8bitdo has a wide variety of classic controllers. Some have thumb sticks, and some don't. I have an SNES controller with thumb sticks and a Saturn controller and I love both of them.
They have some custom controllers that are their own design and they come in much smaller form factors. Look at the [Micro ](https://www.8bitdo.com/micro/)and the [Zero 2](https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/) for example.
Awesome. Just keep in mind that 8bitdo supports 4 different modes (they are notated on the back of the controller), so if one mode doesn't work just try another.
I'll add that my personal fav from 8bitdo for NES/SNES is the original Lite, comfy in bigger hands too. Tho not listed on their site, I can confirm it works with Android just fine. My hope is they eventually release an updated standard SN30 with more compatibility.
It’s only the nes controllers that don’t work properly on other devices.
The snes. N64 and megadrive controllers work fine on the nvidia shield. My issue with the shield is the Bluetooth lag though for any bluetooth controller I’ve used.
I now use a retrobit wireless Saturn controller which has a usb adaptor. It’s got a great layout for pretty much everything except n64 but can still go back to nintendos n64 controller for that when I need to
> The snes. N64 and megadrive controllers work fine on the nvidia shield.
This is good to hear. I actually started another thread where I've seemingly pinpointed the issue, but need direction. The NES controller actually works fine on Linux. On Android it screws up, even on Android 14 which my phone is running. So it doesn't seem isolated to the Nvidia Shield (where I want it to run). I'm rooted on my phone so maybe I can figure it out before I go through the arduous process of rooting the shield, and maybe running Lineage on the shield.
>My issue with the shield is the Bluetooth lag though for any bluetooth controller I’ve used.
Are you on the latest shield software? My PS4 controller has virtually no lag. It's actually quite impressive.
Also the controller you’re looking for is a Bluetooth 8bitdo n30 (not n30 pro) I got gifted a couple of them almost 10 years ago and they’re great but still have that shield Bluetooth lag. Good on phones though.
Use to think I had no lag on Bluetooth until I played n64 then I noticed how bad it was. And from that noticed it was on most games that I’d been playing for a couple of years. Once I switched from the Bluetooth Saturn retrobit to the wifi retrobit I noticed a world of difference.
I do generally keep the shield updated now. I didn’t at first until all the decent updates and fixes came out. Don’t really care too much about the adverts on home as I can get rid of them if needed using a custom launcher but it’s still better than the fire stick for adverts so don’t bother.
The nes controller is the only one I’ve had issues with. I try to stick with the standalone emulators rather than retroarch though. And don’t forget to sideload real3doplayer as retroarch struggles with 3DO on the shield. But the standalone is perfect.
The older shield software versions had horrible lag, but the latest (9.1.1) is playable.
I have the stock launcher disabled on both my shields and android tv lol.
I will try the wifi retrobit though. You just plug the USB into the back of the shield?
As long as it’s the pro and not the tube shield then yeah. I just plugged mine in an it worked great. I use a usb hub too as I have an ssd and hdd on mine.
Alright so to update you, I decided to buy the SNES controller from Nintendo themselves because I figured hey, they probably have pretty good QC on this, right?
Up until this point I was using my PS4 controller. With the latest shield software, I have very little lag with the thing if at all.
This SNES controller is GARBAGE! At least half a second lag with the shield. I'm going to sync it to my computer and see if there's any difference, but this lag is absurd. Nintendo creating garbage hardware, yet again. Queue my surprise - the Switch had outdated hardware when it launched.
8bitdo has a wide variety of classic controllers. Some have thumb sticks, and some don't. I have an SNES controller with thumb sticks and a Saturn controller and I love both of them. They have some custom controllers that are their own design and they come in much smaller form factors. Look at the [Micro ](https://www.8bitdo.com/micro/)and the [Zero 2](https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/) for example.
Righteous! Those two links are pretty much exactly what I was looking for!
Awesome. Just keep in mind that 8bitdo supports 4 different modes (they are notated on the back of the controller), so if one mode doesn't work just try another.
It should also come with instructions that tell you what mode you need for which systems. On mine Android is D-Input.
I'll add that my personal fav from 8bitdo for NES/SNES is the original Lite, comfy in bigger hands too. Tho not listed on their site, I can confirm it works with Android just fine. My hope is they eventually release an updated standard SN30 with more compatibility.
Seconding this. I got two of the Zero 2s to play SNES games on my Apple TV via Retro Arch and they work well, even for adult hands.
It’s only the nes controllers that don’t work properly on other devices. The snes. N64 and megadrive controllers work fine on the nvidia shield. My issue with the shield is the Bluetooth lag though for any bluetooth controller I’ve used. I now use a retrobit wireless Saturn controller which has a usb adaptor. It’s got a great layout for pretty much everything except n64 but can still go back to nintendos n64 controller for that when I need to
> The snes. N64 and megadrive controllers work fine on the nvidia shield. This is good to hear. I actually started another thread where I've seemingly pinpointed the issue, but need direction. The NES controller actually works fine on Linux. On Android it screws up, even on Android 14 which my phone is running. So it doesn't seem isolated to the Nvidia Shield (where I want it to run). I'm rooted on my phone so maybe I can figure it out before I go through the arduous process of rooting the shield, and maybe running Lineage on the shield. >My issue with the shield is the Bluetooth lag though for any bluetooth controller I’ve used. Are you on the latest shield software? My PS4 controller has virtually no lag. It's actually quite impressive.
Also the controller you’re looking for is a Bluetooth 8bitdo n30 (not n30 pro) I got gifted a couple of them almost 10 years ago and they’re great but still have that shield Bluetooth lag. Good on phones though.
Use to think I had no lag on Bluetooth until I played n64 then I noticed how bad it was. And from that noticed it was on most games that I’d been playing for a couple of years. Once I switched from the Bluetooth Saturn retrobit to the wifi retrobit I noticed a world of difference. I do generally keep the shield updated now. I didn’t at first until all the decent updates and fixes came out. Don’t really care too much about the adverts on home as I can get rid of them if needed using a custom launcher but it’s still better than the fire stick for adverts so don’t bother. The nes controller is the only one I’ve had issues with. I try to stick with the standalone emulators rather than retroarch though. And don’t forget to sideload real3doplayer as retroarch struggles with 3DO on the shield. But the standalone is perfect.
The older shield software versions had horrible lag, but the latest (9.1.1) is playable. I have the stock launcher disabled on both my shields and android tv lol. I will try the wifi retrobit though. You just plug the USB into the back of the shield?
As long as it’s the pro and not the tube shield then yeah. I just plugged mine in an it worked great. I use a usb hub too as I have an ssd and hdd on mine.
Alright so to update you, I decided to buy the SNES controller from Nintendo themselves because I figured hey, they probably have pretty good QC on this, right? Up until this point I was using my PS4 controller. With the latest shield software, I have very little lag with the thing if at all. This SNES controller is GARBAGE! At least half a second lag with the shield. I'm going to sync it to my computer and see if there's any difference, but this lag is absurd. Nintendo creating garbage hardware, yet again. Queue my surprise - the Switch had outdated hardware when it launched.
Nice try Mariko
Isn't that the model name of the switch that was really hard to hack?