As I left from work last night, I was anticipating two things:

1. Actually playing Crystal Chronicles with a friend, and

2. The Revolution’s controller.

Crystal Chronicles was actually very enjoyable. I miss co-op gaming a lot. The GBA requirement is lame, yes, it all could’ve been done onscreen; however, I’m not here to fix things, I just take them as they come and try to enjoy them.

We gave 4CR and IGN a query before we started though, and there it was, like a big white enigma. I read off the features. They seemed… interesting, at least. Sounded like the Power Glove actually. However, the PG was a nerdy (awesomely nerdy though) looking fashion statement that I could never ever get the hang of back in the day, and I don’t think about it much anymore.

My knee-jerk reaction was: meh. Weird. I had a problem with the fact that it looked like a remote control. I know that there’s more to it than I was seeing at the time, and I have yet to see it in action. Nintendo is obviously not afraid to experiment though, and it sometimes pays off. Sceptical? Yes, I can be. The games though, the games are what it’s all about. I’m not going to say anything until I really know how this will be used.

My second reaction was: how the heck does this support the backwards compatibility!? I really can’t imagine playing an N64 game without its controller. I want the 4-button configuration of the SNES. I think though, that this will be taken care of somehow. Adaptors for the port on the bottom that connect to older Nintendo controllers would be just about perfect.

I sat down to enjoy FFCC, a fruit of one of Nintendo’s experiments.

So, two strikes for me last night. Now, it is the next morning. I’m taking another look and feeling much more inspired by it. I have lots of suggestions/hopes that I really want, because the expandability really makes me imagine great things. I’m also liking the fact that it can be use one-handed (vertically) or old-school two-handed (horizontally).

Here are my button-by-button thoughts. Seeing as how this isn’t even the revolutionary part, it might seem a little odd to tear into just the button design. This is just one aspect of a controller and a system (and a company) with many facets, but it’s the part I’m most familiar with. And I think I’m going to love it.

THE BUTTON-BY-BUTTON:

Power to turn off the controller is good, but power to turn off the console would be great. There’s potential there. Also, a splash of color is a great way to start a controller.

Woo HOO! From the side shots, this looks like a nice D-pad, with a good amount of depth and concavity. I’m excited to see that the D-pad is going to get some respect. The GC D-pad is ridiculous, and the DS and SP D-pads are usable, but I miss a nice, raised pad. Don’t even get me started on Playstation-style pads.

Note that I’m a D-pad connoisseur. I am not a big fan of analog because I don’t think everyone should be forced to use it. When I play a 2-D game, analog control seldom makes sense, because it isn’t exact and responsive like a D-pad is. (Most recent game I complained about this on: Sonic Gems.) Of course, analog has its place, but never forget your two-axis buddy.

The only thing I’d worry about is that the left side of the controller (horizontally) has the trigger indentation on the back, which seems like it could throw off your feel of the D-pad. It’s probably not that bad though.

A big friendly A button, like the GC. Nothin’ wrong with that. I like that this one’s here for one-handed control, and little a and little b buttons are at the bottom for two-handed control. The placement complements the placement of…

The B trigger! It’s twice as big as the A button and looks like a good trigger should. It’d be cool if it were also pressure-sensitive. But strictly as a button, this looks nice.

Select and Start, my two closest business partners. The location is right for one-handed or two handed play, with the two-handed being perhaps a bit of a stretch. Plus, check out that Home button. Not only will there be some sort of dashboard, you’ll be able to access it anytime. It’s also a little inset, so hitting it accidentally shouldn’t be a problem.

Awesome, lowercase a and b buttons. Placed in the classic Nintendo B-A order, which is the right way. They look like they’re nice to touch too, like the SNES’s B and A.

I wonder if Revolution games will differentiate between big A and little a and big B and little b. That would be awesome.

Another splash of color from the player LEDs and a Nintendo logo, nice way to end a controller. I wonder how one can switch which player you are, or if the channel can be changed. With numerous wireless devices in my house, I definitely need a channel select.

So, final decision: I like it enough to try it out. I love its old-school sensibility with the D-pad and little a and b. But I’m wary of the general lack of traditional controller design. Nintendo wants to say something though, and it has to do with being able to embrace the best aspects of the past, but not needlessly hold on to things that can be discarded.

I am kind of a sentimentalist though, I wonder if we’re really ready to let go of X and Y.