Topic: For those who own a Classic Controller *Important*

[shrapnel09]

This is a very important question and i cant find any answers anywhere... here i go:

for those who own a classic controller and an NES game via VC i must know the following information:

when you are playing a NES game on VC do you push the 'a' and 'b' buttons on the new controller, or 'y' and 'b'?  Even though 'a' and 'b' letters would match the original NES controller, 'y' and 'b' on the Classic Controller would match the physical thumb layout _much_ closer.

So please, does an NES game use the 'y' and 'b' buttons on the controller, or do you need to lift and change your thumb's position unatually to reach 'a' and 'b' just so nintendo could match the letters? Thank you very much for your assistance

[Artimus]

That's about as unimportant a question as I can imagine.

[WuTangTurtle]

Sorry i don't have an answer for u, my Wii is a "brick" and therefore i can't download any VC games or use my classic controller yet.

I have a similar stupid question though, what is the top middle button thing?  I know it pushes open two openings on the back of the controller but I have no idea what those two openings are for.  My sister tried reading the manuals but hasn't found out what it is for.

[GoldenPhoenix]

You use b and a, but I don't see how it is unnatural. I had no trouble using the classic controller when I used it to see which buttons you use. It is basically set up like the SNES controller (much better designed than the NES brick controller).

[BlkPaladin]

I was orginally rumored that you can snap on the Remote to the back of the controller and that is were it would have been. It was dropped for the time being but I guess Nintendo is leaving that opition open, since a game can use both the classic controllers and the gamecube controllers at the same time. (Bomberman 93 does this because it can have 5 players at once.)

[shrapnel09]

it really fustrates me on how no body considers this a big deal... this new design where you need to move your thumb to press a button completely throws off most games.. ok zelda you arnt really going to notice a difference, but try any platformer where you run and jump.

i dont want to twist my hand 40 degrees to hold two buttons at the same time so i can run and jump.... i just DONT get it.  Seriously try running in mario and then lift up your thumb off the run and jump, it complete fucks it up and that is what you will have to do unless you twist your hand/thumb in a completely unatural position.

Same concept with the GBA, tried playing Donkey Kong Country... you cant you need your thumb over the two, why cant people SEE this?! Jesus Christ so f*cking annoying, thanks for your response though, nothing much i can do now.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

This is an important issue, much like Atomic Planet's phailure of a software product known as the "Mega Man Anniversary Collection."

But it's apparent that NES games will be primarily enjoyed on the Remote rather than the Classic controller. the SNES style is comfortable.  to be authentic, NES gaming can't be that comfortable, so using the Remote in the classic orientation is the only reasonable option.

[Artimus]

Errr...has no one heard of the SNES? You played platformers with the same angle all the time!

[UncleBob]

I dunno, perhaps I just have big thumbs, but I can hold the A and B buttons both down with my thumb at the same angle as the NES controller...

A more important question is why does the cable come out of the bottom of the controller?

[mantidor]

Oh I hated that in the DS for GBA games, and it doesn't even let it be configured!, I could manage it eventually using my thumb differently, but using it the otherr "traditional" way is far better. SO the VC controls aren't configurable? that sucks so much, I'll probably skip that thing then.

[Flames_of_chaos]

You do know NES games can be perfectly played with all 3 options. Jeez some of these forum members cant appreciate how Nintendo is trying to perfect things and then you bitch at the most trivial things.  

[Ian Sane]

"Same concept with the GBA, tried playing Donkey Kong Country... you cant you need your thumb over the two, why cant people SEE this?! Jesus Christ so f*cking annoying, thanks for your response though, nothing much i can do now."

I see it for whenever I play Super Gameboy games on my SNES I set it to use a Y/B setup instead of B/A.  People also forget that the NES controller had the two buttons perfectly horizontal which although uncomfortable is much easier to use then the diagonal up method you get with the SNES design.  Anyone who can't see how a vertical run/jump setup is superior is just choosing not to.  What SHOULD have happened is Nintendo should have allowed us to fully customize our controls for the VC.  Like it isn't even game dependent.  I should just access a menu in the VC and decide for ALL NES games what button A is.

The fact that Nintendo did think of this sort of thing on the Super Gameboy but couldn't think of it now makes it all the more depressing.  The VC is such a strong concept but it is very clear whoever is calling the shots regarding it has no idea what they're doing.  Custom button mapping is routine stuff that anyone SHOULD figure out.

[JonLeung]

For primarily two-button games, if I'm not using the NES-like horizontal-style B and A setup, I also prefer the diagonal B and A setup on the N64 or the Y and B setup on the Super NES/DS/Classic Controller.

However, I've learned to adapt to using B and A as, well, B and A when playing GBA games on the DS.  I'm sure I can deal with it either way, even if I would still prefer Y and B.

Come to think of it, I haven't opened my Classic Controllers yet.  My brother says the first VC game we should get should be Super Mario Bros. for the NES but I don't think that's available yet.

