Current Events > I don't get why the N64 controller gets so much hate

(+) Yeah! (+)

A lot of it is a meme, but still, let's think about the historic context here:

• videogames were 2D in the 16bit era.

This was perfectly adequate at first, but the D pad's limitations began showing their head towards the end of this era. Playing DOOM on the SNES d-pad wasn't that precise, was it?

• Sega and sony didn't care about this problem

Look at the PS1 controller: It's basically the SNES controller just changed enough so nintendo doesn't sue sony for it, and with 2 extra buttons added for good measure. The Saturn controller was pretty much a 6 button genesis controller with 2 extra shoulder buttons.

Who cared about this? Nintendo. They envisioned the problems that 3D gaming with 2D controller would bring, and they began experimenting. Nobody knew how this would turn out.

• The VB controller was the first attempt at a controller for 3D gaming

It basically looks like a proto-PS1 controller (itself based on the SNES controller) with.... TWO D PADS. Yes! This is how nintendo thought they could address the 3rd dimension. The VB may have sucked, but this concept was revolutionary.

Then along came the N64. Will 3D become the new norm? Is it just a fad and 2D will prevail? Will we have 3D and 2D games co-existing? Nobody knew.

Nintendo developed the analog stick to deal with 3D gaming, and as far as home consoles go, this idea was revolutionary. But did this mean nintendo would have to do away with the D pad and shun 2D gaming? You can't blame nintendo for hedging their bets and developing a controller that could do 2D and 3D.

Nobody else had tried this before, they were the trailblazers, there was no manual for this. The first iteration at something revolutionary is never perfect.

This thing was so revolutionary that sega followed suit with their nights 3D controller (https://segaretro.org/3D_Control_Pad), which looked like an UFO and wasn't much better, and sony followed suit with the dual shock, which became the golden standard.

Contrary to popular belief, you "don't need 3 hands to use it", nor do you need to hold the 3 handles all at once. The idea is that the controller had a 2D mode (grab the left and right handle) and a 3D mode (grab the center and right handle):

https://i.imgur.com/QABlI9e.png

you can't reasonable access the d pad or the l button while holding the middle bar

I hated this this, but it's what I used. You at least could access all the buttons

https://www.amazon.com/InterAct-SuperPad-64-Controller/dp/B00000K4ST

---

I just thought the left side of the controller was completely useless as a kid.

Those c buttons on the right and the z button are all freaking top tier though. If you learned a game with them, you cant unlearn it.

---

Its one of the worst controllers ever.

---

furb posted...

you can't reasonable access the d pad or the l button while holding the middle bar

I hated this this, but it's what I used. You at least could access all the buttons

https://www.amazon.com/InterAct-SuperPad-64-Controller/dp/B00000K4ST

Good thing most games didn't require the whole controller.

---

Because it's too unorthodox. Alien concepts are always going to garner a mixed reception.
---

furb posted...

you can't reasonable access the d pad or the l button while holding the middle bar

I hated this this, but it's what I used. You at least could access all the buttons

https://www.amazon.com/InterAct-SuperPad-64-Controller/dp/B00000K4ST

You totally missed TC's point. You weren't supposed to be able to access the D-pad or L button while holding the middle bar.

---

Pretty sure the only thing I ever used the N64 d-pad for was the Star Wars SotE debug code lol.

But yeah, I was always fine with the controller. Every game I played on the console seemed to work perfectly well with the 3D mode set-up, and it wasnt uncomfortable or awkward to hold.

I really wish wed bring back the 6 face button standard, though.

---

the trident was designed for patricians

---

That stick is ass.

---

I thought it was good for it's time. Whenever I played an N64 game back in the day I felt one with the controller. Today it's sluggish and awkward. Last time I played Banjo-Kazooie for example everything seemed slippery.

and the only time I ever used the d-pad was when I played Pokemon Stadium, or that time I rented Robotron 64.

---

furb posted...

you can't reasonable access the d pad or the l button while holding the middle bar

I hated this this, but it's what I used. You at least could access all the buttons

https://www.amazon.com/InterAct-SuperPad-64-Controller/dp/B00000K4ST

that pad looks so 90s lol

Tropicalwood posted...

Good thing most games didn't require the whole controller.

A few of the ones I had did. It was super helpful in any game that let you rebind inputs.

I had a really sweet custom binding for Doom 64 that used the D pad and the L button. This controller also has a really good d pad on it too.

---

iirc Kirby 64 is one of the few games where the d-pad is required, the analog stick does not work
---

AlisLandale posted...

Pretty sure the only thing I ever used the N64 d-pad for was the Star Wars SotE debug code lol.

But yeah, I was always fine with the controller. Every game I played on the console seemed to work perfectly well with the 3D mode set-up, and it wasnt uncomfortable or awkward to hold.

