Hyperkin Trooper 2 Premium USB Game Controller for PC, Mac, Linux

Got these for my PC to play classic Atari 2600 games. Was a bit concerned about some of the reviews implying cheap quality. From my perspective, they're more durable than the ones that came with my original 2600. Those seemed to break all the time. I even let my grandkids use these and they're holding up. They were automatically recognized, so no special setup needed. I think these are good quality for an affordable price.

This joystick brings back so many childhood memories! Works perfectly with my retro gaming setup and feels just like the original. The build quality is solid and responsive. Easy to plug in and start playing right away. Great for classic arcade games and brings that authentic vintage feel. Really well made and exactly what I was looking for.

Well, it's well built, surprisingly good quality. Has some weight to it. Operates smoothly. The plastic is thick and doesn't creak or flex. It has 6 buttons that all work well. This is not a cheap garbage controller. The only problem is that the original Atari 2600 controller that this mimics had terrible ergonomics, this one is slightly better because of the beveled edges but It's hard to find a comfortable way to hold it. Just like the original one. That's probably why this is pretty much the only company that makes this style of controller. If you want quality and authenticity this controller will not disappoint. I can play 2600 Space Invaders with this controller better than I can with any modern controller because it feels exactly like the controller I used for many many hours in my youth. If you are looking for a general purpose controller for all kinds of games this one might not be right for you but if you want to play retro Atari games with the "feel" of the real controller you can't go wrong with this one. It's worth every penny. I will note that the controller doesn't come in plastic packaging (Just the cardboard box) and mine had a little bit of scuffing on the cable, it was clearly brand new however. This is a fairly low volume part and that explains the packaging and the occasional scuff mark. Also, I'm sure they test them before they box them up. You could also play some arcade type games with this, asteroids or pack-man for example would play pretty well I think.

This joystick is pure nostalgia! I bought it specifically for playing classic arcade and Atari-era games on my computer, and it has been an absolute joy to use. It really captures the feel of those old-school arcade cabinets. Setup was as simple as it get, I just plugged it into a USB port, and it was ready to go. My PC recognized it instantly, making it easy to configure in my emulation software. The joystick itself feels solid and has that classic, clicky response you want for retro games. The buttons are well-placed and responsive. It feels much more authentic to play these old favorites with a proper joystick instead of a modern gamepad or a keyboard. The long 10-foot cord is also a huge plus, giving me plenty of room to sit back and play comfortably. If you're a fan of retro gaming and want an affordable, plug-and-play joystick that brings back that classic feel, you can't go wrong with the Trooper 2. Highly recommended

Did not work on PC, no online game platform I've tried recognizes the controller. It seems I'm not the only one - there are several YouTube video reviews that confirm this.

TL;DR: I managed to get this joystick to work for my needs, but it has a physical design flaw and so Your Mileage May Vary. Out of the box, this joystick feels sold and well-made. The base has beveled corners which make it easier to hold in one's hand than the old Atari 2600 joysticks on which the physical design of this stick is based. The addition of more buttons than the Atari 2600 classic is also welcome. There’s a significant physical flaw with these sticks, which I’ve now experienced with both of the units I’ve purchased. The stick’s method of actuating the button switches inside the base is basic leverage, with a plastic tab pressing down on one or two of the switches depending on the direction you’ve pulled or pushed the stick as you operate it. There’s four tabs, one each for up/right/down/left. The plastic component with these tabs is made of a soft, weak plastic material that will wear out, eventually causing the tabs to crack and even break completely off, which will render the stick incapable of activating the corresponding internal switch. You’ll know you’re in trouble when you start to hear the rattling of the tiny piece of plastic that’s broken lose inside the base of the stick. I’ve typically experienced this problem within about four weeks of using a new stick, and although I play a great deal, I’m not thrashing the heck out of the stick when I do. The plastic is just weak and not really up to the challenge of lasting long enough. I may try to 3D print an equivalent part from tