Custom HORI Arcade Commander - "Super" Nintendo

doubledown · June 29, 2021

A buddy was wanting an arcade controller for his SNES. Rather than just settling for one of the BITD retail options, he wanted something a bit larger for his adult hands, and something that offered the robust feel (and clicky sounds) of Western arcade controls. After a bit of research, component testing, and layout trials...we came up with this, my:

HORI SNES Arcade Commander - VVG Enhanced Controller

I am of course aware, that HORI already made something similar BITD...their Super Famicom Fighting Stick. But again, we were looking to a) go a bit larger, b) install Western (not Japanese) controls, and c) improve on the ergonomics. So starting with a donor PCB from a HORI Fighting Commander d-pad controller (don't worry, it was one of the gold ones that nobody wants), I built this custom controller which retains all of the features and functionality of the original HORI controller. The build details are as follows:

*Hammond Mfg. 17" x 11.5" aluminum, sloped-top enclosure, (braced and weighted)

*iL EuroJoystick 2, w/ custom spring (-2.125C), w/ iL SST threaded shaft, w/ Sanwa 35mm Dark Hai ball knob

*iL PSL-L Concave push-buttons w/ Cherry micro-switches (D41X series), (1) Green/Y, (1) Yellow/B, (1) Red/A, (1) Blue/X, (2) Light Grey/L, (2) Light Grey/R

*iL PSL-CV Convex push-buttons w/ Cherry micro-switches (D44X series), (1) Black/Select, (1) Black/Start

*NKK "Series M" Rocker switches, SP3T, (7) color-coded to their mating push-buttons, for Turbo / Hold / Slow features

...and then it was finished off with a custom designed CPO with the appropriate Nintendo and HORI logos, and the necessary identifying legends for all of the push-buttons and switches.

But wait...in addition to this being a Super Nintendo arcade controller...it's also a "super" Nintendo arcade controller, in that it's super, because it's compatible with multiple Nintendo consoles...look here on the back:

As you can see, both SNES & NES dedicated cables reside on the rear of the enclosure...each wrapped up neatly on their own individual sets of cord cleats. For those that don't know...SNES controllers, can easily be used on an NES console, with either a new re-wired cable (from an NES controller), or a simple cable adapter. But rather than have to deal with some sort of adapter cable that may become lost or damaged...I figured it was just as easy to wire both, and install them permanently into the controller.

The one major change/addition we made to the controller layout, is the redundant set of L & R buttons. The main set is in the upper row of buttons, just as HORI laid them out, offering a 2-row, 6-button layout for fighting games. Then we added a 2nd set, down in the lower row (operated by your thumb and pinky), for "non-fighting" games (like Super Mario Kart), for when you have to keep your fingers on the lower row and somehow still manipulate either the L or R button. Enjoy!