Opa Opa wrote:]I don't see what's so awful about it. It's a very comfortable controller and easy to use... What game(s) do you think don't work with it? I'm not trying to argue (because everyone's entitled to an opinion); just curious what games might not work well.
lisalover1 wrote:The PS2 controller is a lot like the Red Mage from Final Fantasy. It is okay at everything, but excels in nothing. Personally, I avoid Dualshocks whenever possible; I can't stand the controller. Too bland and unimaginative. The Gamecube controller, on the other hand, is suited very well towards certain genres [Platformers, Racing, 3D Fighters, and Action-Adventure, to name a few] for various reasons that I will go into if you choose to continue this argument.
I found the controller nearly impossible for anything but Nintendo's first party stuff, which was obviously designed with ONLY the GC controller in mind. The control schemes in games like Prime and Wind Waker for example, were tailored perfectly to the layout. It didn't necessarily make them any easier to play than anything else, but at least the control scheme wasn't modified from a controller that has more buttons to a controller with a completely different layout.
My issues? That big honking A button that sits there, begging to be depressed accidentally when you're trying to hit the other buttons fanned out around it. Holding my thumb over the A button is uncomfortable, because it's not the place my thumb wants to sit naturally while holding the controller in its proper position. My thumb wants to rest on the 'B' button, which makes for awkward shifts to hit 'X', and really awkward to hit 'Y' or 'A' either, since so many games had to give preference to the 'A' button due to its size and dominant placement. To use the controller as intended, I get an uncomfortable thumb cramp from how I have to keep moving around to keep my thumb in the right place.
The analogue triggers have far too much pull before the click, and in games where you actually have to pull back until the click it feels like you have no real control. The Z-button placement is awkward, especially when your finger rests naturally towards the bottom of the R trigger. Coming from an N64 controller, where the Z placement was brilliant, my muscle memory still tries to pull at the bottom instead of clicking at the top right hand side. The analogue sticks not being next to each other is a personal pet peeve, I personally find it more comfortable to have them side by side (ala Dualshock). The analogue sticks on the GC controller also have different levels of sensitivity, which again, I personally find difficult to deal with. Even if someone were to pull out empirical proof that they actually have the same sensitivity, the difference in shape makes them feel remarkably different. Why does the left stick have that great comfortable thumb rest, and the right have to be a pointy knob that wants to drill into your thumb? The level of control with the right stick is terrible, unless you have some sort of iron thumb that can comfortably/properly grip that small surface.
The d-pad is one of the highlights of the controller (thanks for ruining it for everyone else, Nintendo), but the placement loses marks. It's a weird thumb stretch to use it without turning the controller to a more comfortable position, losing the right hand placement entirely.
It's just a bit bulky plastic mess with all the wrong dimensions. The only reason I'd rank the [excuse me while I put on my flame suit] Dreamcast controller lower, is because the Dreamcast controller actually causes physical pain to hold on to for an extended session. The GameCube controller causes the most pain to just the thumbs, not the whole hand.
Now I'm sure we all know that we have different hand sizes, and what feels great to me might not feel great to you and vice versa. Yes I'm a girl, but my hands are similarly sized to the average man, because the giant gene runs in our family.
I don't have big thick meaty paws, but they're big enough that small dainty hands aren't a part of the equation for me. If it helps, my favourite controllers (in no particular order) are from the SNES, NES [dogbone style], PlayStation and Saturn. Buttons that rest under your fingers in the proper orientation, small finger travel time, small key travel, tight directional control. (Excluding the PlayStation controller there, because it's "d-pad" leaves a lot to be desired, but in terms of analogue control, heaven.) I only count up to the Dualshock 2, the Dualshock 3 has loosened the sticks and introduced a horrible GameCube style analogue trigger.
Absolutely some people will disagree with me on the controller issue, but that's OK. It's not meant to be an argument, I just feel that even if games had "better" versions on the GameCube, I'd still prefer to play them on a system with a more manageable and comfortable controller.
Whoa, that ended up being a lot longer than I intended. /thread derailment over
