Ok so, this is a weird question and you need a bit of context. I don't really enjoy running Any% anymore, but I know my PB is trash and I'm way better than a 5:02.984. I decided to beat my PB using a Guitar Hero guitar. My question is: if I end up beating my PB, am I allowed to submit it or it will be rejected because of the use of a dumb controller? I don't want to spend hours on this for nothing

I'd wait to hear from a mod directly... But... I don't know why it wouldn't be legal. Provided you can't do anything a controller can't - like L+R

Although I don't know how it would be possible to BEAT your pb with a less optimal controller. And I'm not sure that will fix the problem of enjoyment.

P. S. I'd suggest warpless. It's so much more fun than any% to me... And I see you haven't done it yet. And making a few mistakes doesn't RIP your run. It's a different animal. And you'll have several "free" pbs as you start off from 40 minutes down into the 20s

Tbh I don't really like Warpless. I'm not good enough for fire strats. I guess I could do small Mario tho. About enjoyment, I actually beat the game quite a few times and it's way more fun. Also, I know it will be hard af to beat my PB using an "unoptimal" controller, but it gives a nice challenge giving the fact that my PB is bad. We'll see if I like it or not

As long as no functionality is used that's not available on a standard NES controller, L+R, Turbo, etc., you can use whatever you'd like.

People have played on a DDR pad before. I'd like to see someone to submit a run playing with a MIDI controller or a StreamDeck lol.