Good wired PS5 pad for shmups?

[Restart_Point]

I just got a PS5 and usually like to get a spare wired pad for my consoles. Does anyone have recommendations / experience to share?

I've seen the HORI Fighting Commander OCTA on Amazon but I don't have any particular need for a fighting-orientated gamepad myself, and there's quite a few fighting fan reviews saying its d-pad has issues, though I don't know if that would affect shmups. Anyone tried that?

Cheers!

[Lemnear]

I just got a PS5 and usually like to get a spare wired pad for my consoles. Does anyone have recommendations / experience to share?

I've seen the HORI Fighting Commander OCTA on Amazon but I don't have any particular need for a fighting-orientated gamepad myself, and there's quite a few fighting fan reviews saying its d-pad has issues, though I don't know if that would effect shmups. Anyone tried that?

Cheers!

It's the one I use for SHMUPS and fighting games.
I don't know why people talk badly about it, but I really like the DPad, it's adjustable from the PC for intensity (in all 8 directions separately), the analog is short and has an octagonal base so it's comfortable to not get the diagonals wrong.
The buttons are clicky (like a mouse), so they might not be pleasant for everyone, but I have to admit that with the clicky buttons I'm appreciating SHMUPS without auto-fire MUCH more... in fact it's almost enjoyable with the clicky buttons (practically non-existent travel).

Obviously there are also sticks, so it depends on what you're used to.

PS: if you have a PS5 Slim the normal USB output is on the back while the front ones are USB-C, I got a USBC-to-USB adapter to connect it to the front without having the cable go all the way around.

[Jonpachi]

I found the d-pad on the Octa to be fairly small, and I struggled avoid false inputs (hitting a diagonal when I wanted just a cardinal direction). It's certainly better than the stock PS5 pad though. I would say to avoid the Power A Fight Pad, as its d-pad feels like it's made out of wet clay and was a miserable and tiring experience to try and shmup with.

[Atariboy]

Is the older iteration of the Fighting Commander still available? I know they're long OOP and expensive in Xbox One/360 form, but the last I checked they still could be found new at close to MSRP here and there in Playstation form.

That's my standard controller when I want to play a shooter on the PS4 and PS3 and not use an arcade stick. I assume it's compatible with most such games on the PS5, although I've yet to make that jump myself. The only negative is no touch pad button (which is a pain for example on Arcade Archives releases since that brings up the menu).

[Lemnear]

I found the d-pad on the Octa to be fairly small, and I struggled avoid false inputs (hitting a diagonal when I wanted just a cardinal direction). It's certainly better than the stock PS5 pad though. I would say to avoid the Power A Fight Pad, as its d-pad feels like it's made out of wet clay and was a miserable and tiring experience to try and shmup with.

I have that too. I really like the buttons, but the Saturn style D-Pad is not for me, I don't find it immediate and you have to do too much movement, I go back to single arrows.

Is the older iteration of the Fighting Commander still available? I know they're long OOP and expensive in Xbox One/360 form, but the last I checked they still could be found new at close to MSRP here and there in Playstation form.

That's my standard controller when I want to play a shooter on the PS4 and PS3 and not use an arcade stick. I assume it's compatible with most such games on the PS5, although I've yet to make that jump myself. The only negative is no touch pad button (which is a pain for example on Arcade Archives releases since that brings up the menu).

That's why I got the Octa, several games have the menu on the touchpad.

My favorite D-Pad, with monstrous precision is this:

Spoiler

but they don't work on PS4 or PS5 (but for some reason on PS3 they do, but it swaps R1 with R2, L1 with L2, and X and O).
They also work on PC, are recognized as "PS Classic Controller"

[Restart_Point]

Thanks for the replies.

After some deliberation and to cover all bases I've ordered an OCTA and a 'Brook Wingman FGC 2'. Converts X Input (and other) controllers into what the PS5 recognises as a legit DuelSense so works with all PS5 / PS4 games. Amazon UK was doing a great price on the OCTA and if I don't like the d-pad I can return it on Prime.
The Wingman is fully customisable and can emulate the touchpad when needed. So I'll also be able to use loads of my current controllers including the 8bitdo M30 and XB360 sticks. I'll see how that goes, hopefully it wont introduce noticeable lag.

PS: if you have a PS5 Slim the normal USB output is on the back while the front ones are USB-C, I got a USBC-to-USB adapter to connect it to the front without having the cable go all the way around.

