Best and Worst Controllers

[evilmess]

Has this topic been done yet?

So, tell us your favorite and least favorite game controllers. First party or third party and any console.

My favorite is the Nintendo Wave Bird and I wish Sony would make a wireless Dual Shock 2.

And I loath the original N64 controller.

[Retsudo]

Been done already..........but my favorite is The Dual Shock PS
Worst- Nintendo 64

[Arrrhalomynn]

Yeah, the N64 comes straight from hell. Just like the Jaguar controller. It feels like a cheap crappy toy. And it's too big.

[Sofa King Gud]

Best: SNES (original)
Worst:definitely N64... Whats with the "Z" button?!?!

[Raccoon Lad]

Best: Sega Arcade Power Stick! Well worth the $49.95 price tag it had back in '91

[esquire]

The worst controller ever has to be the Atari 5200 joystick made by Atari. The controller never self centers, the carbon contacts under the buttons & keypad degrade, the flex circuits underneath get easily pinched and cut and it's a bitch to repair.

I have several favorites, but my fondest is the old Wico Command Control for my Atari 2600. That thing took a beating, unlike the original 2600 joystick.

[davidbrit2]

For worst, I go with the Intellivision controllers. Even in perfect condition they are far more annoying than a decent working 5200 stick.

For best controller, I'd go with either the Gamecube or PS2 based on whether I need a nice analog stick for a simple arcade style game, or a ton of easily accessible buttons for something more complex. In other words, I can't imagine trying to play Unreal Tournament with a GC controller, and Monkey Ball would be horrible with a Dual Shock.

[Stamp Mcfury]

I'm suprised no one has nominated the Xbox controllers.

[Voodoo]

Worst Controller = Intellivision
runner-up = Colecovision

Best Controller = Xbox
runner-up = PS2 Dual Shock

[Flack]

While hooking up all my old consoles in my new gameroom, I couldn't resist playing each one for a few minutes. While unpacking my N64, I ran across Excitebike 64 and tossed it in. Within a minute or two, I remembered why I hated that system so much. With my hands on the outside of the controller, I cannot reach the analog stick or the Z button. My hand doesn't really fit in the place where it should to hold the Z button ... looking at the keyboard, I don't think I have monster hands or anything but, it's like it puts my hand in a bind or something, the analog stick is too close to my thumb and the stick seems to stick out a foot ahead of my hand. They should have moved the Z button to where your left index could hit it from the outside, and move the analog where your left thumb could hit it from the outside position as well. It's a shame that I've never dug too deep into that conosle, just because of that controller.

The PSX controller, on the other hand, finally got it right. Everything feels like it's "in the right place", at least to me. SNES was almost there, but the L and R buttons are just a little too high it seems.

Flack

[djbeatmongrel]

worst- either the n64 or virtualboy controllers. i don't know how much my hands hurt after using them. even though i hate the x-box controller, its less menacing than those two.

best goes directly to the dreamcast, its comfy and you can lookat the beautiful vmu screens

[can_dude]

the worst controller ever: Atari Jaguar, what a piece of crap.
the best controller: gamecube/Neo Geo CD controller (love that thing!)

[davidbrit2]

In fairness to the Jaguar, the 6 button pad was a HUGE improvement over the 3 button version. It makes it much more enjoyable to play Club Drive and laugh yourself stupid in awe of the "physics" model.

[Ruudos]

It seems I'm the only one who liked the Jaguar's controllers. They're big, but pretty comfortable, and I don't have big hands either.

The joystick that came with the Atari 2600 Jr. is crap, not durable at all!

Best is the SNES controller, also like the simplicty of the NES controller, and the 6-button controller for the Mega Drive is alot better than the 3-button model.

[Sylentwulf]

Best - PS Dual Shock, Xbox S-type (although I've never really played with them, I've held them and tried them out)

Worst - Anything that nintendo has put out after the SNES, Dreamcast, and Atari 5200 controllers

[anagrama]

Best - Re-designed Japanese-syle Saturn pad
Honourable mentions: SNES, Dreamcast arcade stick

Worst - Jag
Dishonourable mentions: CD32

[ManekiNeko]

The 3DO's got to be one of the dumbest controller designs ever inflicted upon gamers. You actually had to unscrew the bottom of the joypad just to get diagonal control of your character. Also, the button layout was really idiotic... there simply weren't enough buttons on the controller for fighting games like Way of the Warrior or Samurai Shodown. Worsening matters was Panasonic's port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which reversed the functions of the X and P (pause) keys. That made nearly every 3DO controller BUT Capcom's completely worthless when trying to play the game. Words can't describe how frustrating it is to put the game on pause when what you really wanted to do was a simple punch.

JR

[Dr. Retro Gamer]

Strange, all this hatred for the N64 controller, I liked it a lot. One of the main reasons for me that the Xbox left stick felt so natural when released. I had lots of practice with the N64 analogue stick.

[BigBoogie]

I would say the 6 button gen. controller is better than the SNES controller.

[Stringfellow]

My favorite has always been the original Sega Genesis 6 button pad. It was pretty comfortable and sturdy. The Dual Shock pads are nice but it'd be better if the directional buttons were more like the Genesis pad. I liked the 5200 joystick till it broke and break it did. I never liked the Snes pad in felt cheap and was uncomfortable in my hands and the n64 cheap junk.