Sega Genesis 6-button controller and Sonic cereal

I have been on a bit of a Sonic the Hedgehog binge since I finally got around to recording Sonic playthroughs this year.  Sonic Origins is coming out in a couple weeks, and I plan on picking it up so I can finally have access to Sonic CD.  However, I wanted a good controller to use with that game, as well as some other Sega games that I have on my Switch (Contra Hard Corps and Castlevania Bloodlines, in particular).  My arcade stick certainly would have worked better than the Pro Controller's crappy D-pad, but I wanted to branch out a bit.

I looked into the official Sega Genesis controller that Nintendo released for its online service, but that thing was a total ripoff at $50, not to mention the fact that it's the 3-button version and only woks with the retro games through the online service (not Switch games in general).  I didn't pay for the ridiculous online expansion to gain access to Genesis games, so that idea went out the window.

I then saw comments on multiple videos saying that Retro-Bit had an officially licensed version of the Sega Genesis 6-button controller that worked with pretty much all Switch games and cost a lot less, so I decided to go with that.  There are actually two versions: a bluetooth version and a 2.4 ghz version.  I went with the 2.4 ghz version because it was easier to find on eBay, has less input lag, and the D-pad sits at the correct height (the bluetooth version has a raised D-pad due to the rumble motor).  This thing is really cool.  The packaging even looks like the original Genesis 6-button controller box.

It also comes with a handy storage case.

I tested the controller out with both Sonic Mania and Castlevania Bloodlines, and it works great.  However, one annoying problem is that I cannot reassign the buttons outside of the limited options contained in the games themselves.  Despite the indicated layout on the controller, the Switch views the A button as a B button, the B button as an A button, and Z and C as ZL and ZR, respectively.  Nonetheless, this isn't too much of an issue because I can at least change the controls within the original options menu of some games and end up with a decent button assignment that works for me.  But for purists who would only want to use the A, B and C buttons, this would be an issue.  Perhaps the Bluetooth version allows for button remapping since it's not viewed as a USB controller by the Switch.

Also, I managed to watch both Sonic the Hedgehog movies, and I have to say I enjoyed them overall.  I also picked up a box of the recently released Sonic cereal, though it wasn't easy to find since I had to rely on eBay.  I had purchased a box of the Mario cereal a few years ago and wasn't very impressed.  The Sonic cereal was actually better than the Mario cereal and was pretty good overall.  So it looks like Sega just won the cereal wars.  I'm keeping the box as a bit of a collector's item.

Switch Sports

 

Wal-Mart was offering a preorder bonus for Switch Sports that included a water bottle at no extra cost, so I jumped at the opportunity.  I don't know if Switch Sports normally comes with the leg strap, but mine has one.  Surprisingly, my copy arrived via FedEx on the release date.  This is the first time I can recall buying a new game online and having it shipped instead of simply going to the store.  It was actually quite convenient.

I hope this game is as good as the Wii Sports titles on the Wii (Wii Sports Club on Wii U had issues).  Here's to me finally posting new Switch footage.

Sonic Adventure DX and Mario Pinball Land

I recently posted playthroughs on my Youtube channel of the Game Gear versions of Sonic 1 and 2 since I had the games for the 3DS Virtual Console.  However, the third Game Gear Sonic game, Sonic Chaos, was oddly enough never released on the 3DS Virtual Console, so I had to look elsewhere for the game (oh sure, the Master System version was on the Wii Shop, but I wanted the Game Gear version).

It turned out that Sonic Chaos was available as an unlockable game along with the 11 other Game Gear Sonic games in Sonic Adventure DX on the GameCube, so I picked up a copy of Sonic Adventure off eBay for a decent price.  I will now have access to additional Game Gear games such as Sonic Drift and Tails' Adventure.  Also, Sonic Adventure DX supports progressive scan mode, meaning 60 fps.  This is the first new GameCube purchase I have made since... 2006.  Holy shit!  It just goes to show that I wasn't the biggest GameCube fan.

Who knew that I could have simply bought this single disc this entire time instead of relying the 3DS Virtual Console releases for Sonic Game Gear games?  It pays to do research.  But that's OK, I still like having Game Gear games available on my 3DS.

I also can't believe I forgot to do this, but I never posted that my Youtube friend Keet (going on 10 years now!) gave me Mario Pinball Land for the Game Boy Advance for Christmas of 2020.  I've always heard that it was a difficult, imbalanced game, but I will eventually find that out for myself.  Hey, maybe I should post back-to-back playthroughs of Sonic Spinball and Mario Pinball Land when I finally decide to get around to this game.  That would be neat, huh?

