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

Great for all your 2D games. I use mine to play SNES/Genesis ROMs and the Sonic 1/2 mobile ports; have been for well over a year now. The Bluetooth connection is always reliable, the range of use is good, the battery life is more than satisfactory, and the overall feel of the controller is great. The face buttons feel just like the classic Sega 6-button Genesis controller. If any improvements were to be made, they should be fixing the D-pad such that you cant press the entire thing down at once, like the original controller. I would also advocate for a longer cable to be shipped with it; even one extra foot would make a big difference to me, since my PC doesnt support Bluetooth for some reason and I have to connect via USB to play. (The cable that comes with it is, what, 3 feet or so?) Neither of these issues are that big of a deal and they dont affect my opinion of the product much. 8bitdo kicks ass and I will be picking up their SN30 Pro+ controller as soon as I can. Just one question: is it 8-bit-dough, or 8-bit-doo?

I pre-ordered this controller after having a wonderful time with the SF30 PRO gamepad. As much as I love using the SF30 PRO for PC to play games its not very comfortable or as useful to play fighting games as a sega genesis controller would be. Which is why I went after this the moment I saw it and the price range was amazing. Favorite part about this controller is the build quality. The battery helps with the weight but the choice of plastic, texture, and silicone bumpers under buttons are the way youd expect. 8bitdo emulated the sega Dpad faithfully and it feels like the feedback from the SN30/SF30 controllers button mash feel was recieved because the ABC/XYZ buttons feel a bit more mushy and dont make that thump click the SN30/SF30 does. Only small issue I had from initial use straight-out-of-box was bluetooth connection quality. For some reason the first time I synced with my computer and played my first games my bluetooth signal was about 2ft-3ft in length. stretching out to 3ft resulted in input lag and not registering every button press, or itd just disconnect itself. Since then I have not noticed an issue.

Im so happy to finally own a Bluetooth controller, especially one in a 6 button style like the Megadrive and Saturn. The build quality seems solid, and even though my box was a little banged up on delivery, the controller held tough. Connecting is easy and lag free on my phone. the only problem: Holding the Start Button for 2 seconds turns on&off the controller. This isnt a problem often, but some games (namely mortal kombat II) involve holding the Start button, controller disconnect. This means you need to remap the start button to something else if youre using a custom emulator. Also, in the same vein of remapping, for some reason, the star button (switch screenshot button) cant be remapped? even if Im not hooked up to the switch, it just acts like the button isnt connected? If I need to remap buttons away from start, I need every option I can get. I do not understand why the Start button needed to be the power button, when theres an unused(?) button on the top (presumably a sync button? but the controller has pre programmed sync instructions and does not need it) if theres a firmware update to allow an option to change this, itd be very appreciated.

Update: I randomly decided to sync it up to my switch a second time and for whatever reason it worked perfectly this time with no input lag. I bought this specifically for the genesis collection on switch and it’s unfortunate that version doesn’t offer button remapping, meaning the “C” button will be the “Y” button in most three button games. It’s a minor adjustment to get used to as this controller is far better than the original genesis pad and offers an excellent dpad, perfect button layout and sturdy, high quality grip. I highly recommend this pad for retro pc and switch enthusiasts, the fact the genesis collection on switch doesn’t offer button remapping is hardly the fault of the controller. Battery lasts a good long time and recharging is easy. Note: if you do get input lag just resync the controller a second time and it should be fine. Another incredible, high quality retro controller from 8bitdo.

Was looking for a good controller to pair with my 2019 SHIELD to play some Saturn games via Yaba Sanshiro. After trying another brands officially licensed Sega controller, I was left very disappointed by build quality and Bluetooth input response time. I can already say that this 8bitdo controller is light years better in all regards compared to other controllers Ive tried. Setup and mapping was a breeze and the controller shipped with the latest firmware (1.14 at the time of this review) already installed. The controller feels solid in hand and buttons are super responsive and have the right amount of spring to them. I dont notice any kind of Bluetooth lag or connectivity issues sitting about six feet away from my SHIELD. USB-C charging is a major plus in my book too. I honestly dont have any negatives to speak of, everything from the packaging to the operation and feel of the controller is pretty perfect. If youre looking to do some retro Sega gaming, I highly recommend this pad.

