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Worst Controllers
- Thread starter FireBeaver
- Start date
Secret Character
Member
This thread is so common now that I'll just be copy/pasting my post in it every time it happens.
May I introduce, the Rave Discman:
This controller is for the game beatmaniaIIDX and was the running joke of the community for the early part of the PS2 era. Now, at first glance, you might say it isn't all that bad. It has all of the functional buttons that the normal controller might have, and a turntable. When you actually play on one though, you'll notice right away that it's a huge waste of plastic.
Here is what a really really good IIDX controller looks like:
The turntable spins freely, the buttons are large and rectangular. On the Rave Discman, you get none of these things. There is a spring inside the turntable that might or might not let it turn when you need it to. The buttons are small and circular. More frustrating is that the buttons take a lot of effort to push down and frequently stick when playing. Trying to play on a Rave Discman is actually impossible for higher level songs as the responsiveness fails if things are going too fast.
So this is my answer. The shit-tacular known as the Rave Discman.
May I introduce, the Rave Discman:
This controller is for the game beatmaniaIIDX and was the running joke of the community for the early part of the PS2 era. Now, at first glance, you might say it isn't all that bad. It has all of the functional buttons that the normal controller might have, and a turntable. When you actually play on one though, you'll notice right away that it's a huge waste of plastic.
Here is what a really really good IIDX controller looks like:
The turntable spins freely, the buttons are large and rectangular. On the Rave Discman, you get none of these things. There is a spring inside the turntable that might or might not let it turn when you need it to. The buttons are small and circular. More frustrating is that the buttons take a lot of effort to push down and frequently stick when playing. Trying to play on a Rave Discman is actually impossible for higher level songs as the responsiveness fails if things are going too fast.
So this is my answer. The shit-tacular known as the Rave Discman.
Tarextherex
Banned
This
No matter the game I always feel like I'm not fully holding the controller/having access to all buttons. For the sales their consoles have/the variety in their library, PS controllers are huge jokes
Yea, I agree with this list and this post. N64, GCN, Dreamcast, PS systems, etc all had very great controllers even if they weren't your personal favorites. They are all highly functional and durable.
Fail State
Banned
Close fight between original Xbox controller, original PS3 controller, Wii U tablet, joy cons.
ShadowSoldier89
Member
my favorite thing about the DS line is letting them rest on my fingers instead of gripping them fully. Thats why I love them. The triggers on the DS3 made them super easy flick buttons while still continuing to use R1 and L1 as primary function. The only controller built for a full grip I have ever found comfortable is the Xbox Duke. I stil find the DS3 far more comfortable than a DS4, as the DS4 requires a full grip and my pinky never sits comfortably in a long session
DarkConfidant
Member
This one felt like design by committee.
I'm not sure why C has 4 buttons, and why they have addition direction, when a D-pad is already present.
It's almost like they wanted Sega's 6 button scheme with a D-Pad and 2 shoulder buttons, while another group wanted the analog stick, a Z button, and just A and B. Next they merged the two into the design failure that we have today.
It doesn't help that the build quality and the engineering of those analog sticks weren't that great either. The D-pad felt worse than NES and SNES in my opinion as well.
any controller?
In fairness that looks quite cool if not very practical.
jts
...hate me...
All DualShock controllers until the DualShock 4, which they got very right.
So glad that Sony finally dropped the iconic shape that was a horror to the hands. I avoided using its analog sticks until I couldn't anymore.
It was amazing that we were playing in 2010 with an early 90s design.
So glad that Sony finally dropped the iconic shape that was a horror to the hands. I avoided using its analog sticks until I couldn't anymore.
It was amazing that we were playing in 2010 with an early 90s design.
thepenguin55
Member
You guys got me feeling all nostalgic! Now lets talk GameCube controllers...
ResidentDante
Member
What's this for? So you easier can input your max. eight character name in a game?! LolYou guys got me feeling all nostalgic! Now lets talk GameCube controllers...
Ignoring anything before the NES/Master System generation when games companies where still trying to figure this lot out and then limiting to controllers I've actually used which is pretty much everything since then my personal list of shame is
N64 - Hated it enough to prevent my from buying the system.
Gamecube - Too many oddities (c-stick, asymmetric shoulder buttons etc) and felt it prevented me from enjoying the games as I was always thinking about the controller.
