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Should the Smash Box controller be banned from Smash Bros. Melee?

The Smash Box controller (Daniel Lee)
The Smash Box controller (Daniel Lee)

By Daniel “Tafokints” Lee

A poor workman blames his tools, but what about a pro gamer?

Lately there’s been a ton of talk about a tool wreaking havoc on the Smash community: the Smash Box controller. A new version of the Hit Box controller, the Smash Box is essentially a customized controller that has an arcade stick base, but no joystick. In its place, the Smash Box uses buttons to register directions; a combination of buttons can thus be used to register more precise angles and movements. This makes it easier to consistently pull off more difficult inputs, such as back turns or shield drops that require a high degree of precision on the GameCube analog stick. Other buttons are mapped normally on the controller.

The question, naturally, is whether or not it’s fair for pro use. The answer is complicated.

Precedence

The Hit Box is currently used competitively in the FGC. In its initial release, the Hit Box was met with backlash. Many people wanted to ban the controller for its unique inputs, as these were not achievable when using a normal arcade stick. In Marvel vs Capcom 3, for instance, the earlier iterations of the Hit Box controller allowed for players to block in both directions simultaneously, significantly reducing the viability of cross-ups in the game.

Issues like these were later fixed, and now the Hit Box controller is used with varying degrees of success among top players in the FGC. Most people view these controllers as an effective alternative to an arcade stick or pad.

GameCube controller (Nintendo)
GameCube controller (Nintendo)

The inconsistency of the GameCube controller

Over the years, players have discovered how important it is to have a controller with a good analog stick base. GameCube controllers are often bought in bulk so pros can find a perfect controller. Certain controllers may come with perfect shield drops out of the box, while other controllers may make it nearly impossible. Ultimately, it boils down to to what angles the controller produces in certain “notches” around the default octagon gate used on the GameCube controller, which is highly variable between different (brand new) controllers.

David “Kadano” Schmid highlights the degree of precision required to pull off particular movements with the analog stick. If the stick isn’t extremely consistent with how it handles the notches, a player can input the same exact motion but create two different movements.

In a fighting game, that’s the difference between life and death.

Mods to the rescue

These frustrations have led the community to come up with their own solutions.

Case modding — customizations that modify the actual mechanical pieces of the controller — has become very popular. For example, players consult modders to fix their controller gates, add custom shield drop notches, and customize their button sensitivities. Kadano has become one of the prime modders in the community, creating custom controllers for several of the top players.

The legality of mods has been largely undefined in the Smash community. The traditional rule of most Smash games follows the model of the larger fighting game community: No macros, turbo buttons, or programmable buttons.

But Smash Bros. Melee has a set of unique issues even when compared to the other Smash games. For example, the later versions of Smash allow for remappable buttons and a selection of controllers that include the Wii Remote and the Wii U Pro controller. The Smash 64 competitive community has allowed keyboards and GameCube controller adapters. The Melee community has long held to the standard of GameCube controllers only.

Case modding is tough to enforce because of the random nature of GameCube controllers. A person can randomly buy a controller with perfect shield drops or ask someone to install notches to do so. Although there has never been an official stance on mods, most organizers have given these type of mods their approval.

The Smash Box, however, presents two new types of modifications: the remapping of buttons and the conversion of analog buttons to digital. The analog to digital conversions lets a player hit more specific angles with greater consistency, effectively giving them a hardware edge over their opponent.

The Hit Box team has spent extensive time working with players to ensure that these button conversions don’t result in competitive advantages over the GameCube controller, but many community leaders worry over the precedence of these mods, arguing that while the Smash Box may not be powerful in its own right, it could be a gateway that leads to others creating more powerful analog to digital modifications.

The upside

The Smash Box delivers other benefits. Digital inputs allow for techniques such as pivot up-tilts to become more consistent, removing the randomness factor that comes from the GameCube controller. It also makes techniques such as dashbacks easier to pull off.

The Smash community has also struggled with hand health. Aziz “Hax” Al-Yami and Daniel “koreandj” Jung have had injuries as a result of prolonged use with the GameCube controller. The Smash Box could prolong careers. That’s obviously a little speculative at this point, but the general stress caused by using a GameCube controller is undeniable.

The Smash Box also has the potential to bring new players into the community. Some traditional fighting game players have expressed interest in pursuing Melee if the Smash Box is in mass production.

William
William “Leffen” Hjelte and Joseph “Mango” Marquez at Get On My Level 2016. (Robert Paul / Red Bull Content Pool)

Problem spots

For 15 years, Melee has enjoyed great success thanks to its competitive community. It’s much easier to tweak the competitive format in its formative years than this far down the line.

The addition of unique controllers can be detrimental to the growth of the competitive community by opening the door to other much more powerful modifications. Modders could push mods to a whole new level. William “Leffen” Hjelte already expressed interest in modifying the four D-Pad directions on his GameCube controller if the Smash Box is legal. This lends itself to a big philosophical question in Melee: Are we rewarding pure skill, or are we more concerned with getting an edge through hardware?

An uncertain future

I’ve tested the Smash Box, and after spending several hours with it, I was able to do some of the more difficult techniques that were hard for me on a GameCube controller. But I have a hard time viewing the controller as game-breaking. I think it will have a niche appeal, but I don’t see it changing the playing field dramatically.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, the discussion brings the much-needed question of controller legality into light. The controller climate has changed significantly over the years and needs to be addressed in a formal manner.

Pros on both sides of the coin are fundamentally concerned with the well-being of the community. Smash Box advocates want to see more players in the scene and hope for more consistency in the game’s controls. Detractors see it opening the door for potentially unfair advantages. Ultimately, the Smash community needs to settle on a set of guidelines spelling out what is and isn’t permissible in regards to controller modifications. Until then, this particular fight won’t have a winner.


Daniel Lee is on Twitter @tafokints.