What's the best directional pad from any controller ever made for any platform?
What's the best directional pad from any controller ever made for any platform?
I waffle between the SNES and model 2 Saturn. Probably Saturn overall.
I'd say the PS4 controller, but honestly, I can't, not when the controller's lifespan is so short. I've had two original PS4 controllers crap out on me. One a year after I got my PS4, the other is starting to have issues right now(got the PS4 a year after it came out as well, so second one did last quite a bit longer, going on two years, but still. It's not broken, it still works, but the first controller the analog stick wouldn't recognize a very specific direction, it was like that direction was completely dead. This controller seems like that's starting to happen as sometimes, rarely, the same occurence happens, the other issue though that both controllers had, is it started doing multiple button presses with just a single action and because of this I think it recognizes many of my actions. The only reason I'm able to tell this though is I'd be typing a message on PSN, I'd hit the accept button sometimes and it'd have two of the same letter, three of the same letter, or one letter and the one next to it(as I'd be dragging it to the next letter and it'd get the one next to it.) I know it's the controller though because didn't have an issue for the longest time, past couple months it's been happening, just like with the original controller.
So really, I'd say the PS2. I had more than one PS2 controller, but it was to play multiplayer games. Not once did I ever have a PS2 controller die on me or have issues and before the PS4 controller, I'd say the PS2 controller was the most comfortable I've used. PS4 controller really just extends the grips of the PS2 controller and while the PS2 L2/R2 was the same as L1/R1, PS4 took the bumpers of the PS3 and curved them outward so this time they actually work well.
I'd honestly say maybe the Wii U Pro controller is the best, but I actually haven't put much time in actually using it because the controller doesn't work with Wii games and the Wii U library is pretty much non existent. Way to go Nintendo creating a great controller that I pretty much can't even use. The only thing I can tell you is that the Wii U Pro controller is very comfortable and the battery life is 80 hours. The whole 80 hours thing is based on information I got from others. I actually don't know the life span personally, mine actually never died after the initial charge(and I've never had it plugged up since.)
*edit*
Oops, I thought the op meant d-pad as controller, not actually the directional pad. In that case it would still be the Playstation d-pad but the choice would really be between a Nintendo or Playstation console, the reason for this is the digital pad is separated rather than a combined circle like the Sega or Xbox digital pad, meaning you have more accurate control over what you're doing. I know you guys might be like, wtf, but as someone who was more comfortable playing platformers and RPGs, these pads had the best accuracy on what you're actually doing(not the DS lite however, that one was garbage.) The contour of the Playstation digital pad is more comfortable on the fingers than the Nintendo digital pads. Also, even while separated, the buttons are close enough so fighting game motions can still be done accurately.
Now I've never used an Xbox One controller, but I'd say they changed the style of the digital pad from how Sega did it to more similar to the way Nintendo does it but with better contour, so that one might actually be comfortable to control. The entire Xbox One controller does look comfortable.
Neo Geo Pocket. Hands down (",)
Neo Geo CD.
It's not even much of a competition in my mind. There are tons of D-pads that I consider flat-out shitty, especially ones created since the focus shifted to analog control (the D-pads for the Dreamcast, GameCube, 360, etc.), a ton that I consider so-so (basically every Sony D-pad, among others), a handful that are solid and get the job done with most genres (NES, SNES, etc.), and then a very rare few that I feel are notably good.
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Can't vote for any Playstation model as the gaps between the 'buttons' always pissed me off. Will have to give another vote for Saturn (either model).
6-button Sega Mega Drive controller, an ever so slight hair above the Japanese Saturn pad. These are so head and shoulders above anything else there's hardly any comparison. The only thing I'd put even close to them would be the Wii Classic Controller Pro or maybe the WiiU Pro controller.
360 and original Xbox pad are hardly better than a coin taped to four buttons. The PS1/PS2 cheese grater pad is more responsive, but having sharp corners jut out is the equivalent of a trackball covered in sandpaper. What it gains in responsiveness it loses by lacking any sort of comfort. In most games it isn't too bad, but in games where you must consistently hit diagonals or constantly move your thumb on the pad (like fighters) it can be absolute murder.
Nintendo's d-pads are always serviceable if sometimes a bit small. The Wii remote and DS/3DS pad all work fine but are just way too small for me.
PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16. Yeah, it's yet another "can't copy Gunpei Yokoi's design for Nintendo too closely" directional pad disc, but damn if it isn't comfortable and responsive. I can't think of many other directional pads that I can comfortably and accurately play crazy shooters on for hours on end without issue.
I have a fairly small reference pool to work from since I'm only picking from hardware I've used, but I'd have to say the SNES followed by the PS1. I acknowledge that neither are well-suited for circle motions and consistent diagonals, but I rarely play anything where either is particularly relevant. I do believe that both companies learned their lessons which brought us better things like the analog sticks becoming standard after this point. The d-pad for PS2 and PS3 are fairly inconsistent, though this typically winds up irrevelant with most games using them for non-directional inputs (quick items, menus, what have you). There are a fair few games where I prefer a d-pad over a stick (just about anything heavily menu-driven and/or grid-based like a SRPG).
I remember being increasingly unhappy with the NES d-pad as time went on (don't remember the SNES-esque version enough to matter), the d-pad on the Genesis was ok, with the N64, Xbox, and 360 just being a combination of afterthoughts and throwbacks mainly used for game-specific inputs and commands.
I have noticed that the PS2 has some sort of physical issue; I've gone through something like three controllers where the d-pad starts crapping out and reading a constant up and/or right input, the only one I've handled that doesn't do this yet is the transparent blue version. I borrowed one from a friend that worked better than the black and silver ones, and bought a 'new' blue last year that still works wonderfully.
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Sega's 6-button Genesis and "model 2" Saturn controllers have the best joypads ever designed. Those are my favorite video game controllers. The Wico joystick for Atari would ne my #3 controller.
I still can't understand why Sega changed their d-pad for the Dreamcast controller, other than peer pressure to get with the program on 3D analog-control games, or fear of confusing players.
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I swear I'm not trying to be contrarian here.
Dreamcast is still my favorite D-Pad.
Best dpad for me is the NES-101 "dogbone" controller.
The dpad is larger than most, raised but not mushy, textured but not sharp, comfortable yet responsive.
Mind you, this only applies to the real Nintendo made ones. No clone of the controller made by anyone else even comes close. The NES-004 (the standard rectangle) has indeed been reverse engineered in China with some very decent clones in recent years. The dogbone has not.
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