The Smash Box is an incredible alternative to a keyboard or fight stick on PC. Not only can it be used for a variety of genres like platformers and unique games like Rocket League, but the Smash Box is a fantastic controller for fighting games. This post will act as a guide to set up your Smash Box for PC and take advantage of its strengths.
Outline
- Adapter Compatibility
- Driver Installation
- Testing
- Dolphin Setup
- Compatibility
- Steam Setup
- Improved Compatibility
1. Adapter Compatibility
The first thing to do is to ensure you are using a GameCube adapter that is compatible with a Smash Box. The following adapters are what we recommend to use (other adapters may not work):
- Hit Box GC Adapter
- 4-port Mayflash
- Plug in both USB cables to use with Smash Box
- Official Nintendo
2. Driver Installation
You will need some drivers in order to use the GameCube adapters on PC.
2A. Zadig - Switch/WiiU mode compatiblity
Zadig is a driver that allows you to use the Nintendo adapter and the other adapters in "Switch/WiiU" mode on the PC.
This driver will allow you to play Dolphin natively and Steam games with GameCube controller compatibility (ie, Rushdown Revolt, Slap City, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl).
- Download Zadig (link is directly above)
- Plug in your adapter
- Set to "Switch/WiiU" mode
- No controller plugged in
- Open Zadig and select "Options" then select "List All Devices"
- Choose "WUP-028" and then "Install Driver"
Caution: Only use the Zadig driver for "WUP" devices. Installing Zadig onto other devices may cause them to malfunction.
2B. Mayflash driver
If you have a 4-port Mayflash adapter, you will need to install its driver to ensure that it will work on PC and properly with the Smash Box.
- Download the driver: Mayflash driver download
- Unzip the download
- Open "W012 GC Controller Adapter 4 Ports Firmware V.05"
- Plug in your Mayflash
- Plug in both USB cables
- Set to "PC" mode
- No controller plugged in
- Select "Update Firmware"
If at any point through these instructions you were not able to solve your issue, email us: support@hitboxarcade.com. Please include your name, order number, a link to this post, and a description of where you stopped in the instructions.
3. Testing with Joy.cpl
Now that you have all of the needed drivers, you can test to make sure your Smash Box and adapter are working on your PC.
Note: This step is only applicable to adapters with a "PC mode" switch. The Nintendo adapter will not work on joy.cpl - please move on to step #4.
First, open up joy.cpl on your computer. You can search for it in your Windows search bar. (We recommend having joy.cpl as a Desktop shortcut for easy controller troubleshooting)
Next, plug both of the USBs of your adapter into your PC and move the switch on the back of the adapter to "PC."
Four lines of "GameCube Controller Adapter" should appear in the window. These four lines represent the four ports on the adapter.
Once your adapter is showing up in the window, plug your Smash Box into the first/left-most port in the adapter, then double-click on the top controller in joy.cpl.
This is where we will check to see if inputs are being read by the computer.
Note: the port you have to select in joy.cpl - or any other program - may not correspond with the port you have your controller plugged into. Be sure to select every port to ensure you are able to test your controller.
Press the buttons on your controller to see if they are being read by the program.
If your Smash Box is not being read by joy.cpl, here are troubleshooting steps to try in order:
- Unplug and plug your Smash Box back in
- Select another port to test in joy.cpl
- Plug your Smash Box into another adapter port
- Plug the adapter into another USB port on your PC
- Unplug other devices that send inputs to your computer, then plug in your adapter and Smash Box (plug in your other devices after confirming that Smash Box is working or not working)
- Restart your PC and try the above again
- Test that your Smash Box sends inputs on a GameCube or Wii
- If your Smash Box works on this step, then the issue is either PC or adapter related
- If your Smash Box still is not being registered, please contact us: support@hitboxarcade.com
Once you have confirmed that your controller is working and interacting with your PC, then it can be used on gaming programs on your PC.
If at any point through these instructions you were not able to solve your issue, email us: support@hitboxarcade.com. Please include your name, order number, a link to this post, and a description of where you stopped in the instructions.
4. Dolphin Setup
Dolphin is a popular GameCube and Wii emulator on PC, and the most used gaming program on PC among Smash Box users!
Ensure you have Zadig installed (step 2A above) before continuing.
Plug in your adapter, and set it to "Switch/WiiU" mode (the Nintendo adapter does not need to do this).
Open Dolphin and select the "Controllers" option.
Within that menu, choose the port that corresponds to what your Smash Box is plugged into, then click on the drop down menu to select "GameCube Adapter for WiiU" (or something similar). Dolphin will read the Smash Box natively from here, so all of your mapping and buttons should be set up and ready to go.
Once you have set up your controller configuration in Dolphin, you are ready to play your favorite emulated games!
For more instructions regarding Slippi specifically, please use our other blog: Smash Box and Slippi Netplay.
If at any point through these instructions you were not able to solve your issue, email us: support@hitboxarcade.com. Please include your name, order number, a link to this post, and a description of where you stopped in the instructions.
