I love the Power Glove. It's so... good?

[Scawt]

So I'm new to this site (howdy!). I own the Advanced Guide, can't wait for the updated Classic Guide, etc etc. Anyway, to the topic at hand.

I've got a friend who loves Nintendo (I know, it sounds crazy) and has wanted a Power Glove for as long as I've known him. Well, this year for his birthday I decided to buy him one. I snagged it for around $30, tested it out and it worked fine but I didn't care to delve into the special codes and such.

I go to his apartment and give it to him. He loves it, etc. We set it up (duct tape!) and throw Rad Racer in. We again ignore the codes and play as-is, twitching fingers and think it's it's novel but mostly lame. After a little while we look online for codes for games to see what that's all about, and he remarks about how in the commercial a kid plays Punch-Out!! by punching with his fist, so we get a Punch-Out code and sure enough, it says "use this code to play the game with real boxing techniques." I think it'll be a load of crap, but we put it in anyway. Much to my amazement, it works just like on TV. I was shocked to say the least. My buddy got all the way to Tyson and nearly had him beat, all in one sitting with the Power Glove.

So, am I the only one who kind of loves the Power Glove for reasons beyond its infamy? I don't know what other games he has tested it with, but it worked flawlessly in Punch-Out and now that game will never be played with a regular controller ever again.

[jcalder8]

It does work with a few games but really for the most part it's garbage. Try any platforming game and you'll see the true horror of the power glove.... but I still love mine :D

[Clownzilla]

It's not so good.......It's so rad!

[jb143]

It does work with a few games but really for the most part it's garbage. Try any platforming game and you'll see the true horror of the power glove.... but I still love mine :D

I've never really understood why people bash it so bad becasue it doesn't work good on platform games. It was an early attempt at VR input and doesn't make sense to use on those types games in the first place. It was designed for games like punchout and super glove ball...and really only makes sense on those types of games. It's sort of like saying a power pad sucks after using it to play tetris.

[otoko]

Hahahahah jb143, that sounds exactly it to me. The only problem is didn't they supply codes for the glove to work with those games where the pad just does not work period?

Err.. anyway, I've wanted one also, but I don't feel like paying the prices they have for one. I almost got one complete in box once... but the thing looked like it was left in a barn for 20 something years...

[Scawt]

Hahahahah jb143, that sounds exactly it to me. The only problem is didn't they supply codes for the glove to work with those games where the pad just does not work period?

Err.. anyway, I've wanted one also, but I don't feel like paying the prices they have for one. I almost got one complete in box once... but the thing looked like it was left in a barn for 20 something years...


The manual comes with codes for game "types." Racing games, boxing games, etc. For example, for a game like Punch-Out!! you'd put in the boxing code. Rad Racer would fit the racing code, etc. Clearly some games wouldn't work well with a glove, but it certainly works with them. Hell, the first game I played with it was Mega Man 4 and it worked. It was hard, but it worked. It essentially just maps the directional pad and buttons to different things. Twitch a finger for A, guide your hand right to move right.

[jb143]

The only problem is didn't they supply codes for the glove to work with those games where the pad just does not work period?



Bah...I didn't realise the power pad only actually worked for certain games. Maybe that's why I thougth mine was broken. I sorta wanting to actually try to play Tetris with one just to see how hard it would be:p I was sure I saw someone "playing" SMB with one once though:?

[otoko]

Bah...I didn't realise the power pad only actually worked for certain games. Maybe that's why I thougth mine was broken. I sorta wanting to actually try to play Tetris with one just to see how hard it would be:p I was sure I saw someone "playing" SMB with one once though:?

Mind you I could be wrong. I haven't used mine too extensively yet.. but my mind tells me that it did not work for those games. I do know some people have rewired some to the guts of a NES controller.

You might've saw that?

[Lady Jaye]

I think I'm obliged to post in this thread due to my profile pic... :P

And no, I don't actually own a Power Glove, it belongs to one of my friends. I put it on for show only, at Arcadia Festival.

[MrSparkle]

I've never really understood why people bash it so bad becasue it doesn't work good on platform games. It was an early attempt at VR input and doesn't make sense to use on those types games in the first place. It was designed for games like punchout and super glove ball...and really only makes sense on those types of games. It's sort of like saying a power pad sucks after using it to play tetris.

DUDE YOU CAN USE THE POWER PAD TO PLAY TETRIS!??!

I own a power glove and i have to say it is the most fickle unreliable controller I've ever had the misfortune of using. I own it solely because of its over the top awesome design. I would go so far as to say it is THE WORST CONTROLLER EVER. Worse than the uforce, worse than the 5200 non centering joystick of doom, worse than those third party n64 controllers which forgot to put the right and left handles on, dare i say this controller is worse than the sega activator. That being said i love the power glove its so bad!

[jb143]

Mind you I could be wrong. I haven't used mine too extensively yet.. but my mind tells me that it did not work for those games. I do know some people have rewired some to the guts of a NES controller.

You might've saw that?

These are 20 year old memories powered by soda and cheese crackers so I'm probally not remembering it correctly. The image is still in my head though. Someone jogging in place to get mario to run, jumping and he jumps, and so on. Maybe it was a track game that I wished was Mario.


