8Bitdo M30 Bluetooth Controller for Switch, PC, macOS and Android with Sega Genesis & Mega Drive Style

Ive had these controllers for a few months to see how they handle. Its a solid choice for mobile gaming and pc emulation. Pros: - solid feel - excellent battery life - works well with phone or pc emulation via bluetooth. Zero noticeable latency with HD TV. Cons: - hypersensitive when mapping/key binding. - does not work well with other non-sega emulators. That could be due to the emulators. I had difficulty using them with SNES ans NES. Not a deal breaker but it takes more time to get it to work. Super easy to use and excellent quality!

Before anything else, this is a fantastic controller. My problems with it are very specific, but its still a fantastic little piece of hardware. For context, I have large hands. About 8.5 inches long from middle fingertip to wrist, 4 inches across at the palm, with the average male hand being roughly 7.6 and 3.5. I bought this controller specifically to play Celeste. In this game, you spend a fair bit of time climbing the sides of walls, which you do by holding down any of the trigger/shoulder buttons. When holding down the shoulder button for long periods of time (as is common with Celeste), I would find the controller being pushed down out of my hands because the controller is not thick enough to make contact with my palms. Conversely, if I place the controller firmly against my palms, my thumbs/index fingers extended past the buttons to such an extent that the controller becomes unusable. Let me reiterate that the trouble I have with this controller is specifically with HOLDING DOWN the shoulder button, and primarily because this controller is too small for my uselessly oversized hands. Just pressing and quickly releasing the button works flawlessly, as do the rest of the buttons/d-pad, and I imagine that I wouldnt have any troubles at all if my hands were a bit smaller. So consider the types of games you would play with this controller, and base your purchasing decision on that. If you play games where the shoulder buttons are used for navigating menus or other quick press/release type inputs, this controller will serve you well. But if youre playing a game where it is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to keep the shoulder held down with 100% reliability, break out a tape measure to see how large your hands are compared to mine, and make your decision based off that.

I heard the dpad on these is exceptional, and Im playing a lot of Guilty Gear Strive. Originally i deemed the PS2 controller to be the only acceptable dpad for a game that requires lots of half and quarter circle dpad movements, as everything else seems much more finicky and inaccurate. This Dpad is better than the PS2 dpad. It just always gets the input right. Its crazy. Im not sitting here cursing out the controller. I just play better. 8bitdo is a great company and everything Ive got from them (just this and the SNES one) are exceptional.

Really easy to set up and has a wide range of compatibility for retro gaming (pre-3d). The controller is very comfortable (and familiar) to hold and the dpad is one of the best you can experience on a modern controller. The buttons are snappy and satisfying. There are special settings for the dpad and buttons behavior. Look those up here in the reviews or somewhere else online. The manual and website do not mention these special commands. Firmware is updatable but seems unnecessary unless you are using this with the Switch. The only disappointment is that the M30 is not fully compatible with PS1 controller layouts. Theoretically, it should work with no issues (only one PS1 game requires analog sticks as far as I know). One button (usually the R button on the controller) acts like it doesnt exist when trying to map controls. So all buttons are configurable except one.

EDIT 3/13/2019 - Information was incorrect, left for clarity but noted with a disclaimer. Remember to always read the manual closely kids. This this is a real blast from the past. I preferred the 3 button controller myself, but for maximum compatibility this was the correct choice. The D-pad feels as good as I remember (so its probably better than it really was to use), the buttons are very responsive, and the overall feel is quality plastic and a modern USB Type C connection. The included cable feels like an upgrade of sturdier quality, and is black to match the controller with a rounded cable instead of flat. Works great for PC (bluetooth and wired) and android (Bluetooth) emulators in my testing, and will likely be my go to for the foreseeable future. Switch specific things of note: -EDIT: 3/13/2019: Inaccurate information, see seller comment below- The official Genesis collection for switch is my primary reason for purchasing this, however there is no remapping for controls in this version, sadly making it a mostly frustrating affair to play for certain titles. Many games are playable with only one or two buttons as the primary input, but for this game stick to the PC version if you plan to use this controller. - This works for Smash Bros Ultimate, and surprisingly competent at that. The DPad can be mapped as the left stick, though you lose fine control and will be dashing and smashing everything without tilt controls, for basic fun its more than capable as a second controller. -EDIT: 3/13/2019: Inaccurate information, see seller comment below- The left stick mapping means that games like Tetris 99 will not function. -EDIT: 3/13/2019: Inaccurate information, see seller comment below - Additionally, while the D-input and X-input match the main face buttons to the Xbox layout, with C and Z mapping RB and LB respectively, and shoulders mapped to the triggers, the switch configuration matches the Nintendo layout physically, so A=B and X=Y which requires a little muscle memory. - Sega Ages games are the real dream for this, allowing mappable controls and are quite usable in Sonic and Phantasy Star at the very least.

