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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - The N64 Controller's Tri-Handle Layout Revisited From a Modern Perspective

Jumpin on 13 September 2018
thismeintiel said:

Nah, it was one of the worst controller designs ever. Not in comfort, as it was definitely comfortable to hold. But, for actual gaming, it was pathetic. Games had to limit what you could do, because you couldn't reach all of the buttons without switching grip, which is the first sign something has gone wrong. I mean not being able to strafe with L and R, while using the analog and Z buttons, and having quick access to the Dpad to switch weapons, was poor design.

The Z trigger was for analog games, the L trigger was for d-pad games. It's not particularly difficult to understand.



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Ganoncrotch on 13 September 2018
thismeintiel said:
Slownenberg said:
Loved the N64 controller. That z-trigger was perfect considering N64 brought shooters into the console market and they were a major genre for the system. And the N64 controller brought a lot of modern innovation that we take for granted now - the idea of trigger buttons which has morphed from the z-trigger to just triggers directly behind the shoulder buttons, also brought rumble feedback, and of course the analog stick. I don't think N64 controller would do well now though. Two analog sticks beats one, and being able to use d-pad or analog stick without having to switch between prongs is better, although usually either the d-pad or the analog stick needs to be position awkwardly to make this happen.

I think you may be thinking of the Sega 3D Pad and the DS.  Cause there is not a single thing from the N64 controller that we use today.  And that includes the tech used in their analog stick, which was prone to failure and was less accurate than the analog stick tech used in the aforementioned controllers.

Rumble.

Also your above post about not being able to press all the buttons without moving your hands.... Never play a game on the PC then, Mouse/Keyboard will make your head explode, imagine, a controller with 101 as well as a separate piece of equipment for aiming with even more buttons on it!!! What were Microsoft thinking when they made that PC controller?!



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kopstudent89 on 13 September 2018

Goldeneye with the Z-Trigger was awesome. I would say the controller got some weird hate as at the time I just loved everything about it. It'll always be one of my favourites, and apart from the Wii U, every Nintendo home console had unique/standout controllers. I don't think it would stand up the test of time though as dual analog is a must nowadays but for its time it was imo ahead of the game.