Taking Control: Turbo Touch 360
For once, I'm back in the swing. Seriously. I got hooked up with a Flickr account and took some pictures. They're not great pictures, though, so I'm gonna try again and post them later. Until then, however, I'm finally ready to post my long-overdue review of... well, anything.
TURBO TOUCH 360 by Triax
I recall the commercials for this bad boy pretty vividly. The Turbo Touch 360 (TT360) was supposed to be worlds better than all the other controllers on the market, and Triax was pushing their product pretty hard. Their main innovation: replacing the traditional directional pad with a touchpad, not unlike the ones you'd find on iPods and other crap like that today. They developed three separate models of the TT360: one for the NES, one for the SNES, and one for the Genesis, which, appropriately, comes in Sega black.
Since it came out in the heyday of the Genesis and SNES, I never actually saw one for the NES until I popped into a Gamestop some time ago. I've managed to pick up two of them total, but I didn't really sit down and play with the thing until recently. Here's what I found:
Design / Ergonomics:
The TT360 is large, a good deal larger than the standard NES controller; it's about the size of a standard Genesis pad. It's also shaped similar to a Genesis pad. It's pretty comfortable to hold for a long period of time, although if you have really small hands, you might not like it too much, or may have problems reaching the buttons.
Directional Pad:
The D-Pad is what sets the TT360 apart from other controllers, and was also Triax's biggest selling point. It's definitely very responsive. You don't even have to press on it; it's all contact. One of the nicest things about the D-Pad is that it has true diagonals (ex: if you press UP/RIGHT, it signals both up and right at the same time). This is a nice feature for games like Contra, where diagonal shooting is a big help. There are ridges on the control pad so you know where you're pressing--lines for the cardinal directions, raised dots for the diagonals. It's also sunk into the controller about an eighth of an inch, with a raised ridge running around the outside. Because you operate it with your left thumb, sometimes it makes pressing left kind of awkward or uncomfortable. Being a touchpad, of course, any accidental touch can set your character running off in the wrong direction or throw you off a cliff.
The D-Pad responds well to games with all types of controls, stiff or loose. I had some problems with it while playing Kung Fu; sometimes my character would suddenly duck or change directions when i moved my thumb slightly, and it caused me to have to hold the D-Pad awkwardly to stop the problem. There is a neutral zone in the center of the pad for when you don't want to use it, but you'd be better off removing your thumb altogether so that there's no accidental pressing, which is also awkward and uncomfortable. Still, not having to apply any pressure is pretty nice; it just takes a lot of getting used to. In short, the super-sensitive D-Pad is both a blessing and a curse.
I had the most success with games where you're generally moving in only 2 directions, left or right. Although it works well with the 8-directional movement, sometimes I'd have a little trouble getting my ship to move in Gradius, or accidentally fly into a rock while trying to avoid shots when I normally would have missed said rock. How disconcerting.
Buttons / Turbo:
By themselves, the buttons are great. Every single one of them has a nice press. If you push the button, you KNOW you pushed the button. Working with more than one button, I found a few problems. Because of their size, shape, and placement, I found that the A and B buttons tended to stick occasionally when trying to hold one and press the other. In games like Super Mario Bros. or the later Mega Man games, where you'll often find yourself holding one of the buttons for an extended period of time, it can get frustrating. This problem didn't really occur with the turbo buttons, since they're smaller and rounder. The turbo itself is pretty standard, and is comparable to the turbo on the NES Max. Still, it's nice to have.
The Start and Select buttons are placed strangely; instead of placing them horizontally like EVERYBODY ELSE does, Start is now above Select. This caused me some problems trying when I'd go for Start and hit Select accidentally. Fortunately, not a lot of games rely too much on either button, but it could be crucial if you're playing, say, Punch-Out!!
Cord / Plug:
Not as disappointing as some other controllers I've seen, but not spectacular either. The cord measures up at a so-so 6 feet in length, over a foot and a half shorter than the stock NES controller cable. The plug feels kind of cheap, but has a nice snug fit that's not overly tight on insertion or removal. Could have been better, but could have been much worse.
So let's bring it together with the Pros & Cons:
PROS:
+ Sensitive D-Pad
+ Ergonomic
+ Good size for most adults
+ Large, responsive buttons
+ Plug not overly tight
CONS:
- Sensitive D-Pad
- May be overly large for some people
- Buttons can stick
- Start & Select in weird positions
- Cord could be longer
FINAL SCORE: 8 out of 10
When it comes down to it, this is a really good controller. Triax had a good thing going when they developed this. I'm sure a bit more refinement could have made it better, but there's not too much to improve on.
TURBO TOUCH 360 by Triax
I recall the commercials for this bad boy pretty vividly. The Turbo Touch 360 (TT360) was supposed to be worlds better than all the other controllers on the market, and Triax was pushing their product pretty hard. Their main innovation: replacing the traditional directional pad with a touchpad, not unlike the ones you'd find on iPods and other crap like that today. They developed three separate models of the TT360: one for the NES, one for the SNES, and one for the Genesis, which, appropriately, comes in Sega black.