I purchased two 8Bitdo controllers, the M30--this controller--and the SF30--the SNES version--and there are huge differences. Ive reviewed the SNES version, so you can check that out if you want. The short version is that the button press feels unacceptably stiff. This controller, however, is fantastic. Its a lot smaller than an actual Genesis controller, and better shaped. More comfortable than the original. It feels high quality. It isnt too light, and the plastic feels sturdy. The battery life seems to match the advertised claims. Best of all, the buttons feel great. Not too stiff, not spongy. There is a smooth, decisive feel. But it got the buttons for a Genesis. Sure, but in most emulators you can customize the buttons. Its worth the small hassle for a good controller.

This is a great little controller, perfect for metroidvanias, platformers, and 2D fighters. They got the dpad perfect, feels just like it should. Im not entirely sure how the design works but its not like your usual dpad, its a Sega dpad so please keep that in mind when purchasing this.

So from what Ive been reading, a vintage Japanese Sega Saturn controller is considered the ultimate gamepad for shoot-em-ups. Some people prefer the arcade stick, but I think the Saturn controller is more popular in the SHMUP community. Its also considered the best gamepad for retro fighting games, though an arcade stick is favored over the traditional gamepad for fighting games. However, there arent any adapters that will let you use a real Saturn controller on the Nintendo Switch, so I decided to give this a try. Well, my SHMUP skills shot through the roof as soon as I tried out this pad. I never got seriously into the genre, but Im now starting to since I have the proper equipment for it. I found modern analog sticks terrible for SHMUPS. There are many instances where youll need to slowly move in one direction with the bullet patterns(or in some games like Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga, to get through tight corridors), and this can only be accomplished on an analog stick by tapping the stick to one side over and over again, which works horribly because its an analog stick, not a button. The Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo d-pads work for moving slowl, but theyre still bad for SHMUPS since its hard to move diagonally or in a circle. However, the 8-direction Sega-style d-pad is perfect. You can move slowly to one side by clicking the d-pad repeatedly and easily move in 8 directions. I wish I could compare this to a vintage Saturn controller or the officially licensed Retro-bit Saturn controller for Switch, but I havent used either. I cant say if those are better or worse than those. All I know is that this blows away trying to play SHMUPS on a a DS4, Xbox One controller, or Switch Joy-cons(some people do actually like the DS2 for SHMUPS though, try if if you want :Þ). Games Ive tested on it include Radiant Silvergun in Retroarch, DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou in Retroarch, Ikaruga on PC, Touhou 16 on PC, Danmaku Unlimited 3 on Switch, Gunbird 2 on Switch, and Aero Fighters 2 on Switch. All controlled beautifully. A few things to note. For Retroarch I had to put it into Android mode(start+B). Windows mode(start+X) had a glitch where the R-button was just a duplicate of the Z-button and L wasnt recognized at all. For Touhou I had to put it into Windows mode and to use Joy2Key, since Joy2Key would not recognize Android mode. Both Android and Windows mode work with Steam, however, in Windows mode LB is mapped to L on the gamepad, LT to R, RB to Z, and RT to C. With Android mode its mapped like it is on the Switch where L is LB and R is RB, which makes way more sense. But the bottom line is, if Windows mode is not working right on PC then use Android mode, Windows will recognize either(note that I do not know if Android mode works in wired mode, I tested with bluetooth mode). Apparently one is Xinput and one is Dinput, hence the different compatibility. And of course, Joy2Key is always an option for games that refuse to recognize the gamepad like Touhou. I had no issues with it on Switch since the Switch lets you remap controls now. However, the manual doesnt tell you how to change the D-pad from emulating the left analog stick to emulating the D-pad, even though it does have that feature. Its so typical of retro stuff to put features in and not tell you they exist. The pad also worked great in the Sega Genesis classic collection on Switch with Sonic 2 and Streets of Rage 3, and it worked well with Sonic Mania. Ill have to try it with Streets of Rage 4 soon. So bottom line, I cant compare it to the officially licensed Retro-bit controllers for the Nintendo Switch, I just know this a really good gamepad on its own. And of course a vintage Saturn controller and an adapter is probably superior if youre serious about PC SHMUPS, but they wont work on Switch and will cost you more than this gamepad and lack bluetooth and the extra buttons. Also, while Retroarch, Steam, Joy2Key, and Switch all worked perfectly with this gamepad in the end, it did take some trial and error(that is the norm for anything other than Xbox controller/Windows and pro controller/Switch). Ill just say if you want a gamepad for PC and Switch thats great for SHMUPS and fighting games and classic Sega games, this works great.

Fantastic for playing shmups on my PC. Connects via Bluetooth to my Fire HD 10 tablet. The touch control emulation doesnt work, but it does play games which otherwise have controller support. Unfortunately, after using this I couldnt go back to using the d-pad on the Sn30 Pro controller for anything requiring precision. The face buttons do feel a bit cheap, but thats pretty normal even for the original Sega controllers. If youre looking for the best d-pad this M30 is worth considering.

Understand what this is. This is a third party controller that works for for multiple platforms. It will not be 100% perfect for your specific application. That said, its still very, very good. The build quality is top notch. I bought this controller to play fighting games on Switch. The D-pad is among the best Ive ever felt. 5 stars