Hi !
I want to buy a famicom controller to put in the extension port, but, unfortunately, Nintendo didn't released an official one, I only find third party controllers.
I want an officially licensed one, but as in japan there isn't the "Seal of Quality", I don't know which one is or isn't.
I saw Hudson and Hori ones as "prestigious" brands, but are they officially licensed (see pictures) ?
Besides, I read in several threads third party controllers have compatibility's issues with some games, so, which ones are perfectly compatible ?
Thanks.
I can't speak to compatibility, but the first controller pictured is the one to go with - the Hudson Joycard. The Hori's aren't bad - I used the hell out of the US version of it growing up - but the Hudson brand is the one to go with. Also, the black/gray Joycard Sansui SSS is the gold standard imo. That's my day to day controller for NES/FC.
Joycard Sansui SSS is officially licensed (pic 1), but it has NES/Famicom AV port.
Could it works with a converter like that (pic 2) ? This doesn't add any input lag ?
What about games' compatibility for this model ? Because Joycard MK II (pic 3) doesn't work with all games....
There is a Famicom version for Joycard Sansui SSS though, but not easy to find (pics 4 & 5)....
I have the Hudson Soft one,I ending up just soldering on a nes controller cable for easier use.
I also have the Hori one as well and it's very comfortable.
As for compatibility issues that has to do with said game,same games work great and some don't using the expansion port.
I second what Portnoyd and Pikkon said, the Hudson Joycard, officially licensed or not, is of equal quality to the official Famicom and NES controllers and I've even heard that you can use the same rubber membrane used in both Famicom and NES controllers (meaning replacements are easy to find). The d-pad and buttons are great and while the d-pad is possibly a little larger than Nintendo's it has the same high quality feel as Nintendo's.
I have the computer version (9-pin, Atari-style (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_joystick_port), 2-button joypad) of it, but it looks identical (uses the same injection mold) but is grey and lacks START and SELECT since it's for computers compatible with 2-button joysticks (MSX, FM Towns, X68K etc).
As for compatibility, all controllers should technically work with all games, though controllers with lots of special functionality (like modern wireless controllers with multi-system use etc such as 8bitdo or whatnot) could have problems with some games if they are messing with the timing too much. If you go with something like the Joycard you won't have that type of problems.
Just remember that using any controller via the Famicom's 15-pin expansion port means the game must be specifically programmed to read from that port or it will not work no matter what and not all games do that. Some games also use the port for player 3 and 4 in which case you can't use it for player 1 as you are supposed to use the built-in controllers for player 1 and 2 in those games.
There is a list of games here (https://www.famicomworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=6701.msg167005#msg167005) that we have discovered that does not support EXP port controllers at all.
As for input lag, a passive adapter like that will not introduce any that isn't negligible. That adapter (provided it is made correctly) should work with any standard NES controller or compatible alternative (including AV Famicom dogbones).
Thank you all for your answers, the community here is really great !
I now have all informations I need to purchase my "new" Famicom controller ;D
P.S : "P", your knowledge is impressive :star:
Heh thanks I'm a Famicom and video game nerd. :pacman:
This is my favourite one - because it features the Famicom logo (albeit remixed) and matches the colours of the AV Famicom perfectly:
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/qaMAAOSwsSdjlyQN/s-l1600.jpg)
Quite hard to find though, hence the going rate is quite high for these.
The New Hori Commander HFC-07 is indeed awesome. Great for anything with the NES controller port.
(https://ghegs.com/Files/FC_HoriCommanderFamily.jpg)
I have three of them. Wanted to have some spares. Though my preference doesn't have so much to do with the logo or the colors, I like it because A) NES-style plug means it's compatible with 100% of games, unlike controllers using extension port and B) the turbo-fire switches are awesome. It's certainly the best NES/Famicom native controller I've come across.
I've spent a lot of time trying to find the ultimate NES/Famicom controller, I've purchased quite a lot of different kinds, tried combinations of controllers from different systems (PS2, GameCube) with NES adapters...so far the closest I've gotten to reaching the pinnacle is with the Wingman SNES (https://www.brookaccessory.com/products/wingmansnes/index.html) adapter and a Xbox 360 Hori Pad EX Turbo. Hori controller again, rather appropriately, and it's also kind of difficult to find nowadays.
This combination allows you to remap buttons in the controller, which means I can place several A and B buttons in there just in the configuration I want, and then use the controller's own turbo switches to set the rapid fire on them individually. Which makes it super easy to play games where you often need to switch between using turbo and not using it. And the remapping function also allows you to "fix" the few games where A and B do the opposite of what you expect them to, like Musashi No Ken. If the adapter would only allow remapping Select and Start buttons as well, it'd be perfect. For those cases where you use those to switch between weapons or speed settings, or something, like in Batman or Recca.
The controller itself is standard Hori quality, so it's great. Very comfortable to use.
Sorry, kind of veered away from the thread's original topic there.
Wow I didn't know the Hori controller had a reskin for the AV Famicom, it looks pretty cool :)
Like everyone else said the Hudson Joycard is a great controller if you don't mind the compatibility issues that come from expansion port controllers. The Joycard Sansui SSS also has headphones support with pseudo stereo panning which basically tracks your D-pad inputs so it can play sound on the right channel louder if you're pressing Right for instance. Given it relies on RCA jacks it only natively works with the front-loading NES though. When the controller was released in Japan they kept the functionality but expected people to plug the RCA jacks into their stereo amps instead.
As for your main question, yes both of these controllers were officially licensed by Nintendo of Japan. You can know this by looking at the boxes of both joycards.
I guess they wouldn't have the Famicom logo if they weren't licensed.
It should be said that the compatibility/incompatibility has everything to do with which port it is connected to and not the controller itself. All Famicom and NES controllers works the same way electrically regardless what plugs they use. 15-pin, 7-pin and even the original Famicom 5-pin (6-pin for the second controller as the 6th pin is the microphone).
Anything made by Hori or Hudson is going to be a pretty good controller imo. Hori has been and always will be the king of Nintendo third party licensed controllers.