Why SNES is not a favorite for me to play

[CGQuarterly]

The Game Boy, SMS, SNES, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Dreamcast, Xbox, Playstation 2, Xbox 360, And Playstation 3 all have convex buttons on their controllers, some of which bulge out a LOT more than the 2 convex buttons on the SNES.

 

Chris

[PsychoKittyNet]

I've never had issues with any Nintendo controller, or any that I have used.

[BassGuitari]

I never heard anyone complain about the N64 controller when the system was "still around..."

 

The Intellivision disc is relatively easy to use once you get it in your head that it's not a D-Pad, and therefore should not be treated as such. They probably could have done a little better with the fire buttons, though, but even those aren't THAT bad. To me, at least.

 

The Atari 5200 controller isn't uncomfortable to me, either. The buttons press easily and the joystick moves freely -something that unfortunately can't be said for the Colecovision controller. The trouble is getting them to work, but that has nothing to do with how comfortable they are. As far as Atari controllers go, it's the 7800/Pro Line controller that gives me cramps.

 

GameCube and NES...never had a problem with those, either.

 

The SNES and Genesis both have great controllers. Convex or concave buttons, makes no difference to me.

[Eltigro]

Controllers and my take:

 

My first system was a pong clone. I remember nothing about the controllers other than that they were hard wired to the console and you had to push the cable back through a hole on the console to store them.

 

Atari 2600. I remember having several aftermarket joysticks for this as well as the original. They all worked pretty well, but I liked one that had a button on top of the joystick the most. Just more comfortable. The original sticks were okay, but last time I saw my 2600 (years ago), one had the black rubber cover missing from the joystick (and so it just had the white plastic part sticking up) and the other had been chewed on by the dog, so neither was all that comfortable anymore. The paddle controllers I always thought were awesome. Good ergonomics on those. Nothing fancy, they just worked.

 

My step brother had a 5200. I don't remember the controllers much other than that you could store them in the system.

 

NES. I do remember getting a blister on my thumb from the d-pad. This is not so much a problem with the controller as much as me just playing the Hell out of the system. I remember it being awkward to play at first because I was so used to joysticks from the 2600. I also had the Power Glove (waste of money), NES Advantage (awesome), and and NES Max (waste of money). I didn't think about whether they were more or less comfortable than something else because I didn't really have much of anything else to compare it to.

 

SMS. I got this much later in life as a used system on eBay. The controllers are comparable to the NES, no complaints except the often cited lack of start buttons and such. There's one that has the wire coming out of the "top" of the controller and one that has it coming out of the "side" so to speak. I use the one with the top wire because the one on the side gets in the way of using it. Looked it up once, but don't remember why there is a difference.

 

TG-16. Controllers a little larger than NES and similar design. A little more rounded so a little more comfortable. Inclusion of three position turbo switches is a big plus. Only two action buttons would prove to be a liability when the Genesis and SNES came out with much more, but at the time it was fine. Cord is also short, an extension cable is a great investment.

 

Genesis. These controllers are awesome. I love the original three button Genesis controller. It looks like what Batman would make if he designed a gaming system. It's large and feels nice in the hands, the d-pad is great, the buttons are angled for better ergonomics, the B (middle) button has a little bump on it to help you know which button your thumb is resting on...

 

SNES. Great ergonomics on these, too. The Addition of shoulder buttons and four face action buttons made this the button king of its time. I like the way they feel and another plus is how easy they are to plug into the system. This is something that Nintendo seems to be pretty good at. I even liked the NES dog-bone controllers that they based on the SNES controller when they redesigned the NES as a top loader.

 

Jaguar. This is another system that I got later and on eBay. I had heard a lot about the controllers not being all that great. For normal game play I think they are nice enough. The d-pad is responsive and the buttons seem okay to me. The number pad though is just a terrible idea in my opinion. I always have to look down at the controller to press the correct button and any time I have to take my attention off of what is going on on the screen is a chance for bad things to happen.

 

Saturn. The original controllers for the Sega Saturn were a step backwards on design. They aren't that comfortable at all and kinda ugly. They redesigned them to resemble the 6-button Genesis controller later on and they looked and felt much nicer. I have one of each and never use the old one.

