Best third-party Master System controller?

[BetaWolf47]

Just got a Master System. I'd heard things about the dpad being bad, but didn't really believe it. Now I own one and, yes, they are not that great. I am going to use a Genesis controller for a while, but hear that some games are incompatible with it.

I hear that the Hori SG Commander and Honey Bee Competition Pro are the best way to go, but those can be rare or expensive. Any more viable options here?

[Emperor Megas]

I think the Master System D-Pad is awesome. It wasn't until the Internet age that I learned that I was alone in this. :|

[BetaWolf47]

I think the Master System D-Pad is awesome. It wasn't until the Internet age that I learned that I was alone in this. :|

Do you have the original one with side cord, the second one with the top cord, or the third one without the thumbstick slot?

[Gentlegamer]

The best Master System controller is the Sega Genesis controller.

[Emperor Megas]

Do you have the original one with side cord, the second one with the top cord, or the third one without the thumbstick slot?I have the second ones, I suppose, and a few without the ministick holes. I got a first Master System pretty early on. I don't have my original system anymore, but I don't ever remember having one with a side cord.

[PizzaKat]

I think the Master System D-Pad is awesome. It wasn't until the Internet age that I learned that I was alone in this. :|

Me too.

[megasdkirby]

The controllers were awesome when they were new. After a while, they would get sticky and unresponsive. I had to constantly open them to clean the contacts.

And the lack of a pause button on them was a real bitch. Hated diving to the system to either pause or open up a menu, like in Miracle World. I would also hit the cart while in play and freeze up the unit.

[BetaWolf47]

It's kind of ironic how Sega went from the Master System dpad to perhaps the best dpad of all time. The Genesis 6-button controller, the redesigned Genesis 3-button controller, and the Sega Saturn controller all have that floating dpad which is incredibly responsive and tactile feeling. Unless I can find a decent dedicated controller, I will probably end up using the redesigned 3-button controller.

In the meantime, can anyone actually recommend some good two-button controllers that are Master System compatible? I have heard that this one is decent:
http://www.gameoz.com.au/consoles-retro-and-modern/sega/sega-master-system/master-system-accessories/quick-shot-controller-for-sega-atari-commodore-amstrad.html

[Gentlegamer]

The controllers were awesome when they were new. After a while, they would get sticky and unresponsive. I had to constantly open them to clean the contacts.

I found that the design of the dpad means you can't rest your thumb in the center and rock it in the direction you want to go (like you can with Nintendo style or Genesis), you end up accidentally moving a different direction, it's easy not press exactly in the direction you wish to move. You have to constantly pick your thumb up and press the direction. I couldn't imagine trying to play a game like Contra with it, trying to do diagonals would be a nightmare I think.

[Emperor Megas]

I found that the design of the dpad means you can't rest your thumb in the center and rock it in the direction you want to go (like you can with Nintendo style or Genesis), you end up accidentally moving a different direction, it's easy not press exactly in the direction you wish to move. You have to constantly pick your thumb up and press the direction. I couldn't imagine trying to play a game like Contra with it, trying to do diagonals would be a nightmare I think.The reason why I loved it so much was because it was so much more comfortable and that doing diagonals was so much easier. It didn't have hard sharp corners, and it felt effortless to me. I could have been because I spent lot more time playing the Master System than the NES though. Maybe I was preconditioned.

[BlastProcessing402]

I don't remember there being any third party SMS controllers*, just using Atari/c64/etc controllers if the game didn't need two buttons. There was the Control Stick, but that was first party. It was also pretty weird, with the stick on the right buttons on the left and a big squarish knob on the stick instead of a ball on top or a bat or grip shape. I guess it was supposed to be reminiscent of a kind of gear shift or something. I didn't use mine very much, it was certainly no NES Advantage!

*(in America anyway, might have been different in England or Brazil, where people actually bought the Master System)

[Steve W]

I don't remember there being any third party SMS controllers
There actually were, although they weren't put out in large numbers so they aren't exactly easy to find nowadays. Radio Shack had a joystick (the kind that suction-cupped to a tabletop) that had a switch on the bottom to make it SMS compatible.

