Sega Saturn Japanese vs. European pads - which is best?

mojo · Post by **mojo** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:08 pm

I have a UK Saturn modified to play imports, and I also like shooters on the PC as well. I currently use a European Sega Saturn pad:

A lot of people say that Saturn pads are the best ever made, but presumably they are referring to the Japanese/US style ones with a different d-pad.

Has anyone used both types? I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading but obviously Japanese/US style pads are hard to get in the UK

Ex-Cyber · Post by **Ex-Cyber** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:21 pm

I prefer the Japanese style, but it's not a night-and-day difference to me. Also, I think both styles were sold in the US.

mojo · Post by **mojo** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:46 pm

Thanks. Might pick one up if it's cheap then.

I am trying to find a cheap way of connecting Saturn pads to the PC. The Joybox is expensive and almost unavailable here. I'm amazed no-one has done a USB->Saturn with an AVR or something, because the protocol is very simple.

RGB · Post by **RGB** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 5:37 pm

There actually is a usb->saturn pad converter available on the market. However, it requires a soldering job to be done, precisely speaking - soldering the converter pcb to a saturn joypad port.

You can get it from this website - http://www.retrousb.com/index.php?productID=129

mojo · Post by **mojo** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 8:13 pm

Thanks Senshu, interesting but expensive. AVRs are very cheap these days...

I think I might be able to make one with an FTDI board and a Windows driver, but the AVR way is probably better because it would be a standard HID device then.

bigbadboaz · Post by **bigbadboaz** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:01 pm

That European pad was also the US launch pad, which so many people hated passionately. I never understood that - I thought it was a great pad at launch, and even after trying the Japanese one think it's perfectly fine. It seems most people would vote for the Japanese one, though (and I do prefer it).

mojo · Post by **mojo** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:41 pm

I have two issues with the European pad. First, the d-pad is good but the dips tend to dig in to your fingers a bit. After a while I found I was getting a sore thumb.

The other issue is the shoulder buttons. They are very loose and don't give a very positive response.

In comparison the Japanese version seems to have a better d-pad and smaller, better shoulder buttons.

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Jan 15, 2008 5:37 am

It's nice for you all to take credit but I'm afraid that SOA came up with that nonsensical pad. It's a decent pad by itself (when compared to every Nintendo controller out there) but the JP version, based off the SF 6-button arcade pad, is in every way better for exactly the reasons that mojo mentioned.