Wired Controllers Recommendations

Beldar

It's going to be a trade off no matter what you do, but I have owned many controllers and can try to share my experiences.

"kiwitata" and "iNext" controllers are extremely cheap but also not worth the price. They have awful d-pads and break easily.

The popular Buffalo and iBuffalo controllers are actually really good and easy to use. They have one drawback, though. About half of the controllers sold have a ghost input problem that causes random inputs even when you don't press a button. This usually only happens about once every half hour or so. You just don't know if you are going to get a good or bad controller when you purchase, it's all luck.

8bitdo are far overpriced compared to the quality they provide. I've owned two different models and returned them both. Beyond quality and connectivity issues, the D-pads on them are both stiff and sometimes register diagonal input when you press a simple cardinal direction. I do not recommend them for the listed price.

Gamesir brand is another low quality manufacturer. The d-pads are sponge-like and the sticks are small and overly sensitive. It's also worth noting that these controllers tend to be very small.

Hori Pokken controllers are higher priced but excellent quality. The d-pad is nearly perfect. These are some of my favorites for quality and function. I can beat Megaman 1 on one of these. The price is a bit much, though.

X-box 360 controllers are easy to find, easy to set up, and have a high build quality. However, they have one of the worst d-pad designs ever.

Generally, you want to stay away from Retrobit. However, their "Dual-link" SNES controller (have either Megaman or Ryu art on them) are actually a good balance of price and quality. The d-pad is especially nice.

The PS4 controllers are expensive and have some moderate issues with pairing. If you can get them to work they are actually pretty solid for retro gaming.

Good luck and have fun!

Cybrasty

@beldar Thanks for the in-depth info!

Sad to hear that Gamesir has a spongy d-pad, it looked promising, I especially enjoyed the shape.

I might just use a PS4 controller (I have one already for my ps4) over USB for time being. I like the idea of having dedicated controllers for my retrogaming, so I might get something else in the future.

The Hori Pokken looks promising. Just to double check, they are originally for Switch, right? Or is there some other version I should be looking at?

Beldar

@cybrasty There are some Pokken Controllers that are white or yellow, those were older ones for the Wii U. There are newer ones that are black for the Switch. I have one of each color and they all have worked fine. They even work for most PS1 games because they have two tiny buttons for L2 and R2 (only a small handful of PS1 games really need analogue anyway.) I usually use these Pokken controllers when I want super high quality for a challenging game or the Dual-Link SNES controllers when I want a nostalgic feel.

lazd

I have the 8BitDo N30 Pro, which I use over both Bluetooth or USB. It does have a noticeable amount of latency in Bluetooth mode, unfortunately, and it's enough to make Super Mario Bros on NES unplayable. However, if you have 8BitDo firmware version 4.10, when you plug in over USB, the Bluetooth connection is disabled, so you can be sure you have latency-free communication. The button feel is nice, but the analog sticks are very small and have a very short throw, and only half of their range is usable -- when running jstest, the axes goes to a full 32768 value when the stick is physically only halfway to the edge. Moving it the rest of the way just keeps it pinned at 32768. This is the case even after calibration with jscal, with the latest updated firmware. If you're going to be using the analog sticks, I would avoid this particular controller because of this issue.

I use an XBox One controller (the one that doesn't support Bluetooth) plugged in over USB and it works great, with excellent analog stick feel. The d-pad is very clicky and you always know if you're pointing at a 45° angle because you can feel it click. I do have an issue in wolf4sdl right now where using the Select/Start buttons seems to confuse SDL a bit, and it will randomly have other buttons pressed afterwards, but it's not a deal breaker, and I've been playing the shit out of Wolfenstein with my joystick mod that enables full-resolution control with the analog sticks (including strafing) and my minimap mod that lets me see where all the secrets are (yes I know it's cheating). There is a bit of a deadzone issue with my left stick, but it's probably due to abuse (I can hear something rattling around in there) and not the controller's fault.

I also have an old USB Logitech Dual Action, but really doesn't have a nice feel on the d-pad, it's like a fake joystick. The analog stick feel is fine and they're plenty precise, but the controller just feels cheap after having an XBox One controller in my hand.

