My name is Mista Claw. I was born with cerebral palsy. I have been playing video games since I was five years old in the grand old arcade. However, my real passion for gaming didn’t start until I was about seven when my cousin got an NES for his birthday.
Along with the NES console and controllers, the kit also came with the Power Pad & World Class Track Meet, along with a few other games. Playing NES games with my cousin marked my first time using a home console controller.
However, I was not able to use my right hand like I did at the arcade with a joystick and buttons. So, instead, I was forced to use just my left hand as the D-pad and buttons were close together. As such, I was able to use my pinky for the D-pad, along with my first finger for B and A.
About a year after playing the NES for the first time, I got one of my own for my birthday. Instead of Power Pad & World Class Track Meet, mine came with the Super Mario Brothers and Duck Hunt bundle with the Light Gun.
Discovering the Sega Genesis
Fast forward a few years to Junior High, and a new family moved in next door. They had two boys; one was close to my age, the other was closer to my little sister’s age, and both of them had their own video game consoles.
It was here that I used the Sega Genesis controller for the first time. No, it wasn’t the three-button version, but instead was the six-button controller. Which ended up being great as my neighbor also had Street Fighter II.
We would both play Street Fighter II before school at the local Peter Piper Pizza, however, this was the first time I was able to play it with one hand. Until then, I always used a two-hand system where the joystick went in between my pinky and ring finger, then I used my middle finger and first finger to press buttons. I used my right hand, which was in a fist most time, to press the buttons that I couldn’t reach with my two fingers.
Classic 6 Retroid Pocket Classic
But thanks to the button layout on the Genesis controller, I was able to dominate the world dictator and megalomaniac, Shadaloo Leader M. Bison. It also helped being able to charge characters like Ken or Ryu more easily.
Then, when Mortal Kombat came out, I found that the move sets best fit my play style for the home console since I was using my pinky for the D-pad. Because of this, I didn’t even bother getting Street Fighter II for the Game Boy, instead springing to get Mortal Kombat II.
Transitioning to PlayStation
via MobyGames
In high school, I put the controller down and started getting into the underground music scene (punk, metal, indie, midwest emo, ska & hip hop) while also enjoying skateboarding. It wasn’t until I graduated that my uncle gave me his PlayStation (which I later found out he gave to me because there were too many buttons).
It wasn’t until my senior trip to Los Angeles with my best friend that I started getting back into gaming. There was a Toys R’ Us close enough that we could longboard over and not worry about wasting gas in my grandmother’s car.
Armed with some of my graduation money, I bought the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and fell in love. In the “real world,” being disabled prohibited me from being able to pull off any cool tricks. I could bomb hills on my longboard by my house, and I could skate around at various places near me, but that was it.
As soon as I jumped into Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, I could finally ollie, kickflip, darkslide, and do other tricks I could never pull off in real life. To this day, THPS remains my favorite series of games of all time.
Leveling Up
After moving out of my parent’s house, my mom got both me and my brother a PS2 for Christmas. It came across as rather strange given the demise of my NES, but it still let me enjoy games like THPS2, Shinobi, and Max Payne.
The PS2 didn’t last too long; however, a random trip to the mall with some friends resulted in us seeing “IT.” No, not Cousin It, but the latest in home console entertainment, the Xbox.
Naturally, it was locked behind plexiglass, but there were two controllers along with the console being connected to a TV. This concept was foreign at the time, but you’d have a hard time going to a GameStop or even Target and not see this kind of setup.
Anyways, this unique ensemble within GameStop was assembled so you could play this new first-person shooter game called Halo. It was the coolest thing we had ever seen, and I hated it. To me, the original Xbox controller was basically two PlayStation controllers sandwiched together, making it impossible for me to play. So I just kept marching along, hoping for a new console to arrive that would change things.
Suffering Defeat
Though this wasn’t the first time controller ergonomics hindered me from really playing a console. We’ll need to rewind a bit, but this prize would go to my first love, Nintendo, after it released the tri-wing controller alongside the N64.
