Which legacy system has the best controller?

My vote goes to the Sega Dreamcast, followed by the Saturn (only b/c I'm a huge fighting game fanatic), and then the Dual Shock 2.

I feel the GameCube would have had a great controller were it not for the crap d-pad on that thing... also, the Nintendo 64 deserves a shout out just b/c I think that thing is so dang comfy and awesome for 3D games :)

And one cannot forget the SNES pad- wow, I loved that thing too :-D plus, I was one of the few that preferred the original Duke Xbox controller over the Japanese simply b/c it molded to my hands so well :)

A lot of people hate it, but it's perfect for people with small hands:)

Saturn pad, easily!

Personally, I love the GameCube controller. I think it's a perfect ergonomic design and the button & analog stick lay-outs are ideal. It's no coincidence, then, that my SECOND favorite controller is for the XBox 360, which mimics the GC controller design very closely.

Not the Gamecube pad, that's for sure. They're so uncomfortable for someone with big hands.

I was always a fan of the Gamecube controller.

Everyone argued that the gamecube games sucked, but I enjoyed them with amazing controls.

The Saturn controller.

The Dreamcast controller was an awful redesign of the Saturn's 3D controller. The analog was placed to high and was missing 2 buttons. Overall, a terrible design for a console whose main focus were to be arcade games. Fighting games and other arcade games were right unplayable on it. You even had to do some akward button combinaions to be able to do such basic things like tauting.

It has to be the DualShock 1/2, It is very ergonomic for people with medium sized hands.

The dual-shock is definitely my weapon of choice.

i love the duelshock, but i also love the sega dreamcast, its a tie for me

The gamecube controller was the best. The SNES controller is a close second.

Ugh, I'm torn between Gamecube and N64 (yes I said it). I guess I'll vote Gamecube just because that's what's on the poll.

Definitley Gamecube, comfortable, not to big like the xbox, not to small & cramped like the PS2

I've always loved the N64 controller... it just felt best in my hands and I thought it was cool :D

The Gamecube controller followed by the Saturn controller.

Going by the controllers in the poll only; Dreamcast not included as I don't have one, it's difficult. If you have a FPS; the Xbox controller was flawless no doubt. Any other game, not so much. But as far as certain genres go; I give the award to the Xbox.

For fantasy titles and general gaming; the Gamecube was most accessible.

That's a great question. The Gamecube controller worked great for some games, lousy for others. A decent controller I think. PS2. That was it, perfect fit for most hands, good spacing, plenty of buttons...... analog sticks were ok too. A+.

saturn for fighting games,snes for platformers,ps2 for fps and everything else, keyboard and mouse for rts's

That's a great question. The Gamecube controller worked great for some games, lousy for others. A decent controller I think. PS2. That was it, perfect fit for most hands, good spacing, plenty of buttons...... analog sticks were ok too. A+.

gotcha455

I must admit, when I first got my hands on a dual shock- I was like WOW :) it felt amazing in my hands... I still have a few issues with the d-pad- but yeah, awesome controller.

I absolutely love the Dreamcast controller. Also, I really enjoy the Astropad if anyone has used these big bulky DC pads. I love them for fighting games.

Gamecube was alright, but D-Pad was stiff, and the C-Stick had that lame octagon around it.

Never used the Saturn pad, but it looks just like a Dreamcast controller almost (the pad with the joystick).

The gamecube controller is okay, but i would have to go with the playstation dual-shock controller (mainly because im a playstation man)

The three controllers I tend to prefer are: Sega Genesis 3 Button controller, Original PSX controller and Gamecube controller. But in the end it really doesn't matter to me which controller I have to use to play, as long as I have an "Arcade Stick" for fighters and "Mouse+Keyboard" for FPS games.

Saturn Japan or Genesis Six Button, both were perfect for any game and the D-Pad was near perfect for fighting games.

The Gamecube controller for sure. It's the only controller that allows my incredibly long piano fingures to wrap around it fully. It also has amazing shoulder buttons that my index fingures melt in to.

