Saturn Sega Saturn Twin Stick

[SpikeSlania]

I have been eying these on Ebay and debating on it. I know it has support baked into Virtua On for it and I think the english fan translation of Bulk Slash has added support. Not sure if any other game supports this. Has anyone here ever used one and can say it is the definitive way to play Virtua On and Bulk Slash? I did order a Fight Stick for those games but now wondering if I would be missing out on an even better experience with using the Twin Sticks.

 

[Lisreal3399]

I personally found the base controller to feel better and, in general, it was more intuitive compared to the twin stick for me in Bulk Slash. However, I don't have much experience with twin stick games in general, so there could've been a lack of experience issue on my end. I will say that for Bulk Slash, the game controls great with the Saturn pad, but they have multiple control types to select from, and I believe I found control type B to be the best way to play Bulk Slash.

 

[Nuxx.exe]

I've only ever played Virtual-On in the arcade, and if it plays the same way at home, I think it's worth it

 

[HydraSavior]

I knew a guy who was serious (like, Serious) about getting the performance edge the rare dual sticks (not dual analog sticks) gave you on the...gosh, was it the Xbox 360 port of a Virtual On? Anyway, he claims he asked everyone who was actually able to beat him if they had a dual stick setup. And they all said yes, apparently.

So this guy I knew would have said there was an actual, competitive edge. But it's a "will you get the mileage out of these things to be worth it" question, I suppose. If you've got the money and are going to play those games a heck of a lot, maybe. But if it's just a passing interest I'd say skip 'em.

Of course, there's also the problem of The Power. Will you master them...or will they master YOU?

 

[SpikeSlania]

I knew a guy who was serious (like, Serious) about getting the performance edge the rare dual sticks (not dual analog sticks) gave you on the...gosh, was it the Xbox 360 port of a Virtual On? Anyway, he claims he asked everyone who was actually able to beat him if they had a dual stick setup. And they all said yes, apparently.

So this guy I knew would have said there was an actual, competitive edge. But it's a "will you get the mileage out of these things to be worth it" question, I suppose. If you've got the money and are going to play those games a heck of a lot, maybe. But if it's just a passing interest I'd say skip 'em.

Of course, there's also the problem of The Power. Will you master them...or will they master YOU?

Well to answer the part of money, I did recently waste the money on getting a MPEG card for my Saturn just for Lunar :p Now the part of interest I am a huge mecha fan and don't mind exploring new ways to play some of my favorite kinds of games. Also found out the Gundam Gaiden games also has support for the Twin Sticks. I now wish someone would hack in support for Gungriffon for Twin Stick support since it's sequel has it baked in.

 

[NotReallyHere]

I took the dive on one of these about a decade ago - and have never regretted it!

However, I loooooove Virtual-On. It's one of my all-time favorite games, and probably the single game I've dropped the most quarters on in the arcade over the years, too.

So, for me, it was worth it just to use with one game. But I would say it all comes down to how much you like Virtual-On. The twin sticks don't necessarily make the game easier to play, but they do replicate the arcade feel, much like using the Saturn Arcade Racer with OutRun and Sega Rally. If that's what you're after, I'd say go for it

As for GunGriffon 2, it is worth a try with the Twin Sticks, but it isn't quite the game-changer it could be. Never tried it with Bulk Slash. And I believe the sticks also work with a few of the Gundam games...?

As for shopping, be sure to either find an eBay seller that has import fees built-in to their shipping rates, or look elsewhere and be prepared to eat some extra charges. For most of my import needs, I use Suruga-ya:

https://www.suruga-ya.com/en

They FREQUENTLY offer free shipping promos, sitewide. It can be a killer way to order consoles, larger controllers, joysticks, etc. But you will eat a $18 import charge from DHL, plus about 10% of your order total in tariffs. But their prices are usually lower than eBay, and with free shipping, it may work out more in your favor, even with the import costs.

Happy shopping!

 

[SpikeSlania]

Well I pulled the trigger on it and ordered one. Who knows what this controller could lead to. Could end up leading me to even more impulse buys; next thing you know I'm getting a Dreamcast with Virtua On and that Twin Stick before spending next years tax return on a Xbox, Steel Battalion, and that big ass controller which is definitely one of my mech game dreams :p

@NotReallyHere I did check out your site but didn't find any Twin Sticks in the search. Did see the Mission Stick, the train simulator controller, and a way over priced Retro-Bit that we can buy new on Amazon for like $30 for around $200 :p

 

[NotReallyHere]

I did check out your site but didn't find any Twin Sticks in the search. Did see the Mission Stick, the train simulator controller, and a way over priced Retro-Bit that we can buy new on Amazon for like $30 for around $200 :p

Their search is a little finnicky, too. Most of the items on the English site are machine translated, which can lead to some sterile, specific results. You have to pretty much type in vague search terms to get the best results, then go a' siftin'. Still, it can be a fantastic place to pick up retro games and tech for cheap, particularly vintage items. It's the newer items that tend to get the markup, as you saw.

Also, bear in mind that there's always regional differences in prices! What may be a common item here may not be so common overseas. That happens with a lot of classic games. Fatal Fury 2 for the Genesis / Mega Drive springs to mind. Fairly affordable here in the US, but it's one of the rarest Mega Drive games in Europe.

As always, it is wise to shop around

Congrats on the pickup!! Let us know what you think, once you've had a chance to put it through its paces a little bit

 

[SpikeSlania]

Their search is a little finnicky, too. Most of the items on the English site are machine translated, which can lead to some sterile, specific results. You have to pretty much type in vague search terms to get the best results, then go a' siftin'. Still, it can be a fantastic place to pick up retro games and tech for cheap, particularly vintage items. It's the newer items that tend to get the markup, as you saw.

Also, bear in mind that there's always regional differences in prices! What may be a common item here may not be so common overseas. That happens with a lot of classic games. Fatal Fury 2 for the Genesis / Mega Drive springs to mind. Fairly affordable here in the US, but it's one of the rarest Mega Drive games in Europe.

As always, it is wise to shop around

Congrats on the pickup!! Let us know what you think, once you've had a chance to put it through its paces a little bit

Yeah, Twin Stick came up with nothing so did Sega Saturn Controller to find what I did. So it will just be waiting for the Japanese seller to box up and ship it out to me which should give me plenty of time to decide if I want to play Bulk Slash or Virtua On with it first :P