Super Nintendo LifeCycle Exertainment Bike
Yes, ‘Exertainment’. *shudder* This was essentially an exercise bike that plugged into your SNES via the expansion port and split the controls across the handlebars. A couple of bespoke games such as Mountain Bike Rally provided distraction during your workout, and the resistance on the pedals would change to reflect if you were going up or downhill. If nothing else, it proves Nintendo was keen on fitness long before Wii Fit got everyone off their derrières, although this set-up was a damn sight pricier than a Balance Board. Check out this video from Kelsey Lewin for the full lowdown:
Game Boy Printer
The Game Boy Camera was a neat little oddity infused with the same off-the-wall spirit as the WarioWare series (it was developed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka's company Creatures, Inc.). The Game Boy Printer, though, enabled you to print out your creations on special thermal paper and brought that oddness into the real world.
It's tough for kids these days to imagine a pre-smartphone world where a camera on a phone was a real novelty, so the appeal of Game Boy Camera (or the third-party WormCam for Game Boy Advance) can be hard to understand unless you were there. Being able to quickly print out your irreverent notes, labels and selfies, though? Any kid can get behind the idea of cluttering their schoolbooks, lockers and immediate vicinity with printed junk.
A bunch of games also let you print out notes, pictures or high scores (you could print out Pokédex stickers in Pokémon Yellow and later Pokémon games, for example). The paper for the printer is scarce these days, but that doesn't stop dedicated enthusiasts from cutting standard thermal paper to size. A low-fi classic.
Jaguar Nu-Yell JN-100 / Singer IZEK Sewing Machine
The NES Knitting Machine might not have seen the light of day, but the Singer IZEK Sewing Machine could be yours if you've got a sufficiently large wallet and an ebay account. It linked up to a Game Boy Color via an in-built Link cable and a pack-in cartridge and let you select between a range of stitches or even design your own.
These two models are practically identical and were simply rebranded for different regions. Here's another wonderfully in-depth video from Kelsey Lewin with a look at the history of both machines, plus further accessories and upgrades that let you embroider Mario and his pals onto your threads:
Game Boy Pocket Sonar
The Game Boy got a ton of accessories, but arguably none more practical than the Game Boy Pocket Sonar. An aid for the keen angler, this Japan-only contraption from Bandai helped fisherman locate their slippery prey beneath the surface of the water using sonar. If for some reason you purchased this and didn't plan on catching your dinner out on the water, there was also a fishing minigame included to get you in the mood.
Super NES Mouse / Nintendo 64 Mouse
The Super NES Mouse and the Mousepad came bundled with Mario Paint and enabled quicker movement and extra precision in several supported titles. The Japan-only N64 version was really a peripheral for a peripheral - a pack-in for Mario Artist: Paint Studio on the 64DD. There's not much else to it, really - it's a mouse. Next!
Nintendo 64 Bio Sensor
The Wii Vitality Sensor may not have escaped the prototyping stage, but the Nintendo 64 Bio Sensor got off the drawing board and into the hands of (Japanese) gamers.
Plugging this little cart into your controller and clipping the attached peg to your earlobe meant you could play Tetris 64 while the game sped up or slowed down according to your heart rate. It came as a pack-in with that game, which was just as well as nothing else supported it.
It's a shame that it never took off as it seems a lot less cumbersome than a wedge of plastic you stick on your finger and there must be plenty of novel applications for other games. Horror games which direct their jump scares according to your heart rate seems like a no-brainer. Then again, giving developers access to our bio-data sounds a bit fishy these days. "The heart rate's heading south, interest levels flat-lining - put something exciting in the fourth lootbox..."
GBA Wireless Adapter
Each Game Boy had an assortment of link cables you could use to play and trade with your mates, although the Game Boy Advance had a a couple of even tastier options. The GameCube Link Cable, for example, allowed you to connect your handheld console to your GameCube for a second screen experience with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and the multiplayer Four Swords Adventure well before the asymmetric gameplay of the Wii U, although the full Four Swords experience on GameCube latter remained a rare event thanks to the mass of hardware it required.
The Game Boy Advance Wireless Adaptor was far more useful and let you trade and play supported software without the need for that confusion of cables. The function of many of these peripherals eventually found their way into the base hardware, but at the time, the wireless adaptor was a very handy taste of the future.