The SNES controller by far. It was great in its simplicity and layout. It felt right. Although there have been a lot of other, newer controllers eversince, it has somehow and somewhere always felt like overcomplicating things.

The one controller I really don't like is the GC-controller. It just is too small for my size of hands.I remember the frustration, for example,in switching between scan-modes with the tiny d-pad in Metroid Prime 1; my big thumbstrying to press right, but instead pressing up and right together, which resultated in the wrong visor... ooo, it almost made me give up onthat game.

The Dualshock is so good it's been around for 3 generations of console now. The only thing it's not good for is FPS games. For those I prefer the Game Cube or 360 controller. For Arcade type games though, Panzer Zwei is right: The Saturn controller is phenomenal, as was the 6-button Genesis controller.

sega saturn pad, and to be more specific my USB saturn pad.

The Saturn controller.

The Dreamcast controller was an awful redesign of the Saturn's 3D controller. The analog was placed to high and was missing 2 buttons. Overall, a terrible design for a console whose main focus were to be arcade games. Fighting games and other arcade games were right unplayable on it. You even had to do some akward button combinaions to be able to do such basic things like tauting.

Panzer_Zwei

Oh come on, its pretty obvious that the Dreamcast controller was designed after the Playstation controller.

[QUOTE="Panzer_Zwei"]

The Saturn controller.

The Dreamcast controller was an awful redesign of the Saturn's 3D controller. The analog was placed to high and was missing 2 buttons. Overall, a terrible design for a console whose main focus were to be arcade games. Fighting games and other arcade games were right unplayable on it. You even had to do some akward button combinaions to be able to do such basic things like tauting.

hakanakumono

Oh come on, its pretty obvious that the Dreamcast controller was designed after the Playstation controller.

tbh it more resembles the design features of the analogue saturn controller, except that was better then the dreamcast pad.

Really, just about everything Sega did with the Dreamcast copied the Nintendo 64 IMO: Analog stick & d-pad (originally copied with the Saturn analog controller), 4 controller ports, triggers instead of buttons, rumble packs, memory packs... though at least the analog stick & d-pad were usable at the same time.

saturn

The Gamecube controller just feels so nice.

Xbox 1 controller.

It just felt like such an improvement over the playstation controllers I had been using before buying an Xbox.

Uvavooh

Worst. Constroller. Ever.

Seriously, that thing felt like it was made in a candy store, with ju-ju bees for buttons!

The Dreamcast controller was an awful redesign of the Saturn's 3D controller... a terrible design for a console whose main focus were to be arcade games. Panzer_Zwei

Have to disagree. The best controller I can remember was the genesis 6 button. Nice piece of kit :D

the gcn the only controller ive used that doesnt hurt my fingers after an hour of play

i think its a tie between PS2 and GameCube, but i just decide to vote gamecube cuz nintendo rulz

I think I'd have to say the Gamecube had the best controller. The analog sticks were very tight and responsive, the button layout was great, and while the D-pad was pathetically small I never used it much anyway (besides, it was very responsive as well, it's just that a grown man's thumb would easily eclipse the whole thing). The Xbox controller S is a close second though.

I have to call out some of the controllers people are listing though. IMO the dualshock 1 and 2 are two of the least ergonomic controllers I have ever held. The shoulder buttons are a pain in the ass to reach and the placement of the analog sticks leaves a lot to be desired. Speaking of the analog sticks, they're also some of the loosest and most clunky sticks on any controller. I will, however, give ipraise the D-pad since it's one of the best out there.

The worst controller though (ignoring fringe systems and pre-NES systems) has to be the Saturn analog controller. The analog stick is without a doubt the worst analog stick ever made (more like an analog nub) and the design of the controller is pretty much a disc with two plastic rectangles glued on the bottom. And let's not forget the crappy D-pad that makes the Xbox 360's D-pad feel like the dualshock's. The Dreamcast's controller isn't much better since it's essentially the same controller except with two less buttons, a better d-pad, a better analog stick, and a slightly more ergonomic design.

The Super Nintendo controller. That one was just perfect for any type of game.