Current Events > Remember the N64 controller?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Not only was it clearly designed for mutant aliens, it was the king of controller drifting.

If you had an N64 that you played frequently and the joystick never got loose/drifted, you're lucky as shit. Every single first party controller I owned either experienced drift or the joystick got very loose, or both.

I liked the controller for the time and never had issues with drifting. Of course, I was the only one that ever played my N64....

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/1/3/AAOGRhAADQVB.jpg

The stupid thing is that they could eliminate stick drift forever by spending slightly more for Hall Effect joysticks, but they dont.

You mean you don't have a prehensile dong to work the p-stick with?

remember the post-mario party session hand pains

Not gonna lie, I quite liked it

Super_Slash posted...

king of controller drifting.

literally never had this problem

N64 was great as a kid because you could comfortably hold the banana with your left hand. As an adult, it's just weird.

recently took my ps2 and ps3 controllers out of storage and the material their joysticks were made of will offgas over the years and become sticky. Literal sticky joysticks due to whatever elastomeric compound they used in manufacturing

My N64 controllers mostly got loose sticks eventually, but the Switch has 10x worse drifting.

To this day the N64 controller is the only one I've ever gotten stick drift on. I know everyone talks about it with the Switch and PS5, but only N64 for me so far.

FL81 posted...

nah

left: left pinkie
right: left index finger
rocker: left thumb
z: right middle finger
a, b, yellow: right thumb

tilted 90 degrees counterclockwise

that was my style as i rekt people at smash, cruisn world, etc.

Seems like yesterday people were praising it as the best controller of all time.

I never got used to that stupid thing

I thought it was friggin' awesome as a kid, though as an adult I am remembering just how many times my thumbs got sore/nearly blistered from the weird concentric circle joystick.

FL81 posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/1/3/AAOGRhAADQVB.jpg

I've needed to see this picture since I was a kid. My life is now complete.

The design of the controller is an odd choice, but it never bothered me. I kinda liked it.

I use a Tribute 64 whenever I game on my N64 (or on Switch NSO), it's awesome

Was n64 the firat controller to have the infamous Z/trigger button? That changed the game for shooters

Terribly designed but man those clear plastic models looked so good. I miss clear plastic electronics.

They weren't even made by Nintendo, they were made by Intec

Naysaspace posted...

Was n64 the firat controller to have the infamous Z/trigger button? That changed the game for shooters

It was, and not really. It was basically just copying the concept of clicking a mouse to a controller, the same way they were copying PC shooters. Except PC shooters of similar release time frame shat all over GoldenEye, Perfect Dark (as Unreal Tournament was out by then if memory serves) and Halo.

I held the controller by the sides every time I played. I never used the middle grip. I would just stretch my thumb over to reach the stick.

The whole left half (or third I guess) was kind of pointless except for the L trigger.

The only game I remember needing the dpad for was Pokemon stadium

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/5/AAJHVqAAEwEZ.jpg

LeoRavus posted...

Seems like yesterday people were praising it as the best controller of all time.

I can't think of any time people thought it was the greatest. The Gamecube sure, but the N64 is thought of more as the prototype for all other 3D console controllers.

Naysaspace posted...

Was n64 the firat controller to have the infamous Z/trigger button? That changed the game for shooters

Rumble, Analog, Z trigger

Naysaspace posted...

recently took my ps2 and ps3 controllers out of storage and the material their joysticks were made of will offgas over the years and become sticky.

it's funny cause my PS1 one is still fine

That was a really painful and uncomfortable controller, but boy did I log some hours on it. Good times.

nexigrams posted...

That was a really painful and uncomfortable controller, but boy did I log some hours on it. Good times.

The only thing i remember being uncomfortable was the analog stick. After hours of play that hard plastic really dug into you.

Super_Slash posted...

Not only was it clearly designed for mutant aliens, it was the king of controller drifting.

If you had an N64 that you played frequently and the joystick never got loose/drifted, you're lucky as shit. Every single first party controller I owned either experienced drift or the joystick got very loose, or both.

Yes, the N64 controller was pretty loose, but never to the point that I noticed some drift at all.

Doesn't help that Mario Party was designed to not only fuck up your stick, but also the palm of your hand.

LordFarquad1312 posted...

Doesn't help that Mario Party was designed to not only fuck up your stick, but also the palm of your hand.

I'm somewhat surprised that I have no scars on my palms thanks to Mario Party 1, and I'm less joking than I should be.

Never had an issue using this controller. It only looks like you'd need three/mutant hands to use it at first, but the majority of games primarily used either the pad or the stick, so you simply gripped either the left or the center with your left hand depending on which.

Nor did I ever encounter drift with it. DualShock 4s and Joycons on the other hand...

I might be weird, but I've NEVER had a problem with the N64 controller, and don't see why people say it's so bad.

I remember the little shit that gave me back "my" controller after a GoldenEye session only to discover later that day the stick was loose, the R button stuck and it was sooo not my controller. Obviously still bitter about that.

of course i remember it, its nintendos best controller to date

The first party controller sticks lasted quite a long time tho.

Have no problem with the shape or anything.

But that damned control stick. Even a tight one is uncomfortable to use (twss). I had to replace a couple controllers after rotating the control stick in Mario Party. To this day I get paranoid when any game has a control stick rotating portion, even if its just a couple rotations lol.

I member. Not a fan of the bear claw.

It's amazing how Nintendo set the bases for the modern controller so early on, yet they spent the longest trying to reinvent the wheel.

LordFarquad1312 posted...

Doesn't help that Mario Party was designed to not only fuck up your stick, but also the palm of your hand.

That's how I got a mole squarely in the palm of my right hand. Still have the mole to this day.

Ignoring that the sticks would disintegrate after a few months of use, it was a nice controller.

I've never had issues with the controller.

Them again I only owned 3 games on the N64. Smash Bros, Banjo, and Mario Kart

I went through 3 or 4 controllers, dey all got loose, but I never had any drift.

Definitely the worst official controller I've used.

Hayame_Zero posted...

I held the controller by the sides every time I played. I never used the middle grip. I would just stretch my thumb over to reach the stick.

Same. Legit did not find out until like last year that I was holding it incorrectly.

outside of the analog stick wearing out too quickly, i liked the controller. this controller gets more hate than it should IMO.