nkarafo
Member
Most younger and casual gamers will say it was Halo (2001). But Halo only fine-tuned it to it's "final form".
The more informant ones will say Alien Resurrection on the PS1 (1999). But that was just the first game that used a dual analog scheme as the default. It wasn't the first game that used it though.
In reality, modern FPS controls were invented by either Turok or Goldeneye (both in 1997).
Turok was the first console FPS game that had movement/strafe + aiming/turn in the configuration we know today. All FPS games before Turok would have their strafe buttons on the shoulders and looking up/down on some other face buttons that were a pain to use. Turok's control scheme is the exact same one we use today, especially if you hold the controller from the left side to use the D-pad (which is something 99% of N64 users never tried). The idea was to simulate the keyboard and mouse of PC FPS games. The only difference compared to actual modern controls is that movement is not analog.
Goldeneye came after Turok and also had this scheme, though not by default. Which is why most people will claim it's controls have "aged badly" (the default controls are very different) which is simply a case of not trying the 1.2 solitare option:
And again, by holding the N64 controller from the left side, you get movement on your left and aiming on your right, just like modern games do. You also have aim with your left index and shoot with your right (again, like today). Only issue is the A+B buttons (for use/reload) are more distant compared to modern controllers but they are still easily reachable.
But what really makes Goldeneye special is that it was the first FPS console game that had actual dual analog controls, using two analog sticks, two years before Alien Resurrection. The catch is you had to use two controllers and hold them like the joycons on Switch:
This works better than it looks.
Anyway, i was aware of all these things back in 1997, because i was used on PC FPS games and wanted something similar on console. And when dual analog controllers became standard i was already at home, i didn't have to learn or re-wire my brain to play FPS games on them. Because i already did play them this way.
If you didn't know all that, try it on your old N64 using your old N64 controllers. It will probably feel weird how you could play it just like the remastered re-releases but it was always there from the beginning.
The more informant ones will say Alien Resurrection on the PS1 (1999). But that was just the first game that used a dual analog scheme as the default. It wasn't the first game that used it though.
In reality, modern FPS controls were invented by either Turok or Goldeneye (both in 1997).
Turok was the first console FPS game that had movement/strafe + aiming/turn in the configuration we know today. All FPS games before Turok would have their strafe buttons on the shoulders and looking up/down on some other face buttons that were a pain to use. Turok's control scheme is the exact same one we use today, especially if you hold the controller from the left side to use the D-pad (which is something 99% of N64 users never tried). The idea was to simulate the keyboard and mouse of PC FPS games. The only difference compared to actual modern controls is that movement is not analog.
Goldeneye came after Turok and also had this scheme, though not by default. Which is why most people will claim it's controls have "aged badly" (the default controls are very different) which is simply a case of not trying the 1.2 solitare option:
And again, by holding the N64 controller from the left side, you get movement on your left and aiming on your right, just like modern games do. You also have aim with your left index and shoot with your right (again, like today). Only issue is the A+B buttons (for use/reload) are more distant compared to modern controllers but they are still easily reachable.
But what really makes Goldeneye special is that it was the first FPS console game that had actual dual analog controls, using two analog sticks, two years before Alien Resurrection. The catch is you had to use two controllers and hold them like the joycons on Switch:
This works better than it looks.
Anyway, i was aware of all these things back in 1997, because i was used on PC FPS games and wanted something similar on console. And when dual analog controllers became standard i was already at home, i didn't have to learn or re-wire my brain to play FPS games on them. Because i already did play them this way.
If you didn't know all that, try it on your old N64 using your old N64 controllers. It will probably feel weird how you could play it just like the remastered re-releases but it was always there from the beginning.
Last edited:
relatable 
