Funny, Interesting, and Bad Controllers - Game Sack 

Do you have a favorite controller? Or a least favorite? Or one that you just think is crazy?

A friend of mine lost his arm in Iraq and he uses that ascii one handed SNES controller a ton. I got him an SNES to GameCube adapter so he can use it on GameCube Wii and switch, and I got him a SNES to USB and he uses it on PC and his raspberry pi for emulation. He also uses the ps1 version on PlayStation 1 and 2 and 3 with an adapter.

Joe, I only started watching your channel about 2 years ago but it has to be one of the "fun-est" channels i watch. Thank you for keeping making awesome content during these crazy times, you're the best!

4:47 It's AVGNs Beat-a-Game button

IIRC, that middle setting on the Barracudas was to emulate the PS1 flight stick controller. The flight stick apparently sent a different analog signal to the system than the later analog pad and dual shock, so the dual shock couldn't give you analog control on the earlier flight sims made for the flight stick, but the Barracudas could.

Hey, that first Quickshot is the "Beat-a--Game Button"! The second dome Quickshot is awesome! I always give it to friends to use when playing 2 player games.

I had one for PS3 called HKS Hipermax III. It's a racing controller that's shaped like a regular controller. The directional pad is replaced with a left and right wheel and the brake and accelerate buttons look like actual foot pedals and the centre of the controller has a speedometer. It worked well on NFS Undercover

The one handed controllers make me think of a friend I had growing up. He had one usable arm from an accident. He used to play games with regular controllers in the most uncomfortable looking way. Even so, he would stomp us from time to time in games. He would’ve really appreciated these one handed controllers.

Being a left-hander myself I really struggled using the Sega Master System joystick, but I'm really tempted to try it out again and switch hands

I actually had that Joyball. It wasn't a joy, and it wasn't a ball. True story: my brother got so frustrated with it that he said, "I could use my BUTT with this stupid controller and do better!" He sat on the controller and yes, he got farther in Super Mario Bros. than he did using his hands.

Position 2 is Flight Controller Mode. The original analog pad had wonderfully long grips and a green/red mode, one of which would mimic the big boy PSX "Thrustmaster" device. ✈️

Jeeze, when youtube says 'uploaded 35 seconds ago' you know you're early :O.

I remember seeing in a second-hand store this third-party N64 controller that had a layout similar to a Gamecube controller, with the analog stick and d-pad being on one side and the other buttons on the other. Unfortunately, I don't know how useful it was since I never actually used it, but it was a neat enough concept since I hate the original N64 controller with its awkward design and uncomfortable joystick that wears out in no time. EDIT: the one I saw was the Superpad Plus 64, but while searching for what I was talking about online, I found that there are other controllers with the same concept of simplifying the original N64 mess.

A friend of mine had a variant of that Ultra Racer 64 for the PC. We used to play one of the Need for Speed games in his PC. My biggest problem was oversteer. In my small collection from my early gaming days is a joystick I literally can't use anymore (unless there is some sort of adapter made). It's a Gravis Phoenix. Loved the heck out of that thing.

I had a Performance Astropad for Dreamcast, and a Stryker pad for Genesis and really liked them. The Astropad's size was what I really liked about it. It felt much more ergonomic than the standard Dreamcast controller, and still works great to this day. The Stryker I really liked too because there was a removable peg that went into the D-pad to make it like a small joystick. That really helped with the stiffness and was my go-to for Star Control. The contour of the buttons, and the finger recesses on the back made it very comfortable also. It really was a nice controller right up untill the buttons stopped working a year after we got it.

Joe!!! The turbo touch was designed for quarter circle hadoken moves! Also that quickshot track ball is amazing for playing marble madness. Great video :) the beeshu zipper is my favorite 3rd party controller of all time.

The one handed controllers must be accessibility related.

excellent video joe. there are a lot more bad controllers than good. i remember those colorful controller ads in the 1980s.

I find it amazing the number of things you show in every video, for so long. Half of the half and it would be still so very nice. You're awesome.

3:20 wow I haven't seen that controller in 20 years!! it used to be in gaming magazines all the time!

My first gaming console was a knockoff Chinese NES. It was called the Dendy Computer. It's controller looked exactly like the Namco controller shown in the video.

Ok, that Epyx controller is the only way I'd ever play a C64 game. For one-button systems, it's amazing.

Haha Joe playing track and field with the fishing pole made my night

Thank you for showing the Zoomer. I almost bought one just to play Rad Racer with a steering wheel. You saved me.

You, looking for a controller alternative: Huh, wonder how this-- Quickshot Joyball: *_CLACKITY-CLACKITY-CLACKITY-CLACKITY-CLACKITY_*

I feel like the giant Quickshot controller might be useful for people with disabilities or arthritis. Thanks Joe! I appreciate you!

The quickshot joyball is so terrible, and glorious. I love it.

6:51 that's some ASMR gold right there. GOLD!

I had that and the ASCII one handed PS1 controller. When I sold the one handed controller on Ebay a nice mom told me it was for her son who could only had the use of one hand. PS1 "Alps" controller looks crazy but I think it's actually pretty great when you try it.

I thought it was a bad photoshop when your hand came into frame with that joyball controller. Wow, that is unexpectedly huge!

SmokeMonster, Jenovi, MLiG, now GameSack all talking controllers as of late. Pretty awesome.

24:11 - _"The first boss fight, which is normally quite easy, almost feels as it's as tough as a final boss fight in another Castlevania game"_ Very appropriate, considering that _is_ the final boss fight in another Castlevania game.

15:45 - OMG I have one of these in a drawer... stiffest buttons on any controller ever... this'll give you forearms that would make Mark McGwire jealous.

Always glad to hear Blasting Again get some love!

You definitely started this video out with a real doosie!

A new Striker controller had better responsiveness than the original Genesis pads. The problem is they are all about 30 years old and are disintegrating. I had one and it was a great advantage in Strider, Ghouls'N'Ghosts, and ESWAT.

Joe, you should do an episode where you show the default/standard controllers, and then show third-party ones that are better.

As cool as it was for you to cover the controllers, that Blaster Master game on PS1 does look really good. I'll have to check it out, lol.

Was really hoping to see the Camerica Supersonic arcade stick for the NES. It was a neat wireless, ambidextrous, turbo arcade stick. Still have mine from my childhood. The joystick was clicky, I think that means it had microswitches. Nobody seems to ever mention it.

When I was young, I bought the SN ProgramPad by InterAct on Super NES to play Super Street Fighter II and Killer instinct. I really like using this controller.

The 2nd (center) mode of the Barracuda game pad is the "Dual Joystick" or "Twin Flight Stick" mode, and it's actually better than the Sony Dual Analog Controller which is activated when its green light is on. The Sony controller analog sticks have some serious drift in this mode, but Interact's game pad is steady and smooth. Kinda unbelievable actually. Twin stick mode is awesome for games like Descent 1 & 2, and Mech Warrior 2.

Fun vid, looking at all these different controllers. What's the name of the music at 3:20? Where you introduce the Turbo Touch 360 I checked the credits and searched but couldn't find it. Thanks!

Thanks for this episode, Joe. It was amazing.

Man, the size of the Quickshot Joyball really threw me for a loop.

Great episode, really took me back in time. Another weird controller I remember is the Nyko Air Flo on the original xbox, it was awesome, kinda.

Hard to have fun playing a SF game if you're playing as Ryu. :P

The Mad Catz Dreamcast controller is so much more comfortable than the original for me. I am also a big fan of the Ascii controllers for Genesis.

Is that Quickshot Orb thing basically a trackball? How does it work for ports of trackball arcade games (i.e. Centpede)? Wasn't there a mouse game for the disk system? Maybe it'd work with that.

I had the Barracuda 2 and used to swap analogues for FPS games like Alien Resurrection etc. And DAMN did it vibrate!

That 3rd party JogCon ripoff seems interesting. From the video it looks like its not as sensitive as the real one. I have one of those, and while it took a while to get used to, I didn't have as much issue getting 1st place or just driving around the stages.

Beshu!! That's the name I've been trying to remember for years!! I had a Genesis controller from them... very odd design, had bright neon colored buttons, yellow dpad with a little joystick that goes in the middle (like the SMS pads), and two deep finger grooves underneath where L and R buttons would've gone. I hated it. ^_^

Great video! I had quite a number of 3rd party controllers for my Megadrive and no matter how good they were, there was always something wrong with it. Ether the cable was to short, the d-pad was tilted a quarter diagonaly or the left site of the d-pad kept sticking in the plastic. Not once i found a controller as good as Sega's own, be it 3 button or 6 button.

Im not sure how to put this nicely so I'm just gonna say it, before when there was two of you i used to think you was the annoying one but now it's just you I enjoy it more than ever.

I had this third-party 360 controller that had programmable flick wheels. This would not be an issue were it not for the fact that the button to press to program the wheels is exactly where all my fingers converge and will HALT all controller functions so you can program it.

I kinda like the controller with the speaker great idea honestly just need to be implemented right. Use like, Bose surround speakers. So you could hear the direction enemies coming from

I used to have the Quickshot. I played Air Fortress with it. I don't remember if I used it for other games much though.

Play Contra with the Roll & Rocker, also Diddy Kong Racing with the N64 "Power Glove".

Holy cow. I had forgotten about some of these controllers. I had the zoomer and I have no memory of what games I used it with

I had the Turbo Touch 360 for SNES and it was great for fighting games

One range of controllers that's absolutely great is Microsoft's Sidewinders. They made a bunch of odd things in the late 90s, early 00s. Sadly they need the software to get a few of the features working, and it doesn't work on new systems, but they can still be used basically. Mostly like.. shift buttons and profiles that don't work. Something like the Sidewinder Dual Strike or Freestyle would be fun to see ya review. I've had some fun messing about with 'em~ :)

Sounds like those last two Dreamcast controllers were ALMOST great, but were one step forward and one step back.

I have that 2nd SuperPad for genesis you mentioned. It's not bad at all. As 3rd party controllers go, you could close your eyes and kind of pretend it's official.

I cant believe there are 286 episodes and the show is only getting better

Awesome episode! It would be great to see some more freaking strange controllers once in a while.

11:57 I've never seen a Goomba get rocketed backwards when a Bob-omb explodes, that was hilarious

MS Sidewinder Elbow joint controller... had issues and was harder than using a mouse and keyboard for FPS games but it aiming felt a bit more authentic. A gun and separate one-handed joypad would be good. Did anyone bring out such a combo.

Don’t forget not everyone has two hands. Some of these would be great for people with different disabilities

...and I had both of the last two DC controllers, and I hated them both. The analog stick on the Mad Catz one had a rubber coating that wrapped underneath and would catch and stick on the casing of the controller. I was so mad I didn't just spend the money on one 1st party controller instead.

Oh shit, that end skit was hilarious. The sheer level of exertion!

You said it correctly calling Namco's Ne-G-Con as "neji-kon" as "Neji" or "Nejiru" in Japanese means to twist.

warms my heart to see Blaster Master PSX on a vid. some of these look like they'd be good with a few changes..

Here in the UK was a PS1 controller the shape of the Wu Tang Clan logo. I think it was bundled with one of the games featuring them. Worse one I ever owned and thats saying something Mad Catz was massive in the UK.

I'd bet serious money half of these started life as accessibility options

Game sack: Epyx 500xj is not a great way to play video games Me: Cries in commodore

I loved the UltraRacer on the PC in the 90s. 😊

That Ridge Racer controller looks nice.

We had the Dreamcast controller that's a behemoth. It was a PoS that stopped working well pretty quickly after getting it. You can trash that one Game Sack.

The one-handed RPG controller was so that you could draw a map with your other hand.

I had the Turbo Touch 360 for the Super Nes and let me tell you it is not ideal for any type of fighting game or any game in general. I remember seeing the commercial playing all the time on Nickelodeon back in 1992. You can't even pull off doing a hadoken in Street Fighter 2 as easily as you could with a controller with a traditional D-Pad.

honestly these one handed controllers could just be really great for people... with just one hand you know?

Can you make an entire video about all the crazy controllers HORI has made over the years?

It seems to me that the Quickshot Joyball was meant for people with disabilities. That thing could be used even without fingers, just with your palms or even elbows ! If you think about it , it makes perfect sense 😉

Review attachments you can put on controllers. Swear I had a joystick you could attach to the PlayStation controller

You got hooked on ridge racer type 4 music thanks.:)

Hey Joe There is Sega Saturn controller for PS2 released in Japan. Also Retrobit is releasing new Dreamcast controller with better Dpad and six buttons. Check it out!

I have a Madkatz GC controller. the stick has too much of a deadzone and the shoulder triggers are spongey.

Those "Afterglow" controllers were pretty good. Anybody remember those?

27:38 - Spin faster! Spin faster!!

I stopped wearing my retainer a few years ago... I am going to start again.

3:50 wonder how it compares to a steam controller with the trackpad set to a dpad with the requires click set to off.

You should do GameCube, PS2 and Xbox next time. Hori made 2 controllers for the GC. One made specifically to play games using a Gameboy Player and one Called the Hori Pad Cube used for GC games and for people with bigger hands.

i was hoping to see the Quickshot Chimera. it looks awkward as hell but i own one and it's actually pretty nice

The first giant controller looks like it would be good for space harrier

I had that same blue MadCatz Dreamcast controller. I thought it was pretty cool.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Striker DC for the Dreamcast.

You should try the PlayStation Mouse. It works well for strategy games and Discworld.

I used to have the finger blaster 3000. The more you blast the wetter it got. Good feedback too. It groaned.........waaat

6:54 that is some good asmr.

I'd love to see you review the Wu-Tang Shaolin Style Limited Edition PlayStation 1 Controller :D I've heard it digs into your hands worse than the original NES controller! Would love to own the Wu-Tang Controller one day.

8:41 " YOU GOT A NEW CAR!!!"