What is a Good PC Engine Controller?

[schweaty]

I prefer the Hori Commander (the 2-button, not the Fighting Commander).  I think it has the best d-pad

Wasnt that also on the master system?

Yes.  Hori made the exact same controller with a slightly different color scheme for the SMS.  I'd love to get my hands on one of those as well

[esteban]

I wonder how many other obvious things I have missed...

I posted those pics even though I thought you may have been putting me on.

I kinda still do.

Bloufo, ha!

I totally tease folks and goof around, but sometimes I'm just a fool.

[Purple1308]

I prefer the Hori Commander (the 2-button, not the Fighting Commander).  I think it has the best d-pad

Wasnt that also on the master system?

Yes.  Hori made the exact same controller with a slightly different color scheme for the SMS.  I'd love to get my hands on one of those as well

Yeah that be a good controller for any master system play

[VmprHntrD]

There any particular reason when it comes to the six button controller why people tend to rip on the Avenue and suck up to the Hori one instead?  I mean I get the Hori one looks like a SNES controller, d-pad and all, but is that it or is there some comfort or defect issue with the other?

The price difference kind of sucks and I'd like to get one so I can handle those 3-6 button games better.

[turboswimbz]

There any particular reason when it comes to the six button controller why people tend to rip on the Avenue and suck up to the Hori one instead?  I mean I get the Hori one looks like a SNES controller, d-pad and all, but is that it or is there some comfort or defect issue with the other?

The price difference kind of sucks and I'd like to get one so I can handle those 3-6 button games better.

The biggest problem I've seen people have the Ave 6 vs the Hori for most people is generally comfort. As The 6 is squared off, while the Hori feels like Nintendon't.

I also have heard a few people say they prefer the D-pad on the hori. 

I am a big fan of the Ave 3 and 6 pads.  They are my go to if I'm playing a game the 2 buttons can't handle. I've never had any issues with any of the ave 3 or 6 controllers I've owned.  I would recommend them.

[VmprHntrD]

Alright that's fair.  I come from a Nintendo background and really enjoy the style/feel of the SNES controller.  That said though, I don't care if a PCE controller is squared off like an NES controller (though it is less pointy) or rounded off like the dogbone/snes style.

A bad D-pad that is wonky in response or gets painful in time is a deal breaker, same with buttons that can be a bit off in feel as it can ruin a game, not corners.

I guess I'll just try and source the Ave6 since it seems to cost like $10-20 less than the Hori.  I'm looking to snap up a copy of SF2 and I'd like to get an Everdrive too, so it would be needed.  I was thinking of that SSS3 but it's looking a bit messy now and that UperGrafx is tempting if it gets evaluated positively by some buyers as reviews don't seem to exist.

[turboswimbz]

Yeah I've never felt the D-pad held me back,

and played for hours without ever feeling uncomfortable. my mits are bit larger though.

[VmprHntrD]

Fair enough and good to know.  I don't have tiny hands, not sure they're large either.  I find the way I hold a classic NES controller the tips poke into where my finger first bends at the knuckle but I can ignore that so this should be alright.

Now to try and source one from the US or Japan and figure out a fair value I won't exceed.  Yamatoku has one closing for $25 ($14 shipping) though he also has Xevious I'd like at $12 and he does at some point combine shipping but refuses to say how much (alone is +14 which sucks.)

[Johnpv]

There any particular reason when it comes to the six button controller why people tend to rip on the Avenue and suck up to the Hori one instead?  I mean I get the Hori one looks like a SNES controller, d-pad and all, but is that it or is there some comfort or defect issue with the other?

The price difference kind of sucks and I'd like to get one so I can handle those 3-6 button games better.

I can only talk about the 3 button AV, but the 6 button and 3 button look to have the same d-pad.  Which for me is just too small.  I just found the D-pad on it to be a bit frustrating to use, while the d-pad on the Hori one is much bigger and felt better for me.

I guess for me, maybe I have big thumbs, so it wasn't like terrible, and I could make do with the AV3 D-pad, but since getting the hori one, I haven't looked back.

[schweaty]

I think most people's issues with the ave 6 d-pad are where it's positioned on the controller.  It's low  so you have to strain your thumb horizontally which causes fatigue over time.

