Should You Buy the Officially Licensed Sega Saturn Controller from Retro-Bit

In this video, we unbox and test out the officially licensed Sega Saturn controllers from Retro-Bit.

Retro-Bit made quite a splash when they announced their collaboration with Sega. When the partnership was announced, a series of new controllers were announced alongside. The first wave of products would include 6 button arcade controls designed for the Sega Genesis, but also a series of controllers modeled after the Sega Saturn controllers. Fast forward to today and those Sega Saturn controllers are what we have in our hands.

The great thing about this partnership is the close working relationship between Retro-Bit and Sega. That means, ideally, what we have here should be virtually identical to what Sega's original OEM equipment was. But there's a slight difference between them. Of course, you get the standard Sega Saturn connector to connect to your console, but they are also releasing a version with a USB connection to be used on PCs, Macs, and Retro-Bit's own Super Retrocade console.

The controllers are available in either the original black color or a kind of purple see-through case. We have one of each here and I have to say they look great. Beyond looking great, they feel great. All of the buttons work exactly as they should, and the D-pads are excellent. One of the nicest features, at least in my opinion, is the very long 10 ft long cord that comes on each of them. Seriously, 10ft should be the minimum for any controller cord these days.

Starting out with Street Fighter Alpha 2 in my Saturn, the control felt spot on. I was able to pull off hadoukens, spinning sidekicks, and shoryukens. Moving on to Earthworm Jim 2, an action-platformer, the controller once again felt spot on. Even though I'm terrible at the game. I'm sorry Jim

Moving on to the Super Retrocade, I was able to play NES, Super NES, and Genesis games without issue. Because there is no dedicated select button, unfortunately, there is no way to get into the settings menu from this controller. Doing things like remapping the buttons we're changing the aspect ratio required I plug in the original controller.

Why it RoX

- OEM quality
- Fantastic buttons and d-pad
- 10-foot long cable
- Original connector & USB variants available
- I LOVE the styling on the clear controller

What could be improved?
- No select button means it is not ideal for the Super Retrocade
- Short travel on the shoulder buttons
- More color options would be fun

Should you buy one?

Two considerations here, if you're looking for a controller for the Sega Saturn, absolutely you should buy one. This is as good, honestly if not better, quality then the original Sega equipment. It's like finding new old stock if that makes sense. If you are looking for the Saturn, this is a no-brainer.

If you are looking for another controller for the Super Retrocade, that becomes a slightly harder sell for me. Quite honestly, Retro-Bit's own Sega Genesis controller announced alongside this one, has a mode button which allows you to access the menus on the console. For that alone, I think it's a slightly better option for Super Retrocade owners, but it's very close. Regardless, these are two exceptional controllers you should definitely have on your shopping list.

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

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(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)