This may sound sacrilege, but if they are close enough, dimensions-wise, couldn’t you just cannibalize a Saturn pad, and put in the Retrobit innards?
I’ve heard of people doing that with the crappy bootlegs on eBay. If you were to go that route, I’d suggest keeping as much of the original pad as possible. Even the rubber bits in the originals seem to last longer. As good as my official SLS pads were, they still wore down faster than any of my originals. Nothing is built to last these days. 
Having never owned a Saturn prior to the last few years and never using one of their controllers I don’t have any reference for the feel of the peripherals so perhaps someone here can help me out.
I bought what I believed was a “new OEM” Saturn 3D control pad sometime back. When I received it everything looked good and nothing seemed amiss.,The controller looked mint, no signs of wear whatsoever under close inspection. What I question is the actual analog…stick…bubble? It seems to work fine but the tension on it feels really loose overall. It seems to also have a noticeably higher amount of tension on it when pressing right or up than what I find when moving it down or left.
Is this normal? Do I have cheap knock-off? Thoughts? Thanks in advance for any input.
Unless something’s changed in the last few years, nobody bothers to manufacture counterfeit 3D pads. In any case, flip it upsidedown and check for the Sega logo and serial number. I also doubt anyone copying the design would bother with the detachable power cord, so check that as well (just above the power cord, press down the little tab and pull out). If it has both those features, it’s legit.
Now as for the stick, new ones should be relatively taut. But with repeated use, they do tend to become extremely loose over time. In the past, I’ve used a Saturn USB adapter that accepts analog input to test how loose my 3D pad sticks are. I plugged 'em into my PC, opened “USB Game Controllers” in Windows, held each pad upsidedown and lightly jostled them to see if the stick registered any movement. Brand new pads should register none while used pads will definitely register at least some movement. And if the previous owner was like me and played a crapload of NiGHTS (a game where you’re constantly making circle motions), then you’ll get a LOT of movement. That’s just the way it is…
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Thanks for the info. The analog holds to center with no issues. The difference in tension between moving one direction or the other is really what caught my attention and aroused suspicion.
Out of curiosity, are there any resources online which explain how this analog controller works mechanically? It’s bubble design is quite unique from anything else I have seen in the gaming space but I don’t dare take it apart for fear of ruining it.
Retrobit and quality are not usually said in the same sentence.
Just got Sakura Taisen Columns, an actual Sakura Taisen game I can play!
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Anyone know a place to get a Sega Saturn link cable without breaking the bank?
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Electronics Boutique in 1996?
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I got mine with Gungriffon II
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mfw time travel becomes a more cost effective way to acquire retro games and accessories.
( ._.)
Or more accurately, my avatar.
I remember Electronics Boutique. Those were some fun times… There was this game store here in WA state called Funco Land. I used to spend an hour playing Sega Saturn games, I don’t think the store clerks cared because the Sega Saturn wasn’t selling well in that store. I played a lot of Megaman X4, those were good times.
We had both Funco Land and Electronics Boutique. And Babbages.
Back then, you could go into a game store and see so much variety on the shelves for retail games. Now I never walk into any modern chain stores to buy games. They’re too depressing.
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I don’t think they sell games anymore. Just Funko toys.
They resemble Hot Topic more than a video game store at this point.
I completely agree. Last time I set foot into a GameStop was to buy Warhammer Online on release day. I don’t even know what it’s like now.
I remember lurking through reddit and there was a thread about a game store somewhere in the south east that has ALL kinds of used video games. I think it was ran by Goodwill.
But back on subject, can anyone recommend me a good platformer or RPG (besides Grandia, I have it already and I love it)?
I walked into one a year ago or so. Half the store was dedicated to videogame t-shirts and little trinkets. I was like… what is this?
That and exclusives seem to be how they plan to stay in business, and they did need something. I know I wouldn’t shop there if not for them getting exclusives of a bunch of things I want. Their discount system for members is still way behind amazon and best buy, their shipping policies are terrible, as is the way they treat their employees. But hey, I really neeed my material good. >:c
Finally got around to trying out my Saturn pickups from the latest con.
Sword and Sorcery is a butchered port and runs like garbage compared to the 3do version, which is a shame because the Saturn version cost me $4, while the 3do version seems to going for $400. O_O
Shining wisdom is…weird. Game is cute and decent enough, but there’s some weird design choices. You have to mash a button to run (?), and sword swipes feel very stiff. Compared to the beautiful Japanese cover art, the game also looks like dogshit.
Albert Odyssey saved the day though. Good art style, good visuals, story grips you right away, with a burning village displaying an impressive transparency effect. Excited to see more of where this goes.