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

I grew up playing fighters, and the standard control scheme was light, medium, and heavy for each attack type. For those with 6 button genesis controllers or arcade sticks, this was easy to do, but it was awkward for the SNES controller that had shoulder buttons. Most modern controllers descend from the SNES controller layout (due to the Playstation using it, as Nintendo and Sony collaborated on it), so it is less than fun when going back and revisiting fighters or classic Sega games. I got two of these to use with a Raspberry Pi running RetroPie, and it is great. For Sega games, I can play them how I always did, and for games that use the 4 button control scheme, I can play those just as well, making use of the shoulder buttons here and just A, B, X, and Y buttons. It is well constructed, connects easily, charges using USB-C, and is super comfortable. Id definitely recommend them to anyone who is interested.

Back in February I bought 2 of Retro-Bits Bluetooth SEGA Saturn controllers over these because of SEGAs official branding, but later found what a mess I would end up with since at first they had to do a Firmware update so they can connect back to your PC after they went to sleep. After the Firmware update they then were always Connected instead of going back to Paired after going to sleep which would conflict with other controllers from acting as Controller 1 in some games and programs such as MAME. Retro-Bit still has yet to fix the issue after countless emails and tweets made out to them where they left it as their team couldnt replicate the issue. Later on the right d-pad broke, which proves theyre made cheap. So after that nightmare, I bought 2 of these by 8bitdo, and they worked like a charm on everything. They turn off when you need them to, and turn back on without any extra Firmware. It reads just like an XBOX One controller with A, B, X, Y in the same places while C & Z reads as Left & Right Trigger. L & R reads as LB & RB. These controllers dont conflict with any other controllers either. Just wish I knew all this sooner before dumbing around and falling for something just because it had SEGAs brand associated to it thinking it was a better quality when it actually wasnt.

I bought this controller specifically for use with my Raspberry Pi/Retropie setup for my Genesis/32X games. A couple of tips: *1: When you go to sync your controller for Retropie use the Nintendo Switch syncing option. Hold Start + Y on the M30 to begin the syncing process and then choosing the Register Bluetooth option in Retropie. *2: Once the controller has been successfully synched and you go to map the buttons in Retropie use the picture Ive provided to map your buttons to have a perfectly mapped Genesis/32X 6 button controller. Took me all of 5 minutes to get this controller up and running for Retropie. Ive used it a lot and have had no dropped synching. It feels fantastic in my hands. Very solid. Not cheap. All the buttons feel high quality. Im very pleased with the controller and recommend it 100%

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.

This is a long review, and so I’ve listed a TL;DR summary up front here for anyone who doesn’t have the patience to read my whole review. This controller is well designed, feels great, and scratches a nostalgia itch very well. However, the button configuration translates so bizarrely to the control scheme of the Nintendo Switch, that it makes playing games extremely uncomfortable. The layout of this controllers is not analogous to the buttons on the Switch, and while it’s physically well built and comfortable to hold, it’s really very hard to recommend it for anything beyond a very niche set of games that works well despite the button layout. Full Review: Oh man, I have a lot to say about this controller. First and foremost, I want to express that this is more of a first impressions review, and I’ll update it in the future if continued use changes any of my opinions. However, this is a new product, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people out there like me who depend on reviews before they purchase most products, so I wanted to get something up right away to help those shoppers. It’s also primarily a review geared towards Nintendo Switch owners. I did sync it up to my Mac for review purposes, and it synced up and worked great, but I didn’t put much time into it. First, the good. The build on this controller is everything I wanted and more. It’s like the physical version of an HD remaster of an old video game: it’s all the nostalgia and memories you love but re-built from the ground up with the bells and whistles of the modern day. In other words, this feels like I remember Sega controllers feeling but it’s better in every way. If you grew up with a Sega Genesis and/or a Sega Saturn (which is why, I assume, you’re interested in purchasing the M30), everything feels right at home. The floaty d-pad feels flexible yet responsive, and the buttons have just the right amount of give and “clickyness”. The triggers also fall in the right spot, and the entire controllers fits perfectly in my moderately sized hands. Though a lack of ergonomic handles holds it back in comfort compared to a modern controller, I think it’s the most comfortable retro-style controller I’ve ever used. I’d rank this above the Genesis, Saturn, NES and SNES controllers (including 8bitdo’s SNES-inspired SN30 Pro). For certain games, it works like a dream. I booted up Sonic Mania first and felt a rush of nostalgia. I’m even considering buying 8bitdo’s Sega Genesis bluetooth receiver so I can play the classic Sonic games the same way. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also felt perfectly natural, and I assume any game with control schemes limited to 1 button or 1 button + shoulder buttons would work well. Puyo Puyo Tetris also felt good, though I imagine your mileage may vary based on how much you like the floating D-pad. Obviously any game that requires two analogue sticks won’t work here. That said, the D-pad registers as an analogue stick, so if you don’t need the right stick for camera control, this controller will still work. For reference, it worked for controlling characters in Smash Bros Ultimate (more on that below), though taunts were inaccessible. I even booted up Breath of the Wild to try it, and it does work for moving Link around! Obviously you couldn’t play the game with this controller though. Unfortunately, there’s one major issue that prevents it from being a perfect Switch controller the way, one that other retro-styled 8bitdo bluetooth controllers don’t have a problem with: the button layout. On a PC or Mac, where the buttons can be reconfigured, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the ABC XYZ layout of the Genesis/Saturn 6-button controller clearly doesn’t translate to the SNES layout the Switch uses. For reference, the M30/Switch layout is as follows: M30=Switch -A=B -B=A -Y=X -X=Y -Z=L (I might have mixed these two up) -C=R (I might have mixed these two up) -L=ZL -R=ZR Basically, this means that the buttons match the layout of the Switch joycons/pro controller, which means that button letters don’t match, and the layout is similar even though this controller is designed very differently. This leads to some muscle memory issues, as well as some game controls feeling very bizarre. If you sit and actually think this out in your head, you’ll see that it technically makes sense, at least on paper. While the ABXY buttons might be totally mixed up, they still follow the basic shape of the buttons, while the top-most triggers have transitioned to the top-most face buttons. But this isn’t nearly as elegant of a solution as it sounds on paper, and there is a lot of trouble overcoming muscle memory for any game that requires quick input of multiple buttons. Even if you can get over the fact that A=B and B=a, the fact that the X and Y buttons are different sizes and in different locations compared to the joycons/pro controller really makes hitting those buttons feel awkward. And that’s saying nothing about the fact that L and R are now face buttons, something I imagine would only be beneficial in specific fighting games. Just to name a few examples of the issues I ran into: 1) In Smash Bros Ultimate, using the Z and C buttons for grabs feels very weird, and takes travel time for the fingers. 2) In Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, using rolls no longer feels smooth, since my fingers now have to specifically travel upwards away from the jump buttons to the X and Y buttons. 3) In Celeste, a game which requires extremely precise movements, the swapping of A and B really threw off my groove. I could have re-mapped controls in that game, or used the X/Y buttons, but the former seems inconvenient and the later would have the same problem as listed above with Donkey Kong. The D-pad did work surprisingly comfortably for this game though, as did the triggers. So in summary, this controller is a mixed bag. I really want to love it because it designed very well, and feels great. When the layout works for a game, it feels great to use. Something with only one button like Sonic Mania works great, as do games like Mario Kart which only require one face button in addition to the triggers. However, the layout just doesn’t fit the layout of the Switch controllers and thus every other game feels awkward to control. It’s an extremely niche controller and I’d have a hard time recommending it to anyone without very specific games they wanted to use it for. In fact, I think I would have rather bought the 2.4G wireless version they made for the Sega Genesis, since this one will get very little use on my Nintendo Switch.

