Retro-Bit SEGA Mega Drive Wireless Controller review - "Best for SEGA fans, not too ideal for modern games"

• The Retro-Bit SEGA Mega Drive Wireless Controller looks and feels like the OG SEGA controller
• Pairing with your phone might need a bit of tinkering
• Ideal for SEGA fans looking to capture that old-school feeling and not much else

Nostalgia is a powerful and treacherous little thing - do it right and it elevates even the simplest experience to god-tier in a player's mind, but miss the right beats and it's all downhill from there. Knowing how to handle all the old-school vibes in gaming can be incredibly tricky, which is why I give major props to Retro-Bit for daring to bring back that SEGA feeling with their Mega Drive 2.4GHz BIG6 Wireless Controller.

Cute, clunky, and as no-frills as I remember, the officially licensed controller aims to replicate how it felt to kick some serious Mortal Kombat butt or how to bring on the pain against Mr. X across streets inexplicably filled with rage.

But does it do its job perfectly well, or is it just another peripheral that's nice to have but isn't really a need?

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Table of contents:

• Retro-Bit SEGA Mega Drive Wireless Controller design

• Connectivity and performance

• What's the verdict?

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Retro-Bit SEGA Mega Drive Wireless Controller design

The main appeal here is, of course, how the controller looks - and yes, it boasts almost exactly the same appearance as the SEGA Mega Drive controllers of old. The BIG6 variant - as the name suggests - sports six buttons now though, which is a handy feature to have when you're sweeping through Sixth Street in Zenless Zone Zero and in desperate need of more buttons (more on this later).

Another welcome addition is the presence of the new shoulder buttons, but other than that, it's the same look and feel that brought me back to hot summer afternoons trying to beat Mojo in X-Men or discovering who Wonder Man was for the very first time in Captain America and The Avengers.

Even the weight (or lack thereof) feels similar despite the larger size, plus an improved D-Pad that easily rotates along with a tactile, clicky feel.

It's odd having the Start button recessed on top of the six buttons, but this crucial little addition is what pairs the controller with the dongle on your chosen device. A receiver for the original port is included too just in case you'd like to use this one for your OG console, along with a USB-C cable to juice up the peripheral on modern chargers.

Connectivity And Performance

Testing it out on my Android phone was super wonky at first - I couldn't pair the receiver with my controller, pressing and holding down buttons did nothing, and all the flashing lights only added to my overall confusion. Pairing shouldn't have to be this difficult - especially with the plug-and-play nature of mobile - but after resetting the controller twice with a pin in the back, I was finally able to get to work.

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After that, it was an almost pain-free experience. Lags weren't an issue, but as you might expect, using an old-school controller that's meant for old-school games is likely not going to fare too well on RPGs that have overly complicated controls.

Case in point: Zenless Zone Zero has all these different menu items that a modern controller can handle with ease. Despite its additional buttons, however, the BIG6 just couldn't cut it. 

You'll also need to remember to switch the mode of the directional buttons depending on what you're playing - holding Start + B should let you go from D-Input mode to X-Input mode and vice versa. This is absolutely essential, as picking the wrong mode won't make the controller work at all.

For instance, I couldn't move the directional buttons in Dead Cells with the wrong mode, and Streets of Rage 4 only made my D-Pad run endlessly up and down on its own.

With Sonic Mania Plus, however, it worked like a charm regardless of the D-Pad mode, and oh my goodness - simply booting it up and holding the controller in my hands made the whole experience feel completely different than if I were playing with my GameSir G8 Galileo.

What's The Verdict?

There's just something inexplicable about playing an OG SEGA game on an OG SEGA controller, and it painted my whole session with nostalgia from start to finish. Sure, the Retro-Bit isn't the most comfortable and ergonomic thing to have in my hands - it's got no Hall Effect sticks, no fancy settings, no apps to customise it with or any other modern thingamajig.

All it has is its overall feel, but that alone somehow makes up for every other missing thing.

I mean, I don't know how to justify this to someone who hasn't spent a good chunk of their childhood on the Mega Drive as I have, but I suppose that's the main problem with this peripheral and what keeps me from giving it top marks.

It's largely a nostalgic trip down memory lane and not much else, so if that's really not something you're after, there's essentially no reason to pick this up over other mobile controllers in the market.

It's also a tad difficult to pair and is not the most portable thing to lug around compared to, say, the CRKD Atom Bluetooth controller. The only thing it has going for it is the retro factor, but then again, I don't think Retro-Bit - from its name alone - is aiming for anything else.

Overall, the Retro-Bit SEGA Mega Drive Wireless Controller is a faithful tribute to the OG SEGA controller but with a few modern twists. Give it a go just to turn back time - or at the very least, given it's officially licensed, have it up on your collection as a cool piece of retro-ish tech and a fantastic conversation piece.