Topic: GameCube controller, Really hurts...

[220man]

The L and R buttons are sensitive to touch (even when you dont press them fully down) Make sure that you are not holding them slightly down in your default holding position. A new feature like button (in this case trigger) sensitivity is brand new and most gamers would think it would be a positive. I liked the old nintendo 64 style Z button(under the controller) really origional and the slightest touch would press nearly the whole way down making it a quick and easy access for shooting games such as Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Now the L and R buttons on the game cube are ergonomic but far too large. They should be more like the 64 style Z button cause it would make blasting the hell out of my friend on 007 Night fire a much more enjoyable expierience.  Etc. etc. etc.

[Hostile Creation]

I've never had controller pains, not in Metroid Prime or any game, and I love the L and R grooves.  I don't push down too hard, though, unless I'm in a really intense fight or race or something.

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

When I rented Burnout, using the L trigger for accleration gave my fingers pain.....because I had to hold the button down.

Also, playing Golden Sun on the GBA for a long period of time gave my finger RSI.

Other than that, I haven't gotten any controller pains since the N64 controller (which gave me lots of pain).

[Hostile Creation]

I liked that controller, actually.  I've got my N64 plugged in, and I compared the two controllers.  The Gamecube controller is definitely better, but not that much better.  If the N64 had a better joystick, it'd be much better than, say, the Xbox controller.

But I could see how it might cause pains.

[Ymeegod]

Never had that problem with my index/middle finger (I can use either one for l & r).

The worst problem lies with the Mid-Evil Directional pad.  Games like SSX Tricky would leave your thumb bloody & beaten.  Think the directional pad is even smaller and narrower then even the NES pad.

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ymeegod
Think the directional pad is even smaller and narrower then even the NES pad.

It is.  I took out my NES last week (which I hadn't touch in like a decade!) and compared the d-pad of the NES to the GC controller.  Actually, I took it out to play Super Mario Bros. again.  *sniff* oh the memories!

[Hostile Creation]

That's not a big problem; most games don't use the D-pad that much, only for stuff like taunts in SSBM and visor change in Metroid Prime.  I can understand how annoying it would be for a game that did use it a lot, though.

[Don'tHate742]

I don't know about you guys but I like using the analog stick when it comes to fighting games and such, its like a mini arcade stick.  

[Monkey man]

The Gamecube controller is da best!

[Chronic Kommander]

Text origonally posted by grey ninja
It might be because I have been playing video games since the NES, which had one of the least ergonomic controllers of all time, but controllers NEVER hurt my hand anymore.

Me to. those first nes controllers were very painful.... the sharp edges would jam into your palms and about make you bleed. and the buttons. o man. Anyway i think that the Nyko airflow fan controller for the GC is good 'cause it has no indentations on the buttion and i never feel a thing with the fans on full blast.

Quote
Text Pass the BONG Chong!

[ShockingAlberto]

I actually like the PS2 controller.  It's just the perfect size for fighting games and the analog control is a dream.  By contrast, the Gamecube analog has already worn out for me (though, to be fair, it's worn out through lots of play).

Playing Metroid with the L + R triggers is really good, though, if you don't press down on them entirely.  Just lightly tap them and it should target them easily.  It gives everything a very high-tech feel to just tap, shoot, tap, shoot.  Obviously, you have to hold R down hard to get the full effect, but you don't do it enough for it to matter.

-- ShockingAlberto  

[Cube323]

Dude, are we on the same planet?  I hate the PS2 controller.  It's D-pad is the WORST for fight games, especially
2-d.

Also, that D-pad is the worst thumb grinder I have ever seen.  My thumb litterallly aches after using the ps2 d-pad.  Plus their "off center" control sticks also cause me great pain. Give me a WaveBird, Dreamcast Controller, or an X-box Controller-S any day over that ps2 peice of crap.  Hopefully, if the rumors are true, the PS3 controller will be a complete redisign, probably a rip-off of the best attributes of other, better controllers from rival companies.

Still, no controller can be worse than the original X-box controller.  That thing was like playing games with a giant meatball.
I could litterally use it to club small animals.  Also, that controller caused myself, and almost every one of my Halo playing friends, serious pain that we all dubbed "X-box-itis."  Even when I think about it, it still causes me pain.  Ouch!!!  

[ShockingAlberto]

Well, I'll agree the Dreamcast D-Pad is superior (I love how off-the-surface it is), but I prefer the middle analogs.  Maybe it's because I have big hands.

-- ShockingAlberto  

[minor incident]

Quote
Originally posted by: Cube323
Dude, are we on the same planet?  I hate the PS2 controller.  It's D-pad is the WORST for fight games, especially
2-d.
Also, that D-pad is the worst thumb grinder I have ever seen.  My thumb litterallly aches after using the ps2 d-pad.

Can't say I agree with you in the least.  At least for fighting games with "Street Fighteresque" moves, the PS2 controller is perfect.  It's easy to roll off quarter- and half-circles due to it being so low set in the controller face, and it's nicely rounded so no thumb-grinding will ensue.  The positioning of the d-pad there is great too, unfortunately it causes the analog stick to become banished to the most awkard area of the entire controller.  The Gamecube controller has the exact opposite problem--perfect analog stick, horrible, horrible, d-pad design and placement.

