The CD-i Spoon imitation controller from Limited Run Games provides the whole excruciating experience.

As I went over Arzette: , The Jewel of Faramore I received a press package from Limited Run Games. Among other things, it had their "Retro Inspired Switch & PC Controller," which is a sly way of referring to a copy of the Philips CD-i controller.

Well, one of them. A few controllers were designed specifically for the Philips CD-i. Limited Run Games decided on the "spoon" controller. The "Cable-i Wired Controller, 22ER9019." Just barely, it might have been worse.

The controller that makes you wonder, "What did I do wrong in life?" is the CD-i Spoon.

Dinput is the controller. It is identified by Windows as a "6 axis 10 button joystick." That is strange in two ways. It has nine face buttons, however Windows doesn't detect the home button, which is one of them. It contains eight Windows-usable buttons, however buttons 5 and 6 are missing. Additionally, there are only two axes: X and Y. Despite this, Windows continues to refer to it as a six-axis controller. However, they are the realities. Eight buttons on two axes. Dinput.

It works right out of the box with Switch. There are labels on the buttons. But there's also no capture button, no ZR, and no ZL.

It differs somewhat from the CD-i Spoon. In addition to the button at the top, there is an additional button on the bottom. You most likely wouldn't even be aware that things haven't always been that way if you hadn't previously seen the controller. To tell the truth, I have never held a real Spoon in my hands. A Spoon is not one of the approximately two billion controllers I have in my residence. I thus find it difficult to verify how genuine it feels. I have had a number of '90s controllers, however, and this one is really high-quality.

But none of it matters. What a nightmare the controller is.

It is admirable how dedicated Limited Run Games is to the project. Arzette: The Priceless Gem of AmoreThe spiritual successor of the mocked CD-i Zelda games, , is .Link: and The Faces of EvilZelda: The Gamelon Wand. The creators were able to take those games' strong structure and turn it into a very fantastic game. It still smells and looks like a CD-i game, however.

What better way to finish that experience than by holding one of the infamous controllers for the system in your hands?

The controller is of good quality. To put it plainly, using it is awful. It seems to be designed to be used with one hand, although that's not really the best choice, particularly in Arzette. The "classic controls" setting on the Arzette maps leaping to up on the, uh, D-ring. That's really essential since it lets you leap while you're going. It is possible to attack with one hand while leaping, but it is challenging since you have to remove your finger off the directions in order to press the attack button. It is almost hard to crouch and attack with one hand. Wand of Gamelon and Faces of Evil In order to strike low with one hand, you both locked your character into a crouching stance, yet Arzette didn't take that cue from their traditional controls, therefore assistance is required.

Using two hands to play feels quite strange. It's no problem to use my left hand to operate the D-pad; that's its default function. My right hand is therefore limited to using just one button, however. That is not enough respect for my right hand. It works really hard at it.

Whichever hand you use, the D-ring feels very inaccurate. It is similar to the sadly underperforming sister of the Neo Geo CD controller.

You can use the CD-i Spoon with any Switch game, but I'm not sure why you would want to. One-handed SNES controllers were available in the early 1990s for titles like Derby Stallions and Mini Yonku Shining Scorpion. In light of this, you may be able to utilize the Retro Inspired Switch & PC Controller on Switch for something like the Pocket Card Jockey game. Alternatively, the latest Derby Stallion might be obtained via the Japanese eShop. I'm simply speculating here, so I have no idea.

But this is an alternative if you want to play, I dunno, Space Ace on PC and get the CD-i experience. Any software that supports Dinput ought to function in some capacity.

In light of this, it seems that Dinput is not supported by the Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon remasters that Seth Fulkerson worked on. Although there are applications that let you map a Dinput controller to Xinput, they don't let you change the controls by default. To access CD-i games, you might map it on several methods, however.

On the shop website, you may still pre-order the controller with an expected November delivery date. As an alternative, you may get the controller in pink by ordering the collector's edition of Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore. I have no idea whether you're going to utilize it or not.

The fact that Limited Run Games' "Retro Inspired Switch & PC Controller" is even a thing is impressive. It takes bravery to sell torture instruments, but I love to see it. While Arzette is an excellent game, I'm not sure whether using a Spoon makes it more enjoyable. I won't judge you if you really want to have that CD-i experience. I always appreciate the devotion, and I too try to play things the way the Gods of Thumbs intended.