Wii U Tablet - Similar to Gamecube in that it never disappeared and was always present. Spaced too far apart and joysticks in the wrong place for my muscle memory.
DS3 - Horrid feeling in the hand, creaky, absolutely terrible thumsticks and triggers. If they'd persisted with the design for the PS4, I wouldn't have bought the console.
This is really the first generation where all the players - Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and even PC (thanks bluetooth/USB) have great options and there isn't really an obvious weak one amongst them.
N64 - Hated it enough to prevent my from buying the system.
Gamecube - Too many oddities (c-stick, asymmetric shoulder buttons etc) and felt it prevented me from enjoying the games as I was always thinking about the controller.
Wii U Tablet - Similar to Gamecube in that it never disappeared and was always present. Spaced too far apart and joysticks in the wrong place for my muscle memory.
DS3 - Horrid feeling in the hand, creaky, absolutely terrible thumsticks and triggers. If they'd persisted with the design for the PS4, I wouldn't have bought the console.
This is really the first generation where all the players - Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and even PC (thanks bluetooth/USB) have great options and there isn't really an obvious weak one amongst them.
thepenguin55
Member
Phantasy Star Online and that's literally it, but also... think about the act of actually using it as a regular controller
ResidentDante
Member
This is a whole console though, plus you only have the side facing you on a table with whatever the game requires.1st party controllers, the original Xbox in a landslide.
any controller?
It wants to be at the same time an evolution of the Snes controller for 2D games and a basic 3D controller (2 buttons, Z and R as shoulders, analog stick and buttons for controlling the camera). Keep in mind that at the time nobody really knows what the future was and arcade games were still a big thing.
thechristoph
Sir!
C stands for Camera. It was used to control the camera in Mario 64. The C-buttons were the precursor to the right analog stick. It grew out of the second d-pad on the Virtual Boy; it was changed to buttons to allow for greater versatility.
Phantasy Star Online.
Agreed, but my post would be more like "Dreamcast, because the buttons were too small and there weren't enough of them, because the grips were too skinny and hurt your hands, because the D-pad had sharp corners and was way too tall, because the analog stick had no resistance and no texture on the top, and because the cord came out of the bottom."
Chinbo37
Member
DarkConfidant
Member
Yes, but that's wholly irrelevant to the controller design being shit.
Chinbo37
Member
Ya but then your post doesnt make sense. YOu say why does the C buttons have four buttons with "additional direction" when there is a Dpad.
The C buttons were supposed to control the camera (which is why there is four directions) There would be no way to control the camera in those games with the Dpad as you hold the controller analog with the left and face buttons with the right.
JershJopstin
Banned
The GameCube had an mmo. Somehow.
Weltall Zero
Member
People on fucking drugs in this thread. Gamecube? DS3? NES!?
D.Lo
Member
No, you said:
There are four C buttons because it is a d-pad for the camera. Right stick camera control is an obvious evolution of this, the Gamecube even made this ultra clear by calling it the C-stick and making it the same colour. The actual d-pad is on the left for controlling the character in the 2D game hand position.
How you could possibly be this confused about something this clear I have no idea.
spookytapes
Neo Member
the 3DS & 3DSXL if you can count a portable. It makes my hands cramp up like nothing i've ever used before. I even bought a grip which helps somewhat but I just generally don't play it because it is painful to use.
I had serious apprehension about the Switch because of it, but it turns out that I can use that for hours with no problem.
The Dreamcast controller hasn't aged very well as much as i love the system. Original Xbox duke is a nightmare. I held off from buying the system until the Controller-S came out.
I used to think the 360 controller was the ultimate great controller, but the D-Pad is so awful that I kind of dislike the whole thing now. I recently started using my wired 360 pad for RetroPie and holy cow, most NES games that I've tried that require any amount of precision are borderline impossible to play with the 360 d-pad.
I had serious apprehension about the Switch because of it, but it turns out that I can use that for hours with no problem.
The Dreamcast controller hasn't aged very well as much as i love the system. Original Xbox duke is a nightmare. I held off from buying the system until the Controller-S came out.
I used to think the 360 controller was the ultimate great controller, but the D-Pad is so awful that I kind of dislike the whole thing now. I recently started using my wired 360 pad for RetroPie and holy cow, most NES games that I've tried that require any amount of precision are borderline impossible to play with the 360 d-pad.