The big red domed thing at the top center of this picture is also SMS compatible. You guys say bad things about the D-pad on the standard SMS controller, you can't imagine how horrible this thing is to use.
http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp222/StevePW/assortedfinds_zpseac16b7a.jpg (http://s414.photobucket.com/user/StevePW/media/assortedfinds_zpseac16b7a.jpg.html)

[BetaWolf47]

I went to a game store today that had those. It's not a trackball like it appears. You put your palm on the top and use it like a comically oversized dpad. The only good thing about that thing is the satisfying click it makes whenever you press in a direction.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The answer to this question is without a doubt the Competition Pro Professional Control Pad

http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/fbZLH7vuQYU/maxresdefault.jpg

See my full video review for why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbZLH7vuQYU

[Gentlegamer]

That looks like it has the TG-16 dpad.

[BetaWolf47]

The answer to this question is without a doubt the Competition Pro Professional Control Pad

See my full video review for why.
Thanks! I like your videos BTW. Love how the annotations add tidbits of trivia. I was thinking about Astro Warrior, "Is that Star F- Oh..."

I have a question though. Do the dpads differ between the 3 different revisions of the official controller? I have a second revision controller and tried out a first revision at a game store yesterday, and I could have sworn the dpad on the first one felt more responsive.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Thanks! I like your videos BTW. Love how the annotations add tidbits of trivia. I was thinking about Astro Warrior, "Is that Star F- Oh..."

I have a question though. Do the dpads differ between the 3 different revisions of the official controller? I have a second revision controller and tried out a first revision at a game store yesterday, and I could have sworn the dpad on the first one felt more responsive.

They do differ.

Model 1: the original Master System Control Pad. The D-Pad has a hole in the center which allows for a small detachable "thumbstick" to be inserted (much like the SG-1000). Like the original model Famicom, the cord from the controller comes out at the right hand side and can be get in the way of playing.

Model 2: Same as before, but Sega moved the cord out at the top like the North American NES controller.

Model 3: The hole for the thumbstick is completely removed and a small bump was placed instead. This version is most commonly associated with the Sega Master System II and its success in Europe.

[BetaWolf47]

They do differ.

Model 1: the original Master System Control Pad. The D-Pad has a hole in the center which allows for a small detachable "thumbstick" to be inserted (much like the SG-1000). Like the original model Famicom, the cord from the controller comes out at the right hand side and can be get in the way of playing.

Model 2: Same as before, but Sega moved the cord out at the top like the North American NES controller.

Model 3: The hole for the thumbstick is completely removed and a small bump was placed instead. This version is most commonly associated with the Sega Master System II and its success in Europe.

I meant in terms of responsiveness. I knew all that already. You know how there are two or three versions of the Genesis 3-button controller dpad? I mean like that.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Yeah, from what I know, it's all the same, just minus the useless thumbstick. The Master System dpad isn't bad, don't let anyone say otherwise. It's just not something that looks good or really feels....'right'. If you turn off your brain to any expectation of what a dpad looks like or feels like, you can use it quiet effectively.

[BetaWolf47]

In all fairness, it's officially referred to as a d-button. Look in any game manual if you don't believe me!

[vintagegamecrazy]

I think I have another Quickshot controller compatible with the SMS but I'll have to test it out. If you want a decent SMS compatible joystick then the Camerica Freedom Stick has an adapter that is compatible with the SMS too.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, the best Master System controller is a Sega Genesis controller, one of the 3 or 6 button ones with a good d-pad.

For the few SMS games that don't work with Genesis controllers and you must use SMS controllers with... uh, those games aren't comfortable to play because you have to use the awful SMS controllers. These include Alien Syndrome and, I believe, Golvellius. I've got regular SMS controllers, the stupid terrible trackball, the weird backwards "arcade pad"... they're all awful!


In all fairness, it's officially referred to as a d-button. Look in any game manual if you don't believe me!

It's the same with the Genesis, actually.

[Gameguy]

Yeah, from what I know, it's all the same, just minus the useless thumbstick. The Master System dpad isn't bad, don't let anyone say otherwise. It's just not something that looks good or really feels....'right'. If you turn off your brain to any expectation of what a dpad looks like or feels like, you can use it quiet effectively.
Yes, if you can get past the expectation that your character should move in the same direction that you're pressing, then you'll like the controllers just fine. Like if you're trying to climb a ladder by pressing up, just be cool when your character keeps walking right instead.


I've had several games play this way with the controllers I've had(original version with side cord), making Rampage and Double Dragon almost unplayable. I ended up with another console with other later controllers and when testing the console out the games played much better, at least with Double Dragon. Maybe it has less to do with which model controllers are used and just depends on your luck, it's possible a large amount of controllers today are just worn out or slightly defective due to age. The built quality of these consoles aren't that great.