I have the iNNEXT N64 controllers, iNNEXT SNES controllers, and miadore NES controllers, and though I don't have them here with me to test really quick, I don't recall the button feel being bad on any of them. I will update when I have them in hand in a week or so.

Beldar

@cybrasty I forgot to mention the Logitech x10 controllers. The Logitech F310 is a fairly cheap wired controller with analog sticks. It does the job and it has good build quality. It makes a decent all in one controller if you only want to mess with a single controller set up. Just be aware that the analog triggers in back are pretty stiff (good for racing games but harder for other genres) and the D-pad is the floaty Sega style. They make an F710 model that's wireless and has rumble motors, but it's overpriced for the quality.

Beldar

@lazd I agree with you that the xbox one controller has a surprisingly good D-pad, one of my favorites even. Unfortunately, I find the face buttons on that controller to be hard to mash rapidly in old shooters. It's pretty high up on my list for wireless controllers, though. I've been playing the newest Doom game on PC with it and I'm impressed with how well it does for modern games.

thelostsoul

@cybrasty I still recommend the SNES clone Buffalo Classic USB Gamepads. They feel really good and I play mainly with it. For the shmups, the turbo function for each button can be very handy at times. The d-pad feels just a little bit sharper and stiffer than the original, I think (no comparison available here). And it is cheap in price.

https://lifehacker.com/the-best-controllers-for-retro-gaming-1791090209

Beldar

@thelostsoul The Buffalos are definitely solid controllers when they aren't driving me nuts with ghost inputs. I've been unlucky with the ones I purchased, but others have reported having no problems at all. They are a decent option for sure compared to some of the cheapos.

thelostsoul

@beldar This is the first time I read bout the ghost inputs. I think there is an older and newer revision of them, maybe fixed. I have 2 of them, playing with one only but since 7 month no complain and no sight of ghost inputs. I have the model No: BSGP815GY. If yours is the older one, then I would assume the newer one have no ghost input problems anymore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroPie/comments/6h3z9i/two_different_buffalo_classic_usb_gamepads_on/

Beldar

@thelostsoul Mine are the same model number as yours. I've owned three and tested them on multiple pis. It seems to be a luck of the draw kind of thing as both the model numbers suffer from this flaw. You got lucky and I got unlucky, but such is life. There are tutorials online about how to fix the ghosting, but it requires soldering.

mat

Just picked up a hori pokken pad thanks to this thread and some other threads. Just waiting for it to ship.

Constantly having issues with Buffalo pads breaking down, mainly the D-pad. Now it sticks to going right no matter what. Second time this has happened.

Hope I don't regret this purchase.

KN4THX

I'm pretty sure this is the ultimate controller.

https://www.instructables.com/id/Power-Glove-Pi/

mediamogul

@thedatacereal said in Wired Controllers Recommendations:

I'm pretty sure this is the ultimate controller.

Ha! Very nice. Every so often I break out my Power Glove to play on RetroPie and believe it or not, it's actually a lot of fun in small doses. It's even quite a bit more accurate than most people give it credit for, so long as the original setup directions are followed. My particular favorite has always been 'Rad Racer', just like in 'The Wizard', as the controls feel just right and it really gets the blood pumping.

The guide you linked to allows for full access to all the Power Glove inputs at any given time, but you can also make use of a common NES to USB adapter to use it as it was originally intended. What's more, it also works great for any system with an identical or lessor button layout, like GameBoy, Master System, TurboGrafx-16, Atari 2600... etc along with any computer or arcade games that can get by with four directions and four action buttons. Needless to say, I love the Power Glove... It's so bad.

KN4THX

@mediamogul I loved the Wizard and the fact they used Rad Racer which is one of my favorite games. Being able to choose the soundtrack made the game super fun, you could set the mood for a country drive or a fast paced night city race which wasn't and still isn't a common feature. I never owned the power glove but have been tempted to find one to play with as I only got to play with it at a friend's house across the street.

