I then carefully removed the USB connectors. They're hard to remove because of the soldered tabs on either side, when I tried to heat those tabs up while lifting up on the connector the whole pad underneath the tab delaminated from the board and broke off. After that, it was just a matter of either desoldering the connector's pins from the board or snapping them off, I recommend keeping the pins on at least one connector so you can use it in later steps to map the pinout of your usb cables. Emulator controllers plug directly into your computer and let you play for favorite games like they were meant to. Players who favor the traditional 2 or 4 button layout and d-pad on the left will probably feel a lot more comfortable playing with an emulator controller. The best emulator controllers have a similar layout to the original controller and mimic the feel of playing with a classic joypad. For the retro purist, the ideal way to play via an emulator is with a system’s original controller. Fortunately, there are some low-cost adapters available that can make that possible. Mayflash offers adapters that allow you to connect your SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, PS2, and Saturn controllers to your PC via USB. For the most part, these work just like using an Xbox One controller and can be easily configured across emulators. I've also seen mention of being able to wire two usb devices together as a "passive hub", but haven't found any information on doing it. If it's possible, it would allow the hub to be left out altogether and a lot of space would be saved. When you start cutting traces, make sure to cut any connection between the buttons and the chip at the top of the board. Otherwise you'll end up with weird issues where one button press can fire off multiple buttons because a circuit gets completed through the chip. It would be a good idea to remove the chip altogether but I didn't have a soldering tip for this and couldn't find another good way to do it.

The Suily gamepad is likewise designed with only two face buttons. AS such, you’ll only be able to play games that have a 2-face-button layout. For example, you won’t be able to play Super Nintendo games with these controllers, but you’ll be able to play games for the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color. That includes the modern controllers you already have, but they have a major flaw that makes them less than ideal for retro gaming. Specifically, they tend to have mushy D-pads. The Retro-Bit Official Sega Saturn USB controller is a reproduction of one of the most respected controller designs in history. The original Genesis six-button controller was already well-loved, but the Sega Saturn version refines it into something even more comfortable. So whether you want to play Genesis or Saturn games, the Saturn controller is the best choice overall. Starting with the AGPTEK Wireless Classic Controller, these controllers are an excellent choice if you want wireless retro gaming. The wireless signal is strong and the battery lasts for a very long time. You can charge them while you play so you never really have to worry about running out of batteries. These controllers can also be used as a generic gamepad for playing PC games on a client like Steam. There's only one way to truly experience retro gaming, and that's with a controller fashioned after the iconic design. For NES titles, you'll want to go with Suily's NES USB Controller, a near 1:1 recreation of the accessory that once shipped with Nintendo's first console.

Overall best controller for emulation

For the most part, these tips should do the job. However, should they fail to work, then the best means of moving forward may very well be to get a new gamepad. The original SNES controller design was already great, but the SN30 manages to maintain what made it special while giving it the right amount of polish for modern gamers. The old-school semi-transparent plastic is a nice touch.

Your gamepad not being recognized can be fixed with a simple adjustment of the power management settings in Windows 10. Suily made a few minor controller modifications, specifically by adding etching to the red "B" and "A" buttons. Of course, the biggest change is the somewhat short 5.6-foot cord, which ends in a standard USB-A plug for compatibility with Raspberry Pi, Windows, Mac, and Linux. You'll have no issue diving into your classic NES library, and enjoying favorites like Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Ninja Gaiden, and so many more. The real benefit is that they can be used for more games. You can play both NES and SNES games with the more complex button layout. The manufacturers also offer a generous 6-month replacement warranty so you can get a full replacement if there are any manufacturer errors. Final Verdict

While making connections I stopped at several points (after connecting pairs of wires) to test the buttons that should be enabled. This will prevent you from getting everything connected up before realizing there is a problem. One of the rubber button pieces from the shoulder buttons worked to complete the button connections for testing. I put a drop of hot glue on the repositioned capacitors for the USB hub to prevent them from shorting out, and some clear nail polish in the cut traces on the controller board to guard against anything causing them to short together.

Soldering/desoldering work is required for this, and I'm assuming you have some general knowledge of working with a soldering iron and continuity tester. I'm a software/networking person, though, and not an expert with a soldering iron by any means. A steady hand and a lot of patience can be a big help. If you snap pins off, you can clean the remaining bit off the board by lightly dragging the soldering iron tip with a small blob of solder along the length of the pad, the pin should come off on the iron. It's a good idea to do this on the rest of the pads as well to clean them up and make a nice, shiny pad for later soldering. Having a wireless controller is a nice modern convenience, but the best latency and responsiveness are still to be found with wired controllers. Many of the wireless controllers you can buy also let you use a wired connection, but if you're only going to use it in wired mode, why pay for a battery and Bluetooth radio you'll never use? However, emulators do have one downside. Most classic games are not designed to be played on a keyboard and mouse or with a touch screen on the phone. Thankfully, there exist emulator controllers that you can use to capture the original experience of playing with the original console. These USB-connected controllers are designed like the originals and most emulators nowadays have some form of third-party controller support.

SEGA Mega Drive Control Pad

Ditto on finding a smaller one. It would also be possible to cut off a strip from the bottom of the connectors to shrink it, and depending on how brave one is with the soldering iron it could be cut all the way down to the white line leaving only the thin traces to connect to. There might be a danger of connections snapping off from tension when putting the controller together if you went to the extreme with that, however. So if you’re a gamer who likes classic titles, then you can benefit from having a retro USB controller on-hand. Some models are wired and others are wireless. Wireless models typically require a USB dongle attachment but some brands have Bluetooth compatible controllers. If you have a Bluetooth controller then your computer or smartphone will have to be capable of Bluetooth connectivity.

Starting with the NES generation of consoles, the controller became relatively standardized. If your general interest in retro gaming is from this era onward, buying a single gamepad that adequately covers multiple systems is possible. Full credit for the general idea goes to this howto for a similar project with an NES controller. My brother inherited my NES from me, so all I had to work with was an SNES controller... and since it lets me play a wider variety of games it seemed like a perfect thing to do. The project ended up being a bit more difficult than I expected, and I tried to document as much of the process as I could. The Suily Retro controllers are also a good choice because they are cheap and are wired so they have a fast response. The Suily controllers are again designed specifically for the NES so you’ll be limited in which games you can play but they are very sturdy, made out of a durable ABS plastic with heavy-duty buttons that can stand up to use. There’s a chance the number of devices plugged into your computer is causing the problem, so what you need to do, then, is to remove them or just the ones you’re not using. This instructable will detail how I went about modifying an SNES controller into a USB controller with built-in flash drive. This is not a very fancy method, just pulling together bare hardware bits to get the job done.

Best wired emulation controller

The buttons and power LED all need to go into the front of the controller, followed by the controller board. You need to keep this part of the controller as flat as possible, as the shoulder buttons are prone to slipping out of place and falling out at the worst possible moments. First up is a strong choice with the AGPTEK Wireless Classic Controller. As the name implies, you can play with this controller wireless but also in wired mode. The AGPTEK controllers use a micro-USB connection to charge the controller, the cord can then be replaced with a USB dongle so you can use it wirelessly. The battery takes about 4 hours to fully charge and can be used for up to 100 hours before needing to be recharged. Additionally, they have an ultra-low power design so you can use them virtually forever and never have to worry about them running out of power. Best of all, they’re designed to shut off automatically after 10 minutes of idle time, so you can’t accidentally leave them on and drain the battery. Whatever you do, don't rush it. It took about an hour of fiddling with this before it all came together for me.