Game Boy Advance e-Reader
The Barcode Battler and Namco's Barcode Boy for the original Game Boy had already explored the concept, but the Nintendo e-Reader for GBA enabled players to scan cards and add various extra bits to supported games.
This included special trainers to battle in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, new levels in the GBA port of Super Mario Bros. 3 and special items in Animal Crossing (when connected to the GameCube game via the requisite cable). A series of NES games were released on cards which had to be laboriously scanned, although they all saw proper cartridge-based GBA releases, too.
Nintendo DS Paddle Controller
Taito's Paddle Controller for Nintendo DS came in four colours and worked with Arkanoid DS, Space Bust-A-Move DS and Space Invaders Extreme. That's a pretty specialised piece of kit, then, but it was wonderfully precise and worked perfectly with those games.
Paddle controllers such as the Ultra Racer 64 have cropped up over the years on various consoles, but their application is usually far too limited to make them worthwhile purchases. Not that utility is a factor in them being attractive, mind. The Guitar Hero Grip and the DS Rumble Pak had a similarly small pool of supporting software, but we still want 'em. Speaking of 'paks'...
N64 Transfer Pak
An adapter that enabled the unholy union of Game Boy carts with N64 hardware. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean you could play GB games on the telly, but you could transfer certain details between a select group of supported software, most notably the Pokémon Stadium games. Read more about it in our look back at its legacy.
This was just one of the many ‘paks’ that plugged into the N64 controller’s multi-faceted rear port. The Rumble Pak is probably the most famous, and we’re still nostalgic for clicking that bad boy into the pad and loading up some force feedback in Star Fox 64. We have less affection for the Controller (Memory) Pak, even if many early games required them (we’ve still got one that contains our Mario Raceway ghost data where we managed to pull off that shortcut every lap – a momentous day). Of course, the Expansion Pak that plugged into the top of the console (after the Jumper Pak had vacated its spot, of course) and doubled the Nintendo 64's RAM to a whopping 8MB is another significant addition to the line up. They sure 'paked' in the peripherals on N64, eh? Eh!? Hello? Oh.
Comments 58
The Super Nintendo super scope blew my mind away. It’s a amazing piece of kit
Here are some more gimmicks for Wii: Zapper, Taiko no Tatsujin drum, Guitar Hero musical instruments including pro versions, DJ Hero turntable, uDraw tablet, Wii Fit FitMeter & EA Sports Active sensors.
I think NES & Wii has most of the custom controllers out of all Nintendo consoles.
There's also a third party glove controller for the Nintendo 64, which was released a year after the PS1 model, both very rare.
Not trying to flex, but I beat the ever loving crap out of Metal Combat, no scope, with the super scope...
That gamecube keyboard was so comfortable for playing any gamecube game that it was my preferred controller of choice when playing on the cube.
My one true accessory love goes to the original magnifier for the game boy. My brain is forever tricked into thinking the GB had great resolution.
The Wii gamepad was probably the best
Oh man, I forgot all about the gc keyboard controller! Great round up. The Super Scope design still holds up really well, it’s such a nice looking piece of gear.
Adding to everything here, I had the Light Boy which was a square magnifier and a light. Fairly sturdy considering and worked as advertised!
The Super Scope games are very underrated. Namely, Yoshi's Safari and Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge: the former for making a gun in Mario work and the latter for being an excellent game all-around (including well-crafted challenge, robust multiplayer, good theming, and hidden endings)!
In that same wheelhouse, I'm very surprised that we're not seeing a new Mario Paint given that Super Mario Maker references it heavily and Labo's encouragement of imagination. Plus, imagine the memepower behind some new melodies and minigames.
Can I point out an error? The Wavebird didn’t come out midway into the Gamecubes life; I bought one in 2002 alongside my console.
I would love for Nintendo or somebody else to make a light gun that works on modern tv's for the Switch. I know it can be done as it already been done for another system.
The Satellaview is definitely my favourite obscure Nintendo peripheral... It was so cool & way too ahead of it’s time. サーテーラービューーーー!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfw4CJZ-3QQ
Say what you will about Nintendo, but you gotta love a company that was making alt controllers for people with disabilities back in the Eighties. I had no idea the Hands-Free controller existed. It's pretty amazing.
I had many of these, including the Super Scope and NES Max. Nice trip down memory lane. And the SNES Mouse with Mario Paint was what got me interested in digital art (and game asset creation) long before I had my own computer.
