The standard controller has always been the default input device for video games, from the basic Atari joystick to the ergonomic wireless controllers of modern consoles. Outliers over the years have given us new ways to play games by ditching the controller and letting us use original peripherals and a wider range of motion to control our games.

Here's my list of the top 5 greatest game input devices that weren't standard controllers. And come back tomorrow to see my list of the top 5 worst ones!

#5 Donkey Konga/Taiko Drum Master drums

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_{^{Image source:Next Level Video Games}}

There have been many music-based video game peripherals over the years and for the most part, they’re pretty well-conceived. These two are basically the same, so I had to combine them. Taiko Drum Master uses drumsticks while the Donkey Konga drums are bongos where you simply use your hands. The rhythm-based games these controllers use wouldn’t be the same using button presses on a standard controller.

#4 Samba De Amigo Maracas

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Samba De Amigo is a Sega music and rhythm game on the Dreamcast in which you shake toy maracas not only to the beat of the music but also in the correct position (high, medium, low). The game is tremendously fun and the controllers make the experience and watching your friends play while striking these absurd poses is hilarious. The port of the game on the Wii was both broken and lacking the satisfying shake of the actual maracas that the Dreamcast version was known for.

#3 DDR pad

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In the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Dance Dance Revolution breathed one last injection of life into arcades. Shortly after their arcade debut, affordable DDR mats were easily available and often packaged with the games. While no different than the Nintendo Power Pad from a decade earlier, they were used in a much better way by sending the player into an awkward back-and-forth dance as they desperately tried to look like they were ‘dancing’ while trying to hit all the arrows the game threw at them.

#2 Guitar Hero guitar

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_{^{Image source:Wikimedia Commons}}

What’s likely the biggest gaming fad of the past 20 years aside from motion control, Guitar Hero became a cultural phenomenon. Using a ‘toy’ guitar to simulate playing classic rock songs became popular not only with gamers, but casual video game fans as well. What started as just guitars eventually expanded to including drum sets and microphones so four people could play at the same time. The fad eventually ran out of steam, but it was massively popular at its peak.

#1 NES Zapper

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This should really be all light guns, but the NES Zapper was the first to make light guns popular. We saw many versions show up over the next 15 years from the Phaser on the Sega Master System all the way to the GunCon 3 on the PS3, and the Zapper wasn’t even the first video game light gun, but none were as impactful as the one that made Duck Hunt famous.

So what are your favorite non-controller gaming peripherals? Steering wheels? Flight sticks? The crazy Steel Batallion controller? Let's discuss!

Thanks for reading. As always, upvotes, resteems and comments are appreciated!

^{Cover Image Source: Polygon}