It seems like i might be a bad person, but am i wrong to really not like the dreamcast controller very much?

Everyone else seems to love it.
It could just be the adoration for the console itself makes them love it.. But i just dont really dig on it too much for any kind of game.

Do not forget the following special controllers...

The U-Force
The one zapper helmet that used your voice to fire.
The Max
The Beatmania Controller

That is all...

Still waiting for my Castlevania edition of Retroforce, but this seems like a fun topic to discuss.

Let's see..if you wanted to make a controller, what things would you add from previous ones?

Another one would be "Do you think that the stylus for the NDS works well as a substitute for a analog stick?"

Also, I always really liked the N64 controller. It felt good in you hands and the d-pad never got in the way of the control stick. It probably would have been annoying in a game requiring both, but as far as I remember I never played any.

I remember when the Mega Drive had only 3 buttons, and when Street Fighter II:CE came out, a 6-button pad was released. Somehow I managed to talk my parents into getting me them for Christmas....I don't know what I did without it.

Anyways, here's a question:
If you could create the ultimate controller, using parts of existing pads - What would it feature?

Mine would be the general pad design/triggers of the 360, the SNES D-Pad, 2 Gamecube analog sticks, and the 6 face buttons of the MD/Saturn.

I don't know if anyone else had one of these babies, but I'll have to admit that it may very well have been the sole reason that I owned at Mega Man on the NES:

The NES Max Controller

hands down best implementation of a turbo button I've ever come across. I miss this controller a lot!. The grip was comfortable, the "cycloid" pad was pretty responsive, and the button layout was perfection. And, it was a Nintendo made alternate controller. So full of win.

I still say the best controller was the original NES controller...

Excremento knows what I'm talking about.

I HAD that zapper helmet! How ridiculous was that thing?!

Also, Virtual On arcade cabinet controllers. Loved that game because of the controls. So incredibly satisfying.

I have to say this has to be the worst controller I've ever used: http://www.wagglepop.com/auction/images/imgupld/319233_1.jpg
Pressing the shoulder buttons is like moving a boulder, the turbo only works sometimes, and the extra face buttons just plain don't work at all.

It's clunky too

@ Nad Crusher

Is it me or does that pad kind of look like Mega Man's helmet? (If you painted it blue).

I've been meaning to ask this for awhile, but I kept missing my opportunity.

How do you guys feel about the "retrofication" of certain games? In Omega Five, there was a Retro Mode, that basically put the graphics through a filter to make things look really pixelated. In Call of Duty 4, the title screen for Arcade Mode was an homage to times past. Do you guys think this stuff is cool or not?

The box said that it was an extremely ergonomic design, but it definetly feels like your holding megamans helmet.

The Snes controller has always been the best for me, considering my first video game console was a snes it holds a special place in my heart, I was excited when i found out nintendo decided to use the snes as a basis for the classic controller.You guys will probably talk about the worst controllers too, so i have to say its a tie between the orginail xbox controller and the dreamcast controller. Also the super scope hurts my shoulders *tear*(Keep in mind i never played with some om the more obscure controllers)

Which controller had the best bounce when throwing it?

Topher, what would you do to the guy that made the 360 controller D-pad?

Another question:

Worst controller to play Daikatana?

Have fun with that one.

Here's my question:

When has bad controller design completely disconnected you from a game?

As much as I agree with you guys that the SNES controller is the high point of controller design I always used to have the L and R buttons break on me. The little hinge would just crack after a while. Or maybe I just wore that shit out because the games were so great.

Along those lines, do yo guys have any recommendations for quality SNES replacement controllers? I've got half a dozen and none of them are fully functional after all of these years.

What retro character do you guys think should have been in brawl?

After skimming through the comments, I haven't seen any reference to the keyboard and mouse. I know you could argue it's not technically a "controller," but it is the form of control for many a good game. I find it interesting that as console controllers have constantly changed, PC dev's have always had to work with one setup. Do you think this has hurt PC gaming, does it mean the keyboard and mouse are awesome, or have we just gotten so used to it we can't imagine it being different?

@ Samit

That looks like a..well..you know..a multi functional robot cock.

Whats with all the people hating on the dreamcast controller? It kind of fits in your hands naturally I think. The button layout wasn't bad and the d-pad was sharp and precise(literally, I've played MvC2 till my thumbs bled)

HMM! The xbawks hueg controller is undeniably the worst FIRST party controller I've seen.

How do you guys feel about companies like MadGrips(formerly known as MadCatz) who just slap a turbo button and some annoying grips and lower the price by $5? Have you ever had a positive experience with 3rd party controllers? From my experience they're typically always worse than first party, except in the case of a pelican black N64 controller I had that looked more like the current gen GC controller.

It had a STEEL joystick and a nice DPAD on the left side of the controller, whereas the A,B and C buttons were presented on the face in the style similar to a six buttoned genesis controller.

This controller was awesome, but every other third party controller I've had is pretty weak.

Not pictured: Powerglove, Master System Controller, and Atari Joystick, as they're in storage.

Between Guitar Hero and the Wii there's been sort of a mild control revolution going on. Would you guys like to see that sort of thing continue and expand, with developers making more wacky controllers/control schemes, or would you prefer to keep things more traditional?

Also, the Steel Battalion controller: amazing, or a waste of money?