I really wish wed bring back the 6 face button standard, though.

I used the D pad quite a bit for killer instinct gold, since it was a 2d fighting game and I liked the shoulder buttons too. Other than that, it was always middle and right handles for me

Lairen posted...

That stick is ass.

Yes, it was the 1st of its kind, and it was too complicated of a design (internally). The GC sticks followed the sony way.

bump

That stick birthed so many blisters. It also got stuck super easily. If you went up to a Walmart/GameStop/Best Buy Demo system during that time youd be lying if you said your character wasnt stuck moving one direction 90% of the time.

I mean... It helped pioneer the 3D space but it's not comfy in anyway and it's not as useful as dual sticks


---

I agree the Dreamcast controller should be derided much more though. Pretty unforgivable to release that after the invention of dual shock

---

Because the Hori and Admiral controllers exist
---

I hated the design and that godamn stick.

---

Balrog0 posted...

I mean... It helped pioneer the 3D space but it's not comfy in anyway and it's not as useful as dual sticks

true

how is it uncomfortable

---

Controller is fine. People who hates it are just newer to gaming.

---

Lairen posted...

Its one of the worst controllers ever.

---

maybe it's a good controller for people that have three hands

---

There was nothing wrong with the controller itself, just the way developers failed to use it.

Z is not a shoulder button, and if there's a d-pad on the dang controller, why can't I at least use it for menus?

---

Outside of the stick failing way too easily, it wasnt bad.

---

It was good for the games designed for it like the first party games

But generally it is a terrible controller

---

It's a shame that the N64 never got a Street Fighter game, because the A, B, and C buttons would have been perfect for utilizing its six-button control scheme.

---

I've been N64ing lately and forgot how fucking much I loved the controller.

---

---

My only real complaint was the quality of the analog stick it was just poorly made crap.

---

apocalyptic_4 posted...

My only real complaint was the quality of the analog stick it was just poorly made crap.

it was, yes

Choco posted...

how is it uncomfortable

The stick has ridges that rub annoyingly under normal use and can actually hurt your hand/fingers in games that require quick and/or repetitive manipulation of it (like the Mario party and Pokemon stadium minigames)

In the few games that do utilize the whole controller, there's no easy way to manipulate all the buttons without switching your grip or letting go of the controller

---

Lairen posted...

That stick is ass.

This. It's so easy to break especially if you play Mario Party.

---

Balrog0 posted...

The stick has ridges that rub annoyingly under normal use and can actually hurt your hand/fingers in games that require quick and/or repetitive manipulation of it (like the Mario party and Pokemon stadium minigames)

i never had a problem and i played the stadium minigames quite a bit >_>

Balrog0 posted...

In the few games that do utilize the whole controller, there's no easy way to manipulate all the buttons without switching your grip or letting go of the controller

never played any game like that, sounds really badly designed

---

Choco posted...

i never had a problem and i played the stadium minigames quite a bit >_>

never played any game like that, sounds really badly designed

Lots of people did.

If you have to design around the controller like that it's just a bad controller

---

Nintendo actually released a Mario party glove because of the complaints

https://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-offers-glove-to-prevent-joystick-injuries/

---

Balrog0 posted...

If you have to design around the controller like that it's just a bad controller

are modern controllers bad because games have to be designed around having 4 face buttons (instead of, say, 6)?

---

Choco posted...

are modern controllers bad because games have to be designed around having 4 face buttons (instead of, say, 6)?

I don't understand the relevance of the question. The modern controller gives me more joysticks and more face buttons and more shoulder buttons and I can use the dpad at the same time

If I could only use the dpad and not the joystick or vice versa that would be poorly designed imo. It's not poorly designed if you use the buttons that are there, even if there could be more buttons.

---

imo i like the N64 controller. may not be the best controller, but i had no issues with it

however, one of the biggest flaws with it was the analog stick. it would ware out easily, especially with games like mario part

nonetheless, i loves the different translucent colors it came in, like purple, blue, red and green

---

The N64 controller is hated because people were too stupid to understand how to hold it

---

uwnim posted...

Outside of the stick failing way too easily, it wasnt bad.

---

"i don't get why people think this thing is retroactively shitty because nobody had ever done something like this before"

---

BatmanWTtP posted...

The N64 controller is hated because people were too stupid to understand how to hold it

This makes sense

N64 controller was fine for its time. Yeah if it was released today it'd suck but we're talking about 1996 lmao

---

Garioshi posted...

"i don't get why people think this thing is retroactively shitty because nobody had ever done something like this before"

I mean, people hated the PS3 boomerang controller enough that it was changed to the DS3 before release and that was basically the N64 controller with only two handles.

I also really like the N64 controller. I think its incredibly comfortable to hold and works well with the small library of N64 stuff worth playing.

---