Alternative 6 button layout controllers for PS2/Dreamcast?

I've started playing a bit more PS2 and Dreamcast and really love the variety of Capcom fighters, but the stock controllers aren't very comfortable. I think the Genesis/Saturn pads with the 6 button layouts would be optimal. I see a few options like the Total Control 3 and the nigh impossible to find PS2 Saturn pads but things seem kinda slim, so I thought I would check here to see if anyone knew of some other alternatives. Here's some questions I've been wondering about:

-In general, what are some good alternatives for Dreamcast and PS2 controllers with 6 button layouts?
-Any PS2/Dreamcast arcade stick recommendations?
-Is there any kind of adapter for Genesis controllers to make them work on the PS2/Dreamcast?
-Would it be feasible to mod spare Genesis pads into PS2/DC controllers (lack of buttons for PS2 wouldn't bother me)?

Any input on any of these would help me tremendously as I feel a bit lost in this area. :)

Another thing I'll mention is that I have the Street Fighter Anniversary pads for PS2, which were decent but their pad membranes already stick. Is there any remedy for that beyond replacement (which I wouldn't mind but it seems unlikely that I'd find any parts that would fit)? I've owned three of them and they all suffered from the same affliction, they're definitely not quality controllers. :p

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, I really appreciate it!

Could be the PS2 controllers need to be stripped down and given a damn good clean? Also you would be surprised what you can retrofit from one dead controller to another. I keep all the contacts from any (dead) controller to re-furbish another to bring it back to life.

My recommandations for Dreamcast:

- Total Control 3
- Dreamcast Arcade Stick (they're awesome!)

X-Arcade Dual Stick+PS2 adapter

Then get a Total Control PS2->DC adapter

done.

There are also the Nuby Street Fighter pads, which are OK (def. gotta break them in, they SUCK right out of the box).

I wish whoever was responsible would start churning out PS2 Saturn pads by the millions, that is the best thing ever.

I'll try opening and cleaning them again, omp, I've tried it in the past but it doesn't seem to fix the "sticking" issue. I'd be thrilled if I could get them to work, though. And thank you Christuserloeser for those recommendations, the Agetec stick looks awesome and TC3 would be great if I end up getting some of the good Saturn pads.

17daysolderthannes, I actually owned the X-Arcade tank stick (and GCN, DC, USB adapter), but the "fake" Happ parts let me down and I sold it last year around when Street Fighter 4 came out.

I didn't play fighting games in the arcades very competitively back in the day (not much of a scene in Texas then and hardly one now except maybe in Austin and Houston), but I played a lot of the Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition and X-Men: Children of the Atom cabinets they had at my local Cici's Pizza. The X-Arcade never seemed authentic in comparison to those, but that could have just been the fact it wasn't bolted down. :)

But beyond the feel I had a few serious problems with it, although from some reading around and your praise I think they may have actually been fixed (I was an early adopter). When did you end up buying yours? My biggest issues were horrible input lag on Dreamcast and GCN (PC seemed fine), and hitting the diagonals with the X-Arcade was unreliable even after tweaking the microswitches. My experience with the HRAP EX-SE has been a lot more positive, I never feel like it's letting me down when I play HD Remix and MvC2 online, even if I prefer the Happ bat style since it's what I grew up using.

It would be sweet to have more PS2 Saturn pads. I only have the mysterious ones with SEGA branding that showed up on eBay and those have been very reliable. Another thing I was looking at were the ASCII Fighter Pads for Dreamcast, which seem cool but I'd have to wait to find them for reasonable prices.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mugenmidget

17daysolderthannes, I actually owned the X-Arcade tank stick (and GCN, DC, USB adapter), but the "fake" Happ parts let me down and I sold it last year around when Street Fighter 4 came out.

I didn't play fighting games in the arcades very competitively back in the day (not much of a scene in Texas then and hardly one now except maybe in Austin and Houston), but I played a lot of the Street Fighter 2 Championship Edition and X-Men: Children of the Atom cabinets they had at my local Cici's Pizza. The X-Arcade never seemed authentic in comparison to those, but that could have just been the fact it wasn't bolted down. :)

---

I got it at the beginning of summer last year. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best stick I've used. I have no problems hitting diagonals and even when using an X-Arcade->PS2->DC adapter I have no appreciable lag. It did take a little while to get used to the circle restrictor plate, but now it's a non-issue. Supposedly they redesigned the sticks at some point, though not sure exactly when. I would just get a refurbed dual stick for $100+shipping.

Interesting, I might give it another shot in that case. The Fry's Electronics here sells them for decent prices and I should be able to return it if I'm still not satisfied with it.

Well, you have 30 days from the website as well, though you might lose on shipping.

I dunno, I feel like all of the internet haters played on one when they first came out and never looked at it again. The one I bought is the first one I ever used (it's the only American stick you can buy off the shelf and the lifetime warranty sounded pretty nice) and I've never said to myself "ugh, I don't like this." I might look for different things than other people, but I love it. FWIW, I played an NBA Hangtime arcade with (I'm sure) Happ parts and I was like "what is this garbage, ugh!" Granted, they were probably original parts with hours and hours of abuse, but it was awful compared to my X-Arcade.

If only PS2 could use USB pads.
Then you could use a Genesis 6 button controller.

They work with PS3. ; )

For PS3 I've been using the Saturn pads at the moment, they work fairly well. I'd probably be fine with playing PSX stuff on PS3 but we have the PS3 hooked up to the HDTV and that means the older stuff looks really bad on it. Plus I have a slim PS3 so I can't play any PS2 games on it.

It would be sweet if USB controllers worked on PS2 like they did on PS3, though, that would save a lot of hassle.