Customer Reviews

Mad Catz Dream Pad

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The Dream Pad is the best third-party controller available for Dreamcast. First and foremost, it has the extra Z & C buttons that we've all been longing for. The Z & C buttons mirror, respsectively, the left and right analog triggers. This is great for fighting games. Mad Catz, for the most part, has put rubber to good use here. You'll find rubber grips on the sides of the controller, rubber buttons, rubberized coating on the analog stick, and the one place where it doesn't work too well, a completely rubberized D-pad. Ouch. It just feels awkward, and its incredibly difficult to slide your fingers across it. Another minor flaw, the analog triggers are extremely cheap, as my Dream Pad's triggers only lasted 2 months before resting in peace. But of course, you have the C & Z buttons to take their place if need be. If you can't stand Sega's standard controller, this is a nice alternative, but the D-pad and the analog triggers bring this score down. GRADE : B-

I bought the Dreampad becuase of it's looks and its large bag of tricks, and boy am I impressed. For beginners, I did not expect the rubber grips to be of any use, they are. The side rubber pads are actually comfortable! In addtion, the rubber surfaced analog joystick is the best idea to hit game controllers. I also love the extra Z & C buttons, and all the buttons are bigger and have a softer feel than the standard SEGA version. However, there are some small details that need not be over looked. I know that alot of reviews cover these points better, but they don't put them all together in a list. For starters, the D-pad (no matter how great of a fit) is a little iffy, it's fine through most game play but an annoyance in menu selecting. Then I found the triggers to become almost harmful. The trigger and the case around the trigger cuase sores on the fingers due to rubbing. The reprogram button gets in the way and sometimes is inoperative on some games. I may be the only one, but to me the start button is out of reach. Finally, the Z & C buttons could be confused for Y & B if one was not looking. Dispite the minor cons, the MadCatz Dreampad is the best Sega controller on the market so far.

I've always had a thing about buying 3rd party controllers. I've always felt that since all of the thought went into the design, it would feel great. And this one feels great! However, it is massive! It covers the console if you set it on top. It has a more natural hand placement (it is like those keyboards with the separated keys) and has a couple groves for your fingers, but the fingers don't fall into them, at least mine. The rubber grips on the sides and on the stick give a feel of greater control than the sega one, but the rubber on the D-pad mades sliding difficult. The slots are a bit sticky, and the VMU is kinda hard to get out. the buttons only go down when pushed directly down, and are also covered in rubber. The triggers don't have the range of movement as the sega one, and feel different (it's hard to describe)

Verdict: A cheap(er) alternative the sega controller made by a well known game accessory maker, however, as many people on the site have said, sega makes the best.

I made the mistake of purchasing two of these controllers. It took me several tries to get them to initialize with the Dreamcast. Many times I'd attempt to move my game character up only to see him moving left. I returned both of them the next day. The salesman said he'd seen these controllers returned more than any other in the last 2 years. He told me that most of the other Mad Catz junk that the store attempted to sell usually got returned as well. The original Sega controllers are far superior in every sense of the word. AVOID this controller!

Excellent! Not only is it cheaper than Segas own controller but it adds rubber grips, an easier to use anolog d-pad, an extra 2 buttons, an integrated buton change, more available color designs, a wider/smoother angle that fits in your hand better, excellent quality, easier to read buttons, and a better overall design. You'd be a fool to waist your money on Segas akward controller when this beuty is available for less money.

This is currently the best of the Dreamcast handheld controllers available. The most significant improvements are the larger, wider grip, which reduces wrist stress, and the rubberized control surfaces, which reduces friction fatigue and allow greater playtime endurance. The 2 extra buttons as digital counterparts for the analog triggers also come in handy, depending on the game. Only 2 complaints. The rubber on my oldest pad (I have two of these now, in addition to the two Sega pads) has started to shed. However, it's very minor and you can just blow it off when you're done. Also, the location of the reprogramming button makes it too easy to hit accidentally while playing, but once you learn it, you can quickly undo any accidental button remapping. (Actually, I don't see a good use to have a button reprogramming function, since the games themselves usually allow plenty of button reconfiguration.) Otherwise, great pad. I don't even use my Sega pads anymore. I save them to ambush people I don't like <g>. Trust me, this is the pad to have.

Mad Catz listened to the complaints and recent versions of this controller DO NOT have a rubberized d-pad, instead it's hard plastic. I'm not sure if the ones on Amazon have the newer d-pads.

