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What is your preferred controller for playing classic Sonic?

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by jbr, May 24, 2022.

What is your preferred controller for playing classic Sonic?

  1. Genesis controller

    39 vote(s)
    51.3%
  2. XBox 360 or similar D-pad

    12 vote(s)
    15.8%
  3. PlayStation or similar D-pad

    14 vote(s)
    18.4%
  4. Other controller D-pad

    16 vote(s)
    21.1%
  5. Analog stick

    7 vote(s)
    9.2%
  6. Keyboard

    9 vote(s)
    11.8%
  7. Joystick (am stuck in the 90s)

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  8. Touchscreen (am a psychopath)

    4 vote(s)
    5.3%
Multiple votes are allowed.
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  1. To people saying analogue stick, I’m curious - what was your first experience playing Sonic?

    With the exception of the Switch stick where the shorter height makes the action much quicker, I don’t think I could get used to playing that way.
     
  2. charcoal

    charcoal

    Be Cool, Be Wild, and Be Groovy Member
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    My first classic game was on a DS lite on the classic collection. If we're talking sonic games in general, then it was 06 on the 360.
     
  3. Dek Rollins

    Dek Rollins

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    I prefer an original Japanese SJ-6000 pad, but for wireless or playing on not original hardware, Retro-bit's 2.4 GHz Genesis pad is good.
     
  4. kyasarintsu

    kyasarintsu

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    Anything with large face buttons, so I can use multiple fingers of my right hand to piano-key them for optimal button mashing. I have both a DualShock 4 and an 8BitDo Pro 2, the latter of which has become my default controller nowadays.
     
  5. Azookara

    Azookara

    yup Member
    My first experience was on the Genesis with Sonic 2. But the days I really started playing video games was during the late fifth - early sixth gen, on N64, Dreamcast and GameCube. So analog sticks just come more naturally to me than any D-Pad.

    That said, I know some games don't feel as good with a stick, and need a D-Pad for accuracy. Sonic however is not one of those games, and never has been. Movement is smooth, and only really relies on using three general directions (left, right, and down). For a game as smooth and simplistic as Sonic, tilting and turning an analog stick feels right at home. It's one of the only 2D platformers (besides maybe Rayman Origins/Legends) that I feel you can confidently use one.
     
  6. Harper

    Harper

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    Sonic Classic Collection on DS along with the Rush trilogy. I also played the classics on Wii virtual console a lot. Using an analog stick has been a more recent thing I've done. Rolling with a stick feels super satisfying to me.
     
  7. Azookara

    Azookara

    yup Member
    Yeah, you get this really satisfying "scooping" motion from tilting the stick down mid-run. It imitates the feeling of curling downward into a roll really well.
     
  8. jbr

    jbr

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    That's an interesting perspective. I kinda like the idea, although I know from experience that my left thumb gets sore from using an analog stick too much. Given the emphatic reviews in this thread, I've gone and splashed out on a Retrobits Saturn controller... :thumbsup:
     
  9. Xiao Hayes

    Xiao Hayes

    Classic Eggman art Member
    I play with my keyboard not because it's comfortable (spoilers: it isn't) but because it reacts in time to inputs, while trying to play these games with an XBox-type controller feels like everything happens too late, as in, I played a Sonic game much better that far first time in the 90's that I did on my first seasoned try with a modern controller. I've played Mania on Switch too and it was better than with the Xbox one, but still not good enough to handle special stages properly, and PS-type controllers were the closest to keyboard response times I've tried but the one I had was too old and I haven't gotten a newer one to try, so I just kept using the keyboard.

    Interestingly enough, I find the MD D-pads to be a lot more fluid than analog sticks, and I can't see how you do a "piano roll" on a gamepad of any kind. I'll have to record my hands along with my screen when I start making videos of my Origins gameplays so people can evaluate if I play weird in that sense too.
     
  10. Overlord

    Overlord

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    To me, that sounds hideous. Having to be extremely careful how you hold the stick lest you accidentally roll when you didn't intend to. D-pad, please.
     
  11. Crappy Blue

    Crappy Blue

    Knuckles' Chaotix is a perfect game with no flaws Member
    You don't have to be very careful at all, given that none of the classic Sonic titles (up to and including Mania) let you roll if they're still registering a left or right input. You'd have to slide the stick past diagonally-down to trigger a roll, making it hard to do it accidentally.
     
  12. _Sidle

    _Sidle

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    You have the entire lower-diagonal to upper-diagonal to work with if you're truly that paranoid about rolling while moving, but keeping the stick right on the edge of the rolling threshold is way comfier.
    Honestly, classic Sonic is so simple to control that you can hand me any control scheme and it wouldn't be much of a hinderance. Be it a keyboard, analogue stick, d-pad, or touch-screen (it's seriously not that complex!)
     
  13. Hydr0city

    Hydr0city

    > Kamikazee Member
    I'd love to try a Genesis/Saturn controller for Sonic (and most 2D platformers) some day, but I'm too attached to my DS4. I love love LOVE the dpad on that thing, it feels so goddamn good to use.

    I used to be an analog defender, and while I've moved on from that, I don't think it's all too bad for most 2D platformers. I much prefer my digital inputs but a majority of games aren't gonna be picky if you're using analog, it just feels a lot weirder after years of only using dpad for my platformers.
     
  14. charcoal

    charcoal

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    I've never had an issue personally. The closest i've gotten is accidentally rolling and jumping when I mean to spindash, but that's probably not just a stick thing.
     
  15. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

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    I have more issues with crummy d-pads with bad diagonals (like the ones on some Chinese Linux handhelds) triggering accidental rolling than I ever have with analog sticks, personally.
     
  16. Azookara

    Azookara

    yup Member
    There's pretty much no way to accidentally roll in the classic Sonic games, as said. You have to be pressing 100% down, no diagonals. Classic Sonic only registers four directions.

    The extreme adverseness to it is just funny to me, lol. Especially when the Genesis/Saturn D-Pad is already smooth like an analog stick. It's really not that different!
     
  17. Overlord

    Overlord

    Now playable in Smash Bros Ultimate Moderator
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    *shrug* When I'm playing Mania on Switch I occasionally end up using the analogue stick first, quickly start hating it and move back to the d-pad. Each to their own, but 2D Sonic shouldn't be played with analogue controls.
     
  18. GameCube controllers ftw :eng99:
     
  19. LordOfSquad

    LordOfSquad

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    This would be a sensible control stick to play Sonic with thanks to the octogate. Best of both worlds. I wish modern controllers had them as an option somehow.
     
  20. Hydra Spectre

    Hydra Spectre

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    I have used a DualShock 3 for my PC for nearly a decade now.
    Almost every game that I played with a controller, I used a DualShock 3 to play. Even Sonic Mania.
     
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