Are the Flawed Controllers Worth the Stretch?

The Nintendo 64 was everybody's favorite childhood system; it certainly was mine. With an excellent library of games, the N64 revolutionized 3D gaming. Of course, it is without its flaws. The Nintendo 64 console itself is very durable as I had mine for over 13 years, and it still works great! The problem I have with the console is the controllers. The controllers are faulty; I mean ALL N64 brand controllers have at least two faults to them. Let's start with the original N64 controller that comes with the system. The original has two flaws; the analog stick or joystick and the d-pad. The joystick becomes loose after a month of using it. Sometimes it becomes so loose that it is no longer usable. The d-pad becomes stiff after a period of time (3 months). It gets to the point where you have to press extra hard for it to work (Like the NES controller after extensive use). Next are the Superpads or Superpad 64, whichever you prefer to call it. There are two versions of this controller: the black-long-joystick-to-the-left controllers and the colored bulky controllers that resembles the N64 controller, but, really, it looks like crap. Let's start with the black Superpad controllers. These get heavy praise on YouTube because the joystick does not get loose and it stays solid no matter what. There are three flaws to this controller. First, the cord that connects to the controller easily loosens, which makes the controller unresponsive after awhile. Secondly, the Z button no longer works or becomes stiff after one month of use. Seriously, the Z button? Third or lastly, the joystick ruins faster than the original N64 controller because it rotates your character by itself when playing any game. It's like your character is spinning in circles and you have not laid a hand on the joystick yet. How can this be? Once it starts doing this, it's broken. It usually occurs one to three months depending how much you use it. The other Superpad, the one that comes in 8 different colors: red, green, black, grey, gold, blue, clear, or yellow. This controller is bulky and heavy. They sell a lot of these on ebay and amazon and is cheaper to buy than the other superpad controller. The problem with this controller is the same with the other superpad controller: loose cord, stiff Z button, and metal joystick that spins your character around in circles without even touching it. I know your thinking, 'couldn't you just unplug the controller and plug it back in for the spinning to stop?' No, once it starts doing that, it won't stop; plus this controller gets greasy so easily. Then there are the other third party controllers that have a combination of problems. But the one problem that occurs often with these controllers is the joystick. Unless you have a Hori Pad Mini or an arcade pad, you will always have problems with the joystick of any N64 controller. Overall, the N64 has flawed controllers that make game play annoying. Yes, the N64 has many classic games, but what good are they if you can't play them properly or play them at all. You'll spend more time and money looking for controller replacements than actually playing the game system itself. I know I did, with the 13 plus years as a Nintendo 64 user, I went through over 50 controllers, all types and brands. None have matched the quality of my one and only Dualshock 1 controller, and that came out in the same era as the N64. Bottom line, it just isn't worth the stretch.Read full review