[Purple1308]

With a soldering iron you can make any controller you want with a padhack. The Hori Fighting Commander is pretty nice, though. The PCE pads are pretty bad imo, especially for shooters.

That is very true but everyone doesnt have that skill and that seems too much of an overkill with a majority of games using the two-button style.

[soop]

I think most people's issues with the ave 6 d-pad are where it's positioned on the controller.  It's low  so you have to strain your thumb horizontally which causes fatigue over time.

Maybe.  I found that my hands hurt after about 20 mins of Streetfighter II, but I thought it was the stiffness of the pad.

Also, with regards to the soldering, there's a board you can get called the MC (Multi console) Cthulhu.  It can auto-detect what it's plugged into.  The idea is that you get an RJ45 pass-thru and crimp your own controller extensions to the machine of your choice, and then you have one great stick for everything.

I have a nice Xbox 360 Hori arcade stick which I'm planning to mod, but I am also a little aprehensive about ruining it.  Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.  And all I'd really wreck is the existing board.

[SignOfZeta]

I've had Street Fighter II' and a six button pad for ages and I never play it. Rather than spend/build I'd rather just play a better version on a system with a better controller selection.

Six button compatibility for PCE is massively overrated, especially by noobs who want the technical ability to play as much PCE soft as possible before they've really played hardly any of it. Nobody is sitting around going "Dang! If I only had a six button pad for my PCE!" That situation almost never comes up and when it does it's usually because people like the D-pad better. I'd rather spend money on the pachi controller or PCE mouse as I'm far more likely to use them. If I had a good stick I'd need two and then when people came over they'd just be like "WTF are we playing this version? It was relevant for literally 8 months. The Saturn has all five versions of SFII and it can play two samples at the same time. You're a fucking idiot." and I get enough disrespectful comments like that about my Laserdisc collection as it is.

[NecroPhile]

That's when you bust out Strip Fighter 2.

[Gredler]

and



are my favorites

[Flare65]

and


are my favorites

That white and red one is sexxxy af!  Did you custom build it?

[NecroPhile]

Santa Bartre made it for him.

[Gypsy]

Santa Bartre is a badass mf.

[Gredler]

That PCE stick is un-fricking-believable.

It's got a RJ-45 female port for it's connection to the system (ethernet jack). You can take cables for most other systems and convert the controller side to the RJ-45 to use this stick on various systems. Bartre hooked me up so fat, I am forever indebted. He included a PS1/2 cable, a PC/PS3 cable (have not tried it on my 360 yet), and of course a PCE cable. It works great on those systems, I've used it almost daily since getting it. I am currently playing Neutopia with it, such a different experience playing that game with a arcade stick really gives it a arcade action game feel. I crimped a SNES controller cable for it, and am hoping to crimp a Saturn and NES cable this weekend. The stick in both of those sticks is a Seimitsu LS-32 which I personally love the feel of.

Here are some more pics:




The Fightstick PC is great too, I loved it before getting Bartre's masterpiece. The edges are kind of sharp and get uncomfortable during long periods of play, and when I got it there was a lot of rust buildup on the bottom plate, and there was corrosion and rust on the actual shaft of the stick and microswitches, so I had to swap that out for it to work responsively and consistently. I put a LS-32 in it as well (all of my microswitch sticks have those now)

[Purple1308]

and



are my favorites

Those look amazing

[Purple1308]

and



are my favorites

What parts did you use for those arcade sticks

[ClodBusted]

Whar other punctuation keys aside from the question mark are you missing on your keyboard


SCNR

PS: Gredler, that white stick/board looks very nice.

[Gredler]

What parts did you use for those arcade sticks

The one with PC-Engine in red text on it was made by the forum member here named bartre, he'll have to respond for what he put in it. He gifted it to me, excessively generously.

The grey Hori Fighting Stick PC in the bottom picture only has the stick replaced and I used a Seimitsu LS-32-01 Joystick. https://www.focusattack.com/new-seimitsu-ls-32-01-joystick-2017-model/ But not the 2017 version I did that mod late 2015 early 2016.

