Joyzz by Krikzz

[strygo]

He's shown samples for a while now, but as of today these wireless Sega Genesis / Master System controllers are finally available. I ordered one of the transparent black ones and now I get to wait for 4 weeks before it finally arrives, but I'm stoked. It's a tad on the pricey side, but if it lives up to his quality, I'll be quite pleased.

I previously avoided wireless and instead opted for genuine controllers with extension cables. This works pretty well, but after picking up a couple of the 8bitdo ones, I've gotten comfortable with high quality replacements. Here's to hoping it lives up to his high standards.

[tjstogy]

Looking forward to trying it!

Here's the link: https://krikzz.com/store/home/52-master-everdrive.html

[strygo]

Oops, I suppose I should have included that. Krikzz told me on Twitter that the Joyzz as well as more EverDrives will be available from Amazon in the near future for folks who don't want the uncertainty of an overseas shipment to the US (notable for any Americans here).

[DemoNight]

Saturn version soon plz

[FinalBaton]

Looking forward to see just how good the buttons and dpad are. The Sega pads are damn good, so the bar is high! If those are as good then I'll probably pick a few

[Xyga]

Very interesting but pricey!

[Dochartaigh]

I'll wait for the reviews to come in. So many bad knock-offs of the Genesis/Saturn controllers out there I'm assuming it needs some pretty tight tolerances and the correct materials used to be cloned properly (closest is the Hyperkin which I still find to be a lot stiffer - especially in the buttons). I'm hopeful though.

[PixelDharma]

Very cool. I’m in the market for any wireless controllers for retro consoles that recreate the original form factor. I already have a full 2 player set of 8bitdo for NES and SNES.

The only thing that gives me pause is that retrobit has officially licensed Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast bluetooth controllers coming soon. I want to have impressions on both options.

[guut]

To all who still want to get a good wireless controller for the Mega Drive / Genesis, I can highly recommend the new controller from Krikzz. With about 60 € not cheap, but 100% worth it in my opinion.
I ordered the controller directly from his website and is today after about a week without problems from Ukraine, arrived at my place
The controller comes in a simple but attractive packaging. This includes the controller, as well as receiver. Controller & receiver were already "paired", so could start directly.

Controller feels great in the hand, control pad is precise, Buttons also feel good. Everything makes a valuable impression. According to the website, the battery is expected to be fully charged for up to 150 hours. I'm curious if this really holds so long.
Apparently the controller is never really "off", but switches automatically after a few minutes into power-saving mode. This can also be activated by button combination immediately. As soon as a button on the controller is pressed, it is active again.

Also via button combination, the following compatibility modes can be activated:
3-Button-Mode for games that are only compatible with a 3 Button Controller (as example Golden Axe II)
SMS Controller Mode for Sega Master System Games via Mega Drive / Genesis

[BrianC]

How does the Joyzz react towards Forgotten Worlds in 3 button mode? The Hyperkin controller reacts oddly and treats button b as a pause button. However, all the other problem games I tried with it worked when I properly held the mode button before turning the system on.

I noticed some controllers react differently. Forgotten Worlds doesn't do the usual Game Over thing with the Ascii 6 button joystick in 6 button mode, but the controls act funny instead. That controller is also fine with the game in 3 button mode.

[James-F]

Here's my review:

Plastic is high quality and does not crick and crack when the controller twisted, very solid.
Buttons have the right balance between clicky and mushy, very similar to modern controllers.
Rubber domes have excellent quality, really well done.
Buttons do not rattle, except the x,y,z buttons which are slightly looser.
PCB is very high quality as expected from Krizz.
The 2.4GHz wireless connection is rock solid and instantaneous, unlike bluetooth that takes time to sync.

Here are the shortcomings in my mind that hopefully fixed in the next revision:

The D-Pad is slanted only on the controller mold but NOT on the PCB, I think something went wrong with the controller or D-Pad mold.
I do not actually notice that it is slanted during gameplay, only when I look at it, so not big issue.

EDIT: The D-Pad shaft is slightly twisted in relation to the arrows, this is definitely a defect.
Not only the controller d-pad mold is slightly angles (by design) but the d-pad shaft too, combined result in a too much twist of the d-pad.
For 65$ I expect krikzz to fix this ASAP.

It passes the Street Fighter II moves execution test with flying colors.
It is the best Sega 6 button controller in my collection as of now.
Overall feels great and plays great, definitely recommended (after krikzz fixes the d-pad).

85/100 for d-pad defect.



Original Joyzz:
Slanted D-Pad from mold defect.

Spoiler

Joyzz PCB:
Straight d-pad contacts.

Spoiler

Defective Joyzz D-Pad:
You can clearly see it's not centered.

Spoiler

Fixed D-Pad:
I replaced the d-pad from Hyperkin GN6, now it's fixed.

Spoiler

I expect Krikzz to fix this ASAP, and send new D-Pad's free of charge to people how already bought one with the defect.

[tjstogy]

Seems like a simple enough problem to fix on his end. Is there a mode button??

[Konsolkongen]

The original Sega 6 button controller has a slanted d-pad as well, so that’s definitely not a design error.

The controller looks good, and if it feels like the original I should get one, as it’s the best controller ever made. I don’t like his logo though, it’s ugly

[James-F]

The original controller is slightly slanted but nowhere near the amout of the first joyzz release, just google some pics.
I clearly showed a picture with the defect in the d-pad shaft.
This is an easy fix and I expect krikzz to send new dpads to people who already bought one.

Yes there is a mode button but you dont need it as joyzz can switch to a 3button mode with a button combination.
The mode button is there for button combinations, more that for what it was originally intentwnded.

[Konsolkongen]

I compared your pictures my own controller. Looks pretty similar

[LDigital]

Is an official dpad compatible?

[James-F]

I think so.
For 65$ one should not have to destroy any other controller to fix anything.

[Konsolkongen]

You're right. The original controllers on google pictures does not have as slanted a d-pad as the Krikzz one. My Japanese on did seem much more slanted though

[mvsfan]

what happened to all those "high quality" sega branded controllers that Retro-bit announced?

sofar ive seen nothing from retro bit.

They were showing off a wireless Saturn model 2 style controller, and i want one.

[strygo]

I ordered 2 joyzz pads and they finally arrived today. This controller is amazing.

For the last twenty years, every time I pick up a Genesis controller after playing the SNES, the first thing I'm struck by is how flimsy the Sega Genesis controller feels in comparison. The 3 button one feels cheap, and if I didn't know any better, I would guess that it was a third-party knock-off.

So besides the wireless aspect of the joyzz, i was hoping that krikzz would address this flimsiness, and boy has he. The controller feels very sturdy and has the right amount of weight to it. I had no trouble with the performance of the controller and my test was the globe special stages in Sonic 3. Especially the later ones require a high degree of precision on the d-pad and I had no trouble collecting the chaos emeralds.

For people fretting over James' tantrum everywhere, my recommendation would be to take a close look at the picture on the store listing. Both my controllers look exactly like the one pictured. Is it slanted slightly? Maybe? Could I detect any performance issues whatsoever? No, I honestly couldn't.

I'm a big fan. Now I want some wireless Saturn ones.

[strygo]

mvsfan: I think I read somewhere (Twitter, maybe?) that the Retrobit ones were slated for the end of 2018? I'm not sure why they announced them so early.