Someone once told me that the Sega Saturn controller (the Japanese one, not the chunky American one) is the best 2D controller ever made. I don’t remember who it was, but it happened. The claim stuck with me.
I’m not sure I agree, but game controllers are a very personal choice. For years, we’ve essentially been using different configurations of the same thing. To me, four face buttons feel like the optimal number for my thumb to handle, so my preference is the SNES controller, but I can respect anyone who prefers Sega’s six-button design.
And for those people, there’s now Retro-Bit’s Sega Saturn Wireless Pro Controller, which, beyond just being a rather faithful wireless translation of the console’s input, slaps a couple of analog sticks on there so you can also use it for modern games.
You know, if you want to.
I had planned on starting to import Sega Saturn games, but that was before the Analogue Duo shifted my attention to the PC-Engine. However, the Retro-Bit Sega Saturn Pro Controller isn’t exclusive to that console. It works with a bunch of different consoles and PC through Xinput and Dinput. For that matter, one of the consoles I tried it on was the aforementioned Analogue Duo, and it worked just fine.
This is something I’m pretty used to when it comes to modern controllers. It seems that this generation has resulted in a renaissance in third-party controllers. Back in my day, third-party controllers were generally what you bought when you didn’t want to shell out for an official one but still wanted multiplayer. You’d hand them off to your friend, who would complain the buttons stick. It would get stuck in a drawer and somehow seemed to disintegrate just sitting there.
Now, whenever I need to use a controller, I have a tonne of choices. For 2D games, I usually use my 8BitDo SF30 Pro or M30. For 3D, I use the console’s native controller or a PS5 Dualsense on PC. My SF30 has analog sticks, but I usually only resort to them if a game is largely 2D with 3D sections or if, sacrilegiously, a 2D game doesn’t use the D-Pad. It’s just not as comfortable as a handled controller. Then, of course, there’s my arcade stick and racing wheel, which no girl should be without.
The Sega Saturn Pro Controller has a few drawbacks. The first is the fact that it currently only has a 2.4GHz version for wireless. To be fair, a lot of gamers seem to prefer this because, in most cases, it has the least amount of input lag. It also means you don’t have to worry about constantly pairing the controller. However, it does mean that you’re shackled to a dongle. Even while re-pairing with Bluetooth can be a pain, physically moving a dongle isn’t that much better. Also, if you want to change between the Saturn and USB dongle, you have to clear the pairing before you can pair it with the other adapter, so it’s not great.
The second is that the joysticks kind of suck to use. They’re very small, and reaching to the middle of the controller isn’t exactly ergonomic. This is essentially the same problem I have with the sticks on my SF30 Pro. The symmetrical design doesn’t work very well on a controller that doesn’t have handles, and because they’re small and very recessed, you need to be mindful of how your thumbs are sitting. Like the SF30 Pro, I will likely only use them when it’s absolutely necessary. However, there is a positive to them that I will get to.
The build quality is also very faithful to the original’s, which can be disappointing if you’re used to the 8BitDo M30. That controller has a nice matte finish and a solid feel, while the Sega Saturn Pro Controller feels like a controller from the ‘90s. If you’re interested in this controller, there’s a good chance that you want it to feel as close to the original as possible, and it really does. Over the years, Retro-Bit has gotten a lot better about matching the original version of whatever they’re reproducing, and that shows here.
The shoulder buttons have a bit of a different click to them, and the D-pad has a bit more wiggle to it, but neither of these things makes a practical difference in gameplay. Nothing about it made me want to switch back to an original Saturn controller.
What I do appreciate, however, is its ability to function as a Sega Saturn analog controller. I’m pretty sure the only games I have that support this are Nights into Dreams and Christmas Nights. I thought they were fine with the D-pad, but now that I’ve experienced them in analog, yeah, they’re a lot better. I’m actually surprised by the difference. It’s worth mentioning that the triggers are not analog, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of a game besides Panzer Dragoon Saga that uses them, and even then it doesn’t use them for anything important.
Switching to analog takes a button combination, but it’s not too difficult. Unfortunately, you can’t use the symmetrical sticks in Virtual On to mimic the dual-stick controller, but Retro-Bit notes this saying, “This feature is not available, but we like the idea.” It may be added in a later firmware update.
One thing I noted about using the controller is that there are four shoulder buttons as opposed to the Saturn’s usual two: R, L, ZR, and ZL. The manual says that R and ZR both map to the Saturn’s R button, which would allow you to choose where you want your index fingers to lie, but that’s not correct. R actually maps to the Z face button. This seems like a mistake and maybe will be fixed in future firmware.
It’s also a bit disappointing to use on Switch, which maps Z and C to R and L. This is mostly Nintendo’s fault. The controller would be great on the Genesis and N64 (another 6-button face) channels, but, for some daft reason, Nintendo doesn’t let you remap controls for their systems. You can do it in the settings menu of the Switch, but then you’d have to keep fiddling around with it whenever you wanted to play something normally.
This isn’t a problem with the Sega Saturn Pro Controller, however. The 8BitDo M30 has the same problem. Nintendo could do a lot better when it comes to supporting third-party controllers.
Aside from some “wish it had” features, the Retro-Bit Sega Saturn Pro Controller is exactly what it says it is: It’s a Saturn controller with symmetrical analog sticks. It’s faithful to the original form factor with additional functions. How much use you’re going to get out of the sticks is dependent on your preferences and situation.
For me, I’d probably just stick to the 8BitDo M30 without the analog sticks. It’s cheaper, more modern, and has Bluetooth version. However, 8BitDo doesn’t make a Saturn receiver. Not yet, anyway. So, by default, the Retro-Bit Sega Saturn Pro Controller is my new favorite Sega Saturn controller. Even if I could use the M30, I’d still probably break out Retro-Bit’s solution for Nights into Dreams.
But if the Sega Saturn controller is to you what the SNES controller is to me, this might be exactly what you’re looking for. The sticks might not be comfortable for modern games, but even retro-inspired games sometimes don’t pay proper tribute to the D-Pad. For those occasions, they’re nice to have. The build quality and faithfulness to the original control are admirable in the Sega Saturn Pro Controller. However, as I said in the opening, controllers are an entirely personal choice, so there’s a good chance you already know if this is the controller for you.
[This review is based on a retail build of the hardware provided by the publisher.]