On this stick I also used a Seimitsu LS-32-01 Joystick and Sanwa OBSF 30mm buttons (https://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-obsf-30mm-pushbuttons-light-blue/)



This is the same shell that bartre used to make the PC-Engine stick, which was the PS3 Madcatz Fight Stick which they released a few times under different branding:
Street Fighter IV version:


WWE Version (I got 2 of these for 70$ shipped at one point, and used one to make the above gradius stick)


They also released a Wii variation for Tatsunoko VS Capcom


I think Madcatz sold the shell molds to a company called mayflash? I plan on getting one of these and swapping the PCB with genesis controller so I have a niceish microswitch stick on FEKA. Their sticks look almost identical to the Madcatz fightstick shell:
amazon.com/dp/B0015PHMFU/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I169NSDUDN564A&colid=1R29VAFM828WT&psc=0


and I just recently got this wireless bluetooth rechargable li-battery powered stick for the Switch (works also with my android phone & tablets, laptop, and SNES Classic, and was on sale for under 50$), Love this thing so far but eventually want to add seimitsu stick and sanwa buttons:
amazon.com/8Bitdo-Arcade-Stick-Nintendo-Switch-Android/

[Purple1308]

What parts did you use for those arcade sticks

The one with PC-Engine in red text on it was made by the forum member here named bartre, he'll have to respond for what he put in it. He gifted it to me, excessively generously.

The grey Hori Fighting Stick PC in the bottom picture only has the stick replaced and I used a Seimitsu LS-32-01 Joystick. https://www.focusattack.com/new-seimitsu-ls-32-01-joystick-2017-model/ But not the 2017 version I did that mod late 2015 early 2016.

On this stick I also used a Seimitsu LS-32-01 Joystick and Sanwa OBSF 30mm buttons (https://www.focusattack.com/sanwa-obsf-30mm-pushbuttons-light-blue/)



This is the same shell that bartre used to make the PC-Engine stick, which was the PS3 Madcatz Fight Stick which they released a few times under different branding:
Street Fighter IV version:


WWE Version (I got 2 of these for 70$ shipped at one point, and used one to make the above gradius stick)


They also released a Wii variation for Tatsunoko VS Capcom


I think Madcatz sold the shell molds to a company called mayflash? I plan on getting one of these and swapping the PCB with genesis controller so I have a niceish microswitch stick on FEKA. Their sticks look almost identical to the Madcatz fightstick shell:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015PHMFU/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I169NSDUDN564A&colid=1R29VAFM828WT&psc=0


and I just recently got this wireless bluetooth rechargable li-battery powered stick for the Switch (works also with my android phone & tablets, laptop, and SNES Classic, and was on sale for under 50$), Love this thing so far but eventually want to add seimitsu stick and sanwa buttons:
https://www.amazon.com/8Bitdo-Arcade-Stick-Nintendo-Switch-Android/dp/B073ZNXFL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519278456&sr=8-1&keywords=8bitdo+n30

Thanks for the info ive been looking into arcade sticks

[Johnpv]

Man I really want to attempt to make something like Bartre made for you.  I have the Mayflash F300, and I dropped a Sanwa stick into it.  Really happy with that so far, and it works on PS3, PS4, 360, Xbox One, Switch and PC.  I need something though for my older consoles. I have a few SNES, and Genesis arcade sticks from that time period and I'm just not happy with any of them.   I also have a Pelican Real Arcade Universal that will work with PS1/2, OG Xbox and GC, but I still need a good Saturn, SNES, Genesis, and PCE solution.  I really need to do something like Bartre, hopefully he'll come by this thread and post about what he did.

[Gredler]

Man I really want to attempt to make something like Bartre made for you.  I have the Mayflash F300, and I dropped a Sanwa stick into it.  Really happy with that so far, and it works on PS3, PS4, 360, Xbox One, Switch and PC.  I need something though for my older consoles. I have a few SNES, and Genesis arcade sticks from that time period and I'm just not happy with any of them.   I also have a Pelican Real Arcade Universal that will work with PS1/2, OG Xbox and GC, but I still need a good Saturn, SNES, Genesis, and PCE solution.  I really need to do something like Bartre, hopefully he'll come by this thread and post about what he did. 

