Retro Fighters Defender Next-Gen PS1 - PS2 - PS3 - PS Classic - Switch & PC Compatible Wireless Controller, Grey

Easily the best third party ps2 controller I’ve bought, it feels great although it’s closer to Xbox’s controller form, and it’s very lightweight. The pressure sensitive buttons work very well too. If there’s any latency, I personally couldn’t tell. Battery life is long and doesn’t take too long to charge. The only complaint I have is that both triggers are super sensitive, they respond with such light pressure that I’m unable to lightly rest my fingers on them as I normally would a modern day controller. Some people say it gets better over time so I’m hoping that’s the case but it took a couple hours to get used to not having my fingers touching them while resting.

Great feel in the hands and worked great with the ps2/ps3. I didn’t try it for ps1 or pc though. But it really is worth it if you like to use old consoles. Used controllers are always so bad. This is a perfect fit for any sony fan! Having wireless ps2 controller is so crazy!

Pros: + Plug and play. + Feels great, reasonably sturdy - just don't throw it out a second story window. + Holds a charge for a good bit of time, comes with a charger which is USB-C. As it should be. + The analog triggers (L2, R2) feel especially nice + Compatibility is generally impressive, even worked with my iPad using the USB receiver. Neutral: ~ Others seem to report concerns with how Turbo works for this controller, though I cannot speak to that as I haven't used the Turbo function so I cannot verify. ~ Playing with this on a Switch can be disorienting button-wise if you don't know the Switch controller button layout by heart. This is intended for Playstation games afterall, though. Cons: - No Bluetooth support

Out the package it was simple to set up and connected without a hitch. USB-C charging is also nice as a broken cord/lost cord will not be as much as a problem. My main issues come to the feel of the controller sadly, it just does not compare to the original PS2 controller I used. The bumpers are a bit too smoothe, lacking that nice click the originals had, the DPAD is solid, but the original felt a bit more solid, the buttons are nice As well but too suffer from the lack of that original click. A decent choice though.

As I was interested in reviving my PS1 and PS3 this controller came on top of the choices as the option that checked all the boxes. I unpacked it, and the first feeling that I got when I grabbed it was that the fit and comfort was amazing, and all the buttons had a quality feel to them like I have rarely felt (actually I prefer it to my series x controller). I have tested it so far with the PS1 and the pairing is instant, the vibration is solid, and analog sticks work without issue. If anything, the back buttons, the d pad, and the analogs are a bit sensitive, so you could accidentally trigger certain unwanted commands if distracted. Otherwise fantastic choice.

I was really looking forward to this controller, because good, wireless PS1/PS2 controllers are hard to find. In some ways this passes that test. I really appreciate the implementation of pressure-sensitive buttons for example. The wireless functionality is decent too in my limited testing. However, the button combination for turning the controller off is strange. As is the choice to have a “Clear” button for Turbo functionality rather than just allowing the turbo button activate and deactivate Turbo on its own. The analogue sticks are fine, but don’t feel fitting for the PS2. They’re overly sensitive and smaller, Xbox-style sticks that sit rather high. However, the build quality is real issue here. It feels incredibly cheap in the hands, with stiff buttons that have too much travel, triggers that feel mushy, and genuinely one of the worst dpads I’ve ever used. Forget passing the Contra test, this dpad makes fighting games straight up unplayable. If you only play 3D games this could maybe get you by, if you can get used to the sticks, but anything 2D? Forget it. Unacceptable. I’ll be sending mine back.

Been using this for about a week now, and this controller is absolutely game changing. Haven't played PS2 since I was a kid, and this makes it really fun to go back and replay old favorites. So far, I would highly recommend. No problems, very comfortable in the hand (much better than a classic PS2 controller), and incredibly easy to connect. Took literal seconds. No lag or anything weird, and I feel like I can play old games better because it's so responsive.