It was the first time that I really couldn’t use a controller fully. However, Nintendo consoles continued this trend up until the Nintendo Switch. At this point, it basically feels as though Nintendo couldn’t care less about accessibility. Sure, Super Mario 2 for Game Boy had an easy mode, I was able to play some Wii Sports, albeit barely, and there are some “Invisible Difficulty” settings within Super Mario Odyssey.
However, the company is not moving in the direction of accessible controllers as we’ve seen in the likes of Xbox, PlayStation & 8BitDo. The Nintendo Switch, up until just recently, was the only handheld I could play due to the Joy-Cons detaching and being able to slide into the grip. That is something that practically all of these PC handhelds (besides Legion Go with its controller charging grip) can’t do.
Finding Enjoyment with Retro Handhelds
Given the current landscape of handhelds, it’s difficult for me to get excited about a handheld that doesn’t have detachable controls with a grip or a retro handheld that’s not vertical. Meanwhile, smaller horizontal ones such as the MagicX XU Mini, RG35XX H, and Miyoo A30 are great.
They are small enough to reach all the buttons I need with relative ease. Plus, if I want to play some games with a different controller or on a bigger screen, I have the flexibility to do so. Many retro handhelds can just be plugged right into a TV or even my laptop connected to a capture card.
I get it. I’m not the mass market demo for these handheld doodads or controllers, and honestly, I’m not even the demographic for the Xbox Adaptive Controller. However, I’ve spent 40 years adapting the way I play video games to various controllers.
As I mentioned earlier, it means that I’ve missed out on some of the best video games because of the lack of controller options. I even reached a point when I bought a few knockoff Pro Controllers just to try and be able to enter some on-site Smash Bros. tournaments in the past.
Genesis Does What “Nintendon’t”
If Nintendo really wants to sell me on the Switch 2, it has a lot of work to do. There currently aren’t many games on the Switch that I want to play. For instance, if I want to play a platform fighter, I can just jump into Rivals of Aether II or play Brawlout and Flash Party.
Given my affinity for supporting indies, I didn’t even get the Switch to play first-party titles the first time around. Instead, I bought it so I could play The Binding of Isaac and Doom. But even that’s not as much of a reason to get a Switch, considering that PC handhelds are finally adopting better ergonomics. Not to mention that the Steam Deck is more accessible than Nintendo’s handheld.
It almost feels like we are back in the early ’90s when Genesis did what Nintendon’t. PC handhelds are finally adopting better ergonomics, while others, like the Steam Deck, are becoming more accessible.
With April 2nd right around the corner, we don’t have to wait long to see what Nintendo has been cooking up over the better part of the last decade. That being said, seeing the magnetic Joy-Cons paired with bigger buttons already seems like a step in the right direction.
Tournament Play
Instead of buying whatever new and flashy is released, I’ve been spending my money on controllers. If the perfect controller exists, it could potentially unlock a new world of gaming and maybe even let me enjoy those games that I previously couldn’t.
But there’s more to consider than just finding a controller that I can actually use to play games. There’s also the aspect of playing in tournaments, which come with their own sets of rules and guidelines.
On top of that, many locals and tournaments around the world use PlayStation for practically any game that isn’t a first-party Nintendo title. So, in my hunt for the perfect controller, I’m also giving my time to Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
I hope to see Fatal Fury: City of The Wolves included on the list, simply because adaptive control play styles are becoming tournament legal. Of the three games I’m playing, Street Fighter 6 has modern controls, Tekken 8 has Special Style, and Fatal Fury has Smart Style.
A Journey to Find the “Best”
I thought I had found my blade last year. It was the color of royalty. It had bumpers and triggers as face buttons. It also could connect to practically any of the Anbernic retro handhelds that have been released.
At first, I thought that I had found “the one” with the 8BitDo Lite SE. It’s an adaptation of the Lite controller 8Bitdo made for the Switch Lite, which, in my opinion, was the worst thing since the Wii U GamePad.
Although the Lite SE did everything I needed, there’s one checkbox that was left unmarked: Being able to connect to a PS5. Even when attempting to use it with the Brook Wingman FGC and an 8BitDo dongle, it wouldn’t connect.