5. Compatibility
5A. Switch/Wii mode Compatibility on Steam
With Zadig installed, these games will work in "Switch/Wii" mode natively:
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
- Rushdown Revolt
- Slap City
- Slayers For Hire
5B. PC mode Compatibility on Steam
In "PC" mode, the adapter will output Dinput.
Here is a list of some games that do work in "PC mode":
- Fantasy Strike
- GG Xrd REV
- GG XX ACCENT
- KOF '97
- KOF '98
- Mortal Kombat 11
- Power Rangers BFTG
- Rivals Of Aether
- SAMSHO V
- Skullgirls
- Tekken 7
- Thems Fightin' Herds
- Ultimate Marvel V. Capcom 3
- Ultra Street Fighter IV
- Under Night In-Birth EXE:L[cl-r]
5C. Additional Compatibility
You may want to improve compatibility if:
- Your adapter does not have a PC mode
- Your adapter does not seem compatible with any of the games above
- The game you wish to play is not included in the above list
- You are trying to use something other than Steam or Dolphin
If any of those above match your situation, then we recommend going to the "Improved Compatibility" section at the bottom of this blog. In that section you will be able to greatly improve the compatibility of your Smash Box with other games.
6. Steam Setup
Note: Steam will not read "Switch/WiiU" mode directly. If you are playing a game that can use "Switch"WiiU" mode natively - as seen in the section above - you will not have to go through this Steam setup.
First, ensure that you are not trying to play a game from the list of games in step 5B.
Next, set your adapter is set to "PC mode." This should be a switch on the back of your adapter.
Open up the Steam program.
Go to the "Steam" menu at the top left of the window, and go to "Settings." Then go to "Controller" and then "General Controller Settings."
Once you have that open, you should see the adapter being read at the bottom of the settings options.
Turn off all of the "Configuration Support" options to help ensure Steam's compatibility system does not interfere with the adapter.
To map your buttons you will have to select the opposite adapter port that you selected in joy.cpl. If your Smash Box is in port 1, select the bottom port in Steam; if your Smash Box is in port 4, select the top port in Steam.
From here you can map all of the buttons in Steam. Once you are finished, select "Save" at the bottom of the window.
Now you should be able to play games on Steam!
If you are still having issues with Steam, please read through our troubleshoot blog post: Controller Troubleshoot on Steam. Or, continue to the "Additional Compatibility" section below.
If at any point through these instructions you were not able to solve your issue, email us: support@hitboxarcade.com. Please include your name, order number, a link to this post, and a description of where you stopped in the instructions.
7. Improved Compatibility
To ensure you can play on as many games as possible, you may want to use an input wrapper to improve compatibility on your PC.
Below are the four most used input wrappers among Smash Box users - if you have any questions regarding these, we recommend going into our Discord and posting in the #smash-box channel.
- Delfinovin: Emulates an Xbox 360 controller
- We recommend using this input wrapper for platform fighting games.
- Delfiniovin for Smash Box guide: https://www.hitboxarcade.com/blogs/smash-box/delfinovin-for-smash-box
- X360CE: Emulates an Xbox 360 controller with mapping options.
- We recommend using this input wrapper for all other games.
- X360CE for Smash Box guide: https://www.hitboxarcade.com/blogs/smash-box/x360ce-for-smash-box
- AntiMicro: "Graphical program used to map keyboard buttons and mouse controls to a gamepad. Useful for playing games with no gamepad support."
- https://github.com/AntiMicro/antimicro
- Try this if you plan on playing games other than fighting games, or if X360CE did not work for you.
- Note: If the game you are trying to play does have any gamepad/controller support, using Antimicro will send multiple inputs to the game.
- To mitigate this issue, you can use HidHide: https://github.com/ViGEm/HidHide
- Joy2Key: "Enables PC game controllers to emulate the keyboard and mouse input, so that windows applications and web games can be controlled with your favorite joysticks!"
- https://joytokey.net/en/
- Try this if you plan on playing games other than fighting games, or if X360CE did not work for you.
- DHC: "A DirectInput/XInput wrapper DLL that implements controller hotplugging for games that don't do so themselves. It pretends that there are always a fixed number of PS4 controllers plugged in at once, and maps the inputs of real controllers onto the virtual controllers as they are plugged in."
- https://github.com/jmgao/dhc
- Select the "Code" drop-down menu, and then choose "Download ZIP" to download.
- This input wrapper is designed to work for specific fighting games only. Determine if the game you are trying to play is on its compatibility list: https://github.com/jmgao/dhc/wiki/Compatibility
Note: If you have a Gen2 Smash Box (received between December 2018 and July 2020) you will not need an adapter. You can follow the most of the instructions above, but can also use our other post: PC Mode on Smash Box.
If at any point through these instructions you were not able to solve your issue, email us: support@hitboxarcade.com. Please include your name, order number, a link to this post, and a description of where you stopped in the instructions.