]

>>8465679
BORING

[Anonymous No.8465776]

>>8465421
This fag has smol hands.

[Anonymous No.8465785]

>>8464492
It's based and high IQ.

[Anonymous No.8465789]

>>8464492
Tired of this forced meme.

[Anonymous No.8465915]

>>8465785
name literally anything that uses the middle

[Anonymous No.8465925]

>>8464738
>Name ten games
>for N64
Mario, Zelda, Goldeneye....alright you win.

[Anonymous No.8465929]

>>8465915
Sin & Punishment

[Anonymous No.8466009]

>>8465915
Buck Bumble and Duke Nukem

[Anonymous No.8466064]

>>8465915
Goldeneye

[Anonymous No.8466079]

I used to kind of hate the thing with all my passion but then I got my hands on it recently and it’s surprisingly not terrible. You’d think it would be a massive nightmare to work with given the design but it’s weirdly intuitive and is quite comfy to hold. The stick fucking blows though

[Anonymous No.8466080]

>>8465915
>>8465749

[Anonymous No.8466103]

>>8466079
The stick is the only problem

[Anonymous No.8466189]

>>8466103
The stick works for the games on the console
Newer sticks are too sensitive for it so the controls are off

[Anonymous No.8466208]

>>8466189
It wears out badly and is nearly impossible to repair or replace. It's also more slippery than the Dual Shock or Saturn 3D Controller sticks.

[Anonymous No.8466221]

>>8466208
Not questioning its reliability, only that it works for the console

[Anonymous No.8466228]

>>8466221
It does, but it shouldn't have passed QA.

[Anonymous No.8466382]

>>8466079
That's pretty much what everyone thought, though it's not like there was even any other controller with an analog thumbstick to compare it to at the time.

[Anonymous No.8466412]

It's better than the 3D Saturn controller (in design philosophy, the feeling of the saturn controller is better though). Despite all the complaints in the thread here "you can't use all the pads all at once" even though you always have access to two pads no matter how you hold it, on the Saturn controller you actually have to toggle a switch to use one pad while the other pad is then shut off completely and the game registers no inputs from it.

[Anonymous No.8466419]

>>8466412
That's also how the analog worked on the PSX analog controller.

[Anonymous No.8466461]

>>8464492
It wasn't perfectly thought out and slightly wasteful, but you can see its thought process and it led to everything else. Nothing but affection for this weird looking pad, it's not like it was uncomfortable or dysfunctional.

[Anonymous No.8466561]

>>8464492
People who shit on the three prong layout never actually used it or they'd understand 99% of the games on the console were designed for you to use the d-pad or analog only. MAYBE some minor actions would require you to swap such as taunting in WcW vs NWO.

[Anonymous No.8466568]

>those games that ask you to use the C buttons to move

What the fuck were they thinking

[Anonymous No.8466573]

>>8466208
>nearly impossible to repair or replace.
You can buy drop in replacements on eBay

[Anonymous No.8466579]

>>8465421
The Dreamcast controller is good though.

[Anonymous No.8466604]

>>8466568
Most of those games allow you to move with the dpad calling it “left handed” control scheme and they work like modern control schemes

[Anonymous No.8466605]

>>8466579
I wish it felt better in my hands

[Anonymous No.8466667]

>>8465068
No, the middle one is to hit the erogenous zone.

[Anonymous No.8466680]

It's just two controllers in one.

[Anonymous No.8466687]

>>8465518
Merged the middle and left arms, but with a right angle edge. The D pad would be on the left wall of the stick and the left shoulder would feature as a staggered second trigger. Alternatively move the stick to the right a little and go for dual controls.

[Anonymous No.8466704]

>>8464492
I always liked it. I don't get the controversy, I thought it was just a funny meme. Do people really not understand how to hold it? I doubt that.

[Anonymous No.8466705]

>>8466568
Four letters, W,A,S,D.

[Anonymous No.8466724]

>>8466705
Those are used with you left hand fingers, not your right hand thumb. It's not even comparable.

[Anonymous No.8466773]

>>8466680
Ffs, for the last time it’s 3

[Anonymous No.8466874]

Only flaw it has is that the stick gets loose when you use it a lot (especially these mario party mini games).
The design is unique and clever, but only a few devs were able to be creative with it, most just went with the default right position.
Buttons all feel very nice, also was this one of the last controllers in consoles with 6 face buttons?