Gadgetory

(funky music) - Nowadays when people talk about console wars, they're always debating PlayStation versus Xbox versus the Nintendo Switch, but back in the 90s was the first original console war. Super Nintendo verus Sega Genesis. - [Announcer] Sega's Genesis is Nintendo's nemesis! - Which is really crazy to think about now because after Sega got out of the console business, their games started showing up on all platforms, especially Nintendo! And now, there's even a way to use a classic Genesis style controller on your Switch, with the M30 Bluetooth controller from 8BitDo. This is the latest addition to 8BitDo's line of retro style controllers, but it's a little bit of a deviation from their normal formula. Usually they'd be very heavy focused on Nintendo focus products, making things based on the NES controller, SNES controller adapters for the Gamecube. But in this case, this is their first attempt at doing something focused on Sega's legacy, specifically these six button style Genesis controller, and the reason why the name is M30 is because in Japan, the actual original name of the Genesis was the Sega Mega Drive. (speaking foreign language) - Now, this is an interesting decision for a few reasons, but one of the biggest is the fact that, while I think Nintendo has a lot of strong nostalgia power behind it, because you know they're the company still making consoles. One of the big reasons why a lot of people preferred Sega back in the day was, because they considered the Genesis controller, the six button one, to be the more superior comfortable design, because it added additional buttons to use based on the kind of fighting pads, six button layout, and its controller grip was a lot more comfortable versus the very flat design of the Super Nintendo's. This makes the M30 a very interesting option to consider nowadays, because while we do have plenty of retro controller options that pay homage to old school NES stuff, getting the chance to use a Genesis style controller that really was the better option back then with retro games today is really exciting. So just like with their other controllers, this is designed to be a Bluetooth controller that work on a number of different devices, Mac, PC, Android, and most interestingly, what we'll focus on, the Switch, it's also worth noting that 8BitDo has released a number of different retro receivers that allow you to use their Bluetooth controllers on old school systems, and to coincide with the release of the M30, they've also made a retro receiver for the classic Sega Genesis. So if you want to hook up your old school system, and play it wirelessly in comfort, this is gonna give you that option. You know, it's really interesting to take a look back at that older console war, and see how some of the arguments are kind of the same, yet still very different. For instance, today we did talk about console exclusives, what you can get on the Switch, or on the PS4, or an Xbox. But back then I mean we had a huge iconic characters that were the focus, where you have one system sporting this plumber that jumps really high, versus this blue hedgehog that loves chili dogs, and runs really fast. But what's even more interesting is when it comes to the concept of how games play differently on a system. Today it's, you know, oh the resolution's a little different, or these visual effects. But back then there could be a game released on both systems that would play totally differently. And I think a great example of this, is the original Mortal Kombat, because it also speaks to how Sega was really trying to do things differently from Nintendo. See, when Sega was making their way to the west, they had an uphill battle against Nintendo that was currently the reigning systems. So they had to do everything they could to differentiate themselves. And some of the ways they did that, were by tapping into larger audiences with different genres, like sports games, and also having more mature themes, which is where Mortal Kombat comes in. The Mortal Kombat was already making a huge fuss with how violent it was in arcades, and when it was made it's way to home consoles, we got two very different versions. The Super Nintendo one removed all the blood, and replaced it with sweat, and even removed the fatalities, which was basically the whole fun of the game. Meanwhile, the Genesis version kept all that stuff intact, although you did need to use a cheat code to be able to access it. This is one a long way in helping Sega seem like the cool alternative to the more traditional, and family friendly Nintendo, and it may, or may not be also the reason why we now have the ESRB, because once more violent games like that started making their way into people's homes, parents weren't really super thrilled about that. Alright, enough history. Let's actually talk about how this controller performs. Now, I've always enjoyed a lot of 8BitDo's products. I think they do a good job on all of their button quality, front facing buttons all feel really good. You have concave buttons on the bottom, convicts at the top, solid triggers, but the main thing I really want to emphasize with this controller is how much I love this D-pad. Genesis style controllers use a circular D-pad design instead of the normal cross shape that you see on the Nintendo ones, and it works out really, really well in this case. it has a perfect balance between having, just that little bit of snappiness so you feel like you're really pressing down, but at the same time is soft enough that you can make lots of rolling motions really cleanly. Now from the position of using this as a Switch controller, there's a couple things to keep in mind. Certain buttons have been moved around a little bit, which works better for some games, and not so much for others. For instance, you'll note that there's only two shoulder buttons which act as the back triggers on a Switch controller, while the front shoulder buttons have been moved to these two buttons on the side of the six button setup. This can also get a little confusing when you're using the Switch if you're not careful, because it uses the Genesis lettering of A,B,C, X,Y,Z, which is actually flipped versus how Nintendo controllers do it. So if a game tells you to press A, you actually have to press B. It makes sense as far as where the position of the buttons are, but if you're just paying attention to what the letters are, you're gonna get a little confused here and there. As for all the different option buttons you need on a Switch controller, they are still present on here. You've got the start button in the middle, which acts as a plus, and then there's three buttons below that are kind of camouflaged a little bit to match the rest of the body of the controller, with minus in the middle, a star button that acts as screen capture, and a heart button that acts as home. Of course something we are missing on this controller are sticks. Now by default, the D-pad acts like the left joystick, because that's the one that actually does movement for most games. However, there is a kind of hidden function on this controller that allows you to change that, which I'm a little annoyed, wasn't in the instruction manual that came with the controller. I actually found this by going to their website online. If you hit the minus button, and one of the Directional buttons on the D-pad up, left, or right, it will change which stick this D-pad acts as, either as the directional buttons on a Switch, the right stick, or the left stick. So any game that needs you to use multiple of those at the same time, this obviously isn't going to workout well, but if you just need one of them, you can adjust this to fit your preference. So that's all the in depth stuff it can do. But at the end of the day, how does it actually perform? Honestly, really, really great. This controller is awesome obviously, because it is a retro design, you're not gonna use it for every single game on the Switch. You don't want to play Breath of the Wild, or Mario Odyssey where you need to use both sticks, but for playing more retro style games, indie titles, Sega Genesis Classics, Sonic Mania, it all works really well. And there's one other specific case that I think it really excels at, fighting games. If you prefer using a fight pad for fighting games, and you miss having a great D-pad, this is the way to go. I absolutely love the D-pad on this controller. It is perfect for rolling inputs, and because it is the Genesis style, it's using the six button setup that was so common in a lot of fighting games, especially of course, Street Fighter. Honestly there really isn't that much I have to say that's negative about this controller. I mean there's the obvious downsides that come with a retro design, the lack of sticks, and it is not quite as comfortable as a modern controller can be, but as far as retro ones go, the grip design is awesome. The only other issue is I have really is how the controller is supported information-wise. Like I said, there wasn't any clear instructions on how to use the D-pad modifications. I had to go to their website to learn that, and on top of that, all the other 8BitDo controllers have a nice little info pad on the back that gives you shortcuts for, oh, if you want to use Switch mode, here's the button combination. If you want to do PC mode, here's the button combination. That is not present on the M30, which yeah, you can go back to instructions, you can look it up online, but it's really handy just to have that easy reference right there. And I miss that. Bottom line, if you're an old school Genesis fan, or you're you just looking for an awesome fight pad to use on the Switch, and even on PC, do not let this controller pass you by.