First Dual Analog Controller Ever: PlayStation Analog Joystick - Rerez

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I'm a pretty big fan of video game controllers. I have a whole selection of controllers that most people don't even remember came out. But one of the biggest things I love about controllers is that they offer a completely different way to interact with the games that you love. And there's one company that did something pretty crazy in the ‘90s that most of us don't even remember anymore.

When Sony released the PlayStation they had to figure out some kind of crazy way to make their console stand out. Now of course it was using CDs which at the time was still kind of unproven as a good format for gaming but they were going to do something else. Something crazy. They released one of the biggest controllers ever for a console at the time. The PlayStation Analog Joystick.

The PlayStation Analog Joystick is Sony's first analog controller for the PlayStation predating Sony's dual analog controller by a year and also arriving on the market before Nintendo had released the Nintendo 64 which featured a digital thumb stick. While this is not the first analog joystick to be released on a console it marks one of the first attempts at bringing dual joystick gameplay to the home making experiences like Sega's arcade smash hit Cyber Troopers Virtual-On, a game that uses this same controller layout, a conceivable reality in the living room. Only Sega was still producing consoles during this time period so that never happened. What did happen though was that Sony released around 40 PlayStation games that made use of the unique features of the analog joystick. The controller’s main feature are the two analog joysticks. Each joystick has a selection of buttons each one corresponding to the full button layout of the original PlayStation gamepad. The right joystick has a hat switch which operates the same way as the directional pad does on a regular controller. Games that were produced to utilize this controller use the hat switch independently of the joysticks themselves usually as a selection tool and a simple way to move around menus in games. Another feature is that all the buttons on the joysticks themselves are also featured in the center between the two joysticks. The buttons are presented in a style very reminiscent of an arcade controller layout. The PlayStation Analog Joystick is no doubt one of the most complex controllers that Sony had ever released for the PlayStation.

But that doesn't mean that Sony didn't make good use of it. There were an entire list of games Sony had released that made perfect use of the controller. But today we're not going to be looking at that list. We're going to be looking at three titles specifically that use the controller and they happen to be titles that I really like. Descent, a port of the PC original. MechWarrior 2, another PC port. And an original title that was released on consoles Vigilante 8, one of my all-time favorite car combat games.

Up first Descent. This is one heck of a game. The original came out on PC at a time when 3D gaming was still in its infancy. The game is pretty much a first-person shooter with a twist — you have free 360 degree movement. The gameplay revolved around you rescuing people, fighting off enemies and destroying a reactor and escaping the exploding level as fast as you can. It's a classic game and still holds up really well. In fact this game is one of the first 3D games I had ever played. The PlayStation version has a few additional elements that surpass its original PC version including a remixed soundtrack, some additional levels, pre-rendered cinematics and even colored lighting effects but what makes this version best in my opinion is the use of this controller. It adds a whole layer of interaction to the game that makes it far more fun to play with than just a regular PlayStation gamepad or even the keyboard. When they started making first-person shooters on computers one of the things that they really didn't include was a strafe option. Very few games from the early ‘90s included the ability to just move directly left or to move directly right. This is something that has become standard in many first-person shooters nowadays but back then that wasn't a thing. So Descent, a game that really should utilize it, turns you left and turns you right with this controller setup. And you kind of need to strafe in this game. Other than that Descent makes perfect use of this controller. Everything interacts so well and in fact I would go so far as to say that if you're going to play this game for the first time you should probably seek out this version of the game with this controller. You will not regret it.

Next up is MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat. This was one heck of a game on the PC and although the developers tried their best to make that experience on the PlayStation the game just isn't as good as the original. That being said it’s still a pretty cool experience and that experience is heightened if you play it with this controller. MechWarrior 2 is a mech combat game and the whole reason I wanted to try this game was to draw a comparison between this title and Steel Battalion for the Xbox. Steel Battalion for the Xbox, for those of you that don't know, is a really complex game that has a gigantic controller very much like the Analog Joystick. However the PlayStation controller is far more simplified and because of that MechWarrior 2 is an easier game to play but it's still a little bit difficult in parts. The most complex thing is actually trying to move your mech around with one joystick while aiming with the other joystick. You get into this weird kind of unbelievably difficult mess and sometimes it doesn't work out. You can have a lot of fun playing this game but I wouldn't recommend spending too much time playing it because you'll probably lose your damn mind. Another point to make is very much like the last game this is another title that was made at a time when strafing really wasn't a thing that existed. While this game may not be as good as the original it still features some really cool mech gameplay that you can play right at home on the PlayStation.

Gamers everywhere always say that Twisted Metal is the definitive car combat gameplay series but for me it's Vigilante 8. Vigilante 8 is based off of a PC game called Interstate ‘76. While Interstate ‘76 is based off the MechWarrior 2 engine, and is kind of more complex in a way, Vigilante 8 is a streamlined version of Interstate ‘76 with a few arcade elements that are very similar to Twisted Metal. This game here is one of my all-time favorites on the PlayStation and its sequel on the Dreamcast is even better of an experience. But the first one is what got me into the series proper. This game has an amazing soundtrack, fantastic visuals, great levels, great cars and a lot of really interesting weapons. What you have here is a great single player experience plus an amazing multiplayer experience that's just so much fun to play with friends. Unlike MechWarrior 2 and Descent I found that this game was far easier to play just using the left joystick. The left joystick controls your movement while the right joystick controls your camera angle which really messed with me when I was playing so I just chose to leave it alone. I have to say using a joystick to drive a car, well it doesn't really work. The game controls pretty well with this but to be quite honest I prefer using an original PlayStation controller. This is still a really neat experience and one you should try out but for me it's the original controller all the way.

One of the smartest features that Sony included with the PlayStation Analog Joystick is the ability to switch between analog and digital mode. Now all the games I reviewed up until this point were with the analog mode turned on. That means the games were utilizing all the controller’s unique functions. However with digital mode it basically just turns both the left and right joystick into D pads and uses all the buttons the same way a normal PlayStation controller would work. This was a really smart move because it meant that every single PlayStation game can theoretically be played with this controller. Whether that's good or not well we're about to find out.

I am NOT the best player of Tekken 3 but this game actually works utilizing just one joystick and the arcade buttons in the center of this controller. You would actually think that this would be kind of impossible to play or just really difficult but it works out really well. And because all the buttons in the center are actually on the joysticks themselves you can play this game with just the joysticks. It's kind of a strange experience but it does work so if you consider yourself a pro of Tekken 3 and you want to try playing it a different way you might want to give this a shot. You may enjoy it a little bit more or a heck of a lot less than playing it on a regular controller. I also tried out Jet Moto 2. Very much like Tekken 3 everything works but it's a little hard to control at points. Playing Jet Moto 2 with this controller doesn't really improve your experience. Personally I'd rather the PlayStation gamepad. Once again it's a fun little addition so if you happen to have the game then give it a shot. You might like it more than I did.

Sony did a fantastic job while designing this controller. Many of the concepts and ideas that went into this design are in newer controllers that they've created because everything on here was such a smart idea. One of the best things ever was having that digital mode so that you could use this with the entire PlayStation library of games. That's a lot of games and even if the controller wasn't specifically designed for that game the ability to use this controller only increases its value. So if you're ever in the wild and you find one of these things just sitting on a store shelf somewhere and the price is pretty good pick it up. It's a great play, it's a fun thing to own and you know what you're not going to regret it.

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