Wait, how many of you try to practice and play for reals on just a Switch screen?

[Sima Tuna]

Doesn't really matter as long as a few more people are getting shmups and having more ways of playing them.

I don't think anyone thinks a switch is an optimal option for anything other than convenience. But that in itself still makes it a great option for many.

Not for shmups, no. It's pretty optimal for 4-direction-and-fewer games, however. When diagonal shots aren't an option in the first place, that separated button dpad on the joycon works extremely well.

If you consider Space Invaders a shmup, I suppose that could be an example of a shmup that should play very well on joycon pad.

Shmups have the problem that they always have at least 8-way movement, so there is no ideal control option on Switch. I use the Split Pad Pro for shmups and it's "fine," but not as good as a nice Saturn pad. It also depends what you're used to, however.

[Sumez]

Have you tried playing with the thumbstick? I can't play them with dpads either nor with any regular analog thumbstick, but the Joycon's has so little throw that I find it the best option when I don't feel like playing on a monitor with the arcade stick. Maybe give it a try ^^

Not on Switch specifically, but I've done that in the past on other platforms. It's definitely preferable to d-pad in how the directions feel, but it has other obvious drawbacks. It just feels incredibly imprecise due to he lack of precise feedback and the long travel distance

When diagonal shots aren't an option in the first place, that separated button dpad on the joycon works extremely well.

I agree, I actually quite like the joycon d-pad!
Especially compared to the d-pad on the "pro" controller which is just downright broken.

[Steven]

If we leave out handheld systems and only talk about consoles (Vita has one of the top two best d-pads ever made, and I can see a strong case for it being the best one ever), there really hasn't been a single good d-pad on the controller that comes in the box with your game system since the Saturn.

30 fucking years without a good d-pad in a standard issue controller.

[ryu]

If we leave out handheld systems and only talk about consoles (Vita has one of the top two best d-pads ever made, and I can see a strong case for it being the best one ever), there really hasn't been a single good d-pad on the controller that comes in the box with your game system since the Saturn.

30 fucking years without a good d-pad in a standard issue controller.

That's because the companies producing them want to sell you AAA shovelware that only requires the sticks. They don't care about fighting games. At least for STGs the PS5 dpad does a surprisingly good job

It's funny how fighting games struggle with getting new players to accept their traditional inputs. Everybody thinks they're hard, when in reality casuals are just playing with controllers that are broken by design.

[Steven]

Yeah PS5 d-pad is one of the better ones, and the PS5 controller is one of the better post-Saturn pack-in controllers aside from its terrible battery life. It's what I've been using for Same! Same! Same! 1P after giving up on the arcade controller.

Does the Edge have a better d-pad than the regular PS5 controller? That controller is half the price of the system itself here, so no way am I going to buy it, but I am interested in it.

[Sumez]

With how many excellent 2D games come out nowadays, it really bothers me how much the analog stick is still pushed as the "default" input method, even though it's inferior for that purpose. Like I mentioned, the D-pad was obviously deprioritized on the Switch pro controller - up-diagonals are impossible to hit consistently, and pushing down will more often than not also push left for no good reason.

Nearly everything I play on Switch is primarily played using the D-pad, but despite that, using the analog stick is always an option that cannot even be disabled. I have not played a single 2D game on Switch where the stick can even be disabled, and I imagine it's something mandated by Nintendo. However, if you got joycons with even a tiny bit of drift (which is quite common), that very quickly becomes a major annoyance.

If we leave out handheld systems and only talk about consoles (Vita has one of the top two best d-pads ever made, and I can see a strong case for it being the best one ever), there really hasn't been a single good d-pad on the controller that comes in the box with your game system since the Saturn.

30 fucking years without a good d-pad in a standard issue controller.

PS4 and 5 d-pads are pretty good for my money. Not Vita level, but still a decent baseline, probably no worse than the SNES d-pad which I also really like.

[Steven]

I'm fairly neutral on Super Nintendo d-pad, but it was the second best of its time. The PC Engine's is horrible... but even that is still way better than the one on the 3 button MD controllers, which is one of the worst of all time. I'd rather use the one on the 360 controller.

Might as well mention something else that has a really really great d-pad: the Nomad. The Nomad is glorious to play on. The buttons are amazing and so is the d-pad. You'd think that this giant-ass brick would be uncomfortable, but it isn't. The size actually makes it more comfortable. Steam Deck is the same way. The Switch is probably one of the least comfortable portable gaming things ever, partially because the Joy-Cons are too thin. I'm not really sure why I haven't put my Joy-Cons in the trash where they belong, especially because the drift on mine makes them completely unusable for even navigating the system's menu.

[Jonpachi]

Does the Edge have a better d-pad than the regular PS5 controller? That controller is half the price of the system itself here, so no way am I going to buy it, but I am interested in it.

Nope! Same d-pad. It’s quite dumb.

[Steven]

Does the Edge have a better d-pad than the regular PS5 controller? That controller is half the price of the system itself here, so no way am I going to buy it, but I am interested in it.

Nope! Same d-pad. It’s quite dumb.

My disappointment is immense. They made a ridiculously expensive controller that's like four times the price of a normal one but the only things they really changed from the normal one were to make the already short battery life worse, let the user control the throw distance of L2 and R2, and added two programmable back buttons. Wonderful. I'd consider those back buttons invaluable for 3D action games, though, so at least that's valuable.

[miwa]

The Switch in handheld mode is my go-to device most of the time.
For horizontal games, I use the Hori Joy Con (which has an excellent D-Pad) on the left and a Hori Split Pad Pro on the right side.
While playing in Tate mode, I sit/lay in this weird position with the Switch resting on my bent legs. The 8bitdo M30 complements this experience perfectly.
Overall, the Switch is just an excellent choice if you want a few hours to fly by when you originally just wanted to play for "a few minutes" in bed before going to sleep.

Speaking of ideal ways to play, is there a certain time of day when you guys feel like you play best?
I've noticed that I have my best runs during a couple of hours in the evening, where I'm getting a little tired but am still focused and have no distractions.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

I don't use the Switch in portable mode often; I find it too heavy to comfortably hold up where I'd want it to be like a GB, GBA, GBA SP, etc. I don't use joycons; I use another set of controls similar to the Hori ones where there's a proper d-pad and a longer stick without the ghosting issues the joycons have. I much prefer to use it docked where I can have an arcade stick or controller in my lap.

[BrianC]

I use a stick-on d-pad with pivot from Skull 'n co. Works very nicely.

I'm fairly neutral on Super Nintendo d-pad, but it was the second best of its time. The PC Engine's is horrible... but even that is still way better than the one on the 3 button MD controllers, which is one of the worst of all time. I'd rather use the one on the 360 controller.

The 3 button MD had multiple revisions. The early ones sucked, but the ones without the red letters weren't bad. Some later ones have pad similar to the 6 button controllers and those are nice.

[Sima Tuna]

I don't use the Switch in portable mode often; I find it too heavy to comfortably hold up where I'd want it to be like a GB, GBA, GBA SP, etc. I don't use joycons; I use another set of controls similar to the Hori ones where there's a proper d-pad and a longer stick without the ghosting issues the joycons have. I much prefer to use it docked where I can have an arcade stick or controller in my lap.

I rest the switch on a pillow in my lap instead of holding it up like I would a GB, GBA, SP, DS, 3DS or PSP. As you say, the switch is rather wide and a bit heavy, so it would make for an uncomfortable portable to hold in a particular angle for hours at a time.

Now here is the part where everyone calls me a weakling.

[hamfighterx]

Agreed on full sized Switch being a bit too heavy to hold for sustained periods, especially for precision STGs.

I tend to use my OLED Switch docked, and I have a Switch Lite that's my main portable machine. And I play lots of horizontal shooters on the Lite, or games designed for a horizontal monitor. For example, for the Toaplan Arcade Garage games, I actually prefer playing the console ports and non-STGs on the Lite, and of course horis like Zero Wing and Hellfire are just fine for me.

Interestingly enough, I played a ton of the PS4 DOJ over the past week or so on a PS5 (with a DualSense) and was in a very good rhythm. I also have the game on Switch, and picked up my OLED with standard Joycons (didn't even bother to slap on my Hori Split Pad Pro), just left it in horizontal mode, and on my very first credit I had my best run of the week. So at least for me, not enough difference that it makes me play substantially worse on Switch. Even for a high difficulty vertical scroller.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

A pillow's not a bad idea to help hold it up. I've tried putting it on my legs to take the weight off and that's not ideal either... lately if I'm going somewhere I have some dungeon crawlers on my phone and I satisfy myself with that if need be, or take a GB Color/GBA along. I don't know if I like the Switch enough to bother to get a Switch Lite as well but I suppose that's an option too.

[Sima Tuna]

A pillow's not a bad idea to help hold it up.

I got all my huntdown 1ccs that way.

[ExitPlanetDust]

At least for STGs the PS5 dpad does a surprisingly good job

Yeah, the PS5 pad surprised me as well. It’s so good that I prefer it over other pads when playing PS4 and PS5 STGs and platformers. Actually, next to the Vita’s, it might be the best dpad Sony’s made.

[R8Spike]

I mainly play on my tv, however occasionally I'll play TATE mode on switch handheld screen.

For controller I switch between the pro controller's stick (I find it to be way better then the pad + It's how I got my novice Crimzon Clover 1cc) and my fightstick, depends on how close I want to sit to the screen, and for TATE mode it's 100% pro controller, as my control scheme is B for focus, A for shoot, and R for bomb (L for hyper).

[FRO]

I recently acquired an 8bitdo wireless stick to do just this. I replaced the lever and buttons, and it's handy for practice when I want to have a stream going on my TV, but still want to do a little practice interspersed with that, so I can fire up the switch on a little vertical stand on a tray table in front of me, connect the stick and get some Espgaluda II time in. It's not where I do the bulk of my practice, but it does help me do more than I would otherwise.

[Steven]

I use a stick-on d-pad with pivot from Skull 'n co. Works very nicely.

I'm fairly neutral on Super Nintendo d-pad, but it was the second best of its time. The PC Engine's is horrible... but even that is still way better than the one on the 3 button MD controllers, which is one of the worst of all time. I'd rather use the one on the 360 controller.

The 3 button MD had multiple revisions. The early ones sucked, but the ones without the red letters weren't bad. Some later ones have pad similar to the 6 button controllers and those are nice.

Both of mine have the red letters. They are unusable. I took one apart to clean it and it didn't fix it.

[TransatlanticFoe]

I've got 4 (two red Start, two white Start) and they're all great! One of the red ones is a stiffer design than the others but they're all responsive - the only crap d-pads I've had on MD style pads were Competition Pro knock offs, which can't reliably do anything.

[professor ganson]

In spirit, I'm entirely aligned with all the critical remarks directed towards use of the Switch as a handheld shmup device. There is one important exception for me, however:

I love to play the Aleste compilation on my Switch Lite.

The only other handheld shmup experience that compares for me is playing the Zanac collection on the Vita. These are all-time great handheld experiences for me, up there with my experiences of SRPG gaming on my Nintendo DS.

[Jonpachi]

In spirit, I'm entirely aligned with all the critical remarks directed towards use of the Switch as a handheld shmup device. There is one important exception for me, however:

I love to play the Aleste compilation on my Switch Lite.

The only other handheld shmup experience that compares for me is playing the Zanac collection on the Vita. These are all-time great handheld experiences for me, up there with my experiences of SRPG gaming on my Nintendo DS.

This is 100% fair. I had originally bought the Aleste collection on PS4, but found myself longing to have it as a handheld game (as it was designed to be) and once I had that version it was all I played for the next month.

[samspot]

I find the m30 controller to be the best overall for Mushi on PC. Its the only tool in my arsenal precise enough for the TLB. But of course it doesn’t work with the switch.

I have the 8bitdo arcade stick. It does work on switch and is quite fun, but not precise enough.

Joycon sticks and xbox elite sticks work well for me and better than the arcade stick. I use the xbox controller with an 8bitdo adapter. Joycons dominate my switch playtime due to convenience. My current ones haven’t started drifting…yet.

I don’t get the love for the vita dpad. I find it uncomfortable and too clicky. Maybe something is wrong with mine.

I used to think SNES was the GOAT, but i cant play on it as long as the m30 without wearing out my thumb.

[beer gas canister]

I find the m30 controller to be the best overall for Mushi on PC. Its the only tool in my arsenal precise enough for the TLB. But of course it doesn’t work with the switch.

I have the 8bitdo arcade stick. It does work on switch and is quite fun, but not precise enough.

Joycon sticks and xbox elite sticks work well for me and better than the arcade stick. I use the xbox controller with an 8bitdo adapter. Joycons dominate my switch playtime due to convenience. My current ones haven’t started drifting…yet.

I don’t get the love for the vita dpad. I find it uncomfortable and too clicky. Maybe something is wrong with mine.

I used to think SNES was the GOAT, but i cant play on it as long as the m30 without wearing out my thumb.

Are you talking about the 2.4ghz M30? Because it does work with the Switch! Plug its specific dongle into the dock (or the Switch's USB port via OTG convertor), and enable "allow USB connected Pro controllers" or similar in the Switch settings. I use a 2.4 ghz on Switch exclusively. You may need to update the controller and/or the dongle firmware first. It's done via click and drag on PC iirc

Bluetooth M30s definitely work with Switch out of the box but you may need to boot it in a particular mode