I have a large physical collection of over 800 video games, most of which are retro games for older consoles such as the Sega Dreamcast, Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, and so on.
To me personally, there is nothing better than cracking open an old video game, flipping through the manual, putting it in the system it was designed to run on, and kicking back to enjoy some highly-concentrated bursts of nostalgia. Or, in many cases, appreciating a game I missed out on back in the day.
However, some of the biggest bottlenecks to enjoying retro video games in the modern age are older controllers. That’s where Retro Fighters comes in.
Now that controller designs have mostly standardized between the Xbox controller, PlayStation controller, and Nintendo Switch Pro controller, anything that deviates feels strange—including older controllers that were still trying to be unique.
For example, I absolutely love the Sega Dreamcast, but that controller is just not a pleasant thing to hold and use for me. I could write an entire article about my issues with that controller, but suffice it to say I’m not alone.
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And even for controllers I have a soft spot in my heart for, such as the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube controllers, they don’t exactly feel natural and intuitive anymore. Plus, if you ever want to play games together with your kids, significant other, or friends that may not have grown up on those consoles, weird controller designs can be an immediate and swift turn off.
Not to mention almost none of the original controllers were ever wireless back in the day. Old controller wires were not designed for modern living rooms with couches several feet away from entertainment centers.
The Retro Fighters Controller Lineup
For nearly every retro game console you might have, Retro Fighters probably has a controller for you. I’ve personally purchased their controllers for Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, Sega Dreamcast (x3), and PlayStation. Additionally, they sent me one of their newest small six-button Dreamcast controllers, an improved GameCube controller, and their original Xbox controller. Furthermore, almost all of them work flawlessly on PC with the included USB dongle or via Bluetooth with devices like the Nintendo Switch.
And yes, their GameCube controllers like the BattlerGC Pro which works with PC and original GameCube / Wii hardware, already has a firmware update so it can work with Switch 2 as well.
As a result, I have a pretty big collection of controllers these days to go alongside my game collection. It’s now gotten to the point that, unless I have a Retro Fighters controller for that system, I almost never turn it on. That probably makes my Super Nintendo quite sad, but it is what it is.
The controllers that have made the biggest impact for me are definitely the wireless Dreamcast StrikerDC and the original Xbox Hunter controllers. I’m a big fan of the Nintendo 64 styled Brawler64 controller. For Dreamcast and N64, those dongles have slots in them for the VMU or memory card, respectively, since the original designs had those plugged into the back of the controllers directly.
Since I have such a large collection, I naturally dabble across genres and platforms quite frequently. I’m far from an expert on any particular type of game, so I can’t really speak to how well the D6 Dreamcast controller performs for fighting games, but it definitely feels good from what I’ve tried. It’s their newest offering I’ve gotten the chance to try.
Since the XYZ buttons don’t exist on Dreamcast, they’re mapped to L and R out of the box, which makes fighting games immediately more playable. It always felt awkward pulling triggers for punches and kicks on the Dreamcast controller. It’s also a great for 2D games like shoot ’em ups with its responsive and clicky d-pad.
Final Verdict—Retro Fighters Controllers Are Essential
When I first discovered the Retro Fighters brand years ago, it really opened my eyes. These controllers are designed with such love and care that they make your consoles feel new again. I can hook my Dreamcast up to my Retrotink HDMI upscaler in the living room and sit back on the couch with a wireless controller and play all my favorite games on original hardware. Or I can pop in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King on PS2 and play local co-op with a friend without the wires getting tangled.
Retro Fighters controllers feel like magic and they seriously breathe new life into old game consoles.
Disclosure: Retro Fighters sent me some of their newest controllers to help facilitate this coverage and I was a Kickstarter backer of their very first Dreamcast controller years ago. However, I have purchased the majority of their controllers for myself.
