is nintendo controller (nes) a 4 way or 8 way?

[muffin man]

what is it? and what is best joystick to solder to it?

[SithMaster]

you mean the standard controller or the advantage.

the standard is a 4 way i think.

[muffin man]

is there any difference between two? because i want to be able to jump in mario using a 4 way

so if its 4 way which joystick should i get

(im hacking nes pads to joys and buttons, using actual nes to a tv)

[SOAPboy]

Isnt it technicly 8 way?

You can move in diags if pressing UP and LEFT, just like when you push diag on a joystick taht pushes the 2 microswitches..

[SithMaster]

i never tried that hold on let me check

checking...........still checking......

could it be that its a 4 way but it reads both up and right for example so it can act as an eight way?  he wants to play mario and i think in the arcades it used a 4 way.

[pointdablame]

could it be that its a 4 way but it reads both up and right for example so it can act as an eight way? 

That's exactly what an 8way joystick does.  8way joysticks dont have EIGHT directions or EIGHT switches... it is just possble to simultaneously activate two switches.  Any time you can move in a diagonal, it is an 8way joystick/pad/whatever.

[spiffyshoes]

i never tried that hold on let me check

checking...........still checking......

could it be that its a 4 way but it reads both up and right for example so it can act as an eight way?  he wants to play mario and i think in the arcades it used a 4 way.

I think you are thinking of Donkey Kong.  Donkey Kong used a 4-way joystick but Super Mario Bros. used an 8-way joystick.

[elvis]

what is it? and what is best joystick to solder to it?

1) It's a gamepad.  There's no such thing as a "4way" or "8way" gamepad, as you can't exactly put a restrictor plate on a gamepad now, can you?

2) Solder it to any joystick you like.  Sit down and play your top 10 NES games for an hour or so.  Take not of the directions you are using on the pad.  If you use diagonals, then use an 8-way stick.  If you only use up/down/left/right AND hitting the diagonals would actually hamper your gameplay (ala playnig Pac/PuckMan on an 8-way stick) then use a 4 way.

Let trial and error be your guide, and sort it out for yourself.

[muffin man]

well these are the game cartridges i have and that im going to play mostly (remember im goin to use a actual nintendo not emulator)

pacman
galaga
final fantasy
all donkey kong games
zelda
mario
double dragon
mega man
duck tales yes lol
burger time

im still sort of confused on which sort of joystick i should use, some say 4 way, 8way, so anyone really really know if nes is 4way or what?

[spiffyshoes]

Pacman (4-way)
Galaga (2-way)
Final Fantasy (8-way)
Donkey Kong (4-way)
Zelda (8-way)
Mario (8-way)
Double Dragon (8-way)
Mega Man (8-way)
Duck Tales (8-way)
Burger Time (4-way)

If you use a 4-way joystick you won't be able to play any of the 8-way games very well.  If you use an 8-way joystick you will still be able to play the 4-way games.  I'd say either go with a switchable stick like the Ultimarc T-Stick, or Omni-Stick Prodigy.  Or just stick with an 8-way joystick.

[elvis]

im still sort of confused on which sort of joystick i should use, some say 4 way, 8way, so anyone really really know if nes is 4way or what?

I think you're having some difficulties at a conceptual level...

Once again, it's not the NES that's "4-way" or "8-way".  It's the games.

For starters, a 4-way and 8-way joystick are identical.  The only difference is how the SOFTWARE (not hardware) interprets the inputs.

For instance - on arcade PacMan, the game code itself can't handle two inputs being pressed at once.  So when playing on an "8-way" joystick, if you slide the joystick from the LEFT position to the UP position, you will at some point hit both the UP and LEFT inputs at the same time.  When you do this, the game code simply ignores the input.  Try playing PacMan (ie: PuckMan) on MAME with an 8-way joystick and see how frustrating that is.

Now, a 4-way stick simply PHYSICALLY restricts the joystick actuator via a metal or plastic device, and stops the joystick from being able to move to the corner diagonals (essentially only allowing one directional input to be performed at any one time).

Moving beyond that, some 4-way arcade games were ported to console (eg: PacMan on NES).  SOMETIMES the developers of these ports would alter the code so that the game could accept multiple directional input (simply overriding the first input with the second, rather than cancelling both).  Thus, going back to our PacMan example, when you are pressing LEFT and slide your thumb on the joypad to UP, the game doesn't just ignore both inputs as it would on the arcade machine, but instead sees the transition from one direction to the next, and changes to suit.

So, once again, which type of joystick should you make for your NES?  Well, that depends on hte game.  Our friend Spiffyshoes made a nice list there for you, and it looks like you have a pretty good mix of 4-way and 8-way.  Being a console system, I would opt for 8-way, as the vast majority of games were designed for that on console.  As mentioned, there's no magic different between a 4-way and 8-way stick, so if you are smart you'll buy yourself a joystick that has a variable restrictor on it.  If you come to a point where you find a game is unplayable in "8-way mode", then simply flip the stick over, change the restrictor plate, and get back to gaming with minimal fuss.

Hopefully this is now looking like less of a mountain, and more of a molehill.

[muffin man]

ok now i see how this works thanks alot guys i think i will be pickin up a 4/8 way joystick any recommendations i was thinkin the t-stick plus. on a bartop that is.

and i also decided its gonna be a one player. if i need two ill just plug up a pad and play.

thank you guys for your help i really adore your inputs