Since it came out in the heyday of the Genesis and SNES, I never actually saw one for the NES until I popped into a Gamestop some time ago. I've managed to pick up two of them total, but I didn't really sit down and play with the thing until recently. Here's what I found:
Design / Ergonomics:
The TT360 is large, a good deal larger than the standard NES controller; it's about the size of a standard Genesis pad. It's also shaped similar to a Genesis pad. It's pretty comfortable to hold for a long period of time, although if you have really small hands, you might not like it too much, or may have problems reaching the buttons.
Directional Pad:
The D-Pad is what sets the TT360 apart from other controllers, and was also Triax's biggest selling point. It's definitely very responsive. You don't even have to press on it; it's all contact. One of the nicest things about the D-Pad is that it has true diagonals (ex: if you press UP/RIGHT, it signals both up and right at the same time). This is a nice feature for games like Contra, where diagonal shooting is a big help. There are ridges on the control pad so you know where you're pressing--lines for the cardinal directions, raised dots for the diagonals. It's also sunk into the controller about an eighth of an inch, with a raised ridge running around the outside. Because you operate it with your left thumb, sometimes it makes pressing left kind of awkward or uncomfortable. Being a touchpad, of course, any accidental touch can set your character running off in the wrong direction or throw you off a cliff.
The D-Pad responds well to games with all types of controls, stiff or loose. I had some problems with it while playing Kung Fu; sometimes my character would suddenly duck or change directions when i moved my thumb slightly, and it caused me to have to hold the D-Pad awkwardly to stop the problem. There is a neutral zone in the center of the pad for when you don't want to use it, but you'd be better off removing your thumb altogether so that there's no accidental pressing, which is also awkward and uncomfortable. Still, not having to apply any pressure is pretty nice; it just takes a lot of getting used to. In short, the super-sensitive D-Pad is both a blessing and a curse.
I had the most success with games where you're generally moving in only 2 directions, left or right. Although it works well with the 8-directional movement, sometimes I'd have a little trouble getting my ship to move in Gradius, or accidentally fly into a rock while trying to avoid shots when I normally would have missed said rock. How disconcerting.
Buttons / Turbo:
By themselves, the buttons are great. Every single one of them has a nice press. If you push the button, you KNOW you pushed the button. Working with more than one button, I found a few problems. Because of their size, shape, and placement, I found that the A and B buttons tended to stick occasionally when trying to hold one and press the other. In games like Super Mario Bros. or the later Mega Man games, where you'll often find yourself holding one of the buttons for an extended period of time, it can get frustrating. This problem didn't really occur with the turbo buttons, since they're smaller and rounder. The turbo itself is pretty standard, and is comparable to the turbo on the NES Max. Still, it's nice to have.
The Start and Select buttons are placed strangely; instead of placing them horizontally like EVERYBODY ELSE does, Start is now above Select. This caused me some problems trying when I'd go for Start and hit Select accidentally. Fortunately, not a lot of games rely too much on either button, but it could be crucial if you're playing, say, Punch-Out!!
Cord / Plug:
Not as disappointing as some other controllers I've seen, but not spectacular either. The cord measures up at a so-so 6 feet in length, over a foot and a half shorter than the stock NES controller cable. The plug feels kind of cheap, but has a nice snug fit that's not overly tight on insertion or removal. Could have been better, but could have been much worse.
So let's bring it together with the Pros & Cons:
PROS:
+ Sensitive D-Pad
+ Ergonomic
+ Good size for most adults
+ Large, responsive buttons
+ Plug not overly tight
CONS:
- Sensitive D-Pad
- May be overly large for some people
- Buttons can stick
- Start & Select in weird positions
- Cord could be longer
FINAL SCORE: 8 out of 10
When it comes down to it, this is a really good controller. Triax had a good thing going when they developed this. I'm sure a bit more refinement could have made it better, but there's not too much to improve on.
posted by Jack Of Clubs at 11:09 PM
3 Comments:
How rare is one of these puppies? How much money did you spend on yours? It could effect the score curve.
For an 8 out of 10 you make the D-pad sound a lot worse then it is.
Didn't the different flavors of the TT360 come with colors respective to the console?
I like the mention of specific games in your review but is there any specific games that it really rocks/sucks at?
Cool review. I look forward to some pictures.
Good grief could you imagine me trying to use that thing? "I want to go left, no not right! AHHHHHH!" Of course my video game skills are deplorable to begin with. Still I think it sounds rather interesting.
If I can, I'll go in and amend this a bit to show why I really thought it deserved an 8. I also have the Joycard Sansui SSS on the chopping block, and should have one up for it soon.
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