Review of the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U
I've had this controller for several months now, and I'm ready to give a full review of it.
I've decided to post the review in the past tense, as it'll serve as a monument for future generations.
Start Review
***
This thread started because I was trying to find the perfect controller for Super Smash Bros for Wii U, be it for general use or a tournament setting. The images of the Hori Battle Pad were appealing:
THE CONTROLLER IN THEORY
The controller looked almost exactly like a GameCube controller. The sticks and buttons looked like they were the right size, shape, and texture. There were some extra buttons on the controller's face, but those didn't look like they'd get in the way at all and they added a TURBO function, to boot!
Also, it came in Mario and Luigi colors that mimic the extremely limited Club Nintendo releases. What's not to like?
Moving on to other features, the thing that drew me in and made me purchase this controller was the shoulder buttons. At the time, Brawl only worked with digital shoulder button presses. Assuming that Smash 4 would carry on with this tradition, it seemed logical that a fast moving digital button press would be a better shoulder button. This would let you react more quickly and would allow for things like using the shoulder buttons for jump more comfortably without having to de-spring your original GameCube controller.
Didn't those shoulder buttons look super attractive?
The other benefit this controller offered was the D-Pad. It was the same size as the one on the Classic Controller. This would make it useful for Virtual Console games. Speaking of other games, this controller was usable with any game that supports the Classic Controller. This wasn't true of the GameCube controller, which was only usable (with the officiall GameCube Adapter) with Super Smash Bros for Wii U.
Overall, it seemed like Hori has taken the GameCube controller and had updated the design and removed any drawbacks that the original had.
THE CONTROLLER IN PRACTICE
I received the controller at the same time I received my GameCube Adapter and excitedly opened both.
The Hori Battle Pad for Wii U felt pretty light.
This was mostly due to the lack of a rumble motor. Like a Classic Controller, it had no vibration feedback, but due to the GameCube Controller shape, it had a lot of empty space as shown here:
A, B, X, and Y felt exactly the same as they do on an original GameCube controller. They were the same height, shape, and size, which was great! The shape of the controller was almost identical to the original GameCube controller and the shoulder buttons were like the ones on the Pro Controller, meaning the triggers were buttons that angled downward toward the back when pressed, but were still fully digital.
Oddly, the Hori Battle Pad's plastic shell seemed a bit rushed. There was a tiny bit of mold flash around the bottom seam that I had to scratch off with my fingernail. The screws on the back were a bit uneven due to some plastic flash in one of the screw holes. I removed the screw and tried tightening it with no effect.
The main drawback of this controller was, surprisingly, the main Analog stick. The top of the analog stick was slightly higher than the one on an original GameCube controller, and oddly, to make up for the increased D-Pad size, the area around the analog stick and buttons was expanded slightly. Unfortunately, this puts the analog stick a bit too far to the right of the left edge of the controller and moves your hand position enough to throw off muscle memory.
When the Classic Controller Pro came out, I switched to it because I wanted to have a replaceable controller and figured that the GameCube controller would be discontinued soon (boy, was I wrong). I had the same issue (much more extreme, of course) when switching to that controller due to the new hand position. By comparison to the Classic Controller Pro, the Hori Battle Pad didn't have this issue at all, but compared to the GameCube controller, it was noticeable.
The Z/L and Z/R shoulder buttons on the Battle Pad felt nice. I liked how they felt better than the Z button on the actual GameCube controller. The back shoulder buttons were pretty good, but made a bit of a click when I pressed them down. My friend also received one of these controllers and described it as a 'springy' sound. When I opened up the controller, I found out that the rear shoulder buttons don't have any springs in them and that this sound was caused by the button's plastic hitting the back of the shell.
The shoulder buttons worked well, overall though.
At the time, I only had an old launch GameCube controller, that while in good condition had a bit of give to the main analog stick. I'd refurbished that controller using the rubber button membranes from a newer GameCube controller, but I didn't have a newer analog stick to work with.
In eight player Smash I tested the analog sticks for responsiveness.
I tested:
Wii U Pro Controller
A heavily used Classic Controller Pro
A brand new Classic Controller Pro
Heavily used GameCube controller
Moderately used Wavebird
Hori Battle Pad for Wii U
NYKO Pro Commander (Pro Controller)
PowerA Mini Pro Elite Wireless Controller for Wii U
In my tests, the analog sticks were very comparable. They were all able to accurately determine input direction. Interestingly, some of them seemed a bit too sensitive.
