Nintendo has always been one to push forward with their hardware design, and this is no more the case than with their controllers. Yes, the NES and SNES ones were pretty conventional by today’s standards (although extremely innovative at the time), but in the years that followed, the Big Na controllers had us waving blocks above our heads, tapping by the chunky kidney-shaped keys, attaching and detaching the buckled screws, and even trying to figure out exactly how it’s meant to be played with only two hands.
We want to say that there are a lot to choose from when it comes to finding the best Nintendo controller. There are so many different options, in fact – and so much different opinions — that trying to find “the best” seems a somewhat impossible task.
With that in mind, we at Nintendo Life Towers have gathered to vote on which controller is ours favorite. Presenting a list of every standard controller in the company’s history (including ‘Pro’ variants for newer consoles with non-industry-standard default controllers, but excluding the odd, one-of-a-kind models previously discussed here), we’ve each voted for our top five, with our the favorite gets five points, the second favorite gets four, and so on.
The following is the result of our team’s poll, and if you don’t agree with our selection, there is a poll at the bottom of the page where you can express your opinion.
We’ll follow up on our number one pick, but let’s start with the controllers that didn’t get any love (at least in the form of votes) from Team NL…
10. NES (101), Virtual Boy, Wii Classic Controller
Right at the bottom of the pack, this trio received an incredible award zero point from the Nintendo Life team and are therefore the last.
The NES 101 model was originally released in 1993 and mimicked the look of the newer SNES system. The two-tone gray and red colorway isn’t very pleasing to look at, and while the dogbone shape would work on a later Nintendo four-button controller, it just looks bad when only options A and B are available. To be fair, we’re not sure anyone on the team has ever used one of these.
It’s no wonder that the Virtual Boy controller also found itself at the bottom of the pile. Will this console one day experience a rosy renaissance in the form of “Virtual Boy is Nintendo’s most underrated console”? We doubt it. That Wario Land game was great though!
As for the Wii Classic controller, it’s the one that most people have forgotten about. Not to be confused with the Classic Controller Pro (more on that later), this oval design is made for virtual console gaming, but with analog sticks close together, our hands cramp at the thought of playing with this one for a couple of hours.
9. Wii Classic Controller Pro
Just one point ahead (hey, that’s progress, we guess) is the Wii Classic Controller Pro.
Released in 2009, this advanced upgrade was designed to be much closer in feel to the GameCube model than the SNES-like design that preceded it. It may not have matched the kind of innovation we’ve seen elsewhere for the Wii, but it was certainly a step in the right direction in terms of convenience.
8. Wii U GamePad
Truly innovative, truly chunky.
The Wii U GamePad only got three points from us. While the touchscreen controller brought a ton of fun to certain games like Nintendo Land, the bulky design and utter lack of software to make good use of it meant it was always going to appear at the bottom end of this list.
Yes, it paved the way for one of Nintendo’s best-selling consoles of all time, but in terms of actual controller design, this wasn’t at the top of anyone’s list, however comfortingly significant that might be.
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