
Nintendo Entertainment System Controller
The Nintendo Entertainment System Controller, often shortened to NES Controller, is a game controller used for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and serves as the international counterpart of the Family Computer controller. It featured an oblong brick-like design with a simple four button layout: two round buttons labeled "A" and "B", a "START" button and a "SELECT" button. The controllers utilized the cross-shaped joypad designed by Gunpei Yokoi for Nintendo Game & Watch systems to replace the bulkier joysticks on earlier gaming console controllers. The only Metroid game to use this controller is the first game.
The Famicom featured two game controllers, both of which were hardwired to the back of the console. The second controller lacked the START and SELECT buttons, but featured a small microphone, though relatively few games made use of this feature. The earliest produced Famicom units initially had square A and B buttons. This was changed to the circular designs because of the square buttons being caught in the controller casing when pressed down and glitches within the hardware causing the system to freeze occasionally while playing a game.
Certain Wii games, such as Super Paper Mario and Metroid: Other M, have an NES controller-like control scheme, with the Wii Remote being held sideways. The NES Controller is also one of the pawns in Nintendo Monopoly.