Reccommend me a wired usb controller with a decent D-Pad

[Leader Bee]

Playing through king's field on my pi and my old controller got chewed up by my goose; got a cheapo £10 controller but the cardinal directions all too easily register as diagonals which makes playinf any games with it a bit of a chore really...ideally lookong for PlayStation style controllers....

[SuperDeadite]

Playstation Classic. The controllers are pure digital and highly compatible. They work perfectly fine even on Windows 98.
And you get two of them in the box.

[XoPachi]

Cant go wrong with 8BitDo's. SN30 Pro+ is a great option. Wired or wireless since they come with their own cable and use any USB-C cord anyway. D-Pads are on par with SNES dpads which should come to no surprise since they're clearly modeled after them.

[Vanguard]

The Logitech F310 and the Horipad are both good inexpensive controllers. The F310 is mostly similar to a playstation controller and the Horipad is closer to an xbox controller. Both can switch between xinput and directinput modes. Both share a flaw in that you can press down on the center of the d-pad and it'll register as an input. The F310 will treat it as all four directions pressed at once and the Horipad will treat it as pressing up and left. I think it's easy work around but might bother you. The Horipad's d-pad can be removed and beneath it are four completely different buttons for the different directions. The buttons are pretty small and I find it tough to use that way. Might be ok if you get used to it.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Yeah, I've got an 8bitDo modeled after a SNES controller (no analog sticks) and it's a very decent pad.

My fave is the Xbox One controller's D-Pad. I love how clicky it is, but I'm not fond of where it's positioned, and I hate how my left analog stick is ghosting now after a relatively small amount of use (a year and a half). As much as I love the D-Pad, I can't recommend the controller itself for reliability reasons if you need the analog sticks (unless the game supports analog deadzone adjustments).

[Leader Bee]

Cant go wrong with 8BitDo's. SN30 Pro+ is a great option. Wired or wireless since they come with their own cable and use any USB-C cord anyway. D-Pads are on par with SNES dpads which should come to no surprise since they're clearly modeled after them.

Looks amazing but i dont know if ill be spending £45 on one! Logitech f310 seems like a good alternative at less than half the price

[Vanguard]

My fave is the Xbox One controller's D-Pad. I love how clicky it is, but I'm not fond of where it's positioned, and I hate how my left analog stick is ghosting now after a relatively small amount of use (a year and a half). As much as I love the D-Pad, I can't recommend the controller itself for reliability reasons if you need the analog sticks (unless the game supports analog deadzone adjustments).

That's my favorite d-pad too, but no way can I justify spending $60 on something that breaks down that fast. After about a year its A button stopped bouncing back up, and its micro usb port kept disconnecting.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Oh yes, I forgot how awful the micro USB connector feels, I swear it's going to break or something if I look at it funny. I miss when hardwired controllers were the norm, not the exception.

Hori's also made some great 360 controllers with very acceptable D-Pads, much better and precise than the stock controller's D pad. Picked up a few for like 25 bucks each, good luck finding one though at a decent price. :/

[Specineff]

What about Retro Bit's USB Saturn and Genesis controllers?

[ED-057]

Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

[BrianC]

Oh yes, I forgot how awful the micro USB connector feels, I swear it's going to break or something if I look at it funny. I miss when hardwired controllers were the norm, not the exception.

Hori's also made some great 360 controllers with very acceptable D-Pads, much better and precise than the stock controller's D pad. Picked up a few for like 25 bucks each, good luck finding one though at a decent price. :/

Hori even made some that are compatible with both XONE and 360. The Hori Fighting Commander for XONE/PC/360 is awesome. Too bad it's out of stock at Amazon.

The PS4 and Switch fighting commanders are also great for PC, but the Switch one doesn't have a PC toggle like the other two. According to the horiusa.com website, it uses Xinput when on PC, but it's not detected as an Xbox controller.

[Dawn111]

Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Seconded. I have my iBuffalo gamepad in my room, and it feels so comfortable to play. I had fun playing SNES games like Space Megaforce with the iBuffalo controller.

[bigbadboaz]

Personally I can't recommend the PS Classic pads. They are built fine but my two have extremely sensitive diagonals, to the point you can't necessarily maintain precision control. Think the early 8bitdo Dpads.

The Buffalos have gotten a lot more expensive and seem to have been surpassed by the Retroflag in terms of build quality. There does seem to be a Dpad lottery, which is awful, but they are only MSRP $15 and people who have gotten good examples really RAVE about them.

If you really want PS-style design the Logitech controllers with that inspiration may be your best bet.

[Austin]

I haven't had any diagonal issues on my PS1 Classic controllers. I use these controllers heavily on my Windows '98 machine and my MiSTer. Can't recommend them highly enough, especially when you can get a PS1 Classic unit with two controllers for $20 to $30. Tough to beat for the price.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Original PSX controller in working order (should still be some out there) and one of ubiquitous USB adapters. The latter should work with arcade sticks, also, there are adapters from-PSX-to-other-consoles out there (I've some for Dreamcast and Wii/GameCube). The above solution gives one considerable versatility, while taking relatively litte storage space.
For my money PSX (and PS2) controllers have got the most useful triggers/shoulder buttons, too (no wonder Classic Controller Pro practically copies them), that makes them preferable devices to play the likes of Super Metroid with.

