Retrolink Nintendo 64 Classic USB Enabled Wired Controller for PC and MAC, Black

I bought this devive several years back. I since bought 3 more. Each purchase I made it seems their quality gets better. My first one broke but it was not the fault of retro-link but rather a power serge. Anyway I keep reading the plastic is light. I agree but I think regardless the feel of it does not feel cheap but rather really well constructed. I read the joystick and D pad are not so great. I'm fully in a disagreeance to that. The joystick has a larger range then a real N64 controller and has a metal rod inside that does not breakdown like a real N64 stick. It is solid from day 1 and stays solid no matter how much abuse it tosses at it. For non emulation games it works perfect. For emulation games it woks better then perfect. Mario 64 require percission. My first stick was decent but could have been better and was not as sensitive as the real N64 but my others after that one broke were more then spot on and allowed propper Mario 64 movment from all various ranges with proper percision. I read several complaints with PJ64 and this controller. Note those complaints will occure with EVERY controller you hook up. PJ64 requires knoledge to use. Even without a usb controller you can get the mem pack error just like the actual gaming system displays as it is no different and is a opttion to setup in PJ64. Want hastle free N64 emulation then use Mupen 64. By the way this controller is auto detected by windows unlike other retro-link controllers and works with all PC games. Furthermore the buttons seem to depress futher which gives you as a user the sensation needed to know you pressed the button. I read complaints about this and how there clicky and again I have to disagree as there smooth. This controller also works well tith Nes, Snes, Gens, Atari and anything your willing to try it on. Note I bought this thing when it cost $30.00. Now its better quality and cheaper. I know this product does not dissipoint. Only reviewers who do not know how to use emulators give this a bad review.

It's an okay N64-style pad, but its analog stick has the same problem I saw from Retrolink's Gamecube-style controller: the stick's calibration is messed up. The deadzones are way off-center, and as if to compensate, the axes are too sensitive. For example, you can move the stick one direction and have instant response from center, but it'll max out at roughly half-tilt. In the opposite direction, same axis, you have to move it almost halfway before you exit the deadzone, and then it just barely manages to max out at the edge. Trying to calibrate it in Windows or another utility is useless, as this problem seems to be hard-baked into the controller itself.

Great way to play your old Nintendo 64 games on PC, or any other game for that matter where an N64 controller might be more appropriate. I bought this controller because our house burned when I was younger, so the only copies I have of a lot of the old N64 games I used to play are emulator copies. However, it's a bit weird playing N64 games on PC with a Playstation style controller and mapping your C buttons to a joystick because in some games you really need actual C buttons to play the game properly. This controller is USB and was Plug and Play on my Debian Linux computers. There was no driver installation necessary and it looks and feels exactly like an original N64 controller. The slot in the bottom where a rumble pak or memory card would have fit is there, but it's fake and there's no connector or anything to actually plug anything in. It does however have the little hinged catch, so my guess is if you wanted to store a rumble pak in it for the added weight or something you could do that, it just won't function.On Linux I did have to go into the controller configuration for Mupen64Plus and configure the D pad for "hat0(up)" style signals before the D-pad would work. I also read that some people had to do something similar on their Windows machines. This is not a problem with the controller, just a problem with the default configurations for the software I was trying to use it on, but I thought I'd put that in this review in case any of you are using Mupen64Plus. There's no driver disc that comes with the controller, but since the other Retrolink controller I bought for PC worked fine on both Linux and Windows, it's a safe bet this one works fine on Windows out of the box as well as Linux, Mac OS, etc.

I've recently gotten back into some retro Nintendo gaming. I had the NES, SNES and N64 growing up, and even though I have the consoles and games kicking around, I prefer the emulator experience on today's modern TVs. Upconverting analog signals to HD looks too muddy, whereas emulated games are at least sharper - albeit still blocky due to the low resolution.So when I was looking for a controller that I could use for all three systems' games, I decided to look for an N64 version. Doing some research, I found that not all N64 third party controllers are created equal. The particular point of contention is the analog stick, which many execute with only an up/down/left/right differentiation. This one purports to have a "true" analog stick, and in playing games like Wave Race 64, I seem to get that precise control I'm looking for. It works out of the box with my Windows 7 PC and pretty much every emulator I've used. The build quality isn't up to par with the honest-to-God Nintendo controllers of old - there are USB-to-controller interfaces you can use your old controllers with - but I find it to be of reasonable quality. I'd expect it to stand up well over time but maybe not if used too heavily or banged around in storage.Overall, very happy with it, and loving all my old Nintendo favorites again!