That’s what the Dreamcast used for the triggers.
I always thought optical was pretty good. It’s not actually moving parts being measured, and N64 had like 250 digital points to measure (not technically analogue). The only downside was the actual plastic design led to wear if worked hard, though my personal N64 controllers are still 9/10 from back in the day (no kids used them and no Mario party I guess).
When Sony added analogue to PS1 to answer the N64 they used the old lubed grinding potentiometers analogue sticks, which is the tech that gets drift. And now everything uses that because it’s cheaper it seems? Kinda lame.
Hall effect might be good? Never tried one.
Didn’t Saturn’s 3D pad use something similar to Hall effect which is why it doesn’t drift? If you’ve used that, then you get the gist.
Yes it did. So did the Dreamcast and I beleive early xbox controllers as well.
I’ll get one when it’s back in stock. I have a controller with a useless stick just collecting dust. would be a good project
Ah yes indeed. And yes they were good. Weird that hall effect is being advertised around now as some huge new thing though.
What does Gamecube use?
EDIT: Seems Gamecube used potentiometers. But they are so much better than all other potentiometer controllers I’ve used, maybe it’s it being a large custom part?
I don’t think it is. It’s just being used to mean “this is the same technology as the original”.
N64 didn’t use hall effect though, it was optical. So this is like replacing the N64 stick with a Dreamcast one.
But what I was talking about was that after googling I found a bunch of articles hyping hall effect
eg
Seems it might all be coming from this ‘GuliKit’ company doing PR all over the place.
Because all current controllers use crappy sticks that get drift, there’s an appetite for eating up PR about a ‘rediscovered’ drift free tech I guess.
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Ah, my bad! Well, they fooled me 
I wouldn’t mind a stick that doesn’t degrade (as fast) on a secondary controller or 2, even if it doesn’t feel 100% as the original
my 20+ year old controllers are starting to show their age. can barely play Mario Kart comfortably anymore. or maybe I just suck at it now 
Good overview of the 8bitdo stick in this twitter thread. It seems pretty okay if you’ve got a busted stick, probably wouldn’t get one personally since I’ve still got some sticks in good condition and got other wireless options for games/genres not essential to the original N64 pad feel and layout
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Sin and Punishment, for me the ultimate action game. Never seen a game so polished in all departments, Street Fighter 2 level. The delicious pixel art of the writing elements, of certain details, the rhythm without any downtime (and I’m excessively demanding in this respect), the directing, the music, the visuals, the gameplay worthy of the best shmups whatever the difficulty level, the elegant visual narration at all times. And the story is top-notch, although it may seem obscure if you don’t have a little mystical culture. I always leave the cinematics running in my first run of each session, because it forms such a perfect whole, light-hearted with its humor, and hard-hitting at the same time.
Perfect longevity, from 40 minutes when rushing through the easy mode to an hour and twenty minutes depending on how you play: either you play for survival/speedrun/efficiency, or you play for score and let survive the element whose death will end the scene, even though it’s dangerous, to shoot the surrounding enemies. And then, in addition to being by definition harder to execute, elements and patterns can appear and change the scene completely, pushing the gameplay to its maximum difficulty. The more you progress, the more you’ll want to go deeper and deeper into obtaining points by making certain sequences last, and by taking care of secondary targets, which is quite enjoyable, since it requires skill to slalom through the battle, elaborate your attacks, taking advantage of your good knowledge of the patterns, and scores with visual elements poping (some to pick up, which isn’t always easy and adds tasks) and satisfying arcade-style sound, the care again. You can also look for optional boss parts to dismantle in manic shooter style, with bonuses to match, adding even more dynamism to the confrontations. Impossible to get bored.
Three perfect difficulty modes: Easy to dive into without sacrificing interest, and eventually earning an accessible first 1cc, Normal to get down to serious business, and Hard with its full enjoyable and refined arsenal but still clean, with no enemies to sponge off the shots, unlike its sequel. Generous Checkpoint and Continue features contribute to the pleasant die-and-retry and arcade rhythm.
They are so well worked out that once you’ve got used to the Normal mode, you can still go back to the easy mode for a relaxed run, as certain points are different. For example, in certain boss phases, you can have an attack exclusive to this mode, which is therefore played differently (a little surprise effect when you’ve got used to another mode). Plus the fact that you can afford to work on certain aspects in particular, as the screen is less overloaded, which is very useful for progress in general. I’ve never seen three difficulty modes so cleverly designed.
The visuals are unique. It’s 64 boosted for action like never before, with textures that are surprisingly more detailed than usual, more PS1/Saturn-style, with elements that are sometimes low poly (especially the joints) but deliciously designed for a polished rendering that looks great, with very classy colors and superb immersive perspectives, graphic effects that are to die for for this gen and with a rendering that’s still singular today (CRT RGB, the Switch Online version should be avoided for its coarse lag).
It’s magnificent, it shoots in all directions and it doesn’t flinch (30fps).
There are several possible control configurations, but I opted for the original idea of using the N64 controller from the left: move the character with the left-right D-pad, double tap for the invincible fast roll (first From-style roll?), aim with the right thumb stick (the controller’s non-symmetrical grip takes some getting used to in this unique configuration, although it was also available in Goldeneye), jump on the left trigger (and double jump, the riskier dodge that lets you keep shooting, the last is a precise slalom on the ground), shoot on the right trigger and activate/disactivate the lock with the right thumb on A. Fortunately, this is quite rare to use, and you’ll have to find out for yourself in certain situations.
The fact that the character can’t fly gives the gameplay a run’n gun feel that’s unique for a rail shooter, constraining and staid at the same time, I love it.
The separation of aiming and moving for such a demanding pure speed rail shooter is quite elitist, Treasure that is.
And the music, what an atmosphere… 80’s Japanese jazz fusion style, with an unusual rendering for the N64, it’s actually streamed PCM (quality is fine), produced on a synth by a certain Toshiya Yamanaka:
Plus the intro sequence in a Galaga wet dream to warm up to precise stick control, with still plenty of fun for the score, and the final phase in a nod to Missile Command.
If you add up all the shapes it takes: Classiest game ever with Thunder Force V Saturn.
Interview with the team on both parts, by Iwata:
Iwata Asks - Sin & Punishment: Star Successor - Page 1 (nintendo.com)
Interview with the composer:
Toshiya Yamanaka – 2013 Composer Interview - shmuplations.com
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Insightful write-up as usual, thank you!
That Iwata interview is a classic — you can tell he had great respect for Treasure.
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Glad a skipped it then I guess. The short throw just won’t feel right.
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I installed one on one of my busted controllers and it just feels like a GCN stick tbh. Pretty nice, but not authentic. Would make a good beater though, especially in games like Mario Party. will never use it for a platformer or something though
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Mario Party sounds like an ideal use case for it!
I like using my GC to N64 adapter for racing games, there’s probably some other games/genres too that don’t really benefit from the nuance of the original stick plus it saves wear on precious original controllers, got to keep them for special occasions lol
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nothing beats the feel of a mint OEM stick. I have one pristine one I won at an auction for $0.33 (seriously), and I only bring it out if I’m playing OoT or Banjo Kazooie or something
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Fantastic write up that really captures what makes the game so special! I revisited it on real hardware for the first time since the Wii VC release back in 2021 and was blown away.
Like you mention, it’s the perfect length. The sequel, while enjoyable enough, really needed editing. Chapters alone can go on for far too long, with multiple bosses, and it becomes much less of a satisfying score chaser as a result.
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Thanks, I agree about the sequel. I can’t finish it in one session of two (intense) hours. Yet one of the best rail shooter ever but less inspired compare to the original, and the flying ability + pointing aiming don’t deliver the same tangible sensation, kind of sluggish, despite being very good and providing a new experience.
Yeah, there’s nothing inherently bad in the sequel, it just isn’t as tightly designed or packaged as the original game which takes a lot more away from it than anyone might expect!
Wonder if the limited storage size on N64 carts kept Treasure’s focused.