Speaking of which, I'm working on a detailed article for this blog.  I usually just post my collection and new purchases, but I have something special in mind.  It has been a long time coming.  It won't be done though until I have posted playthroughs of Wario Land II and 3.  Can you guess the topic of the article?

Super Mario All-Stars and Yoshi Topsy-Turvy

I haven't been buying many games lately due to the expensive nature of game collecting nowadays, not to mention other expenses (I did fly to Florida to record games in August, after all).  But for Christmas this year, Keet gave me a copy of Yoshi Topsy-Turvy for the Game Boy Advance.  He managed to find a near complete copy on eBay for a surprisingly low price.  It was just missing the cartridge, which I picked up separately.  This copy is really clean.

I had thought about getting this game for a while now, but I was hesitant due to the increasing price and the fact that it allegedly could not be played on the Game Boy Player (making recording difficult).  It turns out that you can in fact play the game on a Game Boy Player, but you will basically need a second person to tilt the system itself.  Luckily, I can get Keet to do that, so maybe next time I'm in Florida, Keet and I can record the only true Game Boy Player playthrough on Youtube.

Keet also gave me the Player's Guide for Super Mario All-Stars, which I had been looking to get.  That meant, of course, that I needed to pick up a copy of Super Mario All-Stars for the SNES as well, which I did after Keet gave me the guide.

I don't normally buy remakes, but people tend to watch my Mario footage on Youtube, so I think it's worth it for that.  I would like to record another two-player playthrough of Super Mario Bros. 3, but this time from All-Stars with Keet as the second player.  I'll have to do that next time I visit Florida.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch Pro Controller

I managed to fry my original Switch Pro Controller from launch day by unintentionally shooting static electricity from my thumb into the D-pad.  The result was that I probably electrocuted the circuit board, and now the D-pad tries to bring up the pause menu every time I press right, and it tries to take a capture every time I press left.  It also fights me whenever I press down, and oh yeah, the L and R buttons don't work anymore.

I've never heard of this happening before.  I've been playing video games since the NES era and I have never fried a controller until now.  Very weird.  The Pro Controller served me well for the past few years, but I always hated the D-pad on it because any time you wanted to just press up, down, left or right, it would also try to press to the nearest corner as well.  So pressing right could accidentally turn into up-right or down-right, which was annoying.  It was as if the D-pad was sitting on the edge of a razor blade and the slightest tilt would cause the D-pad to unintentionally push to one side.

Anyway, I heard that Nintendo allegedly fixed this problem with the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Pro Controler that it released later on, so once I fried my original controller, I decided to go with the Xenoblade version, even though I've never played those games.  After briefly testing out the Xenoblade controller with the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, I can say that the D-pad on it feels a little better, but it nowhere near the level of a proper D-pad on something like the NES, SNES, or even N64.  But I needed a new controller anyway, so it's good enough.  Now if Nintendo would only release a Joy-Con with an actual D-pad.  Oh yeah, and no drifting.

Super Mario Galaxy Shoes

When Nintendo announced its holiday games lineup about a couple months ago, I didn't see anything interesting... at least as far as video games go.  However, Nintendo interestingly announced a new line of Mario-themed shoes being made by Puma, and I thought that was the coolest thing out of the entire announcement.

I'm not even a shoe collector, but I love Nintendo merchandise, so I decided I'd get some shoes instead of another Mario compilation.  The original version of the Mario shoes were red and blue, similar to Mario's outfit, but those sold out faster than I could place an order, and I was trying to order them the very minute they were released!

I kept trying to get the original shoes for more than a month after that but I was unsuccessful, and then Puma announced even more Mario-themed shoes, including a set of Super Mario Galaxy shoes.  I think those were released on November 26.  I thought the Galaxy shoes looked just as amazing, so I decided to go for those instead (it's not like I had much of an option to get the original red and blue shoes anyway).  I managed to place my order as soon as the website updated at 7 a.m. (Pacific time), but my shoes only arrived just now.

I love the look of these things, but I'm not planning on wearing them until the Super Nintendo World theme park area opens in Universal Studios Florida, which is going to be about 3 years from now.  I plan to wear them around the park when I visit Keet and other friends.  Until then, these are simply a neat collectible.

Wii U Pro Controller

 

I picked up a brand new Wii U Pro Controller off eBay for a much lower price than what most sellers are asking for.  However, these controllers still have a ridiculously high resale price.  It must be related to the console being Nintendo's worst-selling system outside of the Virtual Boy.  Supply must be low.

I didn't buy one of these back in the day because I had no real use for it (the Classic Controller worked fine), but I would like to visit fellow Youtuber Keet next year, and well, let's just say I need all the controllers I can get for some multiplayer recordings.