Yes its a slim. thanks, as luck would have it I already have one of those.

[mirkvid]

I wonder if that PS Classic controller works on PS4 or 5 with a Brooks adapter. I should test that out sometime...

[hamfighterx]

There's a brand new Hori Wireless Octa Pro for PS5/Windows, official release date is April 14 but some retailers are already shipping it. I ordered one from Arcade Shock this weekend, just learned about it when I went there to do some Sanwa button shopping for a project. I already got shipping notice and it should arrive in the next week or so, Arcade Shock also seems to have the lowest price - $99.95 and free US shipping (MSRP seems to be $109.99)

Can use it wireless (via included USB-C 2.4ghz dongle) or wired with USB-C. Comes with three different swappable d-pads, to help address some of the concerns about the original Octa's d-pad being a bit divisive. Apparently updating the firmware, on both the new Octa and the previous version, is recommended.

Will report back with some impressions once I get the thing and have a chance to test it out.

[Jonpachi]

There's a brand new Hori Wireless Octa Pro for PS5/Windows, official release date is April 14 but some retailers are already shipping it. I ordered one from Arcade Shock this weekend, just learned about it when I went there to do some Sanwa button shopping for a project. I already got shipping notice and it should arrive in the next week or so, Arcade Shock also seems to have the lowest price - $99.95 and free US shipping (MSRP seems to be $109.99)

Can use it wireless (via included USB-C 2.4ghz dongle) or wired with USB-C. Comes with three different swappable d-pads, to help address some of the concerns about the original Octa's d-pad being a bit divisive. Apparently updating the firmware, on both the new Octa and the previous version, is recommended.

Will report back with some impressions once I get the thing and have a chance to test it out.

This is exciting to see:

[Restart_Point]

Will keep an eye on that thanks. Its on pre-order on Amazon UK. And thanks for the firmware advice RE the old OCTA, I'm receiving one tomorrow

[hamfighterx]

Oh hmmmm! Now seeing at least one report of issues with the firmware update on the new Octa Pro: https://www.reddit.com/r/fightsticks/co ... defective/ So, maybe worth holding off on that to see if there are any new developments since the pad just launched.

For the previous Octa, I've read about some issues of missing d-pad inputs that were resolved by updating firmware. Upon further investigation, some people also reported that the firmware caused problems for them - but I've seen more pro than con reports about that one, and not sure if the current firmware version ironed out any previous bugs. Buyer beware I guess.

Also, re: the new Pro version, apparently it does also work on PS4 but only if using a wired connection. Has been out in Japan for a week or so, and just starting to ship in the US, so I expect we'll see more impressions as people start using the new one.

[Steven]

This thing looks cool but the reviewers on Amazon Japan are trashing it. 2.2 overall rating with 43% of those being 1 star as of now, with the d-pad seeming to be problematic, but I haven't read all of the reviews. It's also very expensive. At least it's still cheaper than that ridiculous Dualsense Edge.

[Jonpachi]

It's more just that the d-pad on the Octa is really small. It's like GBA size. I gave it some time, but never quite felt like I "trusted" it. Just me though.

[Restart_Point]

I've been testing the (original) OCTA for PS5 for a short time now, on PS5, MiSTer & PC. I can't speak for its long-term durability of course but it has been fine for me. From what I have seen in reviews, the concerns regarding the d-pad all come with particular moves in fighting games and I have had none of them with shmups / run n guns.

The d-pad is the same size as (actually a couple of mm wider than) a 360 d-pad, so yes it is small compared to Saturn / m30 etc but I personally like the 360 d-pad and being able to keep my thumb more or less stationary and move by just rocking works fine for me in shmups. It looks to be modelled on a 360 d-pad in general, with an almost identical raised cross moulding, and has a similar feel, but with less travel than the 360, but not too shallow. The microswitch face buttons have been good too. As someone said above, great for quick firing in shmups without auto-fire on.

To address the concerns about the over-all cheap feel to it, yes it is light and hollow-feeling for its size (but not flimsy), and the Start, Select, Menu, Touch Pad etc are just serviceable. They have clearly saved some budget by concentrating on quality action controls and not on the function buttons (and no haptic / motors / motion detection etc), which I think is fairly reflected in it's lower price than other licenced speciality controllers. I found a Youtube review showing that they used decent branded Kailh microswitches for example. I think Hori could lower the price some more now though, seeing as the Octa PRO has just been released.