Nintendo's obsession with trying to go beyond the traditional gaming experience is one of the reasons I love what they do. Say what you want but they're not complacent with simply making shinier or better textured versions of the same games, they actually want gaming itself to evolve too, and always have.
All that money to be made from plastic!
@RadioHedgeFund You’re right - launched in 2002 near the start. I remembered it coming much later for some reason. I’ll edit, cheers
Super scope is amazing!!! Still have it in original packing
I love the Power Glove. It's so bad.....
Jungle Beat played with Bongos is that fine line. Madness on paper. Absolute genius in reality. Hope as many people as possible have experienced it It's just wonderful.
Let it be known that I have the DK Bongos, and not a single compatible game.
Also, I love the e-Reader.
Correction --> The Circle Pad Pro will **NOT** work on just any games, it is only supported by about 20 or so games (I got it specifically to play with my old 3DS and Kid Icarus and Metal Gear Solid).
See:
https://nintendo.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_games_that_use_the_Circle_Pad_Pro
Not a piece of Nintendo kit, but that absurd steel battalion controller for the original Xbox was one of the most ridiculous peripherals ever. When they first started showing it online it had me hankering for the early 90s battletech pods I spent way too much time in. Too bad the game was nowhere near as fun!
The NES Advantage is probably my favorite controller of all time.
The Super Scope seems to get a bit of a bashing for being inaccurate, but i don't remember it being an issue? Just that it had to be calibrated by wildly shooting the target at the start until you hit the bullseye.. At least from what i remember.
I also had the guns with Lethal Enforcers, good cheesy fun that one, i quite enjoyed it.
Not so fond ones I had went through that aren't on the list include a SNES feedback device that let you "feel" the action. It was basically a speaker you strapped on your back.
The Majesco wireless messenger for GBA could have been cool if people actually used it. I believe the box claimed to be able to send/get messages from a mile away from someone else who had one.
All these years later, and I'm still using all my wavebirds to play Smash on the Switch! I call that a worthy investment...
I have the NES Zapper, Wii Wheel (have 2), Wii Balance Board, and 4 Switch Joy-Con Wheels. I also have the Wii Classic Controller Pro (black).
I think my sister might still have the bongos.
The wave bird was my favourite controller ever when it was first released it was amazing , standard stuff nowadays but revolutionary back in the day wish I had kept hold of them
Out of these i owned the Transfer Pack, the Wii Wheel and the Balance Board.
The Wheel was a pretty pointless buy but the other two were great.
Long live the DK bongos! They rocked.
The GBA Wireless Adapter was a godsend when I was a kid. Way less fussy than hauling my link cable everywhere.
The NES Fourscore/Satellite does have one other feature that makes it a must have for me- auto-fire support. It’s got individual switches so you can turn on auto-fire for the A and B buttons. For me it’s invaluable in button hammering games like Contra.
I came across my Power Glove in the garage the other day, I don’t think it will work with my AV Famicom though as it had some sort of mod to work with the PAL console I had back in the day.
Ahhh, I used to have a Super Scope back in the day, very rarely used it due to the aforementioned limited support but it was fun for a while!
@Lone_Beagle I also had one, was worth it for a while but then I got a New 3DS and found the little nub to be much less usable...
I've had so many of these. I still have an NES Max controller. They're great for certain games and they look rad.
NL shows the orange Zapper, but I had the original grey. For some reason I have four of them now. I had the Super Scope when I was a kid, but it wasn't nearly as much fun as the Zapper. I keep an NES hooked up to CRT just to play Zapper games.
I have really good memories of playing Mario Paint with the SNES mouse. I'd spend hours making rudimentary animations and playing that flyswatter game.
The GBA eReader was so stupid and cool at the same time. I thought it was really cool that an entire NES game could fit on a few cards. I loved the extra levels in Super Mario 3.
The Wavebird was, and still is a fantastic controller. While I was still tethered to my PS2, I could sit comfortably on my couch and use a Wavebird.
The 3DS Circle Pad Pro made my OG 3DS look like some Frankenstein's monster, but it was comfortable and much better than the nipple on the New 3DS
The Wii was definitely king of useless, but often fun, plastic. I had too many to count, but besides the wheel, the handgun was my favorite. It made on-rails shooters, like House of the Dead feel great.