I'll explain what I mean by that, because it's not something that I can easily quantify.
Pressing a stick slowly from neutral to the right should gradually make your character walk faster until they get up to full walking speed.
On some of these controllers, the range from zero to fully pressed was shorter than on others. Meaning that it took a much more careful and small movement to make the character move their slowest or even moderately slowly.
This doesn't affect most games, but in games like Smash where you can walk for spacing, it can be problematic as it can cause you to dash when you're not expecting to.
Unfortunately, compared to the real GameCube controller, the Hori Battle Pad suffers from this sensitivity. Interestingly, the Wii U Pro Controller and the NYKO Pro Commander also have this issue.
This could be why some people call the Pro Controller "Too sensitive". Interestingly, the GameCube controller seemed to have the smoothest movement gradient. This might have been due to the stick being broken in a bit more, or so I thought.
After all of my initial testing, I acquired a Smash Bros branded GameCube controller and a Mayflash Adapter.
Interestingly, even though the stick was tight and fresh, the controller still had a higher range of motion before it'd be considered fully pressed. I figured that this had something to do with the stick type and the physical range of motion.
For example, the new GameCube controller, the Pro Controller, and the Classic Controller Pro all used the same type of all-plastic stick box.
The Pro Controller, though, had a smaller opening for the stick to move around in. That limited the maximum range of the stick. Perhaps that contributed to the "sensitivity"?
The Hori Battle Pad for Wii U, however, had a different type of stick box. It had an all-metal box that's similar to the stick box in controllers like the Alienware USB/PS2 pad and the Saitek P2900 wireless pad.
The Hori Battle Pad Sitck Box
The Alienware USB controller
The all metal design seemed just as responsive and springy as the original GameCube controller. It was very smooth when you rotated it around in a circle, being careful to avoid the hexagonal edges of the shell. Interestingly, the official GameCube controllers were a bit rough when circled this way, almost as if they were catching on something internally. Every first party GameCube controller I tested did this. I hadn't tested any other first party controllers.
One of the main advantages of the Hori Battle Pad was its ability to be used in games besides Smash Bros for Wii U. Games such as Super Mario 3D World, or Super Smash Bros on the N64 Virtual Console.
I really liked the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U. Unfortunately, I liked the original GameCube controller better. It just felt more solid. In the end, though, it came down to the left stick. While perfectly passable and usable with enough practice, the Hori Battle Pad's stick was too sensitive and would sometimes flip my character around if I were to release the stick and let it reset to normal. This only happened with a few characters, including Duck Hunt. With most characters, this never happened. Note, there were reports of this happening with the Pro Controller, the Gamepad, and other first party controllers.
The main benefit of the controller was, in my opinion, outweighed by the drawbacks, namely the analog stick. Note: I thought the analog stick was perfectly useable and even felt pretty good, but I was on a quest for the perfect controller for Smash.
I did find a product called the Classic Linker Plus that lets you use Classic Controllers with GameCube ports. This could be used to use the Hori Battle Pad with the GameCube Adapter, in theory. All of the reviews for the product said that it had a huge delay while in use and that it dropped inputs. Oh well.
In the end, the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U held up very well compared to the other available controller options, but if someone had the extra money, a Smash Bros GameCube controller with a Mayflash adapter would have served them better. It would have let them use the controller as a Classic Controller, while still letting them wire up were they to go to a tournament.
For the price ($25) the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U couldn't be beat! I would have highly recommended it.
For almost double the cost, you could have gotten any number of any first party alternatives that would have served you just as well if not slightly better.
The Wii U Pro Controller was perfect aside from the lack of hexagonal guides for the analog stick and the lack of a wired option.
The Classic Controller Pro was a great alternative aside from the position of the analog stick and the lack of a wired version.
The GameCube/Wavebird controller itself would be ideal if it was supported in more games than just Super Smash Bros for Wii U.
The GameCube controller was perfect if you bought a 3rd party Classic Controller adapter for it (Like the Mayflash Adapter). Even then, it wasn't compatible with all of the games due to the lack of two Z buttons.
***
End Review.
TL:DR
The Hori Battle Pad for Wii U is definitely worth getting for the price, unless you can afford a Smash Bros GameCube controller and either a Mayflash Adapter or a GameCube Adapter.
I'm highly tempted to buy the PDP Wired Fight Pad to compare it directly to the GameCube controller and the Hori Battle Pad in an update to this review. Should I?
