Retrogaming is best enjoyed using your favourite controller.
Whether that be a Joystick, Joypad or even a Gaming Mouse.
Over the years I have found that I can only play some games properly with one particular type of controller and if it isn't that controller I turn into a cack-handed jibbering idiot!
Read on to find out more about my favourite controllers and the games that they make me great at!
You may be good at the game but without the right controller, psychologically you can't quite perform as well as you normally would.
It's similar to a golfer who changes his putter and then finds he can't putt for Toffee!
Let's have a look at a few of my fave games from over the years that required the use of a particular type of controller to ensure that I was any good at the game!
Kick Off 2 (AMIGA) / Super Pro - "Zip Stick"
Kick Off 2 was like no other football game before it (except maybe Kick Off!!!) and it's non stick to the foot gameplay demanded precision on the playing field.
The standard one button "Atari type" joystsicks just didn't cut the mustard.
The "Python type" joysticks were too loose to give you precision control.
So the only thing that made me a super centre specialist was the Super Pro Zip Stick.
The key to this joystick was the sticky feet on the bottom. Plant it onto the surface of your choice and you became unbeatable!
It made light work of the chip shot / long ball / shot from the halfway line that was possible in the Kick Off series.
This joystick was a pleasure to play with and a must for Kick Off 2!
Sensible Soccer (AMIGA) / SEGA Arcade Power Stick
Sensi Soccer was a religion when I was growing up. People had their own rituals before during and after games.
Every match was fiercely contested and everyone wanted to be the best at Sensi. It was fine lines between being good and great.
At the time I only needed one weapon of choice to beat anybody on Sensi Soccer and that was the SEGA Arcade Stick!
Back in those days, joysticks from SEGA were compatible with the likes of the Amiga and other 16 Bit systems.
The fusion of the heavy based Arcade Joystick and the AMIGA version of Sensi was a match made in heaven.
The weight of the base of the joystick meant that it gave a solid control method even when placed upon the lap.
With precision being the name of the game, the SEGA Arcade Stick excelled at giving you the control you needed.
Me and my mate Mearas nicknamed this behemoth of a joystick "The IRON" due to it's weight and size along with the underside having the resemblance of a clothese iron!
We would regularly contest the need to have "The IRON" when we played each other and n the end swapped joysticks at half time in order that no one was unfairly advantaged / disadvantaged during a 2 player game.
IRON I salute YOU!
Street Fighter 2 (SNES) / Original SNES Controller
This is a strange one. I started playing Street Fighter 2 in the Video Games Arcades and was never great. I loved to watch people play who were better than me (such as my mate Zesh) and i'd attempt to learn off of them. I was never confident enough to play when there was a crowd as I just didn't feel I was good enough.
Then there was the whole thing about being the player on the right hand side of the cabinet that meant you not only had to contend with the Joystick being further to the right but also having to perform your special moves backwards! (I was no good at forwards, let alone backwards!)
Then came the home release of Street Fighter 2 on the SNES. My prayers were answered, I could now play in the comfort of my own home and become a master of SF2.
When I got my copy of SF2 for a mind boggling £64!! I was the happiest man alive. I then sat down for 6 months solid learning the moves inside out using the SNES controller.
I became a SF2 master in my own home!
Guile was my go to man for a definite win and I had all his moves in armoury to perfect my way to success.
The problem I had is that all my skills were honed using the Original SNES Controller.....
This meant that whenever I stepped inside the Arcade to play I was still hopeless even though I could beat anyone on the SNES!
The moves using the joystick were the same motions but my muscle memory could only perform them on the beautifully ergonomic and marvelously designed SNES Controller.
Mario Kart (Wii) / Classic Controller
Now I know this isn't Retrogaming but it's my most up to date example of a controller just made for a game.
The whole point of Mario Kart Wii was the motion controlled steering.
For a while it was fun, but it lacked the precision driving experience that I adored on the SNES.
Then I discovered the Classic Controller and it changed my view of Mario Kart Wii.
Once you hook the game up to the Classic Controller it's almost like cheating!
It's that much easier to pick a racing and stick to it and nail those jumps.
If you've still got your Wii and it isn't totally covered in dust, give it a new lease of life with a copy of Mario Kart and a Classic Controller!
So that's my examples of controllers that were just meant for certain games.
What Examples Do YOU Have Of Controllers That Just Have To Be Used For Certain Games?
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