The Neo Geo controllers were strangely hard to execute fighting game moves with.
Agreed. Tried Velcro so it would stay put but still no dice. Also have to comment on build quality...yikes. Never has a controller felt so cheap, poorly assembled and hollow. Shame for such a pricey console to come with crappy arcade sticks.
This thread is completely generational.
The GameCube is the most comfortable controller ever made.
Yes, the C-stick and D-pad were garbage, the shoulders weren't the greatest, and the asymmetrical Z button isn't much better, but the face buttons remain brilliant. The kidney beans that abut the larger A input and the B which rests below it, those were inspired choices, and I'd take them over the SNES-style four-button layout that became the norm.
If you changed the D-pad to the Vita D-pad; the shoulders to a PS4 4-shoulder setup; the C-stick to a conventional analog stick and toned down the color scheme to be less garish, you'd have a controller greater than the DualShock 4.
The GameCube is the most comfortable controller ever made.
Yes, the C-stick and D-pad were garbage, the shoulders weren't the greatest, and the asymmetrical Z button isn't much better, but the face buttons remain brilliant. The kidney beans that abut the larger A input and the B which rests below it, those were inspired choices, and I'd take them over the SNES-style four-button layout that became the norm.
If you changed the D-pad to the Vita D-pad; the shoulders to a PS4 4-shoulder setup; the C-stick to a conventional analog stick and toned down the color scheme to be less garish, you'd have a controller greater than the DualShock 4.
Common Knowledge
Member
You know, the talk about the Gamecube controller is making me try to think about a single game I've played on that system that used the D-pad....and I can't think of any.
Anyway, my vote goes to the DS3. Just holding that thing in your hands, you can feel how much of a cheap piece of crap it is.
Anyway, my vote goes to the DS3. Just holding that thing in your hands, you can feel how much of a cheap piece of crap it is.
Azure Phoenix
Member
Yep. Sorry to all fellow Dreamcast lovers, but the controller is a heap of trash and a blemish on the system. They placed the ABXY buttons exactly where your thumb will be naturally resting, then on the other side of the controller they decided instead to have your thumb rest in the dead space between the analog stick and D-Pad, making neither of them comfortable to use with the way you grip the controller.
Sadly although every other system got various sized and shaped third party controllers there aren't any for Dreamcast that place the analog stick where it should be.
I do this from time to time, I actually find the added space between my hands pretty nice.
Seeing the Dreamcast controller makes me look back and have to agree it's not good. I enjoyed my Dreamcast and have a spot in my heart for it but yeah, the size and shape of it, layout of the buttons and the cord coming from the bottom just make it not so good.
The Duke is another that to me is like the Dreamcast. Way too big(small hands) and hard to enjoy. Other than that though it was usable but once we got the S version there was no going back.
Now many will say I am wrong but the current PS4 controller is not to my liking. Wasted touch pad that makes it longer than needs to be and the share and options buttons are stupid. Not only stupid in the fact that "do we really need a dedicated share button?" but the fact that they are even with the surface of the controller and hard to reach and use easily adds to it. Give me back a normal start and select button that are easy to reach and press without looking and feeling around for them. Other than that it's good.
The Duke is another that to me is like the Dreamcast. Way too big(small hands) and hard to enjoy. Other than that though it was usable but once we got the S version there was no going back.
Now many will say I am wrong but the current PS4 controller is not to my liking. Wasted touch pad that makes it longer than needs to be and the share and options buttons are stupid. Not only stupid in the fact that "do we really need a dedicated share button?" but the fact that they are even with the surface of the controller and hard to reach and use easily adds to it. Give me back a normal start and select button that are easy to reach and press without looking and feeling around for them. Other than that it's good.
Gravis was the king of awful d-pads back in the day...
I never had a Gravis pad that properly centered the d-pad.
Brings me back to my Commander Keen days
good times
Ataru Moroboshi
Neo Member
I have to agree with you, they have tried to make another design;
But it's just not their thing
Was that ever actually I thing, I see it posted in forums/image boards all the time but I've never seen a source of that being real
Before PS3 was out Sony was possibly going to use that design instead of what actually came to be. There's lots of info about it just search Sony Boomerang Controller. On my phone or else I'd try and find something more substantial for ya.
lmao I remember considering that thing before I got into IIDX.