DUDE YOU CAN USE THE POWER PAD TO PLAY TETRIS!??!

Again, I'm probally completely wrong about that but if you pretend that it does work then my point is still completely valid. These are input devices designed to work best with certain types of games.

Maybe if the power glove was sold as the "punchout power glove" it would get beter reviews, since it's implied that only works well on a few games. But then, who would have bought it?

Bear in mind though, that I have never actually played a game with a power glove or power pad for that matter. I'm just going by other peoples reviews and comments on them which seem to imply that when used on games that are made to mimic hand movement then it works rather decently.

[MrSparkle]

/me imagines dancing tetris pieces into play

i will have to hack one of my spare power pads to work as a general controller.

[tcv]

Heh. One of the classic AVGNs (if you can call it that) was when James attempted to use the Power Glove to land the plane in Top Gun for the NES. In a previous episode, this is what set him off on a rant. He never could land the plane. When he tried during the Power Glove review, the landed the plane. Hilarious. Up to that point, he didn't like the Power Glove so much.

[Draven]

I loved the Glove. I've been trying to find one at a reasonable price, but no luck. When I was a kid I remember it worked pretty well. One question: Back in the day I think we had a 19 inch tv. Now we have a 30-something inch. Are the sensors still going to pick up correctly?!?!? I'll buy one anyway, but I'd like to know before-hand.

[Scawt]

I loved the Glove. I've been trying to find one at a reasonable price, but no luck. When I was a kid I remember it worked pretty well. One question: Back in the day I think we had a 19 inch tv. Now we have a 30-something inch. Are the sensors still going to pick up correctly?!?!? I'll buy one anyway, but I'd like to know before-hand.


The glove has nothing to do with your TV, but rather radio waves sent out by this L shaped sensor bar you put on your TV (or wherever you want). That interfaces with the NES. I think it should be fine on any TV your NES works on.

What I don't like about Power Glove "reviews" is people just spew crap about it. AVGN was mentioned, and he tries to play Punch Out and he says it doesn't work, but it does. Retronauts talk about it in one episode and say "you don't play Punch-Out like they do in the commercial," but you do. Yeah, it isn't for every game, but so what? It's a 3rd party peripheral. What it does work with it's great.

[Rob2600]

I own a power glove and i have to say it is the most fickle unreliable controller I've ever had the misfortune of using. I own it solely because of its over the top awesome design. I would go so far as to say it is THE WORST CONTROLLER EVER. Worse than the uforce, worse than the 5200 non centering joystick of doom, worse than those third party n64 controllers which forgot to put the right and left handles on, dare i say this controller is worse than the sega activator. That being said i love the power glove its so bad!

Wow, worse than the activator??

In my experience, the worst controller I've ever used is the U-Force. My friend bought it and it turned out to be an $80 useless piece of garbage.

[shopkins]

I remember the Powerglove only really working well with Super Gloveball. Which makes sense. I remember that the kids in the neighborhood were disappointed with how it performed with Punch Out. Maybe they weren't setting it up right.

I've had two of them. The one that my dad brought home that was missing the L bar, so we cut the cord off and used it for a robot arm. And a complete one that I bought later at a fleamarket or roadside sale. The thing about my complete one is that the foam inside is completely icky and horrible with spots of some unpleasant substance, maybe mold. It looks like I'd get a disease if I put my arm in there so I haven't tried it out. I thought about throwing it out but it's not a biohazard or anything, just kind of grody. Seriously, if you do buy one look inside it closely before you put it on your arm. It could have some serious 1980s fat kid sweat stains going on. Or worse, something that drew sustenance from said fat kid sweat.

I vaguely remember trying out a U-Force once, too. That thing is a complete piece of shit, as far as I can tell. We couldn't get it to do anything. I also really dislike the Turbo Touch 360 controller. It might be good for some games but for platformers it was like trying to control your guy on ice. I thought it would be awesome until tried to play Ninja Gaiden with it and realized it made the game much, much more difficult.

[Blitzwing256]

to get the power glove to work right with punchout you need to put in program 7 or 8 and it works great, its awesome with top gun style games as well as most rad racer clones.

the one thing that I thought sucked about it is you had to press start before it'd start working, and unfortuantly if you tried using a game geine it would bypass the code screen! (the one way around it is just daisychain two genies and it will work fine)

the glove is a blast with infinate lives or energy in some games (3d world runner for example), I do remeber the first game I played with mine was tmnt, and I was soooo frustrated I coudon't even get into the little manholes and would get squashed by the steam rollers every time (till I you know...read the manual...)

[Overbite]

Ever masturbate with the power glove?

[otoko]

Ever masturbate with the power glove?

And.... weeee aaaarrrreee DONE!

*leaves*

[Scawt]

Ever masturbate with the power glove?


I'm a lefty in that area.

[Gentlegamer]

Ever masturbate with the power glove?/thread

[Push Upstairs]

Ever masturbate with the power glove?

I think you're the only one to attempt it.


:p

[kainemaxwell]

Ever masturbate with the power glove?
and here I figured Sothy would be the one to ask this.

[otoko]

and here I figured Sothy would be the one to ask this.

I know, I was surprised too...

Speaking of Slothy... I have not seen him in a toons age.