Video: You Can Now Play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate With A D-Pad

In most cases a D Pad would be terrible in smash, but personally I would love to be able to use it for Ryu, as I find it difficult to pull off dragon punch inputs on the analogue stick and it would be much easier for me to use a D Pad.

I used to play Brawl on Wii with the Wii remote’s d pad. I preferred it, to the point that it took me a long time to get used to a stick on Smash Wii U.

Why have any other control schemes for SSB Ultimate? Every "serious" smash play I talk to seems to swear by the Gamecube controller with more loyalty than most people have toward their spouse.

It would be less of a problem if they implemented the double tap for smash/dash/etc option they had in Brawl, pulling off tilts and taps can be difficult with the analog stick so having that option with the Sega style dpad might be viable.

Conventional analog sticks simply don’t work well when you need to pull both quick and precise movements. We all got used to the way it works on SSB, but it’s far from ideal for a fighting game.

Arcade-style stcks, however, are far superior because you have a better grip while firmly holding it with your left hand.

My uncle who works for Nintendo told me that, due to popular demand of D-pads, Nintendo is making a Switch model where every button is just a traditional, NES-style D-pad.

@Heavyarms55 For us non-serious players I guess. For Brawl & WiiU I preferred the Wii Remote & Nunchuck over the GC controller & my nephew played pretty well with the Wii Remote sideways.

I still don't why Nintendo made the Smash series almost exclusively analog stick tbh. I vastly preferred Brawl/WiiU because I could use the dpad instead and had better control of my actions. I have never liked using analog sticks with 2D/2.5D games.

Luckily the shorter stick range on the joycons makes them easier to use for me.

@Riderkicker I too like the Gamecube Controller for Smash, but for me it's not the "ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE OR CAN'T PLAY" That it seems like it is for some people. If GC isn't an option I can use something else and still suck at the game. lol

@Heavyarms55 Personally I find the gamecube controller to be horrendous for Smash. A lot of people would hang me for this statement though.

I still enjoy seeing the few good players who destroy gamecube controller overlords using non-gripped joy-con. That is the ultimate pleasure (Also happens to be my way of playing - a Joy-con in each hand)

Not quite enough sensitivity for someone like me but I would use it if I had no other option! When you are forced to use N64 controller with important buttons that are broken in your childhood, you tend to adapt to what you have.

@Blizzia
You find the GC controller horrendous, yet use joycons? What....?

@rushiosan eh... Arcade sticks feel weird and alien to me. I don't like them. Smash works great with a thumb stick. Smash is great because it isn't a traditional fighting game. Its unique and fun. Not just two dudes on a horizontal plane hitting each other.

@Trajan Yeah, it's 4 dudes on a horizontal plane hitting each other. And Super Mario Bros is 1 dude on a horizontal plane hitting blocks with his head. Maybe we should describe all games like this.

@Matroska Platforms and ledges...

@Trajan Yeah, Joy-con are amazing controllers. They fit perfectly in my hands and I use them as my primary controllers for fighting games/brawlers and platformers.

They are simply excellent. The GC controller is bulky and uncomfortable to grip and I've disliked it ever since I first laid eyes on a GC controller (one of the reasons I stopped playing GC games for a while back in the day - horrible controllers)

I use my pro controller for certain action rpgs and Monster Hunter though.

I've played it with d-pads before, and Joycons, and neither was great. Usually I prefer d-pads, but Smash was kind of designed to be analogue.

@Blizzia I've tried playing that way & it does feel ok at first. My only issue was I'd keep missing opportunities to score points as I'll instinctively try to shake smash people. Also I felt more comfortable holding the Joy Cons in opposite hands.

@AxeltheBuizel I was wondering the same thing with Ryu.

Actually during the Brawl days I preferred the Wii remote sideways so Smash with a d-pad isn’t totally out of the question for me; but it worked better with the slower pace of Brawl (and playing heavyweight Snake), therefore I could replicate it in Smash 4. I wonder how a traditional controller with a dpad would feel

I swear by the GameCube controller because it’s wired. Games like Smash with noticeable latency make wired controllers almost a necessity. Plus, Ultimate really does have bad input lag even compared to previous games in the series.

If you could pretend that it's a smaller N64 controller then you'll do fine as the N64 controller had the exact same face button layout as the Genesis controller and Super Smash Bros. did start with N64.

I did used to main the sideways Wii remote, the d-pad was my life.

@Liam_Doolan I know this is an old article, but I just got the new 8Bitdo Pro 2 that allows you to switch the left stick and the d-pad. I just played Smash with it and it feels... oldly amazing? I don't know why. I play as Joker, so I'm already running at full speed the whole time. I would honestly say it's worth trying the d-pad again with this new controller.