Hey everyone, I'm a bit of a retro nut, and love the fact that the Wii can play a lot of older titles from other machines. But the thing that's always nagged my brain a little is that I'm not playing with the original pads. Maybe you have a mint condition Nes Advantage controller or a CPS Fighter Joystick in your attic, if you're that person maybe this will be of interest to you.

Yes I know Nintendo released the Classic Controller (I own 2 myself ) - but sometimes (for me) it's just not the same. I've put together this list to share information about where to buy converters or tutorials of how to build your own. I'm absolutely awful at soldering so finding ready made kit is a must for me. I've included both options for ready made and DIY options where I could find them.

If anybody knows of any other places where there is good information on this type of kit please let me know and I'll add them to the list. Before you ask, no I'm not on the pay roll for any of them I'd just prefer to save other people some time.

Before I begin, I do know of the Super Famicom Classic Controller (and I own one). For those who have never heard of it this was a giveaway for certain Club Nintendo members in Japan - it's basically a classic controller in the shape of a snes pad that plugs into the wii remote. But because it's relatively easy to find on the common auction site that people use I haven't included any links. Yes it does look and feel like a proper snes pad. But if you do want one prepare to pay a bit to have them imported from Japan. Mine cost me £38 all in all and was well worth it, but for those of you who REALLY want the original pads here you go:


Ready Made Converters (For use with original stock pads - no modification required)

NES / SNES http://www.retrousb.com/index.php?cPath=22&osCsid=339

MEGADRIVE / GENESIS / Master System / C64 / Atari (DB9) http://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/genesis_to_wii/index.php?category=Adapters

A while ago I contacted Raphael (owner of the shop on the above link) and asked if the Megadrive/Genesis convertor he sold on his site would be compatible with the C64 and Master System. He's contacted me since to tell me he's built a new version of the cable to be compatible with all of them, the type of controller plugged in is auto-detected when powered up so it switches the buttons over. The cable itself is compatible with Megadrive / Genesis controllers (3 or 6 buttons {and compatibles}), Sega Master System (SMS) controllers (and compatibles) and C64 / Atari-style one-button controllers.

We did have a funny few emails back and forth where he was asking me how I was able to play C64 games on the Wii (they were only out in Europe at that point) :)

N64 http://www.raphnet-tech.com/products/n64_to_wii/index.php?category=Adapters


DIY (or how I learned to envy people who can solder)

http://www.ppl-pilot.com/ - In this link, a guy called Mark Feldman has included instructions of how to construct wireless Snes and Nes controllers for the Wii. It still uses a Gamecube port but is truely wireless. Not for the faint hearted!

http://www.sonicpenguins.com/blog/2008/09/22/wireless-nes-controller-for-the-wii/ - Following on from the previous link, this is how one user got on with Mark Feldman's tutorial.

http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/Razor+Kitten/wireless-wii-hack-for-snes-controller-review-106338.phtml - Another review of Mark Feldman's tutorial including a review of the completed product. On this lovely site here by Razor Kitten

http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/x2wii/index_en.php - In this link a gent called Raphael has put together a guide not just for the Nes, but also the Snes and the N64. It does require extra parts and it is wired using the Gamecube port.

http://cre.ations.net/creation/wireless-sega-genesis-controller-for-wii - This is for a wireless Sega Megadrive/Genesis pad.

http://cre.ations.net/creation/custom-circuit-board-for-wireless-sega-genesis-controller-for-wi - Following on from the previous link, this is a full custom built circuit board to replace the innards of a standard Sega Megadrive/Genesis controller with a wireless type, rather than cramming both in.