Liliana Eileen
Member
Yes, it is real.
mattwhite924
Member
The Atari 5200 is a great system. Nice boost in power from the 2600. Really good arcade ports. A nice sound chip that was even better than what the 7800 would use.
But none of it matters because of this stupid controller.
Most people know about the non-centering analog stick, and yeah, it's bad, but it's not the only bad part. It uses a really cheap flex-circuit instead of a PCB and uses rubber buttons. So over time the buttons just stop working. You open it up to clean the contacts, but you have to be super careful with that stupid flexible material. Then you get it all clean and put back together, and you know that in less than a year it will be right back to where it was.
Most people don't even have the option of a 3rd party controller, since the few that were made are stupid expensive now.
Waddle Dee
Member
Out of all the controllers I've personally used... Genesis, Dreamcast, and N64.
The Genesis controller, like many controllers from that era, is far too small. It's also weirdly round and is hard to get good grasp on. I liked it just fine as a kid, but as an adult with huge hands it sucks.
N64 controller is just utterly bizarre. No matter how you held it, it just felt off. It's also the only controller I've used that's too big when you're a kid, but too small when you're an adult.
The Dreamcast, bless it's soul, had an awful controller. A lack of buttons was it's first problem. Combine that with a lack of a right thumbstick and you had very limited options. I think this is what led to so many Dreamcast games having awful cameras. Most didn't give you much control over the camera.
I haven't used a Switch yet, but I'm worried that the Joycons are going to be far too small, even with that special grip. I'm pretty confident I'll have to use a Pro Controller.
The Genesis controller, like many controllers from that era, is far too small. It's also weirdly round and is hard to get good grasp on. I liked it just fine as a kid, but as an adult with huge hands it sucks.
N64 controller is just utterly bizarre. No matter how you held it, it just felt off. It's also the only controller I've used that's too big when you're a kid, but too small when you're an adult.
The Dreamcast, bless it's soul, had an awful controller. A lack of buttons was it's first problem. Combine that with a lack of a right thumbstick and you had very limited options. I think this is what led to so many Dreamcast games having awful cameras. Most didn't give you much control over the camera.
I haven't used a Switch yet, but I'm worried that the Joycons are going to be far too small, even with that special grip. I'm pretty confident I'll have to use a Pro Controller.
Version 3.0
Member
Yeah, it's okay. It looks bad, but it works fine. And it's comfortable. People shitting on the number pad are overthinking it. It basically just functioned like the d-pad does in a lot of modern games; as a secondary set of non-action buttons. Not a bad idea.
But it was certainly worse than all the good controllers mentioned. I guess this is just the hardware version of "I'm edgy because I say a popular game is the worst game I've ever played".
Common Knowledge
Member
I don't even understand how you were supposed to hold that thing. I'm trying to imagine different hand positions but none of them seem comfortable.
Darth Pinche
Member
The Atari 5200 is a great system. Nice boost in power from the 2600. Really good arcade ports. A nice sound chip that was even better than what the 7800 would use.
But none of it matters because of this stupid controller.
Most people know about the non-centering analog stick, and yeah, it's bad, but it's not the only bad part. It uses a really cheap flex-circuit instead of a PCB and uses rubber buttons. So over time the buttons just stop working. You open it up to clean the contacts, but you have to be super careful with that stupid flexible material. Then you get it all clean and put back together, and you know that in less than a year it will be right back to where it was.
Most people don't even have the option of a 3rd party controller, since the few that were made are stupid expensive now.
Yes this so much! I went through so many of these back in the day. I actually liked the joystick action but the terrible buttons were an abomination. Plus that keypad was never used in any games that I played.
Ataru Moroboshi
Neo Member
I feel like I'm the only one who actually enjoys the n64 controller
Though the only game on n64 I played with the controller was Zelda
Though the only game on n64 I played with the controller was Zelda
TransTrender
Gold Member
It's this.
This is what I was looking for.
Kagoshima_Luke
Gold Member
If we are talking mainstream controller, my personal worst is the Wiimote held sideways.
Logically you'd think so, but that's not what it actually stands for. They were a "group" of buttons next to the A and B buttons. So, you have the "C" buttons.
It makes zero sense, but whatever.