[Marufy007]

im kinda surprised no one has mentioned anything about carpul tunnel and these problems with the buttons. just the other night i was playing Deadly Alliance and you have to use R to block which killed my right finger. its done that a lot before with anything that uses the R button a lot. i had it happen alot on N64 when doing the dash for mario kart since i had to jump a lot. i developed carpul tunnel when i worked at Wendys when i was 16, im 22 now and im starting to feel the effects when i play games now. i know typing can give it to you, but maybe some of us are just starting to develop a form of it. its not to say the controller isnt a problem either but maybe they are both related to some extent.  

[Hostile Creation]

Well I hate fighting games, so I prefer the Gamecube controller either way.  The PS2 one isn't bad at all, though.

[NintendoKiD]

PS2 has the best controller, the buttons are well placed, the d-pad is nice, 2 analog buttons and the L & R buttons are nice. Are there any controllers out there with different L and R buttons for the cube?

[PaLaDiN]

It only hurt me once...

Left trigger, doing a certain sidequest in Zelda: WW. Those who did it know what I'm talking about... and I didn't even get anything, other than an ego boost.

[Ian Sane]

"PS2 has the best controller, the buttons are well placed, the d-pad is nice"

I've never understood it when people praise the PS2 d-pad.  I HATE that d-pad.  The stupid split design is blister-city.  Plus the d-pad centric design is ridiculous for a 3D gaming system.  If the Gamecube had a bigger d-pad it wouldn't get dumped on so much and the PS2 controller wouldn't be so praised.

I also feel the PS2 gets a lot of praise because most multiplatform games are designed with that controller in mind thus giving the illusion that it's a better controller.  The console leader's controller is always going to get praise because most game are designed for it.

[minor incident]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
I've never understood it when people praise the PS2 d-pad.  I HATE that d-pad.  The stupid split design is blister-city.  Plus the d-pad centric design is ridiculous for a 3D gaming system.  If the Gamecube had a bigger d-pad it wouldn't get dumped on so much and the PS2 controller wouldn't be so praised.

I also feel the PS2 gets a lot of praise because most multiplatform games are designed with that controller in mind thus giving the illusion that it's a better controller.  The console leader's controller is always going to get praise because most game are designed for it.

While I agree with you that the analog position is idiocy on the PS2 controller, I still think it's a great design overall.  I feel bad for anyone who can get blisters on that d-pad, it's so smooth, low-set, and rounded, it's like Sony went out of it's way to make it comfortable.  Having logged over 70 hours each on Street Fighter EX+A (Playstation) and Soul Calibur (Dreamcast),  I must admit to absolutely loving the Dreamcast controller as a whole (it is, afterall, the godfather of the whole GBA connectivity thing, but regardless...), but the PS2 d-pad blows it (and it's close cousin, the GC d-pad) out of the water.  That said, I think the GC analog stick is a beautiful thing in Soul Calibur 2, working as fluidly as an arcade joystick, but with enough snap (not to mention those great 8-way directional indentations) to pull off typical directional-tab moves with ease.

On a side note, your point that multiplatform games are designed with only the PS2 controller in mind is really only true of crap game studios (see THQ).  Some games, like the Harry Potter series, Timesplitters, and Soul Calibur 2 make excellent use of the GC controller.  It's usually not even that companies design with the PS2 controller in mind, so much as they design with a traditional arcade setup in mind, at least for the majority of fighters out there.

Off topic somewhat: this has made me realize that every game should include some alternate button configs, if not a total remapping system... Not to mention a screen positioning option.

[Usul]

I bought my gamecube a year and a half ago, and I was really fond of the gamecube-controller, because it fitted so nicely into my hand and because of the really good analog-stick. But a few months and quite a few games later I'm not that content and happy anymore.

First off, let me say that I really don't like the ps2-pad because it doesn't have any analog triggers, so it's horrible for racing-games. The X-box-pad (not the new Controller-S-version) on the other hand was much too clumsy and the face-buttons were aligned in a very bad way.

The gamecube-pad is just perfect for action-adventures and jump-and-run-games like Mario, Zelda,  and also good for ego-shooters like the James-Bond-games or Metroid Prime, but it's only hum-hum for racing-games, and really bad for trend-sports- and kung-fu-fighting-games.

Why? Because the face-buttons are proportioned and positioned in such a way, that you can differentiate the buttons just by feeling. The big-A-button in the center, the small B-button to the lower left... It's great for games where you don't have to press them all the time and where you don't have to press two or three of them simultaneously. But for games which ask you to perform tricks in a creative way, that buttons are a pain in the ass: SSX-Tricky, Mortal Kombat DA, Soul Calibur 2... are not fun on the gamecube but hard work.

What makes it worse is that there is not a single third-party-pad for the gamecube that offers normal face-buttons like on the Dreamcast-pad or the new Controller-S-pad from Microsoft. Those are/were really perfect pads for the games I just mentioned.

I wish there would be an adapter, so I could just plug the ControllerS-X-box-pad into the gamecube, or a Dreamcast-to-gamecube-adapter, but I don't think that will happen. So at the end of the year I will buy an X-box and will play all the fighting and trendsport-games on that box, and keep my gamecube for all the action-adventures.

Usul