I do a lot of “retro” gaming, having grown up with and owned everything form the Atari 2600 to the PlayStation 2 before moving all my gaming exclusively onto PC. Today, I do all my old school gaming via Steam, GoG, or emulation on my Windows PC, Raspberry Pi 3B+ units, and the Pi 4 B 8GB. I’m in no way a “purist” when it comes to the game and hardware, but one thing I consider a must is a proper selection of quality controllers.
In my quest to emulate the golden age of gaming from my childhood, I use a varied set of controllers, using the 8-BitDo wired SNES style controllers for a vast majority of my needs, and they’re fantastic! For my more specific needs, I picked up the Retro-Bit Official Sega Genesis 8-Button controller, a Hori Official TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine controller (that I also use for NES and Master System), a Hyperkin Trooper II, and a MayFlash F101 Arcade Stick. With this set of controllers, I can comfortably play anything from the golden age of gaming through today.
So, lets take a look at each one and why I recommend them...
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I own a couple modern Atari 2600 replica controllers that are left over from when I had all my Atari Flashback units, and I did use them from time to time via a USB adapter, but when I moved most of my classic console emulation over to the Raspberry Pi, I just used the thumb-sticks on the 8-BitDo SNES controllers when I played around with classic Atari titles. Then one day I decided to try the MayFlash F101, and that made me realize how much I actually missed using a real joystick, so I went shopping for a quality USB Atari 2600 style joystick that would fit well into my collection.
I quickly found the Hyperkin Trooper II. I seen that it got generally good reviews, and I know the Hyperkin name from their awesome classic console replicas, but it was sold out at the time. I told my wife I was looking at getting one, and it happened to be close to my birthday, so she watched and when they were back in stock, she bought me one.
At the time of this review, I have had it over a year, and it’s held up wonderfully. It feels like a quality Atari controller, is easily picked up by Windows 10, Ubuntu 20.04, Raspberry Pi OS, and RetroPie, and has more than enough buttons for the sake of convenience.
This is not a micro-switch controller,
but instead uses quality membrane style contacts to read your inputs.
From the attached photos, you can see the joystick uses a 4 contact
pad similar to most all other game pads, it reliably registers 8
different positions, the 4 primary directions (up, down, left,
right), and the 4 points between the primary directions (up+right for
example). This means it’s perfect for just about anything that
plays best with a classic joystick input.
The internals and everything else seem to be well made, and the membrane pads are better quality than I have seen in many other “cheap” joysticks. It also pays to note that the joystick itself can be removed (as seen in the photos) and is interchangeable with old Atari Flashback controllers with the same style joystick. So, if it happens to break on you, this gives you an option for replacing it. Though after over a year of relatively consistent use, mine is still going strong.
Overall, this is a fantastic controller from a reputable company, and is one of the few quality options on the market fitting the Atari 2600 style.
One of the other controllers 1990’s me really enjoyed using was for the Sega Genesis, so when I went looking for a modern USB remake, I decided to go with the officially licensed offering from Retro-Bit, a trusted name in retro gaming world.
This Official 8-button Genesis USB controller from Retro-Bit feels great, is recognized in Windows, Ubuntu 20.04, Raspberry Pi OS, and RetroPie, and is an overall great quality product. Many of my reviews are generally a bit more in-depth, but in this case the best thing I can say about this controller is that it works and feels great! It’s held up to quite a bit of use so far, and it’s a must for anyone looking to emulate that classic feeling from one of the best consoles to ever be released. Yes, there are cheaper options, but after going down that path a few times, I can honestly say you’re much better off buying a quality product from a reputable company. It will often save you money and frustration in the long run.
With companies like 8-BitDo, Retro-Bit, Hori, and Hyperkin being my go to when I’m in need of a new controller, when I decided I wanted to buy an arcade stick for old school arcade emulation, that’s where I looked first, and that lead me to the 8-BitDo Arcade Stick. An awesome high quality arcade stick that looks a lot like a modern version of the NES Advantage on steroids. The NES Advantage was one of my all time controllers, so the 8-BitDo Arcade Stick was what I initially looked into buying. The problem was price. At $90+, it’s pushing well over what I wanted to spend for a arcade stick that would only get moderate usage at best, only when I wanted to play very old school arcade style games, and would never be used for modern fighting games or anything else for that matter. So, I did some more digging.