The balance board was actually a lot of fun. My whole family got plenty of use out of it. Wii Fit will always bring fond memories.
Most recently I bought and assembled a few of the Labo kits. I was hoping Virtua Racing would have been compatible with the steering wheel and pedal. The VR kit was a lot of fun if expectations were kept in check.
There's so many more not on the list. A lot of them may seem like a waste of money, but most of these wacky accessories created fun memories. I hope Nintendo always stays playful.
I honestly preferred the GBA link cable for my Four Swords sessions with friends and ex. The wireless one I don't think I tried, just looked like it wouldn't work well haha Also, I like the Tetris 64 Bio device, where caring about the game make it harder but chillin out and smoking a pack or two a day makes you a winner... Sort of.
Ahh, the Mario e-reader levels. Weren't they added into the Wii U VC versions?
Mario Kart with a wheel is still the best Mario Kart.
No joke, I really want that DS paddle controller
@Jayofmaya Yes, and they’re worth the price of admission IMO even if you have one or more other copies of Super Mario Bros. 3. Just make sure you get the GBA version, as they’re not in the NES virtual console version.
The Wavebird is overrated, as are wireless controllers in general. It requires batteries, wired controllers are long enough (especially with cable extensions), and it’s more difficult and less fun to play Smash without rumble feedback.
Its not really accurate to say the circle pad pro was an alternative to the New 3DS or might have been a plow to get people to upgrade since the circle pad pro came out 2+ years before the New 3DS ever did.
Odama for Gamecube came with a little microphone. While the microphone itself isn't "weird and wonderful", the game itself kinda is.
Great list!
There's the Dragon Quest X Wii Flash Drive, which is just a regular flash drive with a custom filesystem afaik.
Anytime now Konami will finally release the card scanner for Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Transer.
Still have my ROB and all the parts. The NES Max was super uncomfortable but makes a nice addition to any retro controller collection
I'd have thought DS rumble park would have made a spot on that list. It worked really well with Metroid Prime Pinball and...........wait, was that it? 🤔
Great article! Although it's a little misleading to say that the Circle Pad Pro was made for people who 'refused to upgrade to the New 3DS', considering the New 3DS came out 3 years later.
@dok5555555 If you weren't playing Xenoblade or Smash Bros, then CPP was a much cheaper alternative and the benefits of a New 3ds would be minimal.
@Jayofmaya I just meant the way he wrote it made it sound like nintendo made it specifically as an alternative to the new 3ds, which isn't the case since it was released well before the new 3ds came out.
Kelsey is smoking hot!
Definitely the best Metal Jesus crew member!
A few come to mind for me: the various peripherals to the Game Boy line that would light up the screen (I myself had a Worm Light for the GBA).
There's also the Super Game Boy, which allowed you to play Game Boy games on the SNES, and the Game Boy Player for the GameCube, which allowed you to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games on the GameCube.
No love in the comments for the ASCII Stick Super L5? I still have one. It was never designed for drinking beer and eating pizza while playing games. It was specifically designed for JRPGs where reaction time was largely irrelevant and you could just sit back, relax and play one handed. It's still a very chill way to play SNES JRPGs.
The Wavebird... Still have my two. Making the best Nintendo controller wireless was a genius concept. Is there a way to make it compatible with the N64? That really would be awesome. Although I love the N64 controller I would love to play Wave Race and 1080 with the GC controller. (Here's hoping that Nintendo read this and add GC controller compatibility if they ever decide to re-release Wave Race and 1080 or even remake and update them. Pleeease!!)
I'm offended for the Wii Wheel. I played the crap out of Mario Kart Wii using this one.
I remember Michael Jackson bought the SNES Bazooka in a store in Oslo, Norway.
Still use wavebird for Super Smash on Switch, love that thing.
I have the Circle Pad Pro and find it really nice for long play sessions since it makes the 3DS more comfortable to hold. At least for those of us with big hands.
I used to own a few of these, but sold all of my accessories except for the Mario Paint Mouse and a third party Wavebird. I did buy the original from Half-Price Books, but the analog stick was broken.
@pinta_vodki Preach on! The Wii's motion controls were a game changer and what an amazing application it was to drive with the Wii Wheel!!
MVOP (Most Valuable Obscure Peripheral): The SNES Mouse. The BEST way to play T2: The Arcade Game on the SNES.
No Ring-Con/Leg Strap?
only reason i know of half these is avgn
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