I've had this controller for several months now, and I'm ready to give a full review of it.
I've decided to post the review in the past tense, as it'll serve as a monument for future generations.
Start Review
***
This thread started because I was trying to find the perfect controller for Super Smash Bros for Wii U, be it for general use or a tournament setting. The images of the Hori Battle Pad were appealing:
THE CONTROLLER IN THEORY
The controller looked almost exactly like a GameCube controller. The sticks and buttons looked like they were the right size, shape, and texture. There were some extra buttons on the controller's face, but those didn't look like they'd get in the way at all and they added a TURBO function, to boot!
Also, it came in Mario and Luigi colors that mimic the extremely limited Club Nintendo releases. What's not to like?
Moving on to other features, the thing that drew me in and made me purchase this controller was the shoulder buttons. At the time, Brawl only worked with digital shoulder button presses. Assuming that Smash 4 would carry on with this tradition, it seemed logical that a fast moving digital button press would be a better shoulder button. This would let you react more quickly and would allow for things like using the shoulder buttons for jump more comfortably without having to de-spring your original GameCube controller.
Didn't those shoulder buttons look super attractive?
The other benefit this controller offered was the D-Pad. It was the same size as the one on the Classic Controller. This would make it useful for Virtual Console games. Speaking of other games, this controller was usable with any game that supports the Classic Controller. This wasn't true of the GameCube controller, which was only usable (with the officiall GameCube Adapter) with Super Smash Bros for Wii U.
Overall, it seemed like Hori has taken the GameCube controller and had updated the design and removed any drawbacks that the original had.
THE CONTROLLER IN PRACTICE
I received the controller at the same time I received my GameCube Adapter and excitedly opened both.
The Hori Battle Pad for Wii U felt pretty light.
This was mostly due to the lack of a rumble motor. Like a Classic Controller, it had no vibration feedback, but due to the GameCube Controller shape, it had a lot of empty space as shown here:
A, B, X, and Y felt exactly the same as they do on an original GameCube controller. They were the same height, shape, and size, which was great! The shape of the controller was almost identical to the original GameCube controller and the shoulder buttons were like the ones on the Pro Controller, meaning the triggers were buttons that angled downward toward the back when pressed, but were still fully digital.
Oddly, the Hori Battle Pad's plastic shell seemed a bit rushed. There was a tiny bit of mold flash around the bottom seam that I had to scratch off with my fingernail. The screws on the back were a bit uneven due to some plastic flash in one of the screw holes. I removed the screw and tried tightening it with no effect.
The main drawback of this controller was, surprisingly, the main Analog stick. The top of the analog stick was slightly higher than the one on an original GameCube controller, and oddly, to make up for the increased D-Pad size, the area around the analog stick and buttons was expanded slightly. Unfortunately, this puts the analog stick a bit too far to the right of the left edge of the controller and moves your hand position enough to throw off muscle memory.
When the Classic Controller Pro came out, I switched to it because I wanted to have a replaceable controller and figured that the GameCube controller would be discontinued soon (boy, was I wrong). I had the same issue (much more extreme, of course) when switching to that controller due to the new hand position. By comparison to the Classic Controller Pro, the Hori Battle Pad didn't have this issue at all, but compared to the GameCube controller, it was noticeable.
The Z/L and Z/R shoulder buttons on the Battle Pad felt nice. I liked how they felt better than the Z button on the actual GameCube controller. The back shoulder buttons were pretty good, but made a bit of a click when I pressed them down. My friend also received one of these controllers and described it as a 'springy' sound. When I opened up the controller, I found out that the rear shoulder buttons don't have any springs in them and that this sound was caused by the button's plastic hitting the back of the shell.
The shoulder buttons worked well, overall though.
At the time, I only had an old launch GameCube controller, that while in good condition had a bit of give to the main analog stick. I'd refurbished that controller using the rubber button membranes from a newer GameCube controller, but I didn't have a newer analog stick to work with.
In eight player Smash I tested the analog sticks for responsiveness.
I tested:
Wii U Pro Controller
A heavily used Classic Controller Pro
A brand new Classic Controller Pro
Heavily used GameCube controller
Moderately used Wavebird
Hori Battle Pad for Wii U
NYKO Pro Commander (Pro Controller)
PowerA Mini Pro Elite Wireless Controller for Wii U
In my tests, the analog sticks were very comparable. They were all able to accurately determine input direction. Interestingly, some of them seemed a bit too sensitive.
I'll explain what I mean by that, because it's not something that I can easily quantify.
Pressing a stick slowly from neutral to the right should gradually make your character walk faster until they get up to full walking speed.
On some of these controllers, the range from zero to fully pressed was shorter than on others. Meaning that it took a much more careful and small movement to make the character move their slowest or even moderately slowly.
This doesn't affect most games, but in games like Smash where you can walk for spacing, it can be problematic as it can cause you to dash when you're not expecting to.
Unfortunately, compared to the real GameCube controller, the Hori Battle Pad suffers from this sensitivity. Interestingly, the Wii U Pro Controller and the NYKO Pro Commander also have this issue.
This could be why some people call the Pro Controller "Too sensitive". Interestingly, the GameCube controller seemed to have the smoothest movement gradient. This might have been due to the stick being broken in a bit more, or so I thought.
After all of my initial testing, I acquired a Smash Bros branded GameCube controller and a Mayflash Adapter.
Interestingly, even though the stick was tight and fresh, the controller still had a higher range of motion before it'd be considered fully pressed. I figured that this had something to do with the stick type and the physical range of motion.
For example, the new GameCube controller, the Pro Controller, and the Classic Controller Pro all used the same type of all-plastic stick box.
The Pro Controller, though, had a smaller opening for the stick to move around in. That limited the maximum range of the stick. Perhaps that contributed to the "sensitivity"?
The Hori Battle Pad for Wii U, however, had a different type of stick box. It had an all-metal box that's similar to the stick box in controllers like the Alienware USB/PS2 pad and the Saitek P2900 wireless pad.
The Hori Battle Pad Sitck Box
The Alienware USB controller
The all metal design seemed just as responsive and springy as the original GameCube controller. It was very smooth when you rotated it around in a circle, being careful to avoid the hexagonal edges of the shell. Interestingly, the official GameCube controllers were a bit rough when circled this way, almost as if they were catching on something internally. Every first party GameCube controller I tested did this. I hadn't tested any other first party controllers.
One of the main advantages of the Hori Battle Pad was its ability to be used in games besides Smash Bros for Wii U. Games such as Super Mario 3D World, or Super Smash Bros on the N64 Virtual Console.
I really liked the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U. Unfortunately, I liked the original GameCube controller better. It just felt more solid. In the end, though, it came down to the left stick. While perfectly passable and usable with enough practice, the Hori Battle Pad's stick was too sensitive and would sometimes flip my character around if I were to release the stick and let it reset to normal. This only happened with a few characters, including Duck Hunt. With most characters, this never happened. Note, there were reports of this happening with the Pro Controller, the Gamepad, and other first party controllers.
The main benefit of the controller was, in my opinion, outweighed by the drawbacks, namely the analog stick. Note: I thought the analog stick was perfectly useable and even felt pretty good, but I was on a quest for the perfect controller for Smash.
I did find a product called the Classic Linker Plus that lets you use Classic Controllers with GameCube ports. This could be used to use the Hori Battle Pad with the GameCube Adapter, in theory. All of the reviews for the product said that it had a huge delay while in use and that it dropped inputs. Oh well.
In the end, the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U held up very well compared to the other available controller options, but if someone had the extra money, a Smash Bros GameCube controller with a Mayflash adapter would have served them better. It would have let them use the controller as a Classic Controller, while still letting them wire up were they to go to a tournament.
For the price ($25) the Hori Battle Pad for Wii U couldn't be beat! I would have highly recommended it.
For almost double the cost, you could have gotten any number of any first party alternatives that would have served you just as well if not slightly better.
The Wii U Pro Controller was perfect aside from the lack of hexagonal guides for the analog stick and the lack of a wired option.
The Classic Controller Pro was a great alternative aside from the position of the analog stick and the lack of a wired version.
The GameCube/Wavebird controller itself would be ideal if it was supported in more games than just Super Smash Bros for Wii U.
The GameCube controller was perfect if you bought a 3rd party Classic Controller adapter for it (Like the Mayflash Adapter). Even then, it wasn't compatible with all of the games due to the lack of two Z buttons.
***
End Review.
TL:DR
The Hori Battle Pad for Wii U is definitely worth getting for the price, unless you can afford a Smash Bros GameCube controller and either a Mayflash Adapter or a GameCube Adapter.
I'm highly tempted to buy the PDP Wired Fight Pad to compare it directly to the GameCube controller and the Hori Battle Pad in an update to this review. Should I?
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