@northern haste  
Maybe, but people still do Sunset as Link, and such though.
 

@Beau Skunky  
I’m guessing people don’t see much point of it anymore after getting actually an link pony

@40kponyguy  
I miss Dink (Derpy/Link) fanart.

@Badumsquish
 
I think I’m still the only one to do a pony crossover with anything to do with the Shadow Temple.
 

@40kponyguy  
Like, I’m amazed they got away with the Shadow Temple in an E for Everyone game. Like, spattered blood and torture devices and giant living severed hands and zombies and the freaking DEAD HAND. Like, holy crap. I remember totally taking it for granted too XD
 
@northern haste  
That’s a thing even to this day. All the gore in the world is allowed if it’s green, or “oil” or what have you XD

@northern haste  
Some enemies also spurt blue blood.  
Red blood was only featured when Ganondorf “coughs up,” and when Link preformed the “final blow” to Ganon at the end of the game. My old grey N64 cartridge still features the unedited blood, but later copies, and rereleases (including the 3DS remake) changed it to green blood instead. Which actually might make that one Ganondorf moment a li’l grosser. Now it just looks like puke, instead of a dramatic injury.
 
As for age ratings being inconsistent, let’s not forget back in 1995 (after Nintendo of America abandoned it’s strict censorship policies) “EarthBound” (Mother 2) was appropriate for an E-Everyone ESRB rating, (back then it was “K-A: Kids to Adult” though) but nowadays it’s “T-Teen” rated. Which is actually kinda understandable, because despite the game’s cute simple retro game graphics, it got away with ALOT.  
Like it had some references/jokes to flatulence. (An NPC even flat out tells you he even farted) The word “crap” is uttered a few times, which was practically a cuss word back then, so I’m amazed NOA let Dan Owsen use that word when localizing.  
There’s even uncensored red blood, and blood stains appear on some enemies, (like the Krakken’s teeth, or Mondo Mole’s mouth/claws) and the ESRB missed all this back in 1995. And other suggestive/subtle things, and not-so-subtle things like an enemy named “The Big Pile of Puke.”  
Not to mention, the game’s famously mysterious, and creepy final boss.  
EarthBound got away with alot.

@Beau Skunky  
Age ratings are always inconsistent.  
As I recall even the N64 version had blood taken out. Apparently green blood is all fine

@Background Human  
As I said more buttons aren’t always necessary, nor always easily accessible for everyone, (heck it took my sister years to realize the benefit of holding down Mario’s “run” button as a kid) and I actually prefer how some buttons, like the A-action button in the 3D Zeldas have multiple convenient purposes, rather then having 5 different buttons for that.

@Badumsquish  
They’re two different APIs. DirectInput (DirectX 1-8) is for older gamepads, and XInput (DirectX 9+) is for Xbox controllers. A lot of modern gamepads can do both; my Logitech F310 has a little switch on the back.
 
@Beau Skunky  
But would they have ignored the L button and D-pad if they were in a more convenient location? That’s the question. Zelda games make pretty good use of their controllers; imagine if OOT and MM had five more buttons to work with. (Well, four. They found a purpose for L despite its location.) Imagine quick-change buttons for the C items or separate buttons for first-person and Shut Up, Navi.

@Badumsquish  
Yeah, but as I said in most “right prong” position N64 games like Super Mario 64, the L-button & D+Pad isn’t even used at all, so there’s no need to switch hand positions, or try to press them. Kirby 64 used the D-Pad & button positions, but didn’t use the anologue stick, or Z-trigger under it.  
So the point to the 3-way positions was to give N64 games more control options for certain games. It may seem unnecessary nowadays, but it was kinda interesting/unique/cool back then.
 
@40kponyguy  
Oh yeah, the Shadow Temple actually had blood stains among what looked like torture devices, and such. Very surprising for an E-rated game. (Ironically, the 3DS remake edited the stains out, yet still got a higher ESRB E-10 rating.)

@Badumsquish  
“Likes to bury it’s dark creepiness among brighter and more family friendly stuff”.
 
Ocarina of Time is a great example of that.
 
After Zelda and her attendant escape and kid Link confronts Gannondorf, if you go in to the town and go down the back street, there’s a soldier there who is mortally wounded. If you talk to him, he tells you to go to the Temple of Time, then dies right there.
 
Pretty dark considering the original target audience.
 
Bongo Bongo and the whole section with the Shadow Temple is another pretty creepy part, which gets a whole lot worse when you start thinking about it.

