6-Button Showdown: Retro Fighters' BrawlerGen USB vs Retro-Bit's Official Sega Saturn USB

 

VS

     6-button controllers have been a niche for a long time and have not seen serious first-party releases since the Sega Saturn and PC-FX; maybe N64 too if you consider the button layout. In-between then and now, they have mostly been marketed by third-party companies towards arcade game fans, or more specifically, fighting game enthusiasts. General-use 6-button controllers have been seen on PC as well, alongside my longtime favorite being the Saitek P2500 Rumble Pad. With a boom in retro gaming happening these past years, some companies have begun releasing higher quality reproduction controllers aimed directly at the retro gaming market. Forget about those cheap USB controllers that have been around for a while. We're going to be talking about Retro Fighter's BrawlerGen USB pad aimed at bringing a tried-and-true retro design but with modern touches. Next to it will be Retro-Bit's official Sega Saturn USB pad simply being an officially licensed reproduction of the original controller with no added bells and whistles.

     Sega Genesis was definitely the console you wanted to get if you wanted an arcade game oriented library. Even though the TurboGrafx-16 (PC-Engine) also offered amazing arcade style games and even got a 6-button controller add-on too, it would not set many standards in the following console generations. When the Genesis got a 6-button controller add-on, you could play certain games with additional gameplay functions or just more intuitively. Considering the official names of the 6-button Genesis controller; Arcade Pad in North America and Fighting Pad in Japan, it's no wonder it set in stone who this style of controller would be later marketed to. The Arcade Pad/Fighting Pad was the standard controller for the Sega Saturn but with a sleeker body which became many people's holy grail as far as retro controllers went. When 6-button pads would later be released for other platforms; even the Sega Saturn pad itself for the PlayStation 2, they would be based on the Saturn pad layout. It would mainly be design choices that would separate them depending on the maker of the controller; for example, evenly sized XYZ and ABC buttons or additional function buttons. I personally prefer the controllers with evenly sized flat faced buttons, but the smaller convex Sega style XYZ buttons make sense since they were mostly auxiliary buttons outside of fighting games.

 

    Retro Fighters is a controller manufacturer that has been taking retro button layouts and applying them to modern, more ergonomic controller shapes. Their BrawlerGen takes direct influence from the Arcade Pad/Fighting Pad buttons and the DPad offering the classic Sega Genesis/Saturn feel of a controller. There is the odd addition of an analog stick styled after the Xbox One controller’s analog stick. In DirectInput mode, the analog stick mirrors the Dpad making it a pointless addition for me, but once you enable the XInput mode, you have a fully featured modern controller. Every moving part on this controller feels very firm. The Dpad rotates very nicely without feeling stiff. The buttons do not feel like they will sink into the shell if you press them hard and do not have that loose wiggle that you find in knock-off controllers. While build quality is top notch, the dpad registers misinputs a lot and it leaves me concerned.

     Retro-Bit have been making aftermarket accessories that are compatible with genuine consoles as well as clone consoles; including their own. The quality of their products leaves them best for emergency or temporary use because the stuff I've bought from them does not last very long. They have officially partnered up with Sega to re-create Sega console controllers in different colors for both USB compatible platforms and a separate line of controllers just for the original consoles. I decided to get the Sega Saturn pad because I have always wondered what made these extremely popular. It saddens me to admit that the build quality feels hardly any better than the generic junk sold for less. In the marketing description, they are labeled as "Original Grade Quality" which really doesn't feel like that is the case unless the original controllers felt the same. Does it function properly though? I have not encountered bad inputs yet and the buttons have held really well. All of the moving parts have a lot of wiggle that I'm not comfortable with. Although, the looseness of the Dpad may or may not be good under certain circumstances.

 

    Both controllers were tested using MiSTer on a VGA/PC CRT in order to get a more accurate assessment of their performance in the games these were intended for. To my surprise, Retro-Bit's Official Saturn pad executed every input brilliantly without any misinputs experienced. With the BrawlerGen feeling much more sturdy and promising, I had to be very careful with the Dpad since any slight touch caused the characters to jump or menu cursors to go up. By comparison, the OEM Sony SCPH-1080 controller feels stern and the buttons have perfect registration in any games I've used them in; paired with a Brook Super Converter for PlayStation to USB when not being used on Sony consoles. I had very high hopes for the BrawlerGen due to the build quality and feel of the buttons but missed the mark with the Dpad. If we were to compare it to other floating Dpads, the Logitech F310 has perfected this design but is not a 6 face button controller. This comparison test made me realize that while the SCPH-1080 is the most versatile controller for Dpad games, I found dialing in basic moves in Street Fighter more comfortable on the Retro-Bit Official Saturn pad.

    If you are seeking for alternative replacement controllers that are Sega console compliant and be able to confidently make the purchase, do not hesitate to get Retro-Bit's officially licensed Sega controllers. They left me beyond impressed and am tempted to get their 8-button Genesis version.