Famiclone Controllers

Over the last few years I have collected a plethora of Famiclone controllers, out of habit and for variety. Some of these controllers didn't come with their respective consoles, but I knew they were Famiclone controllers and picked them up anyway. I won't be giving any extremely in-depth information about the controllers in this article, but I figured this article may help out someone who is faced with a wild Famiclone controller on whether they should take it home or not.

I don't know what to call these (I found 2) controllers other than "the silvers". Blatantly modeled after a Playstation controller, with a few liberties in design thrown in, these controllers are fairly comfortable. The A and B buttons are set to X and O, respectively, meaning that like the other 80% (or more) of Famiclone controllers these too have a backwards A and B scheme, often throwing off the ability to play simple games. I'm not sure which Famiclone these came from, but they seem compatible with all Famiclones, at least the ones I've tested them on.

The Power Player controllers come packed in with the Super Joy Famiclone systems. Over the years I have found plenty of these laying around thrift stores and I would dare say they are the most common Famiclone controllers out there. With a pseudo Genesis shape they are as comfortable as any Genesis controller, although significantly lighter and more bulky. Again the A and B are backwards, as the C button functions as Select, since there is only a stand alone start button. Again these seem universally compatible, so if you need Famiclone controllers in a pinch, these are most likely to be easier to find and ready to go.

The Powerstation controllers are, again, based on the Playstation, even Powerstation is kind of a play on the former's console name. If you're familiar with the Playstation controller, you're pretty much familiar with this one too! Comfortable, A and B are in correct alignment with turbo buttons just above them, diagonally left. This controller even features shoulder buttons being: L1 is B, R1 is A and pressing both L2 and R2 is the equivalent of start. The plastic, although still the cheap melty kind, feels good and solid in your hands, topped of with a good cable length. Seemingly universal as well.

I picked up the Super Video Game controllers with my 57000 Super Video Game, which displays a Playstation feel throughout. Sadly I had to add the D-pad myself, but even so these are very comfortable, albeit maybe a tiny bit smaller than a normal PS controller. The A and B backwards, unsurprisingly, but Z functions as an additional turbo B and C an additional turbo A. Seemingly universal!

Obviously if you're going to try and pass off a discreet Famiclone console as the genuine you'll need to clone the controllers as well! Very familiar Famicom style and comfort with buttons in the correct places and familiar turbo buttons within easy reach. There isn't really much else to say about this controller, other than I do have some third party NES controllers in this design and they are among my favorite NES controllers. Assumed universal.

Some Famiclones tried to mimic the Super Famicom, while having either a 60 (Famicom) or 72 (NES) pin connector built in. I've seen these controllers in both a DB-9 (Atari, Sega, Famiclone) end and even an NES controller end. The SNES style is very comfortable and familiar, A and B are where they should be, with turbo buttons clearly marked. The plastic is a bit chip, as per usual, but the cable seems like a quality thick cable. Again, assumed universal.

The long and short of Famiclone controllers.

More often than not Famiclone controllers have exceedingly short leads, forcing users to sit close to the system. This hearkens back to the days of the Nintendo Famicom and its own short controller leads. But luckily, since most Famiclones use a standard DB9 connection for controller input, there is a cheap and easy way to quickly add length to any Famiclone controller.

The other day I was rummaging through a box of old video game controllers when I came across a Sega Genesis controller extension. At first I didn't think much of the simple wire, but later that afternoon I had pulled out one of my Famiclones and remembered just how short the controller leads are! It took me a few seconds to mentally fit everything together but soon after I was heading back to that box to dig out that extension cable.

The extension cable is a simple point-to-point pass through, so it can be used interchangeably with any system or controller using the DB9 connection. You simply plug your Famiclone, Sega Genesis, Master System or even Atari controllers into the one end of the cable and the other end goes into the system, its as simple as that. This particular cable adds an additional 10 feet to any given controller I use it with; while 10 feet may sound excessive its much better than the 12 inches most Famiclone controllers give you.

Shortly before publishing this article I checked to make sure I was being factual with everything said herein, and I didn't make a complete ass of myself merely running on assumption. I tested the extension cable on almost every Famiclone I own and only had issues when a cartridge was plugged into a handheld, such as my Super Joy, Power Joy and Vs. Maxx systems, player 2 functions seemed to work for built-in games on these units though. But the same issues did not occur when I used the extension cable on the exact same cartridge in an actual system with 2 controller ports, as opposed to built-in controller 1 and a single port for player 2.