@Power-Up&Sky-Blue  
What’s especially cool about them, is I’ve noticed there are two distinct “types” of controllers for the PC: generic PC controllers and “Windows/X-Box” controllers, and they tend to react with games differently. Like, Cuphead and Shovel Knight don’t work properly with generic PC controllers, while other games don’t like the X-Box ones. 8BitDo controllers can do both: hold start and press X when you turn it on to make it work like a Windows/X-Box controller, and hold start and press A to make it work like a generic PC controller. Also you can make it work like a Switch and Mac controller this way with Y and start and A and start :D
 
@Beau Skunky  
I definitely understand both sides of the argument. I see where they were coming from and even think it makes sense, but at the same time I personally think all the buttons should be reachable without changing hand positions :D
 
@Beau Skunky  
Nintendo likes to bury it’s dark creepiness among brighter and more apparently family-friendly stuff, I’ve found. At the same time, though, what I think is the scariest game ever made, the Resident Evil remake, was originally a Nintendo Gamecube exclusive :D

@Ping_chan  
I’ve never actually played through the game myself, but it was definitely known for its immersion at the time. It barrows a little bit of Lovecraftian horror seeing as you played as several different characters each set in a different era. And like most games in that same sense it had a sanity meter. If your characters’ sanity got too low, the game would start to mess with you such as adjusting your volume or have the screen black out periodically as if it was being shut off, stuff like that.

@chaotic-7  
If the game is called Eternal Darkness, I can only assume it’s dark.

@Beau Skunky
 
Gamecube had some pretty dark titles as well like Eternal Darkness.

@chaotic-7  
N64 had alot of dark/mature/violent games, so I don’t get that stigma Nintendo still has with being “childish.”  
Heck, arguably some of their kid-friendly games have some rather dark/edgy/scary things too. Like the Redeads from Zelda, or the bloody final boss from Kirby 3.
 
@Power-Up&Sky-Blue  
Yeah, Super Metroid used every button, but was still easy to control, (Even gave you the option to customize your controls.)  
Star Fox is another SNES game that uses every button, and works pretty good, despite the outdated low-polygon graphics, and such. (Though, I kinda have some nostalgia for early 3D games.)

@Beau Skunky  
I know Halloween is over and all, but since you brought up N64, I remember playing Shadowman. That was one creepy ass game with one hell of a dark story.

@Beau Skunky  
If there’s at least one game I can think of that used the SNES controller to its fullest, it’s definitely Super Metroid. But I think I might have said that already… Really good game though.

@Background Human  
Considering, GameCube & X-Box came out the same time, it’s a bit odd to call it “X-Box style.”
 
I guess Nintendo likes variety with their controllers. (Which I don’t mind really, I actually like the weird 3-way position N64 controller, as well as the anologue & button positions for the WiiU Game Pad and Classic controller.)
 
@Badumsquish  
I’m surprised people are still confused at how to hold the N64 controller, how it works, and such. (I guess alot of you guys were born during, or after the N64 generation, or were PS1 kids.)  
Most games actually use the analogue stick position, so the D-Pad, and L-button aren’t necessary to reach. So frankly you don’t need every button for every game.
 
Heck, I remember some SuperNES games use only two or three buttons on it’s 6-button controller. Not to mention, in the original Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy all three Sega Genesis/Megadrive buttons just do the same thing, so you basically just use only one button.  
So you don’t always need to use every button to make a good game.

@Badumsquish  
Sounds awesome!  
And way more practical than a Meta Runner arm.

@Power-Up&Sky-Blue  
They totally do. It’s available on Amazon for about $50. Not only is it super responsive and durable, and not only can you get a cell phone clip, but it’s fully compatible with Windows, Mac, the Switch, X-Box, and (with adaptors) the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis and Masterdrive, and the NES and SNES Classics. It also comes with software you can use to remap buttons, adjust the stick sensitivity, program hotkeys, etc. I sound like I work for 8BitDo, but I totally mean that you will never need another controller :D

@Badumsquish  
That controller looks lit.  
What’s it made for, where can I find it, do they even still sell it?

@luna’s husbando  
I own an SN30 Pro+, made by the same company as that first one you posted. It’s my all-time favorite controller. It’s basically a hybrid of the Snes, PS3, and Gamecube controllers :D  

 
@Background Human  
I remember reading the reason for N64’s mutant joystick was you were supposed to hold the outer handles and use the d-pad for 2d games and hold the inner handle and use the stick for 3d games. I guess they figured it would simplify it, but why WOULDN’T people want to just be able to easily reach all the buttons? :D

@luna’s husbando  
Speaking of, it’s funny that Nintendo still can’t figure out what to do with its analog sticks. The N64 stuck one in the middle like a mutant Select button, the Gamecube did it Xbox style, the Wii did it PlayStation style, the Wii U said “FUCK THE POLICE” and put both sticks on the outside, and now the Switch is doing it Xbox style again to have a different kind of symmetry with the Joy-Cons.

@Background Pony #419C
 
Such a shame that modern controllers focus entirely on analog sticks, and only add a (quite flimsy) d-pad as an afterthought, as if making the analog sticks lopsided wasn’t bad enough (goddamn xbox heathens).
 
The N30 Pro 2 is very nearly a perfect controller, but relying on Bluetooth, which is still a half-baked, shitty technology , and non-replacable battery (at least officially) are strikes against it.  

 
I must give the Logitech F710 top marks. Proper USB dongle connection and you can use rechargeable AAs and eventually pass it down to your grandkids. Assuming the flimsy d-pad doesn’t break.