In my mind it was ahead of its time, maybe not the first idea like it but the most well known. The Glove was basically an early attempt at what VR is today, to actually be in the game,and oraybe the Wii controller, at least for games like Punch Out. I was always a big fan of Nintendo and its concepts, its controllers alone are still regarded as the best retro controllers to this day, even if its really just the nostalgic feel of the buttons and pad burned into our brains from an early age, much like growing up on Kraft Singles and then going to a friend's house and their mom serving Borden's which seemed to pale in comparison.

Everything about the NES brings up happy memories, not just from gameplay but also from things like wrapping the controller around my waist and chasing my brother outside while holding the B button just like Captain N taught us to do.

mediamogul

@thedatacereal said in Wired Controllers Recommendations:

Being able to choose the soundtrack made the game super fun

... and what a soundtrack it is. The tunes are all great. Squaresoft really got everything right all around and even though it may be blasphemous to some, I actually like the game better than the 'Outrun' port over on the Master System.

I never owned the power glove but have been tempted to find one to play with

If you ever do, make sure to check out the original instructions online. There's a step where you make a fist and flex your hand a few times that most people ignore before centering that greatly improves the accuracy. Still, I would never rely on it for precision control, but there's more than a few games that are a lot of fun to play with the glove.

much like growing up on Kraft Singles and then going to a friend's house and their mom serving Borden's which seemed to pale in comparison.

Man, do I love that comparison and I know exactly what you mean.

LeSabotageur

@beldar I have two Buffalo pads, and I've experienced ghost inputs as well (i.e. when in Emulation Station menu, it would go down on its own, without any input from me).
What worked for me was to "clear" every button with the "clear" hotkey. It's worth a try if you've not done it already.

Beldar

@lesabotageur I did try that with no luck. However, I did do a little experiment with the Buffalo pads I have this morning. For reference, both the ones I tested are the 815 models. For some reason they have some additional components on their PCB compared to the 801 model, but have the same ghosting issue.

This morning I plugged in my two 815 Buffalos in a fairly stock install of Retropie running on a 3B+. Both of the controllers were giving ghost d-pad inputs in the menus and in games about once every 5 to 10 minutes. I opened the controllers, cleaned the contact pads on the PCB with alcohol, reseated the rubber, then reassembled the units. They behaved exactly the same way with ghost inputs every few minutes.

Then I plugged them into my other emulation machine, a 7th generation Intel NUC i5. The USB ports on it are all 3.0 or higher with far greater power output capabilities. I tested the controllers in the Windows 10 controller properties menu with no ghost inputs registering. Then I opened launchbox in Big Box mode and let it sit in the menus. Again, no ghost inputs. Finally, I played Final Fight for a full hour (did pretty well too) and I didn't notice a single hick up in play.

This makes me suspect that for some reason these little things are very inefficient with their power or have very cheap noisy wiring. I suspect that "Buffalo" has never fixed the issue because they probably test their stuff on higher power output PC's and likely not on a little bitty Pi. It does confuse me a little bit, because even USB 2.0 ports should provide well beyond the miniscule amount of power these things need.

My electronics knowledge is amateur and self taught while buring myself with a soldering iron many times. Perhaps somebody with a deeper understanding of electronics can provide more information than I can.

Rion

@beldar Brunnis over at the libretro forums did some investigation into this.

HowTo: Fix phantom/ghost input on iBuffalo/Buffalo SNES controllers

Reddit thread

Darksavior

8bitdo, high quality? I didn't know there was a comedic section in here. The dpad is horrendous, with it registering opposite inputs when tilting a direction. A direction has to be pressed right on the center of a direction. There's tape mods but they didn't work for me. They ended up requiring to press harder. Their battery tech is the old type where it drains when it's off..at least with my old SFC30. A ps4 controller can be cheaper than an snes/sfc30 pro when it's on sale.

As I can see, only their DIY kits seem to have the same dpad pcb layout as the real thing. I use the real things and they're around $12-15 used for japanese or US version + usb adapter. I'm using a real sfc's controller ports so I wouldn't know what usb adapter is good.

Beldar

@rion Thanks for the link! I saw the images with a description of the fix somewhere before but I didn't see that discussion then. It seems like I was almost sort of right about something for once!