Surprisingly, for something that looks like the misshapen hybrid of a Classic Controller and a cheapo arcade stick (well ...), Gizmodo thought the thing felt nice. Apparently the different colors also have different finishes: the black controller is rubberized, while the white one is smooth plastic. We don't know if they actually tried the controller out with any games. Talking about the thing was probably fun enough.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-10-2008 @ 5:27PM
SergeEXE said...
Eh, I'm not so sure about The Shaft.
I already have the Fighting Stick Wii, and I have to say I love that one a great deal. It's more traditional, but it's still comfortable. Not to mention it has the entire Classic Controller button layout (zL and zR seem to be missing from The Shaft), and it has Turbo function (which still works in GlovePIE, making it useful for a couple of things).
Reply
1-11-2008 @ 12:32AM
BPM64 - The Second Attack! said...
It lacks the full Classic Controller layout because it's really just a GameCube controller. Notice the Select/Z? And the lack of a Home button? Yeah...
1-10-2008 @ 5:27PM
SergeEXE said...
Eh, I'm not so sure about The Shaft.
I already have the Fighting Stick Wii, and I have to say I love that one a great deal. It's more traditional, but it's still comfortable. Not to mention it has the entire Classic Controller button layout (zL and zR seem to be missing from The Shaft), and it has Turbo function (which still works in GlovePIE, making it useful for a couple of things).
Reply
1-10-2008 @ 5:39PM
Ghaleon said...
It looks (and I'm sure feels, because there are only three joystiq technologies that feel good - Happ Competition & Perfect 360 which look like teardrops, and Japanese style gumballs) like a travesty from the 16-bit era.
Reply
1-10-2008 @ 6:21PM
metalmechanica99 said...
Too bad brawl uses waggling for moves if your using the wiimote alone.
Reply
1-10-2008 @ 6:28PM
metalmechanica99 said...
Too bad brawl uses waggling for moves if your using the wiimote alone.
Reply
1-11-2008 @ 12:18AM
Ralph said...
Too bad Brawl has three other controller schemes that don't use waggle. http://www.smashbros.com/en_us/gamemode/various/various01.html
What I would like to know is why the Z button isn't more prominent on The Shaft. Oh well, won't stop me from buying this beast anyway.
1-11-2008 @ 12:23AM
JC Fletcher said...
Ralph: why not buy the GOOD arcade stick?
1-10-2008 @ 7:46PM
Thunderpants said...
Brawl supports classic controller control so this would work just fine.
Reply
1-11-2008 @ 10:38AM
metalmechanica99 said...
I'm going to buy a Wii to play brawl so I have yet to own one, so Ralph, sorry if my speculations are ill-informed. Though I have been keeping up with the Brawl Blog since the first update and I knew about the control schemes. What I am now aware of is that I do not understand how the controllers interact with the Wii. Does this plug into it through the Game Cube controller port? Do the classic controllers also use the Game Cube controller ports? And if this is wireless, does it support all motion sensitive functions of a wiimote? I was thinking it would be like a wiimote but without motion sensing... yeah I now realize that is odd. But for Brawl, would these few buttons be compatible for the classic controller scheme?
Reply
1-11-2008 @ 2:09PM
SergeEXE said...
The Classic Controller, as with the Nunchuck, plugs into the Wiimote, not the Wii's GameCube ports. The Shaft seems to be a GameCube controller, so it will probably go into the GC cube rather than the Wiimote port, like the Hori Fighting Stick Wii.
These controllers (other than the nunchuck) have no motion controller.
For Brawl, since the control is fully customizable, I'm sure any of these controllers will be fine.
1-26-2008 @ 6:40PM
metalmechanica99 said...
Thank you Serge.
3-22-2008 @ 6:09AM
Jace Bartet said...
From what I've read, the Hori controller actually seems less desirable than the Shaft for two reasons: Hori's stick can't be used with Gamecube games (I've been dying to try Ikaruga with a real arcade layout), nor can it be used with Brawl because the Fighting Stick only supports digital control (so trying to use it on Brawl results in performing attacks instead of, well, moving around at all). The makers of the Shaft have indicated that the joystick can be configured to support digital or analog control based on what game you're playing, and I can only assume since it plugs into the Gamecube ports that it would function as a Gamecube controller as well (though I've read no confirmation on this).
Reply