Kinda hard to use with games that require to press button combinations, because of the mismatching button sizes. From the rest, it connects very easily, comes with USB cable for charging, overall its a solid controller.

Ive been using an arcade stick for quite some time for UMVC3 and thought this would be fun for playing on the go. Unfortunately, this isnt recognized by iPad to play on Steam Link. It works great with direct BT connection to PC, very responsive and easy to configure. However I would not recommend this controller for fast-paced fighting games (maybe slower ones like street fighter), or maybe I just need a lot more practice to get used to the D-Pad. Performing QCF or QCB is not as smooth as Id like it to be, but it can be done. Basically, the D-pad is a little firm on the button press, personally, it isnt ideal for really quick inputs.

Honestly, not much to say beyond I prefer this over the original controllers. Not the case for the SNES controllers (aside from bluetooth convenience) but for the M30 youd be a fool to not get a total crush on that dpad. The texture is fantastic, the action is smooth, and the controller just feels so right. Congrats 8Bitdo, youve outdone yourself. The positives of this over the SNES controllers is this has extra buttons that can be mapped if playing on an emulator. Considering my Sega CD quit and I havent bothered repairing it. Ive been playing on my PC and this has more than enough buttons to do everything on it. I wish the SNES controllers had tiny secondary shoulder buttons or at least a menu button (the SNES Pro controllers have menu buttons) but whats done is done. This controller is fantastic any way you use it, so use it.

I primarily bought this controller for the Sega Ages games coming for and on the Nintendo Switch. It pairs and works on different things like android, PC, Switch, and Steam similar to most of 8bitdos products. The build of the controller is as solid as I expected it to be, light but doesnt feel cheap. The buttons feel great, similar to the 6 button Genesis controller and the same can be said about the D-Pad (which is a major plus). This D-pad is fantastic imo, a HUGE improvement from the other controllers I have from them (the SN30Pro), barely any misread inputs from left or right going up or down instead. One main caveat for using this on the Switch is that it follows the Nintendo button layout (so A on this controller is B and X on this controller is Y, and the Z and C buttons are mapped to L and R while the L and R buttons on the controller are mapped to ZL and ZR). Plus the D-Pad is apparently detected as an analouge stick instead of a D-Pad/the 4 directional buttons so that might cause some problems with some games. This isnt a huge problem for the Sega Ages games since you can remap the buttons if need be but if you plan to use this controller for a game that doesnt let you remap your buttons then it could be a problem. (And the Z and C buttons are mapped to L and R while the L and R buttons on the controller are mapped to ZL and ZR) Using this controller on Steam works pretty great using X-input (and Big Picture Mode) too. Overall, this is probably 8bitdos best controller so far. I know that Retro-Bit are also releasing original cased wireless Sega Genesis and Saturn controllers in the future (who knows when) that will also work with the Switch, but for $30 this is hard to beat and is a great for all the Sega Ages games that are planned for the Nintendo Switch and Sonic Mania.

Built like the timeless Sega Genesis 6 button controller; Works perfectly with Steam on PC via Bluetooth X-Input. I use it for SFV/SF Collection and other fighting games. Button layout matches with default Capcom Type A Controller settings. Many hours of strenuous use on my PC without any issues whatsoever... unlike my Retro-Bit Sega Saturn 2.4 Ghz controller. I had many issues using the Retro-Bit Saturn controller on my PC where the 1st defective item received had the d-pad shut off randomly, and the 2nd defective item received had the button layout randomly change. It was also a pain in the ass to map the buttons on Steam. 8Bitdo > Retro-Bit