Mario 64 Bowser fight

Super noob question and here’s some back history. Im extremely new to c++ and am doing a udemy course at the moment to try and get a super basic understanding. Id like to recreate the mario 64 bowser fight. For a learning experience only! I know the trademark is heavily gaurded. I will not be posting or releasing anything. The best way to learn is to copy great works. THAT BEING SAID! Here are some questions I have.

Controller:

Would I create a 360° output map and have it check the rotation of the controller vs pervious saved roation, or could i get the output put from the right joystick x and y and have it run through checks.

Animation:

Would my animation be run off of those those checks or could I have it follow the controller output only gaining speed if the previous checks were in a pre defined order reaching a max spinning speed after so many confirmed checks.

If you got this far thanks for reading and I hope to chat with you about this.

Cheers!