Two Controllers for one Player

Discuss technical or other issues relating to programming the Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, or compatible systems. See the NESdev wiki for more information.

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Jedi QuestMaster
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Two Controllers for one Player

Post by Jedi QuestMaster »

An 8-directional pad and 4 buttons is really limited. :roll: So I've wondered... have there been any NES games (official, unofficial, homebrew) that utilized both gamepads to control one player?

I'm not talking in the sense of Contra, Jackal, or other Konami games that do that weird thing that mirrors player 1's control with both controllers.

I mean taking advantage of extra controls that have separate actions: The only thing I can think of is Operation Wolf, which lets you use a Zapper to shoot and a Gamepad to throw grenades.

But are there any games that do this with two gamepads?
lidnariq
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by lidnariq »

IIRC, Smash TV has a both-controllers-for-one-player mode. Basically emulating a single dual-stick controller using both D pads.
zzo38
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by zzo38 »

I seem to remember once having seen in the Homebrew Projects a game which used two controllers for one player (although maybe I misremember).

Also, even with a limited number of buttons it is possible to have commands which need multiple buttons pushed at once. Furthermore, on Famicom it would be possible to make a game using the keyboard for input if the joypad doesn't have enough. Another alternative is to use menus, although this would be slow and take up space on the screen; I recommend the other alternatives instead if possible and reasonable, although often it isn't and menus will work better.
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rainwarrior
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by rainwarrior »

Spook-o'-tron is an upcoming homebrew that does this:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/11 ... w-game-for
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by gauauu »

I keep thinking you could do something like what Atari did with Spy Hunter and 3d print a box that holds 2 NES controllers together to make it easier to use buttons from the other controller.
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by Gilbert »

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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

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tepples
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by tepples »

gauauu wrote:I keep thinking you could do something like what Atari did with Spy Hunter and 3d print a box that holds 2 NES controllers together
Would such a box look anything like a Joy-Con Grip?
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by kuja killer »

Rockman 4 Minus Infinity does. :)
From the english readme quote:

"* Switching Weapon
You can switch Megaman's weapon by pressing A/B of NES Port2."

So being able to go left or right like the SNES games....but with controller 2 though...
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by gauauu »

tepples wrote:
gauauu wrote:I keep thinking you could do something like what Atari did with Spy Hunter and 3d print a box that holds 2 NES controllers together
Would such a box look anything like a Joy-Con Grip?
I was picturing it with both controllers in landscape position, stacked vertically, but the bottom one upside-down. So the right thumb had easy access to the A/B on controller one and the D-pad of controller 2 right below that. But I really haven't given it all that much thought.
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Jedi QuestMaster
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by Jedi QuestMaster »

lidnariq wrote:IIRC, Smash TV has a both-controllers-for-one-player mode. Basically emulating a single dual-stick controller using both D pads.
:shock:

I've got to get this game now.
zzo38 wrote:Furthermore, on Famicom it would be possible to make a game using the keyboard for input if the joypad doesn't have enough.
I hadn't really thought of Famicom, but I did try thinking of alternative NES input devices: Lightgun, Arkanoid pad... :? There's not a whole lot out there unless someone makes an adapter for non-NES stuff.
gauauu wrote:I was picturing it with both controllers in landscape position, stacked vertically, but the bottom one upside-down. So the right thumb had easy access to the A/B on controller one and the D-pad of controller 2 right below that. But I really haven't given it all that much thought.
I really like the idea of this setup. It even keeps the cords out of the way of your fingers. Like this, right?

---UP--------------
LEFT--RIGHT-----B-A-
---DOWN-------------

-------------DOWN---
-A-B-----RIGHT--LEFT
--------------UP----
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gauauu
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Re: Two Controllers for one Player

Post by gauauu »

Jedi QuestMaster wrote:
gauauu wrote:I was picturing it with both controllers in landscape position, stacked vertically, but the bottom one upside-down. So the right thumb had easy access to the A/B on controller one and the D-pad of controller 2 right below that. But I really haven't given it all that much thought.
I really like the idea of this setup. It even keeps the cords out of the way of your fingers. Like this, right?

---UP--------------
LEFT--RIGHT-----B-A-
---DOWN-------------

-------------DOWN---
-A-B-----RIGHT--LEFT
--------------UP----
Yup, that's exactly what I meant.
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