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A joystick is a type of directional controller input for video games. It was used commonly in video arcade games, with examples being Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario Bros., in which the joystick controlled the directional movement of Mario, Donkey Kong Jr., and Mario and Luigi, respectively.
Outside of arcades, most Nintendo systems use a d-pad or control stick for directional input, though there have been some exceptions. The NES Advantage controller used a joystick instead of a d-pad, and the Game and Watch units from the tabletop series, designed to look like miniature arcade machines, used joysticks, with Donkey Kong Jr. featuring a 4-directional joystick and the other 3 using a 2-directional joystick.