With this modification the controller is basically perfect, as far as Dreamcast controllers go.

For fighting games many hard-core players (especially of Capcom fighters)prefer the ASCII Fighting Pad, which is basically a duplicate of the Sega Saturn controller. Though for the really hard-core you shoudl just get the fighting sticks.

Out of all the Dreamcast controller, including the original one, the Madcatz Dream Pad is the BEST controller for fighting games for two reasons - the excellent D pad and the 6 buttons layout.

PRO:
Most of the Dreamcast controllers D pad sucks - period! The D pad for Dream pad is good - actually VERY good, almost as good as the Sega Saturn D pad (I know, Sega, what happen to the Dreamcast controller D pad??). It is very accurate and smooth. The side grip of the controller is confortable rubber and make holding on to the D pad really nice and easy. I just love the D pad on this controller.

Second, the 6 buttons lay out is almost a MUST for Capcam fighting games!! Sega MESS UP big time on the original Dreamcast controller by not putting 6 buttons lay out. It is almost impossible to play games like Street Fighter 3, or Capcom VS SNK, with any good skill since most of the require FAST all 6 buttons access. I mean, how hard it is to put 6 buttons lay out on the controller?? (MadCatz did it)

CON:
Actually, the over all feel of the controller VERY good. If there is one thing to complain, it would be the analog sticks is a little bit loose compare with original controller. However, it is not a big problem to me and it only took me a short while to adjust to it.

OVERALL:
This is the BEST Dreamcast controller I ever used. I give it an A+++.

(WARNING)
I just found out that There are TWO versions of the Madcatz Dream Pad.

The version 1 (only in white color) comes with a suckie RUBBER D-pad and it is not controlling well.

The version 2 (white and other color available), comes with a NEW rubber/plastic mix D-Pad and it ROCKS!! So if you are looking for Madcatz Dream Pad. Make sure you get the version 2!

I've had one of these for a few years now, and I think it's the only way to go with fighting games on DC. There's no getting around it, the official Sega control for DC [is inadequate], especially for fighting games, you can't rely on the shoulder triggers durring special moves. For this reason the Madcatz' C and Z buttons are indispensable. The analog stick is nice and smooth, and you can pull off 360s and 720s for those grappler characters much easier than on a Sega thumb stick or D pad. Also, if you use the analog stick, and find yourself accidentally hitting up on the d-pad when you pull down on the stick suddenly, you can just detach the d-pad temporarily.

There are a couple things to know though. At first, the rubber padding on the D-pad is great. Your thumb sticks perfectly, and with just a little getting used to your move execution accuracy is much better than on any other D-pad. The problem is the rubber wears down (like a pencil eraser). If you play one side more than the other, your pad with become lop-sided over time (which is wierd to get used to) and if you're too rough on it, it will eventually tear and the whole rubber thing will come off. At this point the D-pad [is inadequate] because it simply was not designed to be used without the rubber padding over top and isn't shapped right. However, you can still use the thumb stick perfectly. Even if the rubber on the thumbstick wears down a little it doesn't impede your usage of the stick.

Finally, the other thing to know is the triggers aren't programmable, so you can't do the PSX-style bind of all 3 punches and all 3 kicks to the shoulder buttons. However, since you have the full 6 buttons, hitting them at the same time is not hard.

If you're a Capcom fan, I consider this controller mandatory, unless you're going to go for an Ascii. Just keep in mind that it doesn't work quite as well for non-Capcom games, and if you go really rough on the d-pad, you're stuck using only the analog or going through a huge learning curve on the newly [formed] d-pad. This could be a problem if you're playing games like Alpha 3 or Marvel vs Capcom 1 which don't support analog.

Ah the Dreamcast may be a distant memory now, but it's legacy will live on forever. That is why I chose to buy a Dreamcast (better late than never) and chose this controller to hack for my Arcade control buttons I bought from Happcontrols.com.

Rather than only having just 4 digital buttons and two analog, this controller comes with two additional reprogrammable buttons to map out those two analog buttons. What a treat it is to us curious minds, who are trying to relive the arcade spirit of the 90's.

The good: Digital buttons for easy hacking into a TRUE 6-button layout. (ever heard the saying, it's the inside that counts?)
The bad: If you're actually using it to play games, this isn't the way to go. It's big and fat, not to mention ugly looking.

Bottomline: Ask not what it can do for you, but what you can do with it!