It goes back to when I purchased the Super Retro-Cade console, mainly because it contained a few games I'd always wanted a licensed copy of for my collection. A budget emulator console with some flaws and limitations one of which is that it didn't work with a lot of popular controllers. So I took a gamble and got these. Comparing them to my actual vintage 6 button Sega Genesis controllers they are virtually indistinguishable (haven't taken them apart to compare the guts) other than the cord. They feel great in your hands, especially if you had nostalgia for the ergonomic Sega style controllers (far superior to anything Nintendo had at the time, yes, even the SNES). The only downside of using these with the Retro-cade is that they don't seem to respond to re-configuring of the buttons. Of course you can use them on your PC which is how most will use them, for emulation.

Some have complained about the 'floating d-pad' of these controllers, but honestly it is the same as my vintage 6 button pads for Sega Genesis from the 1990s.

I would personally always prefer to plug in my vintage controllers to a real vintage console (or retro console that uses cartridges and not emulation) on my crt tv, but when I am using the Retro-cade these I prefer to the ones that came with it (those hybrid sega/nintendo thingies). The lack of proper reconfiguration is a limitation of the console not the controller. The cord length is just right (many retro consoles get bashed on because they tend to be shorter than their North American counterparts, I guess because Japanese consoles tended to be smaller and had shorter cords I guess so you would be sitting closer to a smaller screen, that's my guess). I also was able to plug them into a USB multi-port hub (self powered) and they still worked.

The floating circle type D-pad is good. But in my opinion I prefer D-pads that use the traditional D-pad "cross" type, for example the SNES or PS1 controllers. I was able to pull off special and super moves in SFA3 somewhat consistently with The Retro-Bit Official Sega Genesis USB Controller. It does have a advantage against most other controllers in the button layout department because all six buttons are on the face of the controller for fighting games that require 6 buttons. For Ninja Gaiden the D-pad worked okay but not as precise as the two controllers I recommend getting below. So I bought two The Retro-Bit Official Sega Genesis USB Controller one black and one blue one. For some reason the D-pad felt definitely more sloppy and could definitely tell the diff between this blue and the black one of the same model. The jumping sequences in the Classic Ninja Gaiden weren't doable without making mistake versus the using the black one. So I threw the blue one is in the trash. The black one works good I'm sure it was just a fluke by the way.

My are my three favorite retro controllers:

8Bitdo SN30 Pro+ Bluetooth capable and a great D-pad.

For a cheaper alternative and the D-pad is also great, the iNNEXT 2 Pack SNES Retro USB Super gamepad.

Great controller, feels like the original from back in the day with an extra button on top. This works flawlessly with the Sega Genesis mini (Street Fighter!), and also when using RetroPie or other emulated games on PC. Connected it to my Nintendo Switch to see it it worked, but no dice. Good product for what it was designed for and would purchase again.

Grandson loved it

Very good product for Sega genesis emulator, so far they have done the job.