#Retro Fighters

[mrmegamanfan]

A new wireless controller for PS1-PS3. Is it worth $50 though?

[newgabeorder]

It took them long enough to ship this controller... I must take good care of it while I can.

[gengamer110]

Make Your Own Wireless Dreamcast Controller

Retro Fighters announced their wireless StrikerDC controller for the SEGA Dreamcast and it is set for release on November 15, 2023. While I bought the wired StrikerDC, and have enjoyed it. (A video will follow on my YouTube channel soon). I do plan to review the wireless StrikerDC upon its release. In the meantime, I decided to use two things I already had; the Retro Fighters Defender for…

[acquired-stardust]

X-Men vs Street Fighter Sega Saturn 1997

[sailorsenshigifs]

[yoan-le-grall]

[xodiumdotnet]

On the Retro Fighters PS3-compatible Defender

Bought this controller because my PS3 is currently using a fairly beat-up and tired Sixaxis (yes, the original Sixaxis, not a DualShock 3) that I saved from a trash bin about a year ago.

To kind of spoil this, not even two hours after using it I've already filed for a return on Amazon. It's not all bad, but just one small thing that became a dealbreaker.

The good thing is that as a complete package, the Defender is a cromulent controller. According to Spawn Wave, it comes apart easy for service, the button action feels good, and the D-Pad button action feels good too. It isn't a microswitch-laden affair like, say, the Switch. Or the modern Xbox controllers.

There was no creak, no flex, and though the Defender was a bit light in the hand, it still felt good and solid.

The only issues I had with it were two:

The shoulder buttons. This is a very small gripe but the L1/R1 buttons feel a bit too skinny, and the triggers have a shorter throw than I was expecting. These are things I could adjust to, however, so I'm not going to knock them too hard. What I will knock, however...

The D-Pad. It's big and beefy, and the button action as said before is fairly good. Where it falls apart is registering button presses. To test this out I would scroll through the PS3's XMB by tapping directions on the D-Pad and observing how the PS3 reacts.

I would have to press very precisely on the direction I want, and firmly. Otherwise it was flaky in recognizing that press. If you press it with a lighter touch as I tend to do, it had trouble consistently registering that press.

Worse yet, the Defender would sometimes register that I was holding the button, not tapping it. If I tapped through the XMB it would sometimes skip over entries like I was holding the button instead of tapping it.

I even tried this in a PS2 game (Wild Arms 3). I could stutter step perfectly and perform pretty precise dash movement with the Sixaxis, but the Defender would randomly drop inputs or act like I'm holding a direction instead of merely tapping it.

This, THIS is the dealberaker. Considering I use this PS3 for retro games from the PS1 and PS2 era, having a working D-Pad is non-negotiable, and for $60, I could likely find a genuine DS3 for far less that's in better condition.

If RF ever sorts out the issues with the D-Pad, however...lovely controller, feels much more ergonomic in the hand and the buttons have a good feel to them. But all that just comes apart due to it misreading my inputs. I may give the Defender another go down the line, when early unit weirdness is sorted out (since it launched not all that long ago).

But right now, back it goes. Unfortunately.

[found-in-retro-game-mags]

Art by Robert DeJesus from PSM #12 (Aug. 1998)

[animeglitch]

[lastnightstoryart]

Chun Li

[s-pyder]

Jhony Caballero

[lei-fang82]

[gengamer110]

Nintendo's Strange GameCube Controller

The Nintendo GameCube had a strange controller. The shape was extremely comfortable, but it was very unorthodox. Features The GameCube controller had one large “A” button and a smaller “B” button. Surrounding the “A” button were two bean-shaped “Y” and “X” buttons. Initially, people largely scoffed at the design, much like “Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker,” but over time it has really become a…

[acquired-stardust]

X-Men vs Street Fighter Sega Saturn 1997

[retrogamingblog2]

Nintendo Switch Arcade Cabinets made by AVEcustoms

[yoan-le-grall]