i like the second one better.  my brother thinks that the Wii U pro controller is very similar to the XBOX.  He has the 360 and X1 consoles. 

I think it is mostly nostalgia. When the GameCube controller was new, most people hated it. The c-stick didn't have as good of a grip as the analog stick. The B button was too small. The front layout was seen as awkward. The Z button felt out of place. Finally, D-Pad was way too small which makes it bad for fighting games.

Still, it was seen as a big improvement over the N64 controller, although the N64 controller was more forgiven because 3D gaming was still a new thing. I would say it was the second best controller of that generation with the Dualshock 2 being the absolute best, the Dreamcast controller being not that good but far from the worst while the original Xbox Duke controller was a monstrosity that was clearly designed by people who had no idea how to design a video game controller. The S-controller was a huge improvement.

Personally I love the GC controller and it's my fav one to use because of how comfy it is in my hands! It feels like a glove, and the different shaped buttons def make it easy for me to tell the buttons apart. I would say it is close to perfection. Just make the D-pad better and you got the perfect controller xD And I originally thought the controller looked like a stupid kids toy before I used it...

Double quoting thing doesn't seem to want to work, so...

"The only thing keeping this from a perfect A is that the wii u is designed in a way that often precludes actually using the dang thing."

If the game actually uses a second screen, you obviously have to use the Gamepad. More annoyingly, if you want to do anything with the Settings or eShop, you also need to use the Gamepad. However, if you just want to turn the Wii U on and play a game with the pro controller, you don't need to touch the Gamepad--you just have to know to press X to switch the displays of the TV/Gamepad screen.

I think the only real criticism of the pro controller could be that the triggers aren't analog, but that doesn't bother me, since I hardly ever play shooters or racers that require that sort of precision.

I think the Wii-U Pro controller blows it out of the water.

One of the best controllers ever made
too bad the Gamecube itself wasnt any thing special imo.

It just fits so well in my hand the button placement is great.

Somebody said it looked like a robot vomited on a boomerang. But damn, the thing felt good. I still swear by my Wavebird. The only thing I could say about it was that it only had 3 shoulder buttons (the Z button was crap), the d-pad was teeny tiny, and it didn't have L3/R3. Aside from that, it just felt right.

Because it's the most ergonomic of all the controllers.

Loved it, especially since I am a south paw so the left analog stick was perfect for me. It perfectly fits in my hands. I also loved the N64 controller. That thing was comfortable as well.

Best controller...ever.