 

Playstation. These really haven't changed much in my opinion from the first Playstation to the PS3. At one point they added the twin analog sticks (after the N64 came out). And then they added the rumbling motors (again, after Nintendo made the rumble pack). The design changes have been subtle ever since. The silhouette and button placement haven't changed much at all since the PS1's Dual Analog rumble controller. (The Dual Analog that they had prior to the rumbling upgrade was a little different with more contoured grips.) They are comfortable though.

 

N64. Odd design. Looked like a spaceship or like it was meant for someone with three arms. I didn't really like the design, but it ended up working great for many 3-d type games like Super Mario 64 and for flight games like the flying portions of the Star Wars games. I hated the controller slots for memory cards and the rumble pack. Because most games seemed to make use of the analog thumb stick, which required you to hold the middle handle, the d-pad was rarely used and the left shoulder button even less so.

 

Gamecube. I often consider the Gamecube controller to be one of the most comfortable controllers I've ever held and there is very little that I don't like about it. I have two Wavebird wireless controllers and the only down side I've noticed about them is the lack of a rumble feature which makes some games harder to play. For example, when I play Ocarina of Time (on collector's disk), I can't use the Wavebird if I want to fish because you have to feel the rumble to know there's a fish on. (if I remember correctly)

 

Dreamcast. These were never that comfortable to me. They seemed to be trying to remake the 3-d nIghts controller from the Saturn. I didn't like that one either. Looked too much like a Star Trek ship. Anyway, where the Playstation controllers have "handles" that are angled out, in a natural way, the Dreamcast controllers seem to be parallel and it seems awkward. The VMU was a great idea, but the batteries suck. Just not a great controller. Great idea, bad implementation. The Dreamcast deserved better.

 

XBox. Never used the big one, but the revised smaller controller worked great.

 

XBox 360. Very similar to the XBox one, comfortable and wireless.

 

Wii. Completely different playing style and control. Can't really compare to previous controls.

Edited January 31, 2011 by Eltigro

[JacobZu7zu7]

That's strange,

 

The SNES has my favorite controller to play games with! It's very comfortable and the buttons never

got sticky, unresponsive or flat, like my NES ones do.

 

I do remember the 4 fire buttons on SNES controller were tricky to switch around

for me, because I was used to the NES. After that adjustment, it's just smooth sails...!

 

IMO, Worst controllers, hate to say this... but,

 

Anything Atari made,

 

2600 -BREAK EASY- So-so comfortable (varies), good design...but domes inside are cheap and wires also break often

5200 -BREAK EASY- Bad hand cramps from pushing side buttons... the stick itself moves mushy and sticky.

7800 -BREAK EASY- 2nd button is almost pointless, no keypad so why bother going vertical in design?

Jaguar - Never played this console, though the controllers don't look very promising!

 

Runner ups,

Colecovision

Intellivision,

 

These aren't comfortable either, but seem to not break so easily like Atari, and don't stick or feel mushy...

 

I'd not even include N64 in the bottom worst... I'm kinda surprised so many hate it.

All post-SNES controllers feel awkward with (tons of buttons) and designed like a vibrating space ship.

 

I guess N64 could be worst of the 90's... but I never minded it.

[SlowCoder]

Lots of complaints about controller comfort. I guess that's cool, but I really never had a problem with any controller type ... except for the Intellivision. But I think that's due to its unique play style. I grew up with Atari 2600, then moves to computers for gaming in about '84, where I got real good with the keyboard direction keys. Then I moves on to other consoles, but never had any real problems with any of them. No cramping or problems hitting the buttons. Guess I've just had a lucky gameplay life.

 

As far as replacing the buttons in the SNES with concave buttons, any reason you couldn't just shave off all but one of the plastic tabs on each of the replacement buttons so they fit inside?

[chuckwalla]

I always hated the SNES stock controllers. On the other hand, I think the Sega Genesis had one of the best controllers ever.

Lousy D-Pad on SNES, great on the Genny, same for the buttons.

Back in those early 1990's I immediately knew that the SNES controllers were made for little kiddy hands and fingers and the Genny controllers were designed for larger/adult hands and fingers.

 

Gamewise, I much prefer the Genny library of games over the SNES games and play the Genny probably 90% of the time I play 16-bit games.

[atarilovesyou]

Controllers are quite important but the only fault I found with the SNES ones were the shoulder buttons. Never liked em, and they were pretty lame for playing fighting games. I agree that the NES controllers aren't the most comfortable, and they do induce cramping if you don't hold them a certain way, they're my fave of the bunch.

