Best dpad for me is the NES-101 "dogbone" controller.

The dpad is larger than most, raised but not mushy, textured but not sharp, comfortable yet responsive.

Mind you, this only applies to the real Nintendo made ones. No clone of the controller made by anyone else even comes close. The NES-004 (the standard rectangle) has indeed been reverse engineered in China with some very decent clones in recent years. The dogbone has not.

[img]https://nintendosegajapan.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/seganintendopads_21.jpg]/img]