Jagasian
10-07-2004, 06:50 PM
Messiah has finally shipped their controllers, and I just got mine today. For those that don't know, here is a link to the product:
http://www.playmessiah.com/products/snes-single.htm
I am very picky about my controllers, and I still regularly play my SNES. I am currently playing Super Mario Kart (as always) and Blackthorn (on my Tototek.com Flash cart). I am very biased towards the official SNES controller, so I was worried when I saw the joystick-like D-pad and the membrane based select and start buttons on the Messiah wireless controller.
I only ordered one controller as I just want to taste test it, and if I like it I will buy another 3 (for 4 player games of course). The product came in a brown shipping box with tons of foam peanuts inside protecting a very professional looking retail boxed Messiah Wireless SNES controller. Opening up the retail box I see the controller, the wireless dongle, a Messiah dog tag, 2 AAA batteries for the controller, an instruction manual, and a few other inserts. Like any real gamer, I threw everything to the side except the actual hardware...
I just fired up Blackthorn for a quick check of the controller and I got about 15 minutes of game testing in. First impressions are good, but I will save a complete review until I get more game time with the controller. Here is what I can say so far:
The D-pad seems to be VERY sensetive! I noticed this when I had to enter a continue password in Blackthorn. This requires left/right D-pad movement to select the character position and up/down D-pad movement to select the actual character. It seemed a little too easy to accidentally press right while you were pressing down. The official SNES D-pad doesn't have this problem, but playing Street Fighter 2 shows the drawback of the SNES D-pad: you can't do circular motions worth a damn!
The membrane select and start buttons are very responsive and I haven't found any real problem with them. I actually like the idea as membrane buttons are the most durable type of button as they are sealed from outside elements that can dirty up other button technologies. The biggest drawback is that they lack tactile feedback: there is no press or click feel. Most games use select and start for inventories, menus, and pausing... and there is little reason to have tactile feedback for these functions.
The A, B, X, Y, R, and L buttons are pretty standard. They have a slightly different feel compared to the official SNES controllers, but only somebody as picky as me would notice any difference. The official SNES controllers have very tight buttons that allow very little movement when pressed, while the Messiah controller's buttons have about twice the movement distance from unpressed to pressed. This means that the Messiah A thru R buttons have slightly more tactile feedback than the official buttons. Which is better? It is a matter of taste, and in the end it makes very little difference.
So the jury is still out on the D-pad. I am going to try some games that only accept pure up, down, left, or right directions and not diagonals... which could be a problem for this kind of a D-pad. I will also try out fighting games like Street Fighter 2 Turbo, which is D-pad intensive to say the least. In a few days I will give a final verdict on the D-pad.
As of now, I must say that I am impressed. The controller is shaped very much like the official SNES controller, but it is slightly thicker, and they both weigh about the same, i.e. the Messiah controller is extremely lightweight and small, unlike other modern bulky, heavy wireless controllers. I hope the D-pad works out because my current setup with official SNES pads connected via 6 foot extension cables is a total tangle-proned mess that people seem to love to trip over.
A real SNES is still far better than emulation, so long live the SNES!
http://www.playmessiah.com/products/snes-single.htm
I am very picky about my controllers, and I still regularly play my SNES. I am currently playing Super Mario Kart (as always) and Blackthorn (on my Tototek.com Flash cart). I am very biased towards the official SNES controller, so I was worried when I saw the joystick-like D-pad and the membrane based select and start buttons on the Messiah wireless controller.
I only ordered one controller as I just want to taste test it, and if I like it I will buy another 3 (for 4 player games of course). The product came in a brown shipping box with tons of foam peanuts inside protecting a very professional looking retail boxed Messiah Wireless SNES controller. Opening up the retail box I see the controller, the wireless dongle, a Messiah dog tag, 2 AAA batteries for the controller, an instruction manual, and a few other inserts. Like any real gamer, I threw everything to the side except the actual hardware...
I just fired up Blackthorn for a quick check of the controller and I got about 15 minutes of game testing in. First impressions are good, but I will save a complete review until I get more game time with the controller. Here is what I can say so far:
The D-pad seems to be VERY sensetive! I noticed this when I had to enter a continue password in Blackthorn. This requires left/right D-pad movement to select the character position and up/down D-pad movement to select the actual character. It seemed a little too easy to accidentally press right while you were pressing down. The official SNES D-pad doesn't have this problem, but playing Street Fighter 2 shows the drawback of the SNES D-pad: you can't do circular motions worth a damn!
The membrane select and start buttons are very responsive and I haven't found any real problem with them. I actually like the idea as membrane buttons are the most durable type of button as they are sealed from outside elements that can dirty up other button technologies. The biggest drawback is that they lack tactile feedback: there is no press or click feel. Most games use select and start for inventories, menus, and pausing... and there is little reason to have tactile feedback for these functions.
The A, B, X, Y, R, and L buttons are pretty standard. They have a slightly different feel compared to the official SNES controllers, but only somebody as picky as me would notice any difference. The official SNES controllers have very tight buttons that allow very little movement when pressed, while the Messiah controller's buttons have about twice the movement distance from unpressed to pressed. This means that the Messiah A thru R buttons have slightly more tactile feedback than the official buttons. Which is better? It is a matter of taste, and in the end it makes very little difference.
So the jury is still out on the D-pad. I am going to try some games that only accept pure up, down, left, or right directions and not diagonals... which could be a problem for this kind of a D-pad. I will also try out fighting games like Street Fighter 2 Turbo, which is D-pad intensive to say the least. In a few days I will give a final verdict on the D-pad.
As of now, I must say that I am impressed. The controller is shaped very much like the official SNES controller, but it is slightly thicker, and they both weigh about the same, i.e. the Messiah controller is extremely lightweight and small, unlike other modern bulky, heavy wireless controllers. I hope the D-pad works out because my current setup with official SNES pads connected via 6 foot extension cables is a total tangle-proned mess that people seem to love to trip over.
A real SNES is still far better than emulation, so long live the SNES!