Trying out a 6-Button Mega Drive controller for the first time (and more)
August 26th, 2025
It's right there on the tin.
What was meant to be a meetup to play some stuff on the PS2 (Burnout Revenge wasn't in those plans...but Shaolin Monks and Pacman World Rally were) ended up going a different direction due to an unforeseen oversight.
What instead happened though would be trying out a handful of games with a controller I had never had on my hands before: The Sega Ge-
Wait...I already tried the Sega Genesis controller before (the US 1989 model) back in April in fact. But since I didn't ever write about it before, I'll also talk about that once I'm past the main feature here:
The 6-Button Sega Mega Drive controller.
This is a sleeker looking pad compared to the bulkier default Genesis controller...which turns out to be the same in all regions but with a different color scheme, and the same happens with the 6-button.
But in any case, it is certainly a smaller pad to hold on your hands compared to the 3-button, which is funny to realize that it's like that for all regions when I had initially assumed that the large design was for American audiences in the same way the Saturn controller had a bulkier American variant that was later remodeled to be similar to the JP/EU take.
What both pads do share though is the feeling that the huge buttons somehow...feel satisfying to use despite their non-standard placement, as they are big enough to push with your thumb precisely, and having these in my hands explains why most games mapped the jump button to B - it's the button that your thumb will often rest on as it is right in the middle of the right side.
Outrun was somehow my first reminder of this, as stepping on the accel was holding down B and either commiting to slipping to the left to tap the brake, or if needed, slide the thumb to the right to reach the C button and gear change.
And I say "first reminder" because it was the first Genesis game I tried with it...but not the first game overall I tried it on.
...That game was BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle.
I know it sounds weird, but I ended up experimenting with it and getting okay results after enough tinkering (and some matches practicing) as I mapped the three attacks to ABC, D to the Z button, Partner to the Y button, and the A+D action to the X button... because an Akatsuki needs his interceptor available at the press of a button to catch stray buttons lacking.
The D-Pad definitely had a feeling to it, not too loose but not too mushy yet quite functional (the 3-button felt way mushier on first impressions...but also surprisingly workable on the practice).
The XYZ buttons were sure something to get used to at first due to their smaller size and outward shape compared to the other three, but they don't feel *off* per-se (just odd for the first time but can be adapted to), so I'll give them a pass.
Also, Vectorman (character) fan plays Vector man (game) with a Genesis controller for the first time ever. I would put the picture here, but I already used it as the thumbnail lol
I got my ass handed by the first boss (whoops, I forgot how to deal with it lmao), but before that it was pretty fun.
Regarding multiplayer titles, we also tried Gunstar Heroes, Micro Machines, Streets of Rage 2 (amusingly enough though, we played the duel mode), Sonic 3K's competition mode, and...Micro Machines V4 for the PC.
But hey, don't be fooled, MMV4 goes CRAZY funny for a multiplayer game.
Now going back to the promise of also talking about the 3-button, as I said, the D-Pad is certainly one that doesn't look nor feel like it budges when you push it...but it DOES seem to pick up your movements fairly well.
I remember trying it with Sonic Galactic's demo, Streets of Rage 2 (for real), and even tested a silly idea of trying it in Dr. Robotnik's Ring Racers by mapping accel/brake/item to the three buttons and using a claw grip on my right hand to actually use all three buttons at once (I've played it plenty on keyboard so I found it doable).
So yeah, me right here who probably has been known by some SEGA related stuff hadn't actually held Sega Genesis controllers until this year. This is thanks to my friend who had got these and an adapter, bringing the 3-button to my house back then so that I could try it, and now, I could try the 6-button when I went to visit this friend.
Big thanks, Cirno :-)
This may not be quite the ambitious post you may imagined yet, but I certainly had some fun recapitulating the loads of fun that night was while playing with that classic SEGA controller for the first time. I still wonder how the Saturn pad would feel with the triggers, but that aside, it sure is nice to write something like this without having analytics or numbers telling me not to. In any case, if you are reading this...well, thanks for reading!