The light gun was iconic, allowing you to shoot down ducks and cowboys.
The Power Glove and ROB the Robot looked godly, but worked like garbage.
The Power Pad was a brilliant novelty of the time.
The Game Genie was a literal game-changer.
Playing games was one thing, but HOW we played the games was another avenue to be explored.
Not every accessory made such a footprint in video game history.
Photo:@VideoKraken
They couldnt all be shilled by Lucas during a throwaway scene inThe Wizard.
And for good reason!
Still, I just had to mention it because…what the hell?
Its just a big hunk of wood with a hole in it and a logo in the corner.
At first glance, it is acting like a pretty straightforward genre title.
The difference is that you wouldnt be using a regular controller to dodge, block, and punch.
Instead, your controller is an inflatable punching bag with the image of a boxer on it.
By punching this big balloon, your hits would be reflected in the game itself.
In a weird way, its like an unholy hybrid ofPunch-Out!andDuck Hunt.
While it did work as intended, it often cut a games frame rate by half.
It just made games harder to play, especially with how easy it was to fall off.
That was pretty much it.
While it wasnt a bad handheld, it just doesnt stand out all these decades later.
The Aladdin died before anyone even noticed it existed.
Under the enhancement smoke and mirrors, the actual concept behind the Aladdin was brilliant.
Had things not gone so badly, the plan was to produce Aladdins for SNES and Genesis.
repeatedly pressing start), and sequence programming.
It definitely was useful for fighting games, though.
Photo:Hit-Japan Video Games and Anime
Or maybe you just want to spam the sameMortal KombatFatality over and over again without memorizing it.
Companies released everything from magnifying glasses and built-in lights that were all intended to improve the game-playing experience.
Theres even a compartment in the back to hold a couple of spare games.
Doable, absolutely, but still awkward at times.
These days, fighting game fans tend to use arcade sticks to better control the action.
Back then, though, Capcom decided to meet that solution halfway with the Capcom Pad Soldier.
Photo:Hit-Japan Video Games and Anime
Adjacent were the six main buttons bunched together, giving the player better access.
A novel idea, but a bit too small to work as well as it should.
You feel less like youre typing at a weird angle instead of pressing buttons.
It was basically a backpack version of a Rumble Pack that was based entirely on taking damage.
Whenever your character got hit, feedback would be sent to the Aura Interactor and it would vibrate.
It was the sensation that you were taking damage without the pesky excruciating pain part of it.
Of course, the technology wasnt smart enough to know what exactly was supposed to be hurting you.
If youre playingMortal Kombat II, punching someone was just as potent as getting punched by someone.
Still, if it wasnt for the $100 price point, this could have become a bigger deal.
Then again, I kind of want to pop some Dramamine and use this thing to watchHardcore Henry.
The Nintendo 64, Switch, and Dreamcast all had their own special controllers for fishing games.
Such a crazy use for the Game Boy.
By controller, I mean a massive dashboard with two joysticks, 35 buttons, and three pedals.
They really wanted to be as immersive as possible.
For some gamers, playing this game is a white whale.
There is no backward capability with the Xbox 360.
Then theres the Wii Cooking Mother Kit for those playingCooking Mama.
It has a frying pan, knife, fork, and spatula.
To be fair, it is a big button.
To add to the game show illusion, the players would get four buzzer controllers to play along with.