[Kairon]

This seems true Iansane, especially when you look at how they went the extra distance to distinguish the a and b buttons with clear plastic versus the x and y buttons...

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[ryancoke]

I had no problem playing emulated NES, SNES, Genesis, C64 and Gameboy games on my PS2 controller.  Just keep playing and you'll get used to the classic controller.  That reminds me, they better put out Blades of Steel on the VC quick or i'll lose it!!

[segagamer12]

I found that for Playing the games I have sof ar the classic controller works perfectly with the setup and the wii mote sucks for even NES games.

It is just like the SNES controller so its fine by me.  

[Ian Sane]

I just remembered Super Mario All-Stars also allowed the Y/B setup for games originally designed to be played B/A.  Twice with the SNES they recognized that having run and jump in a vertical setup makes sense.  Note that Super Mario World also was setup like that instead of mirroring the SMB trilogy way of doing it.

Super Metroid had customizable button mapping.  When do you ever see that from a first party title now?  What the hell happened?

[Requiem]

The A/B setup is so people won't get confused.

[Ian Sane]

"The A/B setup is so people won't get confused."

How is that different then the Super Gameboy?  Gameboy games say "press A" all the time but somehow we were smart enough to remember that if we mapped our buttons differently we had to adjust.  So in the last 12 years humanity has become stupider and can't figure it out?  People that would get confused would probably never map their controls differently in the first place so it doesn't matter.

I think that's a key difference between market leader Nintendo and present-day Nintendo.  Market leader Nintendo assumed their customers were reasonably intelligent while present-day Nintendo dumbs everything down.

[Requiem]

There are alot of different people in the world Ian and Nintendo is making this console especially for the masses. When some little kid/old man buys a VC game, they don't want them to have even the slightest bit of confusion. If the screen says "Press B" and they press "B" the game better do exactly what it's suppose to.

That said, I would love to be able to customize all my VC games like I would with a PC emulator. But bitching about having to press the far right button instead of the the far left is a little childish.

"I think that's a key difference between market leader Nintendo and present-day Nintendo. Market leader Nintendo assumed their customers were reasonably intelligent while present-day Nintendo dumbs everything down."

Back then, Nintendo was dealing with one of the simplest configurations ever. It was either a D-pad and two buttons, or a D-pad and 6-buttons. Either way, everthing is pretty straight forward. You plug the controller in and then you play a game. Now-a-days, we are dealing with the most complicated configurations ever, requiring Nintendo to make it as easy as possible with the least amount of confusion (something Apple does very well). Call it dumbing down if you want, but its smart business.

[Ian Sane]

"There are alot of different people in the world Ian and Nintendo is making this console especially for the masses. When some little kid/old man buys a VC game, they don't want them to have even the slightest bit of confusion. If the screen says 'Press B' and they press 'B' the game better do exactly what it's suppose to."

What about Genesis games?  They use a C button.  N64 games use a Z button.  I assume no button named after those letters exists on the classic controller.

The whole thing is inconsistent anyway.  We supposedly need to simplify things but meanwhile there are three different controllers that can be used on the Wii and one "half" controller that can be connected to one but is sold seperately.  People too dumb to figure this stuff out are screwed already.

The default settings would be good enough for the masses and only those who aren't easily confused would actually change their button mapping.

[UncleBob]

Am I some kind of horrible mutant freak that I'm the only one that can do this:

[Requiem]

I don't feel like defending Nintendo. In my book, they %$@#ed up, however small the problem is.

Still, I was trying to give an example of what they may have been thinking. And since the Wii is internet and firmware enabled, it could easily change.

[segagamer12]

<<If the screen says "Press B" and they press "B" the game better do exactly what it's suppose to.>>


BUT thats the PROBLEM IT DOESNT MATCH UP.

I have foudn this to also be frustrating, havent tried Genesis Games yet but I figure those will be easy cuz they also had 6 button controllers so that wont be an issue.


BUT when playing DBZ with a Classic Controller they switch all the buttons around, not to match the Wii remote settign but teh GC controller settings. Which IS dumb because its a Wii game and when you see PRESS A on screan you immediatley begin mashin A and find out its really Y you are supposed to be pressing, por whenit say press Z its really L.


That IS confusing. However for this particular game it could either be Namco/Bandia/Ataris fault for not mapping the bottons properly or it could very well be Nintendo made it so you cant map the bottons however you chose and they HAVE to follow GC configurations.

[mantidor]

I played Zero Mission and Fusion using the thumb like unclebob, well not exactly, I used only the tip of the finger but thats because the DS buttons are small, I don't think I could do it with the classic controller. Some of us are already wired that way and find hard using the buttons differently, even after I got used to it with the metroid games I change it back in NSMB when I saw the option was available, and I would do it with metroid if I could. The funny thing is that Metroid doesn't even need to have both buttons pushed at once, but its already an unconcious reflect of me ot press b if I want to run faster, like its done in Mario platformers since the NES.