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Hori Fighting Commander, the best retro controller ever?

Magypsy

Member
I did not realize a Switch branded version of this is out on 9/22. Based on my love of the FC, I really hope the d-pad is good. One of the big downsides to the FC is its incompatibility with the Switch. Seeing as Shovel Knight, Puyo Puyo, Bomberman Zero, Ultra Street Fighter II, The Binding of Isaac, and Sonic Mania are Switch titles for me, this would be a welcome stand-in for now. I am ashamed to say that I have mauled my thumb to make the 4 buttons work for a d-pad on the joycon. No accidental inputs with that thing! (just a bloody mangled thumb, hah).

Also looking at Super Meat Boy Forever as a potential buy that will benefit from a d-pad.

$25 only too. What a steal.

There should be a Wii Classic Controller to Switch adapter sooner or later. Should just work by spoofing it as a Pokkén controller. Not sure why Mayflash hasn't released one yet (they do have a 2x Classic Controller to USB adapter for PC).

I'm furiously waiting for this because I want to use my SNES Classic gamepads on my Switch.
 

Parsnip

Member
Get back to us with how you feel about (and if it works). As I stated earlier, I got the PS4 version and, despite having a dedicated PC mode switch, I haven't been able to get it to work on PC at all.

I haven't had any trouble getting mine to work on PC, too bad that I just don't like the dpad.
 

miserable

Member
The Saturn pad might have one of the best d-pads out there but I just can't play SF V with it because of the face buttons.

The size difference between the upper and lower row of buttons , plus their placement makes it really annoying for me to play SF V where you need to press 2 buttons (one from each row). Whenever i try to do a throw I always end up pressing 3 buttons, like X+A+B.
 

hey_it's_that_dog

benevolent sexism
Get back to us with how you feel about (and if it works). As I stated earlier, I got the PS4 version and, despite having a dedicated PC mode switch, I haven't been able to get it to work on PC at all.
I don't know how much troubleshooting you've done, but mine wouldn't work in PC mode at first because I accidentally had x360ce running for the game I was trying to play.

If that's not your problem, you could try putting the controller in PS4 mode and then using x360ce, just to see if it will recognize it.

I guess Steam has a bunch of built in controller support now, so you could play around with that. Now that I think about it, maybe there's a setting turned on in Steam that is interfering with PC mode in the same way x360ce does.

This is dumb, but have you tried switching it off PC mode and back? While it's unplugged and while it's plugged in?

I guess it's possible that mode specifically is broken; my first FC4 stopped working in PS4 mode but still works in PS3 mode. But that was after a lot of use.
 
Welp, I've pretty much been convinced to pick up a Logitech F310, considering how cheap it is - I don't need another wireless controller. As it happens, I can easily get one at a JB Hi-Fi near my uni tomorrow. I'm also getting the SNES Classic and an adapter later, along with the new 8Bitdo SNES gamepad later as well.

I'm kinda not sure what to do about what Model 2 Saturn pad to get, though - apparently some Japanese ones have a rather mushy d-pad. And I doubt any USB replicas are remotely of similar quality to the original.
 

Knurek

Member
Welp, I've pretty much been convinced to pick up a Logitech F310, considering how cheap it is - I don't need another wireless controller. As it happens, I can easily get one at a JB Hi-Fi near my uni tomorrow. I'm also getting the SNES Classic and an adapter later, along with the new 8Bitdo SNES gamepad later as well.

I had F310, and I consider its D-Pad to be even worse than X360 controller.
(For reference sake, I'm currently using and liking Wii U Pro pad for all my D-Pad needs)
 
I had F310, and I consider its D-Pad to be even worse than X360 controller.
(For reference sake, I'm currently using and liking Wii U Pro pad for all my D-Pad needs)

That's... Interesting. What makes you say that? It's supposed to be a 'floating' d-pad similar to the Saturn pad, and not mushy like the 360 pad.
 

Knurek

Member
That's... Interesting. What makes you say that? It's supposed to be a 'floating' d-pad similar to the Saturn pad, and not mushy like the 360 pad.

It felt very imprecise, and you had to use a lot of force for it to register input. Not really d-pad relevant, but it was the same for triggers - my hands hurt after 10-15 minutes of a driving game/Assassin's Creed. Face buttons were very mushy as well, and tended to stick quite frequently, and despite that they seemed to click very loudly.
 
It felt very imprecise, and you had to use a lot of force for it to register input. Not really d-pad relevant, but it was the same for triggers - my hands hurt after 10-15 minutes of a driving game/Assassin's Creed. Face buttons were very mushy as well, and tended to stick quite frequently, and despite that they seemed to click very loudly.

