There's A Cheap Way to Play 3DS Games With a GameCube Controller

[roseofbattle]

There's A Cheap Way to Play 3DS Games With a GameCube Controller

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No more broken 3DS circle pads from intense Super Smash Bros fights thanks to a mod by DekuNukem.

A modder named DekuNukem has posted instructions for how to mess with hardware to create a method for using a GameCube controller with a 3DS for people who are dissatisfied with using the 3DS controls for games like Super Smash Bros. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/super%20smash%20bros]

Those interested will have to be comfortable with the source code DekuNukem provides. The instructions are available here [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Zn6B7LS_Fjm-lIFg_gtSEX4vyMsDikPHXBdn-rX0lfU/edit#gid=0], and DekuNukem notes that more detailed instructions will be available later.

This mod isn't just for playing Super Smash Bros with the GameCube controller. It works for any 3DS game. DekuNukem will accept a limited number of requests from people who aren't comfortable modifying their 3DS.

When Super Smash Bros released in Japan, pictures of broken circle pads [http://kotaku.com/super-smash-bros-is-wrecking-some-peoples-3ds-handheld-1634549128], popping off from the 3DS, hit the internet as it appeared some people's handhelds couldn't take the Smash abuse.

DekuNukem's previous work includes the Poke-O-Matic [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/129339-Pokemon-X-and-Y-Player-Builds-Automatic-Shiny-Finder], an automatic shiny Pokemon finder for Pokemon X and Y.

This isn't the first time someone has found a way to make the GameCube controller work with a 3DS. Japanese Twitter user Midoriryu used scotch tape, cables, and modifications to the back side of a 3DS XL [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/137646-Super-Smash-Bros-Fan-Hooks-Up-Gamecube-Controller-to-3DS] to find a way to play Super Smash Bros with a GameCube controller.

Source: TinyCartridge [https://github.com/dekuNukem/gc3ds]


Permalink

 

[Urgh76]

I can't help but feel a certain irony that he chose to demo OoT in order to show how it works with any other game as well.

I mean it's been ported over to a new portable handheld console, so let's modify it again so we can play it on a smaller screen with our console controller.

By all means it's still neat, but just a bit silly when you think about it

 

[crepesack]

I would assume the GC controller makes the battery life on the console even worse than it already is.

 

[Razhem]

Everyone of this executions seems idiotic to me, it utterly destroys the use of the 3DS as a portable handheld, I certainly don't see myself playing in the train with a gamecube pad.

 

[ccggenius12]

Now, if he could mod it to port the video output to a standard TV so you aren't sitting arms length away from a 5 inch screen, that would be super. Turn it into a tiny Gamecube that uses cartridges and has internal memory.

 

[Roxas1359]

I would assume the GC controller makes the battery life on the console even worse than it already is.

According to his site, the GameCube controller is powered via USB cable, so it's not sapping power from the 3DS itself.

Everyone of this executions seems idiotic to me, it utterly destroys the use of the 3DS as a portable handheld, I certainly don't see myself playing in the train with a gamecube pad.

On his site he shows that you can simply disconnect this and it is portable again, bar the circuit board on the back. He also says that the circle pad and buttons still work with the 3DS, even with the controller installed. So basically he turned his 3DS XL into a more functional PS Vita TV.

 

[Leemaster777]

It doesn't surprise me that someone did this. It surprises me that it took THIS long.

I would have assumed that as soon as a portable Smash was announced, people would have already started working on getting the venerated Gamecube controller attached to a 3DS.

 

[Something Amyss]

No more hand cramps? But the GC controller did cramp my hands!

 

[marioandsonic]

So far, I don't mind playing the Smash demo on my 3DSXL, but I do have one complaint. And it's on the 3DSXL itself:

When I'm playing the game and in the heat of a battle, my hand can sometimes hit the volume slider by accident, and thus the volume will shoot way up or down.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Yeah, same as the guy from last week. Only, from the giant octopus coming out of his GC controller, it looks like he wired the GC buttons directly to the corresponding buttons on the 3DS, bypassing the controller's circuits. That seems like an easier DIY project than messing with Arduinos, transistors and custom circuit boards.

Since both mods require cracking open your 3DS, the only benefits[footnote]Unless, Midoriryu's method has some flaws (like analog dead zone/range issues) that DekuNukem's dosen't.[/footnote] this one has over the simpler one is your don't sacrifice a 'cube controller. (But with Smash's Wii U adapter coming out soon, I doubt Nintendo won't stop making Gamecube controllers. So, there's no worry about destroying antiques.) Also, If I had a non-special edition 3DS to try either out on, I'd rather be able to just solder a 10 position connector on and unplug the controller, to be the system somewhat pocketablem rather the have an entire circuit out the naked on the back.

I'm might try both some day, if I can find a cheap used 3DS and the time to first clear off my workbench, then the time to tinker.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Jesus Nintendo, what happened to your gear? My GameCube controller took over a decade of Super Smash Bros. abuse and only have a teeny tiny damaged bit on the stick thanks to the fidgeting of yours truly. "Nintendium" used to be a thing, but that seems to be changing.

No more hand cramps? But the GC controller did cramp my hands!

It was one of the most ergonomic things I ever held... when I was a kid. If I try to play it now I do notice that the thing is pretty damn small.

 

[keiththegeek]

Worth noting this mod does allow you to have a c-stick (or at least emulate its functionality) by remapping the controls. That alone would almost make this worth it to me, but I'm not the sort of guy that knows how to work with hardware. It's something I might look into doing in the future though if I ever end up with a second 3DS.

 

[keiththegeek]

So you used the gamecube controller instead of the many many better controllers? I mean, that requires some fanboy hard ons to choose the Gamecube over the good controllers.

This is more about keeping controls consistent between games. The gamecube controller is, whether you like it or not, the go to controller for most smash bros fans. It's used for Melee, Brawl, any mods like Project M, and will also be usable for the Wii U game, as well as Smash 64 if you play on the VC.

Of course a lot of it is just personal preference and stuff. Personally, I'd take the gamecube controller over the other ones for playing Smash.