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Forums - Nintendo - What's Nintendo's best controller to date, and why?

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Which is the best?

NES pad 0 0%
 
SNES pad 2 3.39%
 
N64 controller 4 6.78%
 
Gamecube controller 8 13.56%
 
Wii remote 7 11.86%
 
Wii U Gamepad 7 11.86%
 
Switch Pro Controller 6 10.17%
 
Switch 2 Pro controller 21 35.59%
 
Other 4 6.78%
 
Total:59
Veknoid_Outcast on 23 January 2026
curl-6 said:

Surprised to see so many votes for the Wii U Gamepad, to the point where it is beating the Switch 1 Pro controller.

I did feel it was underrated myself, but it got so much flak I didn't realize a lot of folks really liked it.

That surprises me too. I mean, I love the kind of asymmetrical experiences the GamePad provides, but the trigger layout always bugged me. I still struggle with the distance between the ZL/ZR and L/R buttons. I can really only make it work if I rest my index fingers on L/R while my middle fingers rest on ZL/ZR, which is very foreign to me.



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bonzobanana on 23 January 2026

I feel like the best Nintendo controller isn't listed as an option. I had to choose 'other' and that is the wii classic controller which I believe was the last Nintendo controller to have analogue triggers. It was a great controller mainly I feel because its most similar to the controllers of Xbox and Playstation. The wii classic controller pro removed the analogue triggers and went to simple digital triggers which are much inferior and spoil many games. Generally I feel Nintendo controllers are inferior to Sony and Microsoft controllers. My favourite controller is the original Xbox Duke because I have big hands. I tend to use third party controllers with Switch. I'm not keen on joy cons. I use a controller enclosure with Switch for portable use and third party controllers in docked mode.



curl-6 on 23 January 2026
TheRealSamusAran said:
curl-6 said:

Recency bias is a thing, but on the other hand so is nostalgia; it tends to even out in the end.

But most importantly, technology advances. It's like asking which console is better, the NES or the Switch 2, but without even taking game libraries into account, because controllers don't have game libraries.

So my answer to what is the best to date is the Switch 2 Pro. But I want to give the recognition that the SNES controller deserves for being the most important and impactful video game controller in history, for creating the blueprint that Sony and everybody else copied, becoming the standard controller model.

And I want to shout-out the Wii Remote and Wii U Gamepad too for being revolutionary (Wii) and for bringing a unique experience (Wii U) to TV gaming. Now excuse me as I jump to my Splatoon teammate across the map by simply tapping their icon on the Gamepad screen.

Yeah controllers generally get better over time, and in Nintendo's case I would say they mostly have; the Switch 1/2 Pro controllers are both among their very best.

That being said, I do still love the SNES pad, and while you obviously wouldn't want to try to play a modern 3D game with one, it works perfectly for the kind of games the system had. 



Wman1996 on 27 January 2026
bonzobanana said:

I feel like the best Nintendo controller isn't listed as an option. I had to choose 'other' and that is the wii classic controller which I believe was the last Nintendo controller to have analogue triggers. It was a great controller mainly I feel because its most similar to the controllers of Xbox and Playstation. The wii classic controller pro removed the analogue triggers and went to simple digital triggers which are much inferior and spoil many games. Generally I feel Nintendo controllers are inferior to Sony and Microsoft controllers. My favourite controller is the original Xbox Duke because I have big hands. I tend to use third party controllers with Switch. I'm not keen on joy cons. I use a controller enclosure with Switch for portable use and third party controllers in docked mode.

I can't believe they improved the Classic Controller in every other way with the Pro version but screwed it up by removing analog triggers. 



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Jumpin on 27 January 2026
curl-6 said:

I actually like the Joycons conceptually, and I did really enjoy playing games like Splatoon 2/3 and No More Heroes 3 with them, but the drift issue was a real drag and did mean I didn't include them in the poll as I didn't expect they'd get many votes.

I just assumed the “Switch 2 pro controller” option included the Joy cons. Otherwise I wouldn’t have voted for it as I’ve never used that controller 



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