I’d rather play SNES games on Switch with this Sega-styled controller than the official SNES controller from Nintendo, and that’s just weird.
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- Title: Classic 2.4G Controller-M
- Price: $29.99
- Availability: Amazon
Geek to Geek Media was provided with a review copy of this product.
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Retroflag is a gaming accessories company with a pretty wide range of very specific products. I’ve had their SNES-style Raspberry Pi case on my RetroPi for years and got a chance to review their GameCube-inspired Switch grip early this year. Both of those products serve their purpose well without a lot of fanfare.
Their most recent release follows that same trend. The “Classic 2.4G Controller-M” is, as I’m sure you guessed from the incredibly specific product name, a wireless controller for the Nintendo Switch styled after the six-button Sega Mega Drive controller.
Device Details
The Retroflag Classic 2.4G Controller-M comes with the controller itself, a USB dongle to plug into your Switch, PC, or MD Mini system, and a USB-C charging cord for the controller. The face of the controller has an excellent D-Pad on the left, Start and Select stacked vertically in the center, and six face buttons on the right. On the top are singular shoulder buttons.
For Switch owners, there are a few notable missing inputs. Obviously, this retro-styled controller doesn’t have any analog sticks, nor does it have triggers or a home or screenshot button. The lack of triggers is made up for by the extra face buttons, C and Z, and there’s a Home button macro that you can trigger by pressing Start and Select together. I was delighted to see that option in there, since not being able to go back to the Switches home screen was my biggest disappointment in the official SNES controller for Switch.
Customizability
There may not be a lot of flourishes on the surface of the Retroflag Classic 2.4G Controller-M, but there are a few easy-to-forget shortcuts that you can use to customize your gameplay experience. My main goal with this sort of controller is always going to be to use it for retro games, so the lack of analog sticks doesn’t really bother me at all. The D-Pad works just fine with no issues in all of the NSO retro game apps, so I’m happy. If, however, you want to take this controller to a game that doesn’t use the D-Pad for input, you can hold select and tap directions on the D-Pad to remap it as either the Left or Right stick.
You can also swap any of the face buttons, which is essential if you want to use this for SNES or other retro Nintendo games. This controller has the A+B and X+Y buttons mirrored from where they should be for Nintendo, in the same way that an Xbox controller lays them out. Holding two buttons you want to swap and then pressing L+R+Select lets you switch them around so that playing Super Mario World feels as good as you remember.
Finally, there are two levels of Turbo that you can activate for any of the face buttons. Holding L+Select and then tapping a button once will make it rapid-fire when the button is held, while doing the same and tapping it twice will have it constantly auto-fire.
Unfortunately, there’s not any visual indicator for all of these customizations. Everything gets reset when the controller turns off, so there’s no risk of remapping things in a way that causes long-term issues, but I’ve already gotten myself confused a few times. The shortcuts are also a lot to remember. I may end up printing a little shortcut guide and taping it to the back.
Final Thoughts
There really isn’t much more to say about this little controller. It is pretty much what you see. I’d love it if it worked with the Switch via Bluetooth or had a companion app where you could see and save custom profiles like the 8bitDo Pro 2, but this comes in at a lower price point and feels great for what it is. It’s quick and easy to set up, is instantly recognized as a six-button controller by the Genesis app on NSO, and feels great in the hands. Honestly, the only thing holding this back from being my go-to controller for retro and retro-styled games is the lack of a screenshot button, which I know is only a gripe for folks like me who obsess over taking pictures of their games.
Besides that missing feature, this might be my favorite controller for retro games. And as a Nintendo kid, it really hurts me to admit that.
