Name: Sega Saturn Twin Stick

Manufacturer: Sega

Release Date: November 29, 1996 (Japan Only)

Launch Title: Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (SAT)

For those who were gaming in the mid to late 90’s, the Sega Saturn is a system that is remembered by some to limited capacity. Though a fascinating system with some great titles, it never garnered the success that the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64 found during the same console generation. Issues pertaining to poor business decisions on the part of Sega, the sheer difficulty of software development, a lack of substantial third party support and other related problems hampered the Saturn from being a great video game system.

This is truly unfortunate because there were titles for the Saturn that, in terms of their overall design, were very unique and helped to forge a great identity for the system from a software perspective. This is something that is of the utmost importance for any game platform and is something that even modern game consoles wrestle with. There are plenty of exclusives for the system that differentiate it from most of the games that characterized both the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. One such game is Virtual On: Cyber Troopers.

Virtual On is an important game in the progression of fighting games as a genre because it essentially goes against all the tenants that cemented it in the 3D era of gaming. As a result, this title has aged well because of it. It is essentially a nontraditional fighting game that centers around fast paced action in a 360* battlefield that features bipedal mechas as its combatants. For the time this was what most fans of mecha anime or manga wanted out of a game featuring them.

However, the only aspect of this game that is lacking in the North America version of Virtual On is the controls. It does not take advantage of the Sega 3D controller analogue pad, which is compatible with select Saturn titles. During the time of its initial release the only way to experience Virtual On was with the standard control pad which functioned, but felt a tad clunky at the same time.

Curiously enough the section in the game’s US instruction manual that shows the control pad layout also has a section showing a layout for something called the Sega Saturn Twin Stick controller. The Twin Stick is a peripheral that was designed specifically for the Sega Saturn incarnation of this game. There is even a prompt at the game’s beginning that asks the player which controller he or she wishes to use. This only mystified gamers outside of Japan back then.

Fortunately, through the powers of the modern day internet, we North American gamers can finally learn about this great peripheral. The Twin Stick literally consists of two identical joysticks which are both outfitted with a trigger button as well as a shoulder button. For the sake of fighting game enthusiasts it is important to note that this is a square gate as opposed to an octagonal gate controller. The last thing to add about the controller is that there is a start/pause button on the upper left corner of the controller’s chassis. The build quality of this peripheral is incredibly solid with the sticks and top facing of the frame being constructed from a thick and durable plastic. The bottom facing is a metal slab with rubber nubs attached to prevent the controller from sliding around on surfaces.

The overall layout mimics that of the arcade fore barer where your Virtual On robots, often referred to as Virtuaroids, partially control like vehicles with dual drive transmission systems (i.e. tanks). The manipulation of both joysticks dictates how your Virtuaroid maneuvers and traverses throughout the battle arena. Pulling the sticks away from one another will make your character jump into the air and pushing them toward each other engages the guard feature for melee combat. Pressing the shoulder buttons with the sticks pointed in the same direction will make your mecha dash in that respective direction. Finally, pressing the trigger buttons will execute attacks. With this controller Virtual On plays exactly like the arcade version with no exceptions. After playing this game with the Twin Stick you will never want to go back to using that standard control pad again. The controls feel visceral, fluent and natural. You actually feel like your are in the cockpit of a giant robot and, simply put, there is nothing quite like it.

If you are interested in acquiring a Virtual On Twin Stick there are a few things you need to know. As mentioned previously, the Twin Stick was never produced or distributed in the United States, so you will have to import this controller straight out of the land of the rising sun. With that, Twin Sticks are pretty expensive and command prices ranging from $80 to $140 when factoring in the initial controller cost coupled with the shipping cost. Also, you do not need to purchase a Japanese Saturn and copy of Virtual On in order to use it. There is no regional lockout protection on peripherals for the Sega Saturn, so you can simply plug your Japanese Twin Stick into a US Saturn without worrying about this potential issue.

The make or break as to whether or not you take the plunge and buy a Twin Stick is the software support for it. As it stands, the only US Saturn title that supports the use of the Twin Stick is Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (of course). However, there are some Japanese only Saturn games that make use of the Twin Stick. You will need to either modify your system’s hardware or use an Action Replay cartridge to play import games. Here is a list of all titles that are compatible with this peripheral:

Virtual On: Cyber Troopers (US/EU/JP)*

Virtual On: Netlink Edition (US/EU/JP)*

Gun Griffon 2 (JP)*

Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story 2 (JP)*

Mobile Suit Gundam Side Story 3 (JP)*

*: To play Saturn games from different regions a hardware or software based modification is required to negate the regional lockout protection feature of the Sega Saturn.

This is a fantastic controller that makes Virtual On play like a dream and the support for a few other games is a plus. Keep in mind that there is a pricey barrier to entry and to play every supported game you will have to do some importing. This alone makes it hard to recommend to just anyone, but if you are an avid fan of Virtual On or mecha anime/manga then you owe to yourself to pick up this controller and fill out your VO experience.