Need a controller for your older PS consoles? TL;DR - If you're in need of a new controller and you can't find a new genuine Dualshock 3 then this controller is probably your best bet. I've tried the off brand Chinese DS3 clones and they're terrible at best, don't waste your time and money on those knock offs, just get this one. Is it ideal? No, but it's negatives aren't deal breakers either. I bought this controller to use with a PS3 and a PS3 only. That said, I haven't touched my PS3 in quite a while but 2 things happened that made me want to resurrect my old friend. For one, I recently spent some time visiting family and they live in a somewhat rural area and me being me I found myself looking for something to fill the quiet hours after everyone else went to bed. Luckily my relatives had an old PS3 console that I was able to hook up but was unable to track down any games for so I ordered a few games online that I never got around to playing. The second thing that happened was that there was yet another big sale on the Playstation store and I ended up buying Infamous Second Son and First Light because they were ridiculously cheap. Though I loved the first 2 Infamous games (on PS3) I hadn't played them in years so between the games that I bought while away from home and the Infamous games I needed to fire up the old PS3 again so that I could replay Infamous 1&2 before starting Second Son and First light. The only problem was that my DS3 is hammered. The sticks have severe drift, the d-pad and face buttons barely register my input anymore and the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore. I tired looking for a new genuine DS3 but was unable to find one from a reliable source so enter this controller from Retro Fighters. Before my impressions I do want to say that if you have working controllers laying around you might want to try using those before spending any money even if they're not PS3 controllers. I've previously used DS4 controllers on my PS3 before with the caveat that you ought to have a working DS3 plugged in as well (for the home button). My first impression? TBH, it feels cheap. Really cheap. Cheap like the other 2 Chinese DS3 knock offs that I've already tried. Though ALL controllers at every price range are made of plastic, some manage to have a premium feel (like the PS5 Dualsense Edge), some feel just "okay" (like Sony's DS4) and some feel like they're not worth the plastic they're made from. That's what this feels like. Not that that's a bad thing, it just doesn't feel like the $50 I spent on it. It feel more like $10 if that makes sense. The second thing that I noticed is that the controller feels small in my hands even though it's very similar in size to modern controllers. Controllers... They're all important when gaming. An obvious thing to say I know but when you stop to think about it they not only control what you're doing on screen, but your controller is your connection to your game. It's the bridge between us humans and the pixels that you see and react to onscreen so how a controller feels to me is important. Having said that, I don't have particularly big hands. For casual cold weather gloves I wear a size large and for work gloves or motorcycle gauntlets (Dainese and Alpinestars) I wear a size medium because I like those types of gloves to fit very snug. The outside dimensions of the Retro Fighters Defender is pretty much the same a Dualsense and or a Dualshock 4, but unlike those controllers the sticks are much closer together - and by much closer I mean a measurement a mere fractions of an inch, but those fractions matter because for me it affects how the controller feels. The sticks of the Defender are roughly 2" apart when measured center to center, the DS4 measured 2 & 1/2" center to center and the DS Edge about 2 & 1/4" apart (pics included). Believe me when I say those 1/4" differences between them all make a big impact on the way the controller feels in your hand. Also on the smaller side are the face buttons. On paper there isn't much of a difference between the size of the face button layout of the RF Defender and Sony's modern controllers (again, we're talking small fractions of an inch) but like the stick width, the face button spacing matters. I wouldn't want to hit crouch or jump when I'm in dire need of reloading! Thankfully while testing the controller while playing COD MW1 that never happened to me. As far as how the controller worked... the face buttons though membrane switches felt responsive and delightfully snappy. Same for the bumpers and triggers. And speaking of the triggers (L2 & R2) they have a short throw which was a nice surprise, great for FPS games like COD. They feel about as short as the adjustable triggers on my Dualsense Edge when set on the shortest setting, but not as short as the triggers on my Hex Gaming controller on their shortest setting which are basically like mouse clicks. One thing did bug about the triggers though, they kind of swoop and flair outwards away from the controller (as opposed to just being a flat button) and I didn't find it comfortable at all. I would have preferred a flatter trigger. The d-pad though snappy feeling also felt kind of vague (direction-wise) and also kind of crappy at the same time. Luckily with the games that I play on PS3 I don't need the d-pad very often. The sticks... The heads of the sticks where your thumbs rest feel small. Though their measurements are millimeters close to what i'm used to I'll be looking for something like KontrolFreeks to try to widen them a bit. I included pics of the measurements for the Defender, DS Edge, DS4, and a PS Portal whose sticks feel super tiny. As far as the the rest, the battery lasts a long time as promised (though I haven't timed it officially), the bluetooth connection between the controller and dongle is fast, stable, and hasn't dropped out on me yet (though I only have about about 5-6 hours on the controller thus far), and the home button even works. All in all, for me the controller does have its shortcomings and I think it's a bit overpriced but it's still a solid buy especially when you take into consideration your lack of options when it comes to controllers for older systems. As I mentioned, I would have preferred a new DS3 but since that wasn't possible this was the next best thing. I'm probably going to end up buying another just as a spare... Unless of course someone figures out a way to emulate PS3 games on a PS5... one can dream.... As far as my rating... I gave it 3 stars because it earned those 3 stars by actually doing what its supposed to do. I deducted a star for feeling so "meh" in my hands, and another star for being what I feel is overpriced. For the asking price I could have bought a controller adapter/converter like the ones made by Brooks that allow you to use pretty much any controller on any system but I figured that I'd save the hours of use on my modern controllers (to put off stick drift as long as possible) and simply wear the Defender out first lol.