Comes from a recently satisfied PSX arcade stick buyer (took me three attempts to get one that's any good), but from my experience, operational enough original PSX gamepads were much easier to get hold of not very long ago.

Alternatively - Classic Controller Pro with an adapter (but I don't even have the latter and I suppose the former in real good shape ain't gonna be cheap anymore).

To put things into perspective, when I got GameCube SoulCalibur II for my Wii, two basic original PSX gamepads and a pair of PSX-to-Wii/GameCube adapters made for a pretty obvious way to play it, right out of the box. Like, in terms of consistently performing moves I was attempting to perform, while enjoying myself as I did so. I am a very casual player of this genre games, but in genres I'm way more dedicated to, such as shmups and action platformers, them gamepads also did the job for me.

[Marc]

I need something for the PS4 - I picked up a Hori mini pad expecting at least a decent D-pad, but it's dreadful and constantly recognises diagonals I haven't - or certainly didn't think I was - pressing.

[copy-paster]

I haven't had any diagonal issues on my PS1 Classic controllers. I use these controllers heavily on my Windows '98 machine and my MiSTer. Can't recommend them highly enough, especially when you can get a PS1 Classic unit with two controllers for $20 to $30. Tough to beat for the price.

Are those good for shmups though?

[Leader Bee]

For my money PSX (and PS2) controllers have got the most useful triggers/shoulder buttons, too (no wonder Classic Controller Pro practically copies them), that makes them preferable devices to play the likes of Super Metroid with.

Comes from a recently satisfied PSX arcade stick buyer (took me three attempts to get one that's any good), but from my experience, operational enough original PSX gamepads were much easier to get hold of not very long ago.

Alternatively - Classic Controller Pro with an adapter (but I don't even have the latter and I suppose the former in real good shape ain't gonna be cheap anymore).

hmmmmm, as it happens i should have a pair of original ps2 controllers laying about, i will just have to see about getting an adapter for them, thanks!

[bigbadboaz]

Well in that case an adapter could well be your best solution.

these days a lot of adapters can be found in the $12-20 range and you should be able to look up independently tested latency results on a lot of reasonably recognizable ones.

[Austin]

I haven't had any diagonal issues on my PS1 Classic controllers. I use these controllers heavily on my Windows '98 machine and my MiSTer. Can't recommend them highly enough, especially when you can get a PS1 Classic unit with two controllers for $20 to $30. Tough to beat for the price.

Are those good for shmups though?

About as good as a regular PS1 pad.

[Stevens]

A bunch of years back I got my hands on the 360 controller with the transforming d pad. It was a charge and play too, but that part SUCKED.

Anyway a pcb swap to a wired controller later and I've had this thing for like ten years. Love it!

[Ixmucane2]

For a PC, is the Trust GXT 540 Yula Wired Gamepad any good or should I look for something more expensive?
It's the most common Playstation-style gamepad I see in stores (the Xbox/Nintendo style with asymmetrical analog sticks is far more common).

[Marc]

I've liking the 8bitdo SN30 Pro. D-pad is a bit stiff, but feels like it should break in with use, and feels very much like the SNES original. Possibly the most comfortable controller I've used, and the analogue sticks are absolutely superb.

Still eying up the Retro-Bit Saturn pad though.

[cj iwakura]

As always, Saturn is king.

http://retro-bit.com/sega-saturn-control-pad-black.html

[Leader Bee]

As always, Saturn is king.

Not exactly great for games which need L1/L2 & R1/R2 though..

[Davey]

+1 for the Hori Fighting Commander. I got the PS4 version and have been pretty happy with it.

I use stick for most games, but picked up one of those for the rare occasion where I prefer a pad. Ideally I'd like the D-pad to be clickier, but at the same time I can't think of another pad I've ever used that I prefer over it.

[cj iwakura]

As always, Saturn is king.

Not exactly great for games which need L1/L2 & R1/R2 though..

Not ideal, but I've made it work.

[Obiwanshinobi]

hmmmmm, as it happens i should have a pair of original ps2 controllers laying about, i will just have to see about getting an adapter for them, thanks!

I should mention that PS2 pad (DualShock 2) has got analogue D-pad relatively serviceable in shmups and platformers... until yuou have to perform SFII-style moves. Long story short, I could consistently execute wall-jump in Super Metroid with it, but some of the SOTN special moves, as well as Twisted Metal special moves, VF4:EVO, count them all, came out much better with one of my original PSX controllers.

[FinalBaton]

I rock a japanese Saturn pad with Raphnet adapter. really great of course (man, what a killer dpad, a pure joy). no L2/R2 but you got 2 extra face buttons so with remapping this can work.

I agree that ps2 controller is not amazing for fighting games. it's nice enough, but there's better. but should be a overall nice choice regardless

there's pretty much adapters for all gamepads-to-pc nowadays, you can pretty much pick your fave console controller and use that.

[null1024]

I used a PS1 DualShock with an adapter for quite some time. The DualShock 2 doesn't have great diagonals at all, you really have to push down hard to get them to read.
If I can get away with it for a game, using a Japanese Saturn pad with an adapter is the best. The d-pad is basically ideal, but a lot of stuff I play expects a PlayStation style layout, complicating things. It has enough buttons to work, they're just in the wrong position.