By Daniel “Tafokints” Lee

A poor workman blames his tools, but what about a pro gamer?

Lately there’s been a ton of talk about a tool wreaking havoc on the Smash community: the Smash Box controller. A new version of the Hit Box controller, the Smash Box is essentially a customized controller that has an arcade stick base, but no joystick. In its place, the Smash Box uses buttons to register directions; a combination of buttons can thus be used to register more precise angles and movements. This makes it easier to consistently pull off more difficult inputs, such as back turns or shield drops that require a high degree of precision on the GameCube analog stick. Other buttons are mapped normally on the controller.

The question, naturally, is whether or not it’s fair for pro use. The answer is complicated.

Precedence

The Hit Box is currently used competitively in the FGC. In its initial release, the Hit Box was met with backlash. Many people wanted to ban the controller for its unique inputs, as these were not achievable when using a normal arcade stick. In Marvel vs Capcom 3, for instance, the earlier iterations of the Hit Box controller allowed for players to block in both directions simultaneously, significantly reducing the viability of cross-ups in the game.

Issues like these were later fixed, and now the Hit Box controller is used with varying degrees of success among top players in the FGC. Most people view these controllers as an effective alternative to an arcade stick or pad.

View photos GameCube controller (Nintendo) More

The inconsistency of the GameCube controller

Over the years, players have discovered how important it is to have a controller with a good analog stick base. GameCube controllers are often bought in bulk so pros can find a perfect controller. Certain controllers may come with perfect shield drops out of the box, while other controllers may make it nearly impossible. Ultimately, it boils down to to what angles the controller produces in certain “notches” around the default octagon gate used on the GameCube controller, which is highly variable between different (brand new) controllers.

David “Kadano” Schmid highlights the degree of precision required to pull off particular movements with the analog stick. If the stick isn’t extremely consistent with how it handles the notches, a player can input the same exact motion but create two different movements.

In a fighting game, that’s the difference between life and death.

Mods to the rescue

These frustrations have led the community to come up with their own solutions.

Case modding — customizations that modify the actual mechanical pieces of the controller — has become very popular. For example, players consult modders to fix their controller gates, add custom shield drop notches, and customize their button sensitivities. Kadano has become one of the prime modders in the community, creating custom controllers for several of the top players.

The legality of mods has been largely undefined in the Smash community. The traditional rule of most Smash games follows the model of the larger fighting game community: No macros, turbo buttons, or programmable buttons.

But Smash Bros. Melee has a set of unique issues even when compared to the other Smash games. For example, the later versions of Smash allow for remappable buttons and a selection of controllers that include the Wii Remote and the Wii U Pro controller. The Smash 64 competitive community has allowed keyboards and GameCube controller adapters. The Melee community has long held to the standard of GameCube controllers only.

Case modding is tough to enforce because of the random nature of GameCube controllers. A person can randomly buy a controller with perfect shield drops or ask someone to install notches to do so. Although there has never been an official stance on mods, most organizers have given these type of mods their approval.

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