Can’t use your favorite controller with the PC version of Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection? That’s because the game is only compatible with controllers that support XInput (basically, any Xbox 360 or compatible controller). If you want to use a controller that isn’t compatible with XInput (in my case, the Hori Fighting Commander 3 Pro for PS3), then I highly recommend the Xbox 360 Controller emulator. In short, it’s a mapper library that translates XInput calls to DirectInput calls, allowing your controller to function as an “Xbox 360 Controller”. Best of all, it’s open source, small in size, and easy to set up. Here’s how.

Step 1: Download x360ce.App-2.1.2.191.zip and extract it to the location of MKAK’s executable (e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\mortal kombat arcade kollection\BINARIES\WIN32).

If the link is broken, it may have been updated. In which case, go here.

Step 2: Make sure your controller is plugged in before launching x360ce.exe. You should get two popup messages regarding some missing files: x360ce.ini and xinput1_3.dll, respectively. Click Yes on both popups to create them.

Step 3: A New Device Detected window will follow. Leave everything as is and click Next. It will then search an internet database for a preset configuration. If it doesn’t find anything, don’t panic. It just means you’re going to have to do a little more work. Select a preset, if any, and click Finish. Otherwise, skip this by hitting Cancel.

Step 4: Now you’re ready to configure/tweak the controller itself. This is pretty straight forward. Once everything is configured to your liking, click Save and close the program before running MKAK. The changes are written to x360ce.ini, so you don’t need to run x360ce.exe again unless you need to make additional changes. It is not necessary to keep x360ce.exe in the directory for the mapper library to work, as it only configures the INI file.

If you’re having trouble identifying the buttons on your controller, open the Windows Run command and type joy.cpl to launch the Game Controllers applet, then click Properties to view your controller’s buttons/IDs.

This tutorial was written with MKAK in mind. Though additional steps may apply, it should work for other XInput games.