Hope Comes From an Unlikely Source
I’m not much of an Xbox guy as you have found out by reading this manifesto of an article. I mean, who wants a controller that needs batteries or a battery pack? Certainly not me.
However, in late 2024, 8BitDo announced that it was collaborating with Microsoft’s Xbox division. As a result, we saw a dozen new controllers released, along with a few pretty awesome keyboards. One item that came from a collaboration between the two shouldn’t have surprised me when a revamp of the Lite SE controller was on the list.
There had been a few changes between the two. The Lite SE has L3 and R3 Buttons above the joysticks. The home button and share buttons are in the bottom corners of the controller. The revamp included these buttons that switched with a proprietary screenshot button in the center. And I wasn’t limited by wires, just like 8BitDo’s Ultimate 2C Wireless Controllers.
Image via 8BitDo
The one thing that is a true collaboration with Xbox and 8bitDo is the Super Buttons (and type C rechargeable battery). You see these mostly with the 8BitDo Keyboard, but this is the first time buttons like these have come with an Xbox Adaptive Controller.
Button packs for the XAC are made by third-party companies like Logitech. The Super Buttons are cool to use for L3 since those are no longer within my reach, leaving me to use two hands instead of one. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that I end up hitting the profile and screenshot buttons. Because of this, I do worry about potentially losing competitive matches and wish there was a way to prevent this during gameplay.
Getting Some Help
Image via Brook Gaming
As my search continued, I eventually stumbled on the fact that the Brook Gaming Wingman turns controller inputs from an Xbox layout to a Switch layout on PC. At first, my Super Button didn’t work with the Brook Wingman, but after fiddling around with it, everything has been working great.
I have been using L3 for my assist button in Street Fighter 6, while on the OG Lite SE, I used my ring finger to press it. Though now that the Super Buttons work, I use my claw.
Even still, I’ve found that while playing the new Fatal Fury Beta City of The Wolves, it’s impossible for me to perform the “Super Move.” It requires you to do two quarter circle forward inputs, then block. However, the amount of travel needed from the joysticks just proves to be fruitless, and I still haven’t figured out how to get the inputs calibrated the way I like.
Achieving “Bankai” with the CounterHit
After seeing all of the praise that Wulff Den gives about leverless controllers, I had to see it for myself. After doing a bit of research, I came across the “Nano” leverless controller with a D-pad from a wonderful guy named Ben, who owns CounterHit Customs.
Ben started making controllers when his passion for fighting games and engineering collided. He decided to take a deep dive into starting a small business after an opportunity to switch careers happened. Now, he’s full-time, supporting both himself and the Pacific Northwest Fighting Game Community with custom-made, quality, leverless controllers.
I hit up Ben and told him about my journey. He was nice enough to give me my very own CounterHit Nano to try my hand with. So far, I love it, as it works great with Street Fighter 6’s modern controls. At the same time, it’s also great for playing retro games like Tetris with just a thumb.
Image via CounterHit Customs
The controller uses GP2040-CE firmware, which I’m sure just got some of you custom controller enthusiasts’ attention. For the unintiated, this is a “gamepad firmware for the Raspberry Pi Pico and other RP2040-based microcontrollers.”
With this firmware paired with the Nano, I’m able to use this controller with a slew of different consoles and systems. Considering that this is custom firmware, I’m able to remap the Nano so that it better suits my needs and style. Plus, it’s great for emulation, as the Nano is recognized by RetroArch and PPSSPP.
However, one question still remains: Does it work on a PS5? The answer is I don’t know. For some reason, my Brook Wingman FGC doesn’t like wired connections. I even used a beta version of the firmware to no avail. Surprisingly, I did find that the 8BitDo x Xbox Lite SE works, providing validation to the investment.
Although my controller woes have cost me a few matches, there’s still peace of mind knowing that I can show up to the next tournament and give it another go. At the end of the day, this is what matters most to me on this journey, as I try to improve my skills and join the ranks amongst the best in the fighting game community.
If you’re intrigued by the CounterHit Customs controller, you can grab one using the button below. And if you use code “mistaclawapproved” at checkout, you’ll save 5% on the Custom Nano.
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