He gutted the original ps4/ps3/pc PCB and put a MC Cthulu RJ-45 board in with a new port in the back. The RJ-45 cord can be crimped to make cables for various systems.

https://paradisearcadeshop.com/fgc-console-joystick/1828-toodles-mc-cthulhu.html

I definitely think MC Cthulhu is a great option, but it's not the only option.

Another diy stick board is the brook universal fighting board, but that's for newer systems afaik https://www.focusattack.com/brook-universal-fighting-board/

Another option is the get a decent ps1/2 stick and get tototek adapters, so you can use a nice ps1/2 stick on the PCE that way.

[GaijinD]

I also have a Pelican Real Arcade Universal that will work with PS1/2, OG Xbox and GC, but I still need a good Saturn, SNES, Genesis, and PCE solution.

I have one of those Pelican sticks as well, but stopped using it as I heard the PCB design had a tendency to burn out controller ports. One of these days I'd like to have the board swapped out, so I can go back to using it without worrying that I'll damage one of my consoles.

[Johnpv]

I also have a Pelican Real Arcade Universal that will work with PS1/2, OG Xbox and GC, but I still need a good Saturn, SNES, Genesis, and PCE solution.

I have one of those Pelican sticks as well, but stopped using it as I heard the PCB design had a tendency to burn out controller ports. One of these days I'd like to have the board swapped out, so I can go back to using it without worrying that I'll damage one of my consoles.

Yeah I recently read online about that.  I may have missed some posts or comments but it seemed like it first started popping up from some people who were swapping controllers while the system was on.  Now I'm old school here and I was always told that was a big no no, and a rock solid way of either fucking up your system or your controller.   

I hate to do the I've used it for years with no problems kind of post, but yeah I used it a lot back in the day and had no issues with it.  Again though I NEVER hot swap controllers that have to be plugged in on any of my system.  I don't know if that's it and if there are posts from people saying they didn't do that and it still fried their port then I totally missed them and that's on me.  Food for thought though.

[GaijinD]

I hate to do the I've used it for years with no problems kind of post, but yeah I used it a lot back in the day and had no issues with it.  Again though I NEVER hot swap controllers that have to be plugged in on any of my system.  I don't know if that's it and if there are posts from people saying they didn't do that and it still fried their port then I totally missed them and that's on me.  Food for thought though.

Well, I don't have any way to know for sure if the stick was the cause, but I did start having issues with one of the ports on my Xbox, which was the system I used it on most. I also generally don't plug or unplug controllers while the system is on, either. I liked the stick, but I decided to play it safe. That, and Wii games that support GameCube controllers completely fail to detect it, so my hope would be that a new PCB would fix that. I'd love to use it for some Tatsunoko vs Capcom.

[Purple1308]

Does the avenue 6 have a programmable button like the avenue 3

[NecroPhile]

Nope, just a mode a/b button to switch between 2 and 6 button modes.

[Purple1308]

Nope, just a mode a/b button to switch between 2 and 6 button modes.

Thats kind of a waste isnt it

[ClodBusted]

One thing is for sure, you neither waste question marks nor other punctuations, do you?

[Purple1308]

One thing is for sure, you neither waste question marks nor other punctuations, do you?

Yeah i kinda do most of this stuff at school.

[Purple1308]

One thing is for sure, you neither waste question marks nor other punctuations, do you?

Yeah i kinda do most of this stuff at school.

Or right after I wake up so I forget about it to easily.

[ClodBusted]

Thanks. There's also the EDIT button if you wish to avoid accidental double posts. Disabling the Tapatalk generated signature in your tapatalk settings and sometimes writing more than just one short sentence per post is also appreciated.

These unwritten rules are not gamebreaking, but if you wish to show you're caring for forum discussion culture, following them will gain you appreciation by other members and sweet, sweet (imaginary) bonus points.

[Purple1308]

Thanks. There's also the EDIT button if you wish to avoid accidental double posts. Disabling the Tapatalk generated signature in your tapatalk settings and sometimes writing more than just one short sentence per post is also appreciated.

These unwritten rules are not gamebreaking, but if you wish to show you're caring for forum discussion culture, following them will gain you appreciation by other members and sweet, sweet (imaginary) bonus points.

