B Link
Smash Lord
A lot of people have been purchasing/have considered purchasing a Mayflash N64 Dual-Port adapter to play fake (online) smash.
I've used the Mayflash adapter along with several other n64 adapters (boom, raphnet) over the years and have also talked with other players (Firo, Nova etc.) who have used it. I also have access to a console so I can compare the adapter to the console easily. Long story short, it sucks for online ssb. My hopes are that this post results in people being better informed about the adapter and other n64 adapters in general.
Here's a more detailed explanation of why it sucks for online ssb:
- C buttons read as Z axis/rotation -- this feels completely different from console. The C buttons when using the Mayflash adapter press too easily. It also just feels weird in an unnatural kind of way. Mayflash's decision to use an analog direction for a button input simply results in a tremendous detour from n64 console feel.
- For some reason, you can't do certain techniques easily: I have trouble z cancelling shdair->ffuairs with Luigi for some reason with this adapter. I then use the same settings with either my raphnet or boom adapter and suddenly I can do them more consistently just like on console. This ties into my next point...
- The overall feel is too different from console. I can't exactly explain what's causing me to feel frustrated when using this adapter (the technical jargon), but my intuition tells me the adapter just has poor build quality causing it to fail to properly emulate the console n64 controller feel.
- This is a minor point, but regardless it's still a problem with the adapter: It claims to be plug and play yet there are a lot of problems that you can run into that may frustrate you.
I'm too lazy to list every single problem that people have run into (in fact I'm too lazy to list all the problems that I've run into) but a quick google search will reveal the many troubleshooting hurdles that people have had to jump over just to use this adapter. Again, this is a minor point because most troubleshooting problems are resolvable, however, it nonetheless reflects the overall poor quality of this adapter.
In spite of everything I've said above, there are SOME pros to using this adapter:
- it's somewhat low priced
- you can use two controllers if you get past the troubleshooting hurdles
- it's pretty durable
- some other n64 games (excluding ssb) probably don't require near 100% authentic n64 feel to play, thus this adapter is fine for those games
My adapter recommendations
Again, if you care about a close-to-console experience (and why wouldn't you?), then here are my recommendations: the adaptoid (technically it's not an adapter per se), the Boom PSX/n64 adapter, or the Raphnet (n64+gc or the n64) adapter. All of these adapters allow for the closest to console experience you can get. Yes, they aren't as cheap as the Mayflash one but sometimes you have to pay more for better quality.
Honestly, the adaptoid can be hard to find and is expensive, so if you're lazy you should either get the Boom or the Raphnet one. The problem with the Boom adapter is it doesn't work with all controllers (you have to get lucky). Although all of MY controllers have worked fine with it, you never know what might happen with yours. If you wanna take a risk then buy the Boom one, if not then buy the Raphnet. As for the Retroport adapter...well, I have not used it nor have talked to anyone who has used it (if you have one, let us know if it's any good).
Alright, that's about all I've got for now. Keep in mind I'm only talking about n64 controller adapters here. Obviously, if you don't mind not using an n64 controller, you have a lot of options: keyboard, xbox360, ps3, logitech, gamecube etc. I won't talk about these other input devices here.
Happy fake smashing
I've used the Mayflash adapter along with several other n64 adapters (boom, raphnet) over the years and have also talked with other players (Firo, Nova etc.) who have used it. I also have access to a console so I can compare the adapter to the console easily. Long story short, it sucks for online ssb. My hopes are that this post results in people being better informed about the adapter and other n64 adapters in general.
Here's a more detailed explanation of why it sucks for online ssb:
- C buttons read as Z axis/rotation -- this feels completely different from console. The C buttons when using the Mayflash adapter press too easily. It also just feels weird in an unnatural kind of way. Mayflash's decision to use an analog direction for a button input simply results in a tremendous detour from n64 console feel.
- For some reason, you can't do certain techniques easily: I have trouble z cancelling shdair->ffuairs with Luigi for some reason with this adapter. I then use the same settings with either my raphnet or boom adapter and suddenly I can do them more consistently just like on console. This ties into my next point...
- The overall feel is too different from console. I can't exactly explain what's causing me to feel frustrated when using this adapter (the technical jargon), but my intuition tells me the adapter just has poor build quality causing it to fail to properly emulate the console n64 controller feel.
- This is a minor point, but regardless it's still a problem with the adapter: It claims to be plug and play yet there are a lot of problems that you can run into that may frustrate you.
I'm too lazy to list every single problem that people have run into (in fact I'm too lazy to list all the problems that I've run into) but a quick google search will reveal the many troubleshooting hurdles that people have had to jump over just to use this adapter. Again, this is a minor point because most troubleshooting problems are resolvable, however, it nonetheless reflects the overall poor quality of this adapter.
In spite of everything I've said above, there are SOME pros to using this adapter:
- it's somewhat low priced
- you can use two controllers if you get past the troubleshooting hurdles
- it's pretty durable
- some other n64 games (excluding ssb) probably don't require near 100% authentic n64 feel to play, thus this adapter is fine for those games
My adapter recommendations
Again, if you care about a close-to-console experience (and why wouldn't you?), then here are my recommendations: the adaptoid (technically it's not an adapter per se), the Boom PSX/n64 adapter, or the Raphnet (n64+gc or the n64) adapter. All of these adapters allow for the closest to console experience you can get. Yes, they aren't as cheap as the Mayflash one but sometimes you have to pay more for better quality.
Honestly, the adaptoid can be hard to find and is expensive, so if you're lazy you should either get the Boom or the Raphnet one. The problem with the Boom adapter is it doesn't work with all controllers (you have to get lucky). Although all of MY controllers have worked fine with it, you never know what might happen with yours. If you wanna take a risk then buy the Boom one, if not then buy the Raphnet. As for the Retroport adapter...well, I have not used it nor have talked to anyone who has used it (if you have one, let us know if it's any good).
Alright, that's about all I've got for now. Keep in mind I'm only talking about n64 controller adapters here. Obviously, if you don't mind not using an n64 controller, you have a lot of options: keyboard, xbox360, ps3, logitech, gamecube etc. I won't talk about these other input devices here.
Happy fake smashing
