Retro games and emulation - Discuss retro shit in case you're stuck in the past or a hipster

[Tom Nook's Gloryhole]

Listen, I might understand why some people have a nostalgic feel for the SNES controller (because it's probably the closest thing to a modern Playstation controller in terms of how you hold it, but the MegaDrive controller was an absolute piece of shit.



No matter how you held it, it felt like it was digging into the palms of your hands. The horizontal nature of the buttons means your thumb stretches more than the modern 'cross' button layout so it doesn't feel as natural. Maybe it was because I was a kid and playing it now with adult hands would be a little easier but as a kid it fucking sucked.

Now I'll go into the SNES

The button layout and directional buttons as well as the L and R buttons were well ahead of its time but the key issue is the lack of handles which encourage a sort of claw grip in holding the controller.


Now look at this, almost functionally identical to the actual button layout but has handles which allows both the directional buttons and ABXY buttons to be hit in a more natural feeling movement. There is absolutely no reason to use a SNES controller or SNES reproduction in 2026 other than plain nostalgia.

 

[Never Scored]

Listen, I might understand why some people have a nostalgic feel for the SNES controller (because it's probably the closest thing to a modern Playstation controller in terms of how you hold it, but the MegaDrive controller was an absolute piece of shit.



No matter how you held it, it felt like it was digging into the palms of your hands. The horizontal nature of the buttons means your thumb stretches more than the modern 'cross' button layout so it doesn't feel as natural. Maybe it was because I was a kid and playing it now with adult hands would be a little easier but as a kid it fucking sucked.

Tell me you have tiny little girl hands without telling me you have tiny little girl hands.

 

[analrapist]

the MegaDrive controller was an absolute piece of shit.

Got the Genesis at launch. Was 5 at the time. Zero problem with three buttons. Was absolutely an upgrade from the hard-edged NES controller and slightly less edgy Master System controller.

I agree that contemporary controllers are more ergonomic, but the 16-bit Sega pad was the start of that trend. It was comfy as hell at the time, and it still holds up decently today.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

Got the Genesis at launch. Was 5 at the time. Zero problem with three buttons.

I only had the three button controller. Didn't know the six button one existed until way later when other consoles were coming out. Played Street Fighter 2 with the 3 button controller. Had to use the start button to switch between Punch and Kick but still managed to beat the game.

That D-Pad was good, but man did it blister the shit out of my thumb after long use and abuse. Although once the PS1 controller came out, I quickly fell in love with the D-Pad because it was much better on my thumb with fighters. Every D-pad since then, especially from Nintendo, has been shit. Part of it has to do with the fact they keep making the D-Pad smaller. Apparently they are catering to the ant demographic.

 

[Baraka Obama]

Listen, I might understand why some people have a nostalgic feel for the SNES controller (because it's probably the closest thing to a modern Playstation controller in terms of how you hold it, but the MegaDrive controller was an absolute piece of shit.

It's a bit big but I like the simplicity of 3 buttons. Personally I prefer the SJ-6000 which was the inspiration for the Saturn controller and more modern 6 button pads

 

[Hentai-Semitism]

I mentioned the 8bitdo M30 (Genesis controller replica with Bluetooth) earlier in this thread and my main problem is that the d-pad feels very loose. I already put some tape under it to make it a bit more accurate. My original Game Boy had a better d-pad, goddamn.

Are there any similar controllers with switches? Just four of them for directions, I'm not asking much.

 

[Stasi]

I mentioned the 8bitdo M30 (Genesis controller replica with Bluetooth) earlier in this thread and my main problem is that the d-pad feels very loose. I already put some tape under it to make it a bit more accurate. My original Game Boy had a better d-pad, goddamn.

Are there any similar controllers with switches? Just four of them for directions, I'm not asking much.

I believe the 8bitdo NeoGeo pad uses switches though it's not exactly a d-pad, it's a weird stick thing.

I have a couple of 8bitdo controllers and the d-pads are so underwhelming I end up using the analog stick for everything, even older games that are probably better with a (decent) d-pads.

 

[Tom Nook's Gloryhole]

Alright, I use MGBA for GBA emulation. I'm in the mood to play FireRed/LeafGreen again and wonder what the best emulator is for modifying save files or if it's just a case of porting the .sav file into another program.

I just want like 40 pokemon without having to fuck about with emulating two instances of the game and trading.

 

[Stalphos Johnson]

Alright, I use MGBA for GBA emulation. I'm in the mood to play FireRed/LeafGreen again and wonder what the best emulator is for modifying save files or if it's just a case of porting the .sav file into another program.

I just want like 40 pokemon without having to fuck about with emulating two instances of the game and trading.

Just use PKEHex, you can edit any Pokemon .sav file to add new Pokémon

 

[Tom Nook's Gloryhole]

Turns out it's really fucking with saving things so I just found another one, gave myself 500 rare candies and 500 pokeballs and that's basically the entire early slog beaten.

I completely forgot just how fucking SLOW the game is without running at 3x speed at the LEAST.

 

[Pissmaster]

This point gave me a thought. I had NES games when I was a kid, but it was already old by that point (early-mid 90s). I first emulated NES games when I was in my early teens. I wonder if the reason I never had this desire to play with an original controller is because I was still in my formative years when I started getting into emulation? I've probably played Mario 3 on a keyboard or other controller far, far more than an actual NES one.

I have had all of my consoles and games since I was a kid and I've just grown to prefer playing games in emulation, on my keyboard.

