The best controller I arguably thing is the 360 controller. It just feels right to use in fighting games and fps. I like xboxs layout with the analog sticks.
Dualshock comes a close 2nd but was never a fan of the analog layout.
I find the n64 most jarring and I get that it was meant to be used differently for different games, but I still preferred the 3rd party options that took it closer to a standard gamepad.
Phob gcc. The best stick box ever constructed with Hal effect sensors. Genius button layout with a larger primary button surrounded by secondaries. Swap to spicy sticks and bald buttons for added grip and fluidity. Add mouse click z and paracord cable for the perfect, best feeling, most responsive controller. The best part is that it is all open source and can be built for around $50 worth of parts
Xbox Series X controller with added ExtremeRate back paddle kit.
For PC games:
og Steam controller
Most of the time I use the Dualsense Edge though, because I rarely use controller on pc and almost never turn on my Xbox.
I play most of my 2d games on purpose built retro handhelds, so there’s no real separate controller to speak of, but I do love pretty much all of them in different ways.
I’ve had 2 “Xbox elite” controllers, both of them have had problems with sticky buttons. Annoying beyond belief. The regular Xbox s controller works better than either of the elites did.
That said my steam deck is my favorite controller when I need a controller.
Meanwhile, I find even the "smaller" XBox controllers to be utterly unusable and have/had no troubles at all with the PS3 controller. Would be nice if there were more options for each console so that both you and I could be satisfied, but sadly that is not how it's done.
Yeah, that would be nice. I know people who lament the loss of the original Xbox Duke controller, and that the only thing closer was the similarly jumbo Dreamcast controller.
Could even unbundle them from the consoles, and just pick the size when you buy them. If they can make them in Hello Kitty pink, or endless CoD camouflage colours, then I’m not convinced it’s uneconomical to provide different size grips.
8BitDo Pro 2. It’s like a Playstation 2/3 and SNES controller did the fusion dance. I use it on my Switch and PC, response is great, tactile feel is amazing.
Just got this thing last week, I love it so far. Still haven’t figured out how to make good use of the back paddles on PC, but even without those it’s a great controller.
Gamesir T4 Kaleid. I love the hall effect joysticks, and it feels like it’s the right size. The one negative is that it’s wired-only.
OTOH, the GameSir Nova (not lite) is hot garbage. I hate almost everything about it, and its wireless PC connection (without the dongle that it does not come with) is trash. It’s basically only good as a Switch controller… And I haven’t even actually tried it for that.
The GameSir Nova Lite is much better, but still too small and you need to use the slightly-older 4200 firmware (from the official app) instead of the latest, because they got stupid about things.
I somewhat like the Xbox Elite V2 controller, but you have to get a good one. A bad one will have really crappy triggers that sometimes won’t work. I think I’ve even heard that the sticks are sometimes wonky. And it’s not hall effect.
I went for the GameSir G7 SE, one black and one white, so me and the missus have our own controllers. The black one has a click to the face button which is quite nice.
I thought I would miss wireless, but the batteries draining on my wireless pad (official) and the slight delay means I prefer the G7 instead. The cable is long enough that we can sit comfortably back on the sofa from our 55" screen. Oh, and the pads came with a month of Game Pass Ultimate so really helped justify them (just over $30 each?). Never thought I’d live to see a third-party controller this good, sold my official one for more than I paid for these.
I don’t see it mentioned often, but basically my favorite has been the GameCube controller. Massive primary button with the secondary button the same shape but smaller and next to it, with the alternate (X/Y) buttons a different shape that flow around the primary, all in easy reach but all different to the touch. Especially when I’m playing the Xbox or Switch for a while and then switch to playing the other I’m messed up on the controllers for a little while since Nintendo and Microsoft swap the A and B buttons but both keep A as the primary button (I think a legacy of the original NES/Famicom putting the A button closer to the right hand and the B button farther in, to the left of the A).
I’d prefer the right thumb stick to be the same shape as the left, and it needs a left shoulder button, but beyond that I’d pretty much keep the layout as-is, maybe a slightly different size/shape to better fit in hands. I’ve seen a few third-party controllers like that for the Switch but haven’t looked into them enough to buy one.
It had the size of a Duke, so comfortable to hold with my large hands, and also felt really nice when the airflow feature was turned on. It had the really bad D-Pads though.
As strange as it may sound, my favorite controller so far has been my Google Stadia controller. It feels very sturdy and has a nice finish - and I can hold it for hours without my hands cramping up.
Also a big fan of the fact that it charges over USB-C, and that it works perfectly for me over both Bluetooth and wired.
However, I haven’t had too many controllers in the past (Nintendo’s controllers - GameCube, Wii, Switch Joycon/Pro, the Xbox 360/One, and the DualShock 3), so that could be part of it. I don’t know, I just haven’t had any complaints with it as of yet.
N64 is my favorite console of all time, but yeah, the controller is truly batshit insane. I even had a game that intended you to hold the left and right... prongs instead of center right. In a shocking twist, it was... still pretty awkward.
I do like PS5 controllers - mostly play N64 games on them, never even owned a PS. Used a PS4 controller before that.
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