Thank you I have been trying to figure all of this out since ive joined this fourm. Since it works well off and on so its a pain.

[Purple1308]

Ive updated the topic for the discussion about pc engine / turbografx 16 controllers or converters.

[Johnpv]

Well, I don't have any way to know for sure if the stick was the cause, but I did start having issues with one of the ports on my Xbox, which was the system I used it on most. I also generally don't plug or unplug controllers while the system is on, either. I liked the stick, but I decided to play it safe. That, and Wii games that support GameCube controllers completely fail to detect it, so my hope would be that a new PCB would fix that. I'd love to use it for some Tatsunoko vs Capcom.

Well this gives me enough pause to not use it any more.  I'm slowly collecting the things needed to build my own multi-system arcade stick.  I bought one of those MC Cthulhu boards, and going to do a similar thing to the arcade stick in this thread.  So I'll just end up using that for PS1/1 and GC stuff.

[Purple1308]

So was there any wireless controllers that used radio frequencies or is it all mainly IR I know the official NEC one is IR.

[PukeSter]

One thing is for sure, you neither waste question marks nor other punctuations, do you?

Yeah i kinda do most of this stuff at school.

How old are you dude? I'm 19, sophomore in college. I post on my phone occasionally

[Purple1308]

One thing is for sure, you neither waste question marks nor other punctuations, do you?

Yeah i kinda do most of this stuff at school.

How old are you dude? I'm 19, sophomore in college. I post on my phone occasionally

Still in highschool but got into many things from doing emulation then into getting the hardware.

[PukeSter]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

[Purple1308]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

[Purple1308]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

Well I haven't gotten to far in turbo but I recently just got a pc engine duo from keith Courage so that list will change. Since I'm able to purchase pc engine games instead of turbografx 16 games which are insane now to buy.

[CrackTiger]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

If you haven't already, you should try Dragon's Curse.

[Purple1308]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

If you haven't already, you should try Dragon's Curse.

I'm trying to find dragons curse for my turbografx

[PukeSter]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

Well I haven't gotten to far in turbo but I recently just got a pc engine duo from keith Courage so that list will change. Since I'm able to purchase pc engine games instead of turbografx 16 games which are insane now to buy.

Not a bad list of games, though we got some differences. I like all the 16-bit Castlevanias more than the Castlevania 3 ;) (except Dracula X snes, ew).

Here's my top 10, no order

Mario 64
Portal
Bloodborne
Garou Mark of the Wolves
Majora's Mask
Wario Land 4
Bonk's Revenge
Sonic CD
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3
Postal 2

You planning on buying games? Rondo of Blood is $200 at this point. Hope ya got some good cash, but it helps to save up for college. You'll need it for gas money/uber rides, food, hygeine stuff, maybe even alcohol if you chip in with someone.

[Purple1308]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

Well I haven't gotten to far in turbo but I recently just got a pc engine duo from keith Courage so that list will change. Since I'm able to purchase pc engine games instead of turbografx 16 games which are insane now to buy.

Not a bad list of games, though we got some differences. I like all the 16-bit Castlevanias more than the Castlevania 3 ;) (except Dracula X snes, ew).

Here's my top 10, no order

Mario 64
Portal
Bloodborne
Garou Mark of the Wolves
Majora's Mask
Wario Land 4
Bonk's Revenge
Sonic CD
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3
Postal 2

You planning on buying games? Rondo of Blood is $200 at this point. Hope ya got some good cash, but it helps to save up for college. You'll need it for gas money/uber rides, food, hygeine stuff, maybe even alcohol if you chip in with someone.

Ha I'll probably have to get Rondo as a repro or get lucky and find a deal but I doubt that will happen.

[Purple1308]

Damn dude nice. Good to see more Gen Z people play the Turbo.

I joined PCEFX when I was 13. Have grown quite a lot since then. Used to have a Duo-R but now I just have a Coregrafx 2, mostly emulate as well.

What are your favorite games? Maybe we got some in common.

Most of my personal favorites are
Zelda link to the past
Metroid zero mission
Castlvania 3
Alien crush
Legendary axe

If you haven't already, you should try Dragon's Curse.

Hey is dragons curse and dynastic hero text heavy I'm looking into the pc engine version