So over-all I can recommend the original OCTA for shmups after a my initial experiences, keeping mind that twin-sticks may (obviously) be an issue with only one analog stick, unless they have suitable re-configuration options.

[hamfighterx]

Got my Octa Pro today. I like it a lot, probably more than I expected I would (usually I'm just petulant that nothing matches a Saturn pad lol, but not this time).

Tested it on PS5 both via wired USB connection and with the wireless dongle. Couldn't perceive a difference between the two, so that's good news for the wireless capability.

First tried it out with some Street Fighter 6, did some training and a couple quick arcade mode playthroughs, and found no issues at all with the d-pad or dropping inputs. I was actually more consistent with my inputs than average, certainly didn't feel held back by the controller at all. Then I fired up Dangun Feveron and did a full run through Fever mode plus a little more messing around. No issues whatsoever, nice and reponsive.

Overall it feels good in my average sized hands. Not cramped, fairly light weight (owing in part to the lack of haptic motors) but it doesn't feel cheap, feels natural to hold including comfortable access to the two assignable buttons on the back of the pad (which also don't feel obtrusive to me even if I'm not using them) and to the shoulder buttons. The 6 primary face buttons are microswitch buttons and feel really good - appropriately sensitive and don't need much travel, but do require enough of a press to activate the satisfyingly clicky microswitch that I wasn't accidentally triggering them.

And a very nice thing about this controller is that it has all of the control pads/sticks you'd want for a "normal" PS5 controller - including the addition from the original Octa of a new right analog that's a barely raised disc (think the Nintendo 3DS analog disc/pad). Left analog is a short analog stick with well defined octagonal gate, it actually feels pretty good as analogs go. I was even OK using that for busting out Street Fighter specials, thought I do prefer the d-pad(s). Nice to have full analog movement on L stick + camera on R "stick" for something like Street Fighter 6 going into 3D lobbies that are built for a dual analog control scheme - which is honestly pretty annoying when you're using an arcade stick.

As for those d-pads: three different models included and they're easy to remove but stay very secure with an somewhat Lego-like conection. All the d-pads are on a circular disk: one with a very well defined and sharp raised cross, one with a much flatter profile but a slightly raised large cross shape, and one in between those two in height/definition. Medium one was on the pad out of the box, feels good. I'm not sure which I prefer quite yet, all feel fine so maybe I'll stick to the medium if only because it is a little softer on the fingers than the sharper edged + shape one with plastic that is a little on the harder side.

I have not touched any firmware updates yet, using whatever version it comes out of the box.

IDK, initial impressions from me are quite good! I guess it comes down to whether you can justify the cost for these specific features. The d-pads seem totally fine to me, and I can sometimes be picky about that. But I do think the biggest draw is probably for fighting game players who really want that 6 face button layout. I do want that for fighting game purposes, so although I'll give it some use with shooters too, that was not my main motivation. Sometimes I also just like to play on a stick. But I can also see myself grabbing the Octa when I'm feeling too lazy or comfortable to want to set up a proper stick, but I'd still rather have the feel of the Octa over a standard PS5 Dualsense.

[Jonpachi]

Thanks for the review Hamfighter. Super excited now to pick one up as I'm still lacking a dedicated PS5 shmup option (still rocking my PS4 Pro for some games just due to joystick options).

[Steven]

Probably too early to ask, but I'd be mildly interested in the battery life, as the PS5 controller's is quite short and the damn thing practically has to be left plugged in.

[hamfighterx]

Hori claims it's approximately 10 hours per charge. I'll try to remember to play with it in the next week and not plug it in to recharge, and see what I get.

Should definitely get more hours per charge than a DualSense since it doesn't have the haptics and lights that are a real drain on that controller. Honestly I'm a little surprised it's only listed at 10, since stuff like Xbox pads (with first party Microsoft battery pack) or a Switch pro controller will easily exceed that. But maybe Hori used a smaller battery to help keep the weight down or something.

[Steven]

Hey, that's still better than the PS5 controller. I charge the thing fully, unplug it, use the PS5 as a BD player to watch Star Trek, and then about 6 or so episodes later, during which the controller does absolutely nothing, it's down to about 33%. It's a few years old and all batteries deteriorate over time, but it's still disappointing.