Keyboards are really nice these days. Even laptop keyboards have come a long way. The many situations where I have to hold a button all the time aren't nearly as much of a burden on a keyboard. Input lag isn't a problem anymore thanks to run ahead, and modern screens having very fast refresh rates. Emulation accuracy isn't a problem anymore, and emulators are feature-rich with save states and access to the RAM in real time. And then I can take my save and back it up and not have to worry about a battery failing because it's just a file. I can pop in Game Genie codes and fast-forward through slow parts. Fast forwarding is more important to me than save states because sitting through mandatory anime melodrama blows ass. I have every SNES game ever made on my hard drive and they're all mine and I can do whatever I want with them. I can redraw my protagonist as Frasier Crane and the final boss as Jeffrey Epstein if I want to.

 

[Hentai-Semitism]

I have had all of my consoles and games since I was a kid and I've just grown to prefer playing games in emulation, on my keyboard.

Keyboards are really nice these days. Even laptop keyboards have come a long way. The many situations where I have to hold a button all the time aren't nearly as much of a burden on a keyboard. Input lag isn't a problem anymore thanks to run ahead, and modern screens having very fast refresh rates.

My nigga. I'll play any arcade or console game on a keyboard rather than on a gamepad. I think that analog sticks were a huge mistake. They are inaccurate as all hell. Atrocious for FPS/TPS and pretty bad for anything else that requires quick responses and accuracy. I'd rather use my ancient Commodore 64 joystick that had SWITCHES back in 1992. It's baffling how the d-pad is now used mostly to quick select or use weapons and items rather than for movement.

By the way, if for some reason you're still using a rubber keayboard and you're prejudiced against mechanical ones, please reconsider. I used to love my cheap Logitech K210, but even the cheapest mechanical keyboard by the same manufacturer, the G512, is SIGNIFICANTLY better than that. Go spend that $100 and be done with it, you'll never look back.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

I completely forgot just how fucking SLOW the game is without running at 3x speed at the LEAST.

Pokemon Infinite Fusion has a speed setting thats assigned to one of the buttons on the keypad/controller and it's a godsend especially with grinding/capturing pokemon.

Reminds me of how I always tried to get the doduo/dodrio GB on the Stadium games because they play so much better sped up.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

Niche Gamer: 90s Czech arcade-adventure game Colony 28 gets modern re-release (archive)

The year is 2028. Earth is in ruins, and the remnants of humanity struggle to survive in the harsh environments of space colonies. After an alien invasion, humankind was transformed into a working android army dedicated to draining the planet’s resources. You wake up inside the chassis of a combat droid on Colony 28 (Earth), but your mind remains human. You are the final hope for the resistance against a tyrannical reign of machines and corporations.

 

[Calandrino]

Got the Genesis at launch. Was 5 at the time. Zero problem with three buttons

"I never had a problem with it" is not such a killer argument. A cross shape allows the thumb tip to rest on all four buttons at once, and easily press combinations of two buttons together. Genesis controller doesn't make that practical, no matter how big your hands are, no matter if you beat Contra HC when you were four on a stock controller.

I mentioned the 8bitdo M30 (Genesis controller replica with Bluetooth) earlier in this thread and my main problem is that the d-pad feels very loose. I already put some tape under it to make it a bit more accurate. My original Game Boy had a better d-pad, goddamn.

I never had a problem with it

Objectively I guess it's pretty sucky but not distractingly so imo

I think that analog sticks were a huge mistake.

They are a necessary evil in certain cases. otoh analog triggers shouldn't exist at all

 

[analrapist]

A cross shape allows the thumb tip to rest on all four buttons at once, and easily press combinations of two buttons together. Genesis controller doesn't make that practical, no matter how big your hands are,

And you insult my argument? Thumbs are long. I had no issues activating any combination of the three buttons on the Genesis. And if you want to invert your grip and use fingers instead, it's way easier to run three independent fingers on Genesis buttons than even three on today's standard four button layout.

 

[DavidS877]

Reject multiple buttons. Embrace simplicity.

 

[Baraka Obama]

"I never had a problem with it" is not such a killer argument. A cross shape allows the thumb tip to rest on all four buttons at once, and easily press combinations of two buttons together. Genesis controller doesn't make that practical, no matter how big your hands are, no matter if you beat Contra HC when you were four on a stock controller.

You're comparing it to a layout that came later. You should understand the Genesis/MegaDrive in position vs the NES and to a lesser extent the PC Engine. These were two button consoles. Instead of a select button it had a third face button, which made it easier to press and made a button that was underused into something useful. A typical game would use B/C for primary actions and save A for a special function.

I can also just appreciate the fact that it was different. Every new console for the past 15 years has come out with the same fucking controller, it's depressing.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

Reject multiple buttons. Embrace simplicity.
View attachment 8610091

Ironically, some of the most complex games for the 2600 required using the color and difficulty switches on the console itself to compensate for only having one button on the joystick. Star Raiders needed its own special controller.

 

[Never Scored]

"I never had a problem with it" is not such a killer argument. A cross shape allows the thumb tip to rest on all four buttons at once, and easily press combinations of two buttons together. Genesis controller doesn't make that practical, no matter how big your hands are, no matter if you beat Contra HC when you were four on a stock controller.

Counterpoint: 90% of games from that era across NES, Geneses and SNES use like two action buttons. A and X on the SNES controller were either unused or were used for shit like switching weapons in soooo many games. I think that's why Nintendo didn't bother to include four face buttons on GBA, a system notable for being filled with SNES ports.