22 replies to this topic

[bretthorror]

I just bought Super Mario World and you can't play properly with the Nintendo brand GC controller. It makes it impossible to do a normal running jump because of the way the buttons are positioned.

If you can hold down Y (run) and B (normal jump) on a GC controller without touching A (spin jump), then Mister, you're a better man than I. Essentially, it's very, very hard to jump with Yoshi because the spin jump (which is the easy to perform running jump on the GC controller) makes you jump off of him.

Just a warning. Needless to say, I just ordered a Classic Controller. Probably for the better anyways.

Edited by bretthorror, Wed Feb 7, 2007 1:20 AM.

[Jess Ragan]

The GameCube controller design is a mess. It's great for first-person shooters and other games where a single button is responsible for the majority of the input. For everything else, it stinks. X, Y, and Z in particular are little more than secondary input buttons due to their awkward size and shape.

You made the right choice by ordering a classic controller... it doesn't stack up to either the Dual Shock or the Sega Saturn MK2 pad, but its standardized button design and placement is a very welcome change from the questionably designed GameCube pad.

JR

[AtariJr]

Jess Ragan, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 1:39 AM, said:

The GameCube controller design is a mess. It's great for first-person shooters and other games where a single button is responsible for the majority of the input. For everything else, it stinks. X, Y, and Z in particular are little more than secondary input buttons due to their awkward size and shape.

You made the right choice by ordering a classic controller... it doesn't stack up to either the Dual Shock or the Sega Saturn MK2 pad, but its standardized button design and placement is a very welcome change from the questionably designed GameCube pad.

JR

i dont know about you, but why is it worse than a dual shock.. if anything the dpad is a shit load nicer and the joysticks have those notches in them so that you can feel which way is up etc. kinda nice having a snes pad with joysticks, its how i woudl have made the n64 controller if i was designing it.

[Jess Ragan]

I like the placement of the buttons, D-pad, and analog sticks... I'm just not crazy about the way the controller feels in my hands. It's not as ergonomic as I was expecting, feeling too bulky underneath and not really accommodating the shape of my hands. Both the Dual Shock and the Saturn MK2 were molded to be comfortable to hold... and the Wii classic controller just isn't.

JR

[bretthorror]

Jess Ragan, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 3:39 AM, said:

The GameCube controller design is a mess. It's great for first-person shooters and other games where a single button is responsible for the majority of the input. For everything else, it stinks. X, Y, and Z in particular are little more than secondary input buttons due to their awkward size and shape.

You made the right choice by ordering a classic controller... it doesn't stack up to either the Dual Shock or the Sega Saturn MK2 pad, but its standardized button design and placement is a very welcome change from the questionably designed GameCube pad.

JR

Yeah, I still am confused about the GC controller's button placement. As stated, a single button is fine, but in a game like Mario World, it's next to impossible. I posted this at the Gamespot forums and some fanboys are trying to say it controls just fine with the GC pad. I know for a fact they're making it up as it's impossible to touch B without hitting A first. How the hell could you possibly hold Y and touch B without touching A?



I have no real problem with the GC controller, but I just mean in this case it's downright impossible.

[moycon]

I like the GameCube, but I've always hated that controller. Come to think of it, The N64 controller wasn't so hot either. In their quest to be shocking and different than everyone else, Nintendo sometimes makes some goofy choices.

[-^Cro§Bow^-]

Contra III is damn hard to play with the Cube controller as well. Because you have to use B to shoot and Y to jump?! A releases the bombs. So I find myself nearly always launching bombs when I don't want to. I actually have to play Contra III by using my right index finger for B to shoot, and my right middle finger on the Y button to jump.

But then Castlevania controls really well with the cube controller. And that game actually comes up to tell you that you need a classic controller to play the game. Go figure.

[kisrael]

Personally I think Super Mario World is a classic case of *horrendous* button usage on the original SNES game, they just had too many functions haphazardly designed. That's not to say the complaints about the GC aren't justified, but they're really amplified because of the poor structure of the original's controls.

'Course what I hate is the dinky D-pad... I was surprised to realize that it's the same size as the GBA's, but because of you you're holding the controller, it's significantly more difficult to control than the GBA D-pad, or the N64's for that matter.

Still in general I dig the stick, I think only the Xbox did it better.

My other problem is, why are my Wavebirds getting so flakey? It seems like they won't work in certain ports on my GC or Wii, at least not without jiggling and sometimes not at all... std controllers work fine though?

[BydoEmpire]

I love the GameCube controller, but the button placement is pretty bad for a bunch of SNES VC games. The classic controller, however, is absolutely awesome. Highly recommended and worth $20 imho.

[RxRated]

Better get 2 classic controllers if you want to play 2 player. I found you can't use a classic controller with a gamecube controller. It will recognize either one, but not both. (We tried 2 player mario kart, and street fighter and you could select player 1 with either controller but the other controller would not move player 2.)

