It was about 10 years ago when Nintendo released the NES Classic Edition. This miniaturized, modernized NES console was plug and play with modern HD tvs, and came preloaded with 30 games and a replica controller. The build quality was excellent, the game selection also great, and it came with modern quality of life improvements like save states. It came packaged with a branded HDMI cable, power brick, usb cable, and one controller that had an alarmingly short cord. This was all included for $60, a fantastic bargain. Additional controllers could be purchased reasonably for $10.
Needless to say, it was sold out immediately, and the secondary market had upcharges of nearly 200%. Nintendo followed this up the next year with the Super Nintendo Classic Edition. This miniature Super Nintendo has the same top tier build quality as its predecessor, and was packaged with two controllers this time around. As before, it was highly sought after, and scalpers rejoiced.
Realizing that there was money to be made through nostalgia, Sony, Sega, Konami, and Neo Geo followed suit and released the Playstation Classic, Genesis Mini (more than one), Turbografx-16 Mini, and Neo Geo Mini, respectively. These had mixed levels of success, but they were still bought up.
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| Many NES games benefited from turbo fire. |
Through all of this, 8Bitdo, a third party controller company, produced wireless controllers using the 2.4ghz frequency for the Nintendo, Sega, Turbo-Grafx, and Neo Geo mini consoles. In my opinion, 8Bitdo makes the highest quality retro-styled controllers. They are all firmware updatable, have great build quality, and have excellent form and function. Battery life is good as well.
Their NES Classic controller has turbo buttons and a home button built in, in addition to retaining the true form of an NES controller. The d-pad is a very close approximation to the original, as are all the buttons. The size and weight are spot on as well. Even the textured top finish evokes the tactile character of the original. Their SNES Classic controller has the same feel and form as a real SNES controller, only with fresh membranes. Both have minor visual design tweaks to sidestep legal issues. The wireless dongle has a Wii-style connection, since that is what was built in to the NES and SNES Classic Editions. This does limit the versatility of these controllers.
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| A Classic, even if the art detail had to be changed. |
8Bitdo released a version of their popular M30 controller for the Sega Genesis Mini. This six button controller feels like a cross between the six-button Genesis controller and the model 2 Saturn controller. The d-pad is slightly floaty and nearly and perfect. It doesn't fatigue your thumb, has the perfect amount of resistance, and diagonals have a definite position. In my mind, the d-pad is the most important part of a Sega retro styled controller, and this is as good as it gets. It also includes a turbo and home button, which are much welcomed these days. New additions are the L and R shoulder buttons, which were not a thing on the Sega Genesis, but were present on the Saturn controller. The overall shape is smooth and melts into your hands.
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| The M30 replicates the best d-pad ever. |
The Turbografx-16 also recieved some 8Bitdo love, with a dedicated 2.4ghz controller release as well. This controller had some alterations to it that make it differ the most from the source inspiration. The original controller had three-position switches, for varying amount of turbo fire. The 8Bitdo has turbo buttons, much like their NES Classic controllers. This is very odd, but one can surmise that they were possibly recycling the pcb board from that production run for use here as well, reducing R&D costs. Also different is the overall dimensions, with this modern entry being smaller by a few centimeters in width, and with more rounded corners. I personally don't like this smaller size. The d-pad is very similar to the original, which was a small circular disk. Between the smaller d-pad and smaller width, playing for a normal amount of time gives me hand cramps. I don't recommend this offering.
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| Turbo buttons instead of switches was an interesting design choice. |
The Neo Geo Mini console was a little different from the others in that it was a little arcade cabinet, with a screen and joystick. It could be hooked up to an HDTV via HDMI, and USB ports allowed for external controllers to be used. Produced alongside the unit were wired Neo Geo controllers that were intended to be replicas of the Neo Geo CD controller, but reports were not kind to the poor execution, lack of microswitches, and re-labeled button order. 8Bitdo jumped in to save the day with their version of a wireless Neo Geo CD controller, with micro-switched circular d-pad. This was a small production run, and finding these on the used market is pricey.
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| The second wave of Neo Geo controllers were styled with art from King of Fighters '97, where the first run were plain black. |
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| The Neo Geo wireless controller can be switched from Bluetooth to 2.4 ghz |
By now most people who own mini consoles have packed them up, sold them, or forgot about them. They were the hot items in the retro gaming world, but have now lost their luster. Even though they are not used much anymore, the 8Bitdo controllers can be used on other devices and consoles. It would be a shame to let the high quality controllers rot in a shoebox. As mentioned earlier, the 8Bitdo NES and SNES Mini controllers had Wii-styled connections on their dongles. These can easily be used on USB devices with an adapter made by a company called Raphnet. These adapters are excellent. There is no perceptible added latency. I use this for using my 8Bitdo NES and SNES Classic controllers with my MISTer FPGA stack. I have not found a better NES or SNES style wireless controller for it.
The 2.4ghz M30 controller already comes with a USB dongle, so that works perfectly on the MISTer without the need for any adapter. Same goes for the Turbografx and Neo Geo controllers. I have also used these on Raspberry Pi computers as well, and all work seamlessly.
It should be mentioned that 8Bitdo also makes bluetooth versions of the NES, SNES, and M30 controllers. They have a bluetooth dongle for sale separately. This post is not about those as I do not have those variants. Generally speaking, 2.4 ghz offers lower latency than bluetooth.
In summary, 8Bitdo makes some awesome retro gaming controllers. If you have any of their Classic Edition controllers they can still be used and enjoyed on other current devices. They are my favorite way to play retro games on modern devices.
