Our friends at Retro-bit sent the SHIRO! crew several of their latest 2.4 GHz wireless pads to try out, and here is the rundown from yours truly. Purchase links are at the bottom of this review article.
Back in November of 2019, Retro-bit released their original 2.4Ghz wireless Saturn pads to much excitement and fairly decent reviews all around.
There were a few nitpicks here and there, but the overall design was a clear refinement of their previously released hardwired pads.
I myself, bought one the very minute they dropped on Amazon for $34.99 and basically lauded them as the first reasonable wireless solution at just a fraction of the going rate for a Japanese wireless infrared pad.
Fast forward several months, however, and I did start to notice a few things that I felt needed to see future improvement.
That’s not to say I haven’t been happy with my atomic blue Retro-bit pad, considering the reasonable cost, but I do have expectations for an updated pad…
First thing I noticed with my original blue pad was less than desirable battery life. I was lucky to get even 3 to 6 hours of gameplay before having to charge it.
Then charging the battery would often result in having to re-pair the pad with the receiver, which often proved equally problematic. At times, I might have spent longer trying to pair the pad and receiver than actually playing the games, and that was a real bummer for me. Then Retro-bit came along with a flashed firmware update for the wireless receiver, and my connections issues were a thing of the past.
In fact, even battery life seemed to drastically improve. I’m about 30 hours into Shining the Holy Ark, and the pad is still going strong… That kind of product support is very important to me, and it gives me peace of mind about my investment in Retro-bit’s products. The shoulder buttons were also a bit of a nitpick for me. While they were a marked improvement over Retro-bit’s wired pads, they still fell short of the OEM original.
So these were the issues I wanted fixed in a new and updated pad from Retro-bit:
- Ease of pairing (and re-pairing)
- Better Battery Life
- Better shoulder buttons
So… Were they able to deliver on those expectations? [SO FAR] I would definitely say YES. 🙂
Everything about the pad’s design and trim is almost imperceptibly identical to the OEM original. They’ve even added the US style SEGA Saturn logo with this latest black pad release. Visually they are stunning pads, and they feel rock solid in the hand. This was pretty much the same case with the first run.
There was never any perceivable latency that I could detect, and the same is true of this round. Even the most demanding shmups play identically over wireless or wired in my experience. (sure there is latency.., but I can’t tell) Then there’s the process of pairing the pad to the receiver. Easy-peezy… plug in receiver. Hold down button until it flashes quickly. Press start on pad. Done. Yay!!!
I was sure to disconnect and re-connect several times on two different Saturns for confirmation, and yes, it really is stupid-simple. Now, this improvement literally could be down to the updated firmware, as it’s still the same receiver, but either way… it works.
Then there’s the battery life. Perhaps the biggest reason for this delayed review is the fact that I needed to put in sufficient game time in order to put the battery through it’s paces. Well, I’ve continued my quest through Shining the Holy Ark, and I’ve enjoyed an entire week of lengthy JRPG grinding sessions without even once having to plug in the pad for a charge. I will, of course, continue to monitor battery performance, but for now, I stand pleasantly surprised. Again, this improvement could be down to better firmware, but I’m not complaining.
Lastly, there’s the shoulder buttons, which were never really hard to use on my original blue pad, but really came down to an issue of feel for me… In this latest update, there is indeed a perceivable improvement to the overall clicky-ness and feel of the shoulder buttons. It’s quite noticeable, actually. The blue pad, which certainly felt better than their original wired pads, now feels soft by comparison with this newest release.
Now, comparing the new Retro-bit pad side-by-side with an OEM SEGA pad, there’s still a slight difference, but it’s so close now that I don’t notice when actually using the pad. All things considered, I have absolutely no problem recommending this as the new de-facto wireless solution for Saturn gamers. Say what you will about Retro-bit and their previous products, but they listened to our feedback and made the necessary changes. They put in the work, and it really shows. I am proud to own and display these pads and use them as my daily drivers.
In closing, all I can say is that this truly is a great time to be a SEGA Saturn fan and gamer! Cheers -SaturnDave
Where to buy?
These pads can be purchased from Amazon, as well as from Castlemania.
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