Edited by De Butcher, Wed Feb 7, 2007 11:53 AM.

[liveinabin]

Well I have to say, the Gamecube pad is superb for Gamecube games, which is what it was designed for, isn't it?

[figgler]

De Butcher, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 3:52 PM, said:

Better get 2 classic controllers if you want to play 2 player. I found you can't use a classic controller with a gamecube controller. It will recognize either one, but not both. (We tried 2 player mario kart, and street fighter and you could select player 1 with either controller but the other controller would not move player 2.)

Did you make sure the GCN controller was plugged into port 2? I had the same issue with Bomberman 93, but a quick switch fixed everything

[AtariJr]

De Butcher, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 9:52 AM, said:

Better get 2 classic controllers if you want to play 2 player. I found you can't use a classic controller with a gamecube controller. It will recognize either one, but not both. (We tried 2 player mario kart, and street fighter and you could select player 1 with either controller but the other controller would not move player 2.)

thats not true. we do gamecube and classic all the time with bomberman. you NEED to have the gamecube controller in slot 2, not slot one , or else it wont recognize both.. just one, as they are both technically in slot "2". also you need to have the cube controller in at boot up, try those.. should work, it does for us.

[RxRated]

Oops...sorry. I didn't think about that. I sure did have the controller in slot 1.
Didn't mean to confuse anyone.

[EmOneGarand]

Sounds more like nintendo is trying to make you buy extra stuff... "This Game Needs the Classic Controller for proper play" $CHA-CHING$ More money in Nintendo's pockets

[jbanes]

EmOneGarand, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 1:54 PM, said:

Sounds more like nintendo is trying to make you buy extra stuff... "This Game Needs the Classic Controller for proper play" $CHA-CHING$ More money in Nintendo's pockets

If that were true, then it wouldn't support the GCN controller at all.

The reality is that the Super Nintendo controller and the GCN controller have very different design philosophies. Those differences mean that one is not really all that good for the other. If it really bothers you, though, you can go to RetroUSB and pick up an SNES -> GCN converter. This will allow you to use your original SNES pads on the Wii for about the same cost as the Wii Classic Controller.

[Hyper_Eye]

liveinabin, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 12:13 PM, said:

Well I have to say, the Gamecube pad is superb for Gamecube games, which is what it was designed for, isn't it?

I agree. I love the GC controller for GC games. It feels great. As someone said before only the XBox controller did it better (though in my case I mean the entire controller.) I honestly believe that the XBox S Controller and the XBox 360 controller are the best ever made (I have been playing games since the 2600 and have held many controllers so don't start throwing them at me... this is my opinion.) The N64 controller was horrible.

[rockman_x_2002]

What I don't understand is that, since the VC is simply an emulator, why couldn't you be allowed to customize your button configuration such that it feels more natural to the GCN controller.

For instance, if you could map the SNES buttons A, B, X, and Y to GCN buttons X, A, Y, B, respectively, then it would better match that of the SNES and you wouldn't have anywhere near as many button mis-presses. Some SNES games offer controller customization but not all. The logical "fix" seems to me to be controller button customization at the emulator level.

[Shannon]

The classic controller is not half bad. The only thing I don't like is the wire coming out of the bottom instead of the top.

The fact that it is a "classic" controller probably has something to do with it being flat. I kinda wish it was a little more ergonomic as well.

[Bivotar]

I could no longer fight the urge and picked up a classic controller this weekend. $20 isn't too bad, and I love the way it feels and works. I also picked up Super Mario World, which of course plays great with the classic controller.

I am loving the VC ability of the Wii. I don't have a lot of games, but when you buy them and don't have a lot of them, I feel much more inclined to play them. Unlike a boatload of ROMs on a PC, I spend more time with the VC games. On a PC, I may fire up a game but will shut it down when I get killed.

[Emehr]

Bivotar, on Mon Feb 12, 2007 5:00 PM, said:

I don't have a lot of games, but when you buy them and don't have a lot of them, I feel much more inclined to play them. Unlike a boatload of ROMs on a PC, I spend more time with the VC games. On a PC, I may fire up a game but will shut it down when I get killed.

I feel the same way. It's neat to get stuff for free but somehow you don't appreciate it as much. The games I fire up on my CC2 are usually games I already have a cartridge of. Go figure. I guess that's why it's called "getting your money's worth".

[NinjaWarrior]

I will pick up a SNES to Wii Controller Adapter for my Gamecube..

[AtticGamer]

jbanes, on Wed Feb 7, 2007 8:05 PM, said:

[If it really bothers you, though, you can go to RetroUSB and pick up an SNES -> GCN converter. This will allow you to use your original SNES pads on the Wii for about the same cost as the Wii Classic Controller.

Now that's a wise choice, the real thing is always better.