Eh... Now that I've tried it out, I don't really agree when it comes to the d-pad or the buttons. I see your point with the triggers, though, but I wouldn't use this controller for any game that demands lengthy trigger holds anyway.

It feels cheaply made (and people call the Steam Controller cheap-feeling, lol), but I honestly find it's a decent alternative to my Switch Pro for when I don't feel like connecting it up via bluetooth. I've used way worse controllers.
 
Is it just me or is Turbo/rapid-fire feature (which I assume that's what those little switches are) completely unnecessary in this day and age? I feel like it was a forgetable gimmick in the old days, but I can't think of any game on the SNES Classic that I would want to use it with... except maybe Contra or Star Fox?

I had a SNES AsciiPad way back when, and while I loved it in comparison to the stock NA pad for its shape and the SF-style multicolor all-convex buttons, it was a scant few rental games I played where I ever NEEDED the autofire or turbo switches. The only real genres that come to mind for that sort of thing in retro games were shmups (which today just mostly give you effective rapid fire by holding down the button) and Track & Field-alike athletic/olympic type games.

By the way I have one pre-ordered on Amazon Japan (they sold out quickly) that I'm willing to part with.

Hey, maybe! How much do you want for it?
 
I had a SNES AsciiPad way back when, and while I loved it in comparison to the stock NA pad for its shape and the SF-style multicolor all-convex buttons, it was a scant few rental games I played where I ever NEEDED the autofire or turbo switches. The only real genres that come to mind for that sort of thing in retro games were shmups (which today just mostly give you effective rapid fire by holding down the button) and Track & Field-alike athletic/olympic type games.

Yeah I figured as much, which is why I wish they didn't include them on the SNES Mini one. But I guess if the system is hackable to add additional games like the NES Mini was, then it could be useful in more games.
Hey, maybe! How much do you want for it?

Unless you're in Japan or willing to use a forwarding address, I don't think the shipping address on the order can be changed to outside Japan (it's possible at the time of placing the order, but Amazon's system gives an error when trying to change shipping country after the product becomes unavailable)
 
Get back to us with how you feel about (and if it works). As I stated earlier, I got the PS4 version and, despite having a dedicated PC mode switch, I haven't been able to get it to work on PC at all.
Sure. Got it in today, played some Sonic Mania with it, and I'm finding it everything I want it to be. Grips well, the d-pad is great, wouldn't say it's stiff at all, the controller is pretty much what I wanted it to be, so I'm happy. The only qualm is that the shoulder buttons are mapped a bit weird, with the left two being mapped to the click of the left and right analog stick, and the right two are left bumper and left trigger.

Anyways, had no issue using this on my PC, but I've got the Xbox 360/One version which has X-Input.
 
So, a slight update.

If you want a good d-pad for Switch, do not hesitate on the Pokken DX controller.

It has the SNES style 4 button + triggers config which may turn some away, but it works fantastically for Shovel Knight (and most everything else 2D, aside from the awkward layout for USFII which even still is more passable than the pro controller or god forbid the joycons).

I pre-ordered mine via Gamestop but it doesnt look like retailers are keeping this one in stock for some reason. They are still selling them at their stupid cheap MSRP of $25 online. Amazon is OOS temporarily it seems.

Hori continues to impress with their dpad tech.
 

jett

D-Member
Cause it was awesome for 2D fighting games. It has a very large cross key DPad and six face buttons. It's definitely better than the PS4 and 360 controller for fighters.

Oh yeah, it was amazing all those 2D fighters on the N64.
 

ZeonAce

Neo Member
It’s pretty much surpassed the Saturn controller for me as the best controller. I can’t use any other controller for fighters and 2D platformers.
 
I don't need another controller right now but damn if you didn't sell me on this one OP. If I ever get the itch, I'll definitely pick this up.
 
So, a slight update.

If you want a good d-pad for Switch, do not hesitate on the Pokken DX controller.

It has the SNES style 4 button + triggers config which may turn some away, but it works fantastically for Shovel Knight (and most everything else 2D, aside from the awkward layout for USFII which even still is more passable than the pro controller or god forbid the joycons).

I pre-ordered mine via Gamestop but it doesnt look like retailers are keeping this one in stock for some reason. They are still selling them at their stupid cheap MSRP of $25 online. Amazon is OOS temporarily it seems.

Hori continues to impress with their dpad tech.

I have a few of these from the Wii release of Pokken Tournament. Cool to hear it works in all Switch games, not just PTDK. Gonna give it a go in Puyo Tetris.
 
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