I didn't know where to open this thread, but this forum seems the most appropriate...
Today I've received Retrobit's Tribute 64 pad, a remake of Hori's Minipad 64 and spent an hour or so using it. The pad is available with N64 and USB plugs and I've bought the former.
The Tribute 64 is ever so slightly larger than the Minipad, I'd say less than one cm in width, and the horns are fatter and with deeper grooves. It fits my hands better than the Minipad, and those extra millimetres do wonders in making the pad more confortable. The Tribute 64 is slightly heavier, but probably a few grams only.
All buttons and analog stick have been reworked. The stick is still rubber, but the grooves on the top are shallower; it feels a bit looser than the Mini, but overall the Tribute 64's feels more comfortable because the cap has been slightly enlarged. The start button is larger and made of out plastic, instead of rubber as on the Minipad; it's also more distant from A and B. A and B are almost the same, the oly difference I can see or feel is that the A and B engravings are more centred on the Tribute 64. The four C buttons are slightly more apart from each other, with different engravings for the arrows: the arrows have a slightly different shape and deeper. The d-pad is miles better, much closer to a NES/SNES is size and shape.
The dorsal buttons don't have any engraving on them, and are the buttons that received the most changes: on the Tribute 64 are shallower, are longer, are clickier, and Z triggers are semi-circular like a DS4 or a Switch Pro Controller; they are an incredible improvement over the Minipad.
The slot on the back of the pad is an incredibly thight fit for memory cards or rumble pack. I own an InterAct card, and it slid into the slot just fine up to halfway, probably up to when the card comes in contact with the connector itself. After that, pushing the card it required a lot of strenght, and when I finally did it, I heard a very loud "clack". Removing the card rquire the same amount of strength (plus the need to keep the clip open), and the same happened with the rumble pack.
The plug for the console is too rather tight but not as much. The cord is longer.
The larger size makes the Tribute 64 more comfortable than the Minipad. It's not a radical departure from Hori's original, but the size allowed Retrobit to move buttons around to make the pad feel better in hand.
I paid CDN34.99 for a clear blue unit, and I must say I'm very pleased with what I've got. Unfortunately the pad isn't universal, it either works on a N64 or on a PC, there are no adapters included in either version for the other. The PC version (USB) is CDN5 more expensive.
Today I've received Retrobit's Tribute 64 pad, a remake of Hori's Minipad 64 and spent an hour or so using it. The pad is available with N64 and USB plugs and I've bought the former.
The Tribute 64 is ever so slightly larger than the Minipad, I'd say less than one cm in width, and the horns are fatter and with deeper grooves. It fits my hands better than the Minipad, and those extra millimetres do wonders in making the pad more confortable. The Tribute 64 is slightly heavier, but probably a few grams only.
All buttons and analog stick have been reworked. The stick is still rubber, but the grooves on the top are shallower; it feels a bit looser than the Mini, but overall the Tribute 64's feels more comfortable because the cap has been slightly enlarged. The start button is larger and made of out plastic, instead of rubber as on the Minipad; it's also more distant from A and B. A and B are almost the same, the oly difference I can see or feel is that the A and B engravings are more centred on the Tribute 64. The four C buttons are slightly more apart from each other, with different engravings for the arrows: the arrows have a slightly different shape and deeper. The d-pad is miles better, much closer to a NES/SNES is size and shape.
The dorsal buttons don't have any engraving on them, and are the buttons that received the most changes: on the Tribute 64 are shallower, are longer, are clickier, and Z triggers are semi-circular like a DS4 or a Switch Pro Controller; they are an incredible improvement over the Minipad.
The slot on the back of the pad is an incredibly thight fit for memory cards or rumble pack. I own an InterAct card, and it slid into the slot just fine up to halfway, probably up to when the card comes in contact with the connector itself. After that, pushing the card it required a lot of strenght, and when I finally did it, I heard a very loud "clack". Removing the card rquire the same amount of strength (plus the need to keep the clip open), and the same happened with the rumble pack.
The plug for the console is too rather tight but not as much. The cord is longer.
The larger size makes the Tribute 64 more comfortable than the Minipad. It's not a radical departure from Hori's original, but the size allowed Retrobit to move buttons around to make the pad feel better in hand.
I paid CDN34.99 for a clear blue unit, and I must say I'm very pleased with what I've got. Unfortunately the pad isn't universal, it either works on a N64 or on a PC, there are no adapters included in either version for the other. The PC version (USB) is CDN5 more expensive.