 

Analog sticks are always a pain, but I didn't mind how the PS1 did them on the rumbleshock. They worked really great with driving games, as long as they were calibrated. I'm just not a fan of analog sticks, and the N64 ones felt more like toys that anything else.

 

SNES was a fun system but I prefer NES all day long. Some really great gaming moments though, especially Smash TV and Street Fighter. Being able to play almost arcade perfect ports of those games at HOME was like a dream come true...but unfortunately, it also marked the end of the modern arcade, but there was no stopping that from happening. After Starfox bit off way more than it could chew, I was done with console gaming until the later years of Playstation, around when Metal Gear Solid came out.

[asponge]

the only fault I found with the SNES ones were the shoulder buttons.

 

I disagree. I thought the shoulder buttons were a great addition, albeit in the right context. Being able to lean into a turn in F-Zero using a shoulder button was very intuitive and added an extra complexity to racing games.

 

After Starfox bit off way more than it could chew

 

I quite enjoyed Starfox. It is one of my favorite games for the SNES. And, this was another game the benefited from the shoulder button addition. Flipping the ship completely vertical to the left or right was again, very intuitive using the shoulder buttons.

[atarilovesyou]

the only fault I found with the SNES ones were the shoulder buttons.

 

I disagree. I thought the shoulder buttons were a great addition, albeit in the right context. Being able to lean into a turn in F-Zero using a shoulder button was very intuitive and added an extra complexity to racing games.

 

 

 

 

Lol, I was going to add F-Zero for that exact reason....and Mario Kart as well. Some of it was functional but I just found them to add unneeded complexity. I much prefer the Genesis 6 button controller, which was far superior for fighting games. Of course, the SNES pad wasn't designed for fighting games as such, but there are very few games on the SNES that I felt justified the shoulder buttons. But obviously it was an idea whose time had come. The PS joypads made it worse for me, lol...two sets of shoulder buttons?...It wasn't until the rumbleshock controllers that I felt the shoulder buttons were comfy enough, and by that time first person shooters made their placement quite functional. Couldn't imagine strafing without them...mind you, I'm old school mouse n' keyboard guy.

 

After Starfox bit off way more than it could chew

 

I quite enjoyed Starfox. It is one of my favorite games for the SNES. And, this was another game the benefited from the shoulder button addition. Flipping the ship completely vertical to the left or right was again, very intuitive using the shoulder buttons.

 

I liked Starfox for what it 'wanted' to be...but it was, IMO, far too advanced for the hardware. The slowdown and difficulty didn't help much, especially toward the end stages. I much prefer Starfox 64, which was everything that Starfox wanted to be but couldn't due to hardware limitations. But I had a lot of fun with Starfox.

Edited February 25, 2012 by atarilovesyou

[GameGirl420]

I'm not really a SNES fan much either. I always think the Super Famicom is wayy better in game selection and has cooler controllers. Actually I was a little disappointed with the SNES when it first came out because I remember looking at this game magazine then ,and they showed a picture of the Super Famicom and I thought that's how it was going to look.

 

 

I also think the Super Famicom version of Street Fighter 2 is so much more better than the USA version, and soo many games for the Super Famicom are so much better.

 

I do like Rock n Roll Racing on the SNES alot however and Mario All Stars is kinda cool.

[genesisguy]

I can't get into the SNES either. But moreso due to the SNES's library of games.

Controller wise I think the Genesis 6-button controller presented 6 buttons in a better way. But feel wise the Genesis 3 button controller fits my adult hand the best today.

[MagitekAngel]

A couple of people here note how they hate the stock SNES controller, but love the stock Genesis pad.

I'm the complete oppositte! I particularly loathe the 3-button pad! The D-pad is too large, unnresponsive, and the fact that it is "set-in" to that deep plastic crater screws me up all the time. The action buttons are fairly mushy and cheap in feel, even on controllers in near-new condition.

To be fair, I've never gotten my hands on a 6-button controller. I am constantly on the lookout for one, and if I ever do get one I might even start playing my Genesis with regularity.

