MSRP: $15.00
Got it for: $19.99, new at Lik-Sang. It's also available at ToTek for $15.00.
 The Classics Converter easily attaches to *any* Neo Geo model. |
You
know, until I found this I really wasn't that excited to play most
Neo Geo games. Let's be honest, the "Pro" pad, even when
it's *not* broke(and they're ALWAYS broke) sucks ass. The whole
"disc" thing is just a disgrace to pad design...God only
knows what SNK was thinking when they brought it out. The standard
SNK stick, whether it's the new model or older one, still just doesn't
cut it...for me, at least. I really wanted something with a decent
digital pad, something I could easily adjust to...and hopefully
whip some ass with. I had almost given up hope when I ran across
ToTek's "Classic Joypad Converter" for the Neo Geo... |
 The plastic is relatively translucent, allowing you to see into it. |
(Quick
note: This is commonly referred to as the "Classics Converter"
and is even sold under that name at Lik-Sang. From here on out,
I'll be referring to it as such) |
||
The
first thing you'll notice about the Classics Converter is the way it re-maps
the actual Neo Geo buttons onto the PSX's controllers. Rather than give
you a crappy ASCII-art piece to try to convey it, I'll just provide the
free manual(downloadable
at ToTek's site) in its original PDF form...take a quick look...I'll wait...
Ok, so now you've seen how it's setup, and all in all it's not bad. Of
course, if a game allows for it, you can reconfigure the buttons even
further. Past the actual button reconfiguration, the CC will actually
let you use either the digital pad *or* analog for movement and such.
Why anyone would want to use the analog is beyond me...you might as well
go back to the shitty disc on the "Pro" pad. With the PSX's,
or PS2's(the CC supports both) digital pad, the control for all games
just seems so much tighter in general, and miles above the error-inducing
SNK stick.
As you may have noticed in the CC's manual, it also allows for a few extra
features above and beyond the controller conversion: Slow motion and Turbo.
Slow motion is activated by holding down the "L1" trigger and
hitting Select, it can be turned off by holding "L2" and hitting
Select again. The Turbo features are accomplished by holding down either
the "R1" or "R2" shoulder buttons and pressing one
of the face buttons. The manual states that there are two Turbo levels...but
during my time with it, I've not seen any difference between them. Though
I wish the Turbo feature could have been toggled on and off(like Slow
motion), it's really not all that bad as for most games you'll only use
it in certain situations anyway.
All in all, the Classics Converter makes the Neo Geo experience so much
better by putting a decent controller into play...and priced at under
$20, it's still cheaper than *any* other controller on the system...
The cord that goes just from the plug-in to the actual converter is about 4 feet long, which seriously helps out with the ultra-short Neo controller cords. Also, with the CC, you don't have to worry about overpriced Neo Geo controller extension cords: Just use your already existing PSX controller extensions, or pick one up for the $3 that most GameStops want for one...