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. 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.

Some of the best retro game controllers can be Nintendo Switch retro controllers that offer replicas of gamepads for the NES, N64 and GameCube; these are perfect for playing retro games on Switch. Some of the best upcoming Switch games include retro remakes, and some of the best Nintendo Switch games include games that make use of retro controllers, such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate. 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. There are so many video game systems to choose from that the "perfect" controller doesn't exist. If you want an authentic retro gaming experience, you'll generally want a controller replicating the feel of playing retro games on the older system.

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. It's probably possible to find cheaper parts than I used, especially if you shop it around online. Just be aware that there's always the possibility that a part may not fit the available space, and try to evaluate what you're buying as much as possible ahead of time. Smaller is better, though your soldering skill may factor into it as well. If you use different parts or have a different controller (see below) then you'll have to improvise your own methods, but the general ideas I used should cross over. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. So today we’re going to take a look at some of the best NES and SNES controllers for emulators. We’re going to look at the AGPTEK Wireless Classic Controller, the Suily USB Retro Gamepad Controller, and the iNNext Retro USB Super Controller Gamepad. We’ll discuss the features of each controller then offer a comparison of the three. Why Use an Emulator Controller? 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. Since I already had the hub's LED fed to a long piece of wire, I decided to put it on the front of the controller. I don't have a drill press or anything similar I could use as a replacement, so I ended up very carefully using the dremel to drill out progressively larger holes until the LED fit. I ended up stopping at a size smaller than the LED and carefully pulling the bit around in a circle to widen the hole, so I wouldn't be left trying to prevent a larger bit from making an even larger and misshapen hole.Going a little more extreme, it's easy to imagine cutting an entire rectangle out of the top of the board, removing the chip area completely and giving a lot more vertical breathing room for parts to fit in. This would make for a lot more smaller traces to solder, however, and you would need to be careful how much of the board was removed above the select and start buttons. 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.

dremel - I did need to modify some of the circuit boards. There's a lot of possible substitutes for this, but you'll need something you can make precise cuts with. 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. Let’s face it, if a computer has enough ports, we’ll plug a host of things into the computer and never remove them even when they’re not in use.

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.

It’s an issue where the gamepad is not being recognized by Windows 10. You’ve run the Hardware Troubleshooter, restarted the computer, yet the issue still persists. So what’s the next move, then? Well, we’re going to talk about a number of ways to get this problem under control. 1] Update the driver 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. 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. The iBuffalo Classic is basically a SNES controller that connects with USB and features turbo functionality. The difference between this product and the millions of other SNES USB clones is the iBuffalo’s build quality. This controller actually feels pretty close to an actual SNES controller. Plus, at such a low price, most people can swing grabbing two for multiplayer action.It would definitely be possible to make more changes to the controller board. Removing the chip from the upper part of the board would be a big start, and could even be used to give a connection point (albeit a small, tough-to-solder one) for each button and cut down on the need to spiderweb connections across the board. 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. Whatever you do, don't rush it. It took about an hour of fiddling with this before it all came together for me. If you’re a 90’s kid then you probably remember growing up with a Nintendo or Super Nintendo in your home. I can’t tell you how many hours I spent as a kid playing Zelda and Super Mario World. What if I told you that you could experience all those games again, right now with just your computer or smartphone?