 

There's also a lot of hate-on going for the N64 controller. For me, it comes down to the stick. It sucks. I don't care if the controller looks like a goofy dinosaur claw, or has alternate hand positionings (Someone noted how the left position is never used, but several FPS games like Goldeneye and Doom 64 can make use of this setup, and it's pretty good). The stick is okay when it's new, but when it wears out, it all goes to crap. Keep that control stick smokin' indeed.

[atarilovesyou]

I dislike the Sega 3 button as well, for all the reasons you mentioned: squishy buttons, joypad not precise. It doesn't age well, either, I found...after a few months, the pad would really suck. Even a super worn in NES pad works decent, but those buttons on the Sega 3 pad just lose their touch after a while.

[Tr3vor]

I think the n64 controller worked well for what the games were designed to do with it.

 

I love the SNES controllers, they are my favorite controllers of all time. I also like how the back is curved ever so slightly. That makes a big difference, and you don't even realize it.

[BillyHW]

I totally disagree with OP. The NES and SNES controllers were revolutionary and changed the way games were played. The N64 did the same thing, though I have less experience with that. Same with the Wii.

 

A huge part of the reason for Nintendo's success has been superior and innovative controllers.

 

I vote for the SNES controller as best controller of all time.

[BillyHW]

I'm not really a SNES fan much either. I always think the Super Famicom is wayy better in game selection and has cooler controllers. Actually I was a little disappointed with the SNES when it first came out because I remember looking at this game magazine then ,and they showed a picture of the Super Famicom and I thought that's how it was going to look.

 

 

I also think the Super Famicom version of Street Fighter 2 is so much more better than the USA version, and soo many games for the Super Famicom are so much better.

 

I do like Rock n Roll Racing on the SNES alot however and Mario All Stars is kinda cool.

 

What on earth is the difference between the SNES and Super Fam SFII???

[JacobZu7zu7]

Back in those early 1990's I immediately knew that the SNES controllers were made for little kiddy hands and fingers and the Genny controllers were designed for larger/adult hands and fingers.

 

The SNES controller has a few 3rd party BIGGER-THICKER turbo controllers, I had a clear one, it was much bigger rounded... worked nice...now I have a 'bigger' multi-color button controller along with both stock ones.

 

Although I never had a kiddy moment trying to use the stock SNES controllers. They fit in my hand okay.

[Austin]

I think the n64 controller worked well for what the games were designed to do with it

 

Agreed.

 

It has my absolute favorite analog stick as well. That is when it works of course. And considering the games it was designed around.

[Tr3vor]

I think the n64 controller worked well for what the games were designed to do with it

 

Agreed.

 

It has my absolute favorite analog stick as well. That is when it works of course. And considering the games it was designed around.

 

I blame Mario Party for the hatred of that analog stick. I have a controller with a near-perfect stick that I got from a garage sale. It will never touch mario party.

[BillyHW]

Yeah, Mario Party will destroy the N64 controller.

[GameGirl420]

I'm not really a SNES fan much either. I always think the Super Famicom is wayy better in game selection and has cooler controllers. Actually I was a little disappointed with the SNES when it first came out because I remember looking at this game magazine then ,and they showed a picture of the Super Famicom and I thought that's how it was going to look.

 

 

I also think the Super Famicom version of Street Fighter 2 is so much more better than the USA version, and soo many games for the Super Famicom are so much better.

 

I do like Rock n Roll Racing on the SNES alot however and Mario All Stars is kinda cool.

 

What on earth is the difference between the SNES and Super Fam SFII???

 

Not many but very suttle differences between the Japanese and USA versions. Like in Guile's stage, in the USA version for some reason they edited out the crowd noise but in the Japanese version they have that. I may be wrong but I remember the Japanese version is a little different. Plus the cover art for the Japanese version is way better.

 

 

[chrisbid]

its likely not an issue of the controllers themselves, but many snes games have stiff control. there is that every-so-slight delay between pressing a button and seeing the result on the screen. i always find myself pressing the dpad and buttons extra hard while playing the snes as a natural reaction to the micro delay.

[CGQuarterly]

This thread just reminded me how glad I am that tz101 is gone. I have never avoided playing any system just because I didn't like the controller. Only pussies blame the controller.

 

Chris

[Chuck D. Head]

This thread just reminded me how glad I am that tz101 is gone. I have never avoided playing any system just because I didn't like the controller. Only pussies blame the controller.

 

Chris

I hadn't noticed; thanks for letting me know, so I can enjoy the absence.