Today I learned about the Jogcon controller for PS1 & PS2:
This was a dualshock where the analog sticks are replaced by a dial with force feedback, so players could play Ridge Racer and really FEEL the road as if the dial was a steering wheel. I have no clue if it was good (probably not), but I do miss a good weird controller.
I guess this is “weird” in the sense of “unique”.
The Steel Battalion Mech controls. The size of a table, it was an appropriate recreation of the control panel for a mech, requiring you to go through all the steps from firing it up to ejecting in case of danger. You had pedals, sticks, knobs, switches galore.
I have one. It’s pretty sweet. Wish Capcom made more games that supported it. It is real awkward to use, though. You gotta strap it down so it doesn’t slide around your table. Also trying to steer a match with so much articulation is a challenge. You can aim independently of the mech, whose torso is also independent from the legs. It’s a lot of joystick to keep track of.
It’s got tons of buttons, but you don’t really use most during gameplay. Mostly the triggers, pedals, and a few buttons for some silly stuff , like fire extinguisher for when you take a hit and are on fire, or the windshield wiper.
Holy shit I just looked this up and this article says there are forty buttons! Also apparently if you didn’t eject in time, the game would erase your save file?!?
Both games were pretty damn brutal, but memorable, experiences. I wish someone would come up with something like it, because that was the closest I’ve felt to my childhood dream.
You don’t have to tell me to get in the robot, you have to stop me from hijacking it just for a joyride.
This is a Nyko Air Flow controller. I had one for the original Xbox. It was supposed to keep you from sweating during long sessions of gameplay, because it was ventilated and had a fan on the back. To be honest, I don’t remember it being excellent at keeping you cool. I think the fan was pretty lousy, but it was a great gimmick none the less.
I had a lot of weird controllers back then. Some good, some bad. Most of them Mad Catz.
Mad Catz and their controllers that seem like they were designed by two actual, mad, cats. They still make ridiculous stuff like their R.A.T. mouse with like a dozen different dials and sliders and removable parts for customization:
Of course, I think Mad Catz was absorbed by some other company at some point, so i’m not 100% on if it’s even the same people anymore. But the spirit is alive and well, it would seem.
LOL I had completely forgotten about this controller. One of my roommates in college had one of these and I usually wound up with it. I didn’t hate it, though, for a third party controller it was surprisingly decent. The fan was mid, but you could feel it, from what I remember.
I remember it being one of my favored chosen out of the plethora of random third party devices I had laying around. This was a step above Mad Catz for sure, but definitely still below the original controllers.
NYKO were a decent third party, back in the day. Not great, but a step above the competition. Downside, I don’t think they ever really changed their plans that much. I swear I saw PS3 controllers with the “air cool” marketing still on it, just now with RGB through the controller!
The steam controller was (and still is) fantastic. I once got a comfortable binding for the original System Shock, which already has a pretty untenable control scheme with a keyboard and mouse. Also its haptic feedback can play music.
Came here to say this. I use mine almost every day, specifically for titles that don’t have controller support.
While I do prefer a twin-stick like the DualSense for games with support, you cannot at all beat a Steam Controller for strategy gaming from the couch. I’m still on my first, but have two as backup (it was limit 2 when Valve offloaded them for $5 each).
I want to get used to the pads. I have a deck and never use them. Was there a game that helped you get used to the pads?
Try a strategy title with the pads, in particular something like Civ, where there is no time limit. Right pad works fantastic as a mouse replacement. Left pad is always kind of just there, though it can be useful as a radial menu if you use the configurator (albeit that makes more sense on Steam Controller since the pads are round).
100% a title that would struggle with full controller, for me it was cities skylines and rimworld. Also played a lot of warframe and spec ops:the line with mine, being able to have actions trigger at different points of the trigger pull was interesting, had a profile I grabbed for shooters that’d enable gyro aiming at the last bit of your trigger pull for fine adjustment and seriously, it works extremely well once you get used to it. The pads also supported osd rotary menus for hotkeys which was probably what the left pad got the most use out of, had the ability to set different behaviour too using mod buttons are by touching the rim of the pad. Also the haptic feedback on the pads was interesting, did a lot to make them feel more real, seriously had a really powerful piece of hardware with the og steam controller.
I mean, the Steam controller seems like an obvious answer
It’s not exactly weird, but I loved the giant “duke” controller for the og xbox. A lot of people hated it but I think it’s one of the most comfortable controllers ever made.
it must be hard to be a gamer with big hands. it ain’t me, but i feel for you. You know they made a special 20th anniversary re-release of the duke, right?
Someone else like me!
I’ve always had long fingers, and The Duke was perfect. I remember getting one of the revamped controller models down the line, and it just never felt quite as good.
Still prefer X-Box style controllers on the overall, these days. Still not quite up there yet, but still better than PlayStations style, and while I think the JoyCons are absolutely adorable and clever, actually using them is just uncomfortable after awhile.