During that search I ran across MayFlash, a company I had never heard of before, but who I quickly found out made exactly what I was looking for. They make a wide range of arcade sticks in a wide range of prices, and they use quality parts. They’re also user serviceable and upgradable should you so desire. From there I found the F101, pretty much their entry level arcade stick. Not only did it get good reviews, but it fit both my needed and budget perfectly.
While the F101 doesn’t use Sanwa buttons, they are still high quality and are still working perfectly after quite a bit of use. I use it mainly on my Windows PC and RetroPie on a Pi 3B+, and in both cases it works perfectly. There is nothing like playing classic arcade titles on a proper microswitch stick with actual arcade style buttons! For under $50 you get a high quality arcade stick that’s actually comfortable to play on and holds up well to the abuse often associated with this style of gaming.
In short, if you’re in the market for a quality inexpensive arcade stick that can easily be upgraded or repaired, then you really don’t need to look any further than the F101 from MayFlash. At this price point, there really isn’t much out there with this level of quality.
The next controller on my list isn’t necessarily a “must have”, but it’s great if you do a lot of NES, Sega Master System (SMS), and TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine emulation, and that’s the Official USB TurboGrafx-16 Mini Controller from Hori. The TG-16 was one of my all time favorite consoles, I was lucky enough to own one back in 1989 and it’s the console that really hooked me on scrolling shooter games.
One thing I really liked about the TG-16, other than its awesome graphics, sound, and game library, was its controllers. I really enjoyed the rounded NES style and the addition of turbo fire selectors for both the A and B buttons. The rounded design made them more comfortable to hold for long periods of time over NES controllers and often made me wish Nintendo had made that design choice.
I used to own a couple nice NES style USB controllers I used for my 2-button console emulation, but after buying this Hori TG-16 Mini controller, the NES remakes found themselves in the back of the drawer. This controller is perfect for any console that uses 2-button controls, is very comfortable and well built, and even though turbo fire options are available in most all emulation software, having it in the hardware is vastly more convenient.
In short, this one controller now handles all my NES, SMS, TG-16, and most handheld console games. With countless hours of use it’s still holding up perfectly, it’s comfortable during long game sessions, and it’s just a joy to play on because it “feels” the part so well. Like I said above, it’s not a necessity, but it’s definitely nice to have.
I saved the best for last, and that’s because these 8-BitDo SN30 Pro wired USB controllers have quickly became my top choice for far more than just Super NES emulation. If I had to rank my all-time favorite controllers across all consoles, then the top two spots would be held by the Super NES and Sony PlayStation 2. I found both of those controllers to be the more comfortable and convenient styles for my hands. For many years, all of the controllers I used on PC were SNES or PS2 inspired.
Now, I know a lot of people really like the layout and design of Xbox controllers, but to put it bluntly, I never liked it. It’s the same for the Nintendo 64, if I had to rank my least favorite controllers of all time, then the N64 and Xbox would be the bottom two on that list. Neither controller ever felt all that comfortable in my hands, and while I did play a lot on the N64 back in the day and learned to tolerate the controls, I never owned an Xbox so that controller never had a chance with me.
Fast forward to today and we have somewhat of a hybrid design with the SN30 Pro, SNES design with PS2 style thumb stick placement and dual L&R triggers. For me, this is the perfect controller design and is what I used across all other platforms where I don’t use a system specific controller, including on PC. I do a lot of “rerto” and platformer gaming on PC, where I enjoy modern remakes of classic titles as well as modern games inspired by the classics, and the SN30 Pro from 8-BitDo is the controller I use for all of it.
The two that I own have been seen a lot of use since I bought them in 2020 and are always sitting on my desk. They still play and look like they did they day I got them even though they get used several times a week. 8-BitDo offers a few different styles with this controller, but I went with the standard wired USB simply because I am one of those old farts who just can’t stand wireless controllers. For an old guy like me, these controllers are as good as it gets, a blend of classic and more modern designs that fills just about all the gaps when you’re trying to emulate so many systems from years gone by, as well as play modern games that scratch that retro itch.
I will close by saying that if you’re in the market for one controller to rule them all, and you’re like me and really don’t care for more modern designs, then the SN30 controller is where you should start looking. I may have an OCD when it come to controllers, but these can easily handle just about every platform with ease and comfort, and if I had to cut my controller collection down to just one, this would be that one.
