@swansea_lad Many users use 8bitdo joysticks because they are good and st**dy, however there are reports of users who claim they cannot pair their 8bitdo joysticks, do some research here on the forum and you will see some related topics, some solutions presented, etc.
In general, most cabled joysticks work easily on Recalbox, most PS3 type joysticks work without cable, but not just limited to PS3 type joysticks.
Recalbox has a small team of developers, which has no profit, and is unable to test all possible hardware, so we depend on user feedback to know if a hardware is compatible or not, we have a small list of joysticks compatible here (but not limited to this):
https://recalbox.gitbook.io/documentation/hardware-compatibility/compatible-devices/controller
I don't know what kind of joystick you like, but if possible, borrow a joystick from someone and try it out before you buy to avoid the disappointment of buying one of the few josticks that don't work perfectly in Recalbox.
Note: I have a generic SNES type controller with cable (unknown brand), and I have a PS3 joystick (clone), both worked perfectly from the start, so I can't say more than that...
