Difference between revisions of "NES Max"

Revision as of 13:01, 15 May 2018

The NES Max.

The NES Max is a video game controller for the NES. It was created by Nintendo and released in 1987 along side the NES Advantage. Instead of a traditional D-pad, the controller uses a sliding plastic disc called a cycloid. Even though the directional pad is still digital, the cycloid allows for smoother changes in direction. The NES Max also adds turbo buttons for the A and B buttons.

I never had an NES Max, but a friend of mine did. We would always fight over who got to use it, especially in games where the turbo helped a lot. However, because the raised surface of the cycloid hurt my thumb, I preferred to used the standard NES controller for games that didn't benefit from turbo.

Review

Good

The curved shape makes the controller very comfortable
Turbo buttons are always great to have, but the ones on the Max were particularly nice because they fired in harmony making it very easy to press A+B at the same time repeatedly (something that was much harder to do on the NES Advantage. One game this is especially useful for is Double Dragon II: The Revenge because you can perform the Spinning Cyclone and Hyper Uppercut with ease.
The controller just looks cool.

Bad

I never found the cycloid to be very helpful. Very few games on the NES require smooth directional transitions.
The sharp edges of the clycloid make your thumb sore after prolonged use. In fact, many people mod the controller by replacing the cycloid with an analog nub.