Ever since I got a Switch a few months ago Ive been on a quest to find a decent pro controller. Im not a big gamer but I enjoy playing many of the old school games and modern side scrollers. My favorite games are Street Fighter 2 (totally recommend Ultra) and Ghost n Goblins Resurrection. Both of these games require a good D-pad or gameplay can be severely hampered. Surprisingly its been pretty hard to find a controller with a decent D-Pad. The stock ones that come with the Switch are just no good; its not even a D-pad, just four buttons. Ive tried hooking up the Wii Pro controller to the Switch with the 8Bitdo adapter and that was decent but not great. I tried a budget Switch Pro controller and it wasnt very good. Then I tried the 8Bitdo Genesis Bluetooth controller for Switch. It was great because it has the six buttons up front which is great for fighting games but the D-pad while good still leaves a lot to be desired. The problem on modern D-pads is often you get up/down triggered when pressing R/L. In SF2 that can affect your ability to pull off special moves considerably. Id say with this controller I can pull off the moves I want maybe 70% percent of the time as opposed to the budget $15 Switch Pro controller maybe 50-60% of the time. I do wish 8Bitdo made this compatible with their software to reprogram the buttons like they do with their pro controllers; not sure why this would be any different than them. As many have said Sega has the X/Y and A/B buttons reversed from the Switch and in default mode its set to the Switch way which affects playing older Sega games. Luckily there is an easy button press combo that allows you to flip that. Im not sure why its not mentioned in the instructions but its shown in many of the reviews here already so I wont include it. By default this controller has the D-pad mapped to the Lt analog stick but you can change it back to D-pad with a quick button press as well. I find this helped a lot in fighters and decreasing the amount of up/down motions that occurred when pressing R/L but didnt eliminate them completely. Overall this is a good controller for what it is and I like that it has the six upfront button. Its really a good controller for the price but wont be my go to default controller for sure. Ive since gotten the YCCTEAM Wireless Pro Controller and its D-pad is much more accurate. I do prefer the six buttons up front on this controller for fighters compared to the Switch Pro standard design, but the more accurate D-pad on the YCCTEAM Wireless Pro Controller makes it my go to for fighting games. Ill keep the 8bitdo one for playing Sega games and maybe some fighting games and possibly the Genesis Mini since it should be doable with the adapter. If they improved the D-Pad and made this compatible with their remapping software it would be absolutely perfect IMO.

I love this controller! Its like the Saturn model 2 pad with much better L and R buttons. The Dpad is might be my favorite on any controller ever, and the face buttons have a quick reset time. The feel of this controller is fantastic the finish of the plastic on the shell and the dpad make this product seem very premium. The USB-C port is appreciated as someone that usually plays wired. There are a couple things 8BitDo can do on a second revision to make this perfect. 1 - when pressed hard the dpad makes a loud creaking noise, this is an easy fix by placing a buffer between the top and bottom pieces of the dpad.(thanks Reddit user Styl0s) 2 - the button mapping for x input mode is strange I would love to be able to customize it. Please make a wired version 8BitDo!

I mainly use this for playing Sonic games on my Switch, but Nintendos controls feel a bit awkward with other games without button remapping so I think its best used as a PC controller if you want to get the full use out of this. I dont play a lot of fighting games but I know its set up very well for that, and the buttons and and controller overall feel quite comfortable.

I have a few 8bitdo controllers and the M30 is by far my favorite. As a huge Sega fan from back in the day, I love that the dpad mimics the one found on the Genesis 6-button pad and the button layoutmatches both that pad and the Saturn controller. This one adds extra buttons for modern gamers that also accomodate its use on the Nintendo Switch. Personally I dont use it on that platform, I use it often on a Windows 10 computer and sometimes on a couple of Raspberry Pis. This isnt a controller Id recommend for modern games since it lacks analog sticks and has a different button layout. However, if youre into playing classic games via emulation, I think this is about the best controller you can get right now. Its responsive, easy to connect, works over either a wired or bluetooth connection, and when using it wirelessly you get more than respectable battery life. If youre looking for a controller for retrogaming that is suitable for multiple older platforms, then look no further, this is the one to get.

I bought this because the dpad looks like a good clone of the excellent dpad found on the Sega Saturn, and indeed, it feels pretty close. Rolling it around gives the same tactile sensation as the Sega Saturns dpad - with the exception of up-left being mushy. That was my first red flag. You can also push it straight down like a button, which isnt a red flag for me (you can do that with the NES dpad, and that things excellent). So, I paired it with my PC and fired up the original Street Fighter II (arcade version) on an emulator and... I couldnt pull off hadoukens with any form of consistency. It takes me several tries just to get one. Shoryukens are more consistent, for some reason. I thought it might just be the game, but then I connected my Xbox One controller, and that was far more consistent, though still not as good as the actual Saturn controller. Overall, its pretty good for games that dont require command inputs, like platformers, shmups, etc. So, the feel is there, but accuracy is not. The rest of the controller is mostly okay. The material, shape, and weight feel excellent. Most of the buttons are good, but the membrane quality is inconsistent. The R button isnt quite as tactile and springy as the L button, and then theres the aforementioned issue with the up-left position on the dpad. Strangely, pressing hard on the X button causes the button to recess past the travel of the membrane, making me believe that the PCB is flexing. So, overall decent, but the dpad is a deal breaker for me, and I will be returning this controller. Ill be looking into Retro-Bits Sega Saturn replica controller, and hope I have better luck with that.