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Video game systems have dozens of specifications that factor into how good they are at entertaining the user. One of the most important of these is the controller. The controller is especially important because it is what directly interfaces with the user. Everything including the shape, number of buttons and their layout, d-pad/analog stick/whatever, and sensitivity can have a large impact on how a game is played. After all, what good is a game that the player has needlessly diminished control over? In this editorial, I will be going back over the controllers I've used for various systems and analyzing their evolution and design.
The NES controller had a rectangular shape, two main buttons, and a pair of start and select buttons. The grip isn't very natural of comfortable and the play control isn't exactly solid in most cases, but it gets the job done decently enough. It didn't really have any major competition that I remember either.
The SNES controller took the NES design to the next level, vastly improving it. Not only is the grip more comfortable, there are far more buttons. Not counting start and select, there are three times as many buttons for added control. The Genesis had far fewer buttons and a different, yet still comfortable, grip. Nevertheless, I believe the SNES wins the best controller design for this generation.
Moving on, it was likely a surprise to many when the N64 abandoned its controller design to create a weird chimera with buttons all over the place and both a d-pad and an analog stick. Additionally, there were multiple ways to hold it and buttons in odd places such as underneath the controller. Newcomers would often scratch their heads trying to figure out the best way to hold it. The d-pad was rarely even used, so half of the controller and some buttons were useless most of the time. That said, it really wasn't a bad controller, just a bit odd.
Perhaps more surprising than the N64's design was the fact that the PS1 picked up and improved upon the SNES's. Additional L and R buttons were added and the grip was improved. Not a major change, but the design was pretty solid to begin with. The only thing it really lacked was an analog stick and maybe something similar to the rumble pack, but those were both added later in the generation and kept through the PS2 while other companies tried all kinds of things, some better than others.
The Saturn controller was much that of the Genesis except that it had an extra row of buttons on the right side and a pair shoulder buttons as well. The grip and feel were also slightly different from Genesis's, but I feel it was for the better. It was a good design, and I feel the only thing it really lacked was an analog stick. This was corrected in an optional controller designed for games such as Nights, but it was very large and bulky.
Luckily, the Dreamcast controller fixed this to a degree when it utilized a similar design, but it also gave up several buttons in the process. I personally feel like this was a step down, much like the N64 controller was, but that is probably due to its size and how good the Saturn controller was to begin with.
The GameCube lost an enormous amount of weight and a good deal of buttons since the N64 behemoth. Overall, I feel the design is much more efficient and superior to that of the N64, though it is not without its problems. The C-stick in particular simply isn't sensitive enough to be used as effectively as many games expect it to. I cannot recall a single game that I've played that relied on the C-stick and didn't suffer from control problems. Another interesting feature is the R/L button's ability to react differently depending on how much pressure is applied. While this is an interesting concept, the player really has to clamp them down in some games, and it just isn't as quick or efficient as another set of R/L buttons would be.
I'm afraid I haven't had much experience with the Xbox controller due to the lack of RPGs for the system. The only major points I remember were that the initial release was exceedingly large and rather bulky and that it had two analog sticks in addition to a d-pad. I don't recall playing a game that really took advantage of both analog sticks, but I can imagine a few uses for them.
By now you probably have a pretty good idea of what I like and don't like in a controller. To briefly recap, I feel the PS1/PS2 and the original Saturn controllers are the best that I have personally used. Despite creating designs that I like quite a bit, both Nintendo and Sega abandoned them in favor of large, bulky controllers. Luckily, the SNES design was picked up and improved upon by Sony. Finally, though the GameCube's design isn't the least bit bulky, there are some flaws in its design that hold it back to a degree.
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