Recommend a good gamepad to use with the Atari VCS

[Jehovah Savile]

I used the classic joystick back in the day, but when I got back into the 8 bit era at the turn of the century, I had moved on to gamepads and used an Amstrad GX4000 one (!) to play on a VCS. Now a few years later, I would like recommendations for other game controllers with the d-pad and fire buttons that work well on the machine. What do you use to play VCS games with?

[RickR]

Sega Genesis pads work fine.

[+Karl G]

I think any Sega Genesis compatible gamepads should work. Use the "B" button to fire. If using with the Harmony, hold down the "B" button when starting up the Atari to make sure it is detected correctly. Some classic games have been hacked to use a second button on these gamepads (the "C" button), and some homebrews can make use of this button as well, if available.

 

Here are the cheap ones I got off Amazon that work fine for me:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EAM862S/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[chuckwalla]

Exactly, the Sega Genesis controller works great for many games.

[Eltigro]

Yep... Genesis has a great d-pad and comfortable to use. If you want a nicer joystick, get one of the Genesis arcade sticks. I use this with Ms Pac Man and it works great.

[Flojomojo]

Agreed with the previous four people. Sega Genesis controllers all the way.

[Jehovah Savile]

Ta for the replies. So it seems the Genesis pads are the solution then.

 

I think any Sega Genesis compatible gamepads should work. Use the "B" button to fire. If using with the Harmony, hold down the "B" button when starting up the Atari to make sure it is detected correctly. Some classic games have been hacked to use a second button on these gamepads (the "C" button), and some homebrews can make use of this button as well, if available.

 

 

Is there a list online of the games that have been hacked to take advantage of this second button? Sounds interesting.

[RevEng]

Check out the "rom hacks to support 2 buttons with genesis controllers" thread.

[AW127]

Here you find the Pin-layouts of the different systems which all use DB9 connectors:

http://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/DB9-Joystick

 

If you want to be on the safe side with Mega-Drive controllers on other systems, you should mod their Pin-layout, that nothing can be damaged when you use them on Atari, C64, Amiga and so on. C64 is most sensitive here, but also on other systems, Mega-Drive pads should not be used without modding. Look at the linked side. Bad thing is, when you modd such a Mega-Drive controller, then you should not use it on the Mega-Drive again. Therefore i would recommend a good adapter, then you dont need to change anything on the Pins.

 

There are different good adapters on the market, which allows connecting different controllers on C64, Atari and Amiga. Some for Playstation-controllers, some for SNES controllers and also some for Mega-Drive controllers which have a diode-protection and also switchable buttonmappings (for example - "jump" on a button instead of "steering up" and so on).

Edited March 4, 2018 by AW127