Looking for controller suggestions

bfollowell

I'm trying to setup RetroPie on a Raspberry Pi 3b+ as a Christmas gift for my nieces. I've tried to setup with XBox 360 controllers and an XBox One bluetooth controller and I've had nothing but trouble with either. Neither will work properly and I've read of many, many people having the same issues.

What are some other suggestions for a similar style controller that seems to work with RetroPie and is fairly straightforward and easy to setup?

I've never owned any of the Playstations, but I wouldn't be opposed to picking up a couple of those controllers if they work better.

Any suggestions.

mitu

The Xbox 360 is a fairly reliable controller, it's detected as a wired controller and there's almost no issue with it. The Xbox One should work fine also once you disable ETRM or use the xpadneo driver.
What problems did you have with them ? Please add more info about your system, as requested in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.

The PS controllers should be similarly supported, though we see more people having problems with PS3 (and clones) controllers than Xbox One or Xbox 360.

Dualshock 4 controllers are well supported, as any of the Controllers described in the docs. Any wired controller that claims Xbox or PC compatibility should work fine, beware of controllers marketed as 'Android first'.

Parabolaralus

@bfollowell I use quite a few controllers and they all work well, but i never really got my xbox one controllers to work not that it is a big deal

For my Pi 3b+ i have two 8bitdo SN30Pros connected wirelessly with Start+B. They're also paired with my Switch Start+Y so if you also have a switch they're a pretty dang good controller. I prefer this controller over everything else ive tried for the switch!

For my x86 build i have two Dualshock 4 controllers connected wired and have USB extension cords running along the baseboard to where i play along with Cat5e and RG6. These are perfect for the use of the trackpad since I have a full desktop build here - it comes in handy!
Be careful with the DS4 controllers though if you also have a PS4 within range. I was playing FF6 one night and suddenly mid game the controller started vibrating in strange pulses some soft, some hard...Im all wth and played a bit more...

It turned out at some point i hit the PS button and it fired up the PS and when i started the other TV which it was connected to Kratos was getting his rear handed to him! Id imagine this wouldn't be a problem if you had it paired with the Pi via BT though.

mat

I really like the Hori Pokken tournament controllers. I used wired versions with no issues.

Solid One

Which is your budget?

If you want something with top quality and wish to spend 30, 50 or more dollars, I'd recommend you any 8bitdo bluetooth controllers. These are great recreations of controllers from older consoles such as SNES, Mega Drive and NES. They even created a SNES controller with two analogs and two more shoulder buttons, just like a PS4 controller.

However, if you don't want to spend more than 10 dollars per controller, I'd recommend you USB controllers from older consoles that you can buy on AliExpress. Here's some examples: