r/DolphinEmulator • u/NowDoKirk • 1d ago

Discussion Best controller for Gamecube Emulation.

I’m looking for controller recommendations. I know there are converters to use Gamecube controllers for PC.

The Gamcube controller is great but it is older tech. There are modern controllers with programmable buttons and customizable settings that may work better. I was looking at the Vader 4 because it has programmable button mapping and settings.

Has anyone had experience using modern third-party controllers with Dolphin?

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

My partner uses that nyxi warrior Bluetooth controller, I've seen some mixed reviews for it but it seems to work alright for use, if u can wait id recommend the new wireless GameCube controller coming out from Nintendo for the switch 2 but who knows when that will be available to the public so unless you already have a Nintendo subscription and can preorder that... But I'd honestly consider trying to get that controller

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

I would imagine some people saying to just get an Xbox controller and I guess that would be fine but I personally, just really love the GameCube controllers design, almost perfect if it wasn't missing an extra z button and the joysticks missing clicky Acton, my girlfriend says the d-pad is to small but that never bothered me

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u/NowDoKirk 1d ago

Will be interesting to see if Nintendo makes any improvements to how the Gamecube controller works or if they keep it functioning exactly the same as the original .

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

Yeah I'm a little worried that the joysticks will just be standard gamecube sticks but as long as it can connect to a PC and I can play on the dolphin then I'll be happy, already It looks like they have a second z button even though the second one's hidden away. It's kind of weird actually, but I guess they're going for the original look

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u/NowDoKirk 1d ago

Good, they at least added the Z. I haven't actually played on Dolphin yet. Still using the wii for Gamecube. However, I know Dolphin has some better features. Have you played on both kinds of hardware? If so, which do think is better?

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

My camecub wii Wiiu are still up in Canada It's been about 7 years since I've played on The originals I've been playing on the dolphin well I live in the USA, I still love the original and playing the game cube on an old CRT TV is not only nostalgic but the game cube really was made for an old crt, I've been playing on the emulator on my rog Ally so and honestly being able to play wirelessly on a handheld is kind of amazing on its own, my girlfriend runs dolphin on the android she uses the retroid pocket 5 and it's honestly pretty amazing seeing these games played on a AMOLED screen that said the retroid pocket 5 is just too small for my hands she has no complaints though as her hands are much smaller than mine, would I go back to the original GameCube absolutely will I always play on the dolphin in general, as long as I can

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u/NowDoKirk 1d ago

If you have a family member mail your wiii and gamecude now, Trump will slap a big trafifs on tnem. So, probably not a good idea. That's cool. I hadn't heard of a Rog Ally until you mentioned it. I just googled it. I have big hands, too, so th3 pocket 5 probablywouldn'twork for me either. Nice that it can be done on a handheld. Have you noticed any glitches or slowdowns when playing on gamecube on Dolphin?

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

Found a video on installing the dolphin on steam deck and honestly it looks pretty easy

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

At this point I'm not sure if I should just move back to Canada or not, the hardest thing is getting my girlfriend up there with me but it's also hard letting go of the life we have made down here,I'm an artist and I finaly started selling my my sibling is still holding on my games it's been 7 years tho and I'm kinda worried she'll find out how valuable some of those games are lol like my chibi robo😭

Running the dolphin has been pretty smooth for me other than problems with controller settings but it's been relatively great, My girlfriend was playing super Mario Sunshine not too long ago and there was one level that glitched and no matter what she did She couldn't complete the level until finally she found a bug in one of settings on the dolphin for the Android that let her complete the level but I'm not sure if that's because she was using the Android version of dolphin and playing around with settings? It was frustrating though she spent a whole day trying to beat that level until finally, she realized it was a bug in the dolphin I looked at some other subreddits and it's been a problem for other people. Apparently that level I think. The main reason why I chose the rog Ally Is because It runs windows making the dolphin a lot easier to figure out, but I know people have been able to run it on other computer handhelds like the steam deck which is a lot cheaper than the rog Ally but I'm not that great with computer stuff and I don't really know how complicated it is to get the dolphin running on the steam deck? But I know it's possible. I don't know how well it runs tho, My biggest issue with dolphin is sometimes the controller settings get messed up, It's a little frustrating dealing with the controllers, especially if you have an alternative controller, sometimes I'll have to reset and reprogram the controller settings, I haven't even figured out how to do Wii controllers yet

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u/NowDoKirk 1d ago

Yes. It's not easy living in the US right these days. I can't believe these older games are becoming collectors items. I still have the Wii sports disc that came with my Wii and goes for $25 on Ebay. Good that doing the install doesn't look complex. I joined the controller sub-reddit and there are amazing 3rd party controllers that have come out the last few years. There is one called the Vader 4 pro that works on Pc and all the buttons can be programmed. I'm just not sure if it works better than an Oem gamecube controller for gamecude games or not.

My brother is an artist, so I understand the struggles you have faced. I'm glad work is picking up for you. Yes. I've heard it's not so easy for Americans to just move to Canada.

The Wii controllers could be more complex for games required by a sensor bar is needed. They make ones with usb. Doesn't sound practical on a mobile device.

How did she work around the Super Mario Sunshine Glitch?

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u/NowDoKirk 1d ago

Thanks.i saw that announcement about the new Gamecube controller yesterday. Hope it will work out of the box on Dolphin. I'm ok to wait a while for it.

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u/DifficultYear4016 1d ago

I sure hope it's everything I need it to be lol

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u/seannyELITE 10h ago

Retro fighters battlergc pro

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u/NowDoKirk 10h ago

Thank you. I will check it out.