As promised in the last post, here is an overview of the official 6 button controller for the Sega Genesis Mini.
First, let me gush about the packaging, because someone at retro-bit is as much of a nerd as I am. You see, Sega had a history of changing the theming and branding of some of their consoles in the middle of their lifespan. When the Dreamcast launched, all its games and hardware used white and orange packaging. By the end, however, it changed to black and orange.
Similarly, when the Genesis first launched, the packaging all used a black and white grid motif, with a radical looking logo. Later on, Sega ditched the logo for plain lettering, and the grid theme gave way to just … red. You can see the two kinds of branding on the main menu of the Genesis Mini.
Obviously the Genesis console itself originally used the “grid” theming, but by the time the six button pad was released around 1993, the “red” theme was in full effect. When creating the packaging for both the Genesis Mini and the replica six button controller, Sega and retro-bit kept things authentic:
Is this attention to detail necessary? Not at all. Is it extremely nerdy? Absolutely. Does it make me happy? More than I care to admit.
Like with the stock controllers, the six button pad looks and feels authentic to the original:
I never liked how they changed the feel of the buttons. These feel like regular plastic, instead of the grippy, almost rubbery feel of the buttons on the stock controller. Again, this change is authentic, but that does not make it better, either then or now.
The six button controller has a pseudo shoulder button on the right side called the “Mode” button, which is replicated here:
On the original controller, the Mode button had a number of different uses depending on the game you were playing. Here, it is used to instantly bring up the in-game System Menu. On the stock controller, one needs to hold the pause button down for three seconds to do the same, so the Mode button is a nice convenience feature.
The six button controller is compatible with Steam, Mac OS, PS3, and Switch (and maybe Xbox. I cannot quite tell). The instructions contain a handy chart that maps all of its buttons to their equivalents on these modern consoles. You can even use some built-in macros to force the D-pad to look like a joystick, which is pretty cool.
All in all, this controller is a winner. It has enough inputs to accommodate a wide range of different games, and it has compatibility with an impressive number of different platforms. And at less than $20, it feels like a steal. If you get a Genesis Mini, or even if you don’t, this pad comes highly recommended.
Other Thoughts
- The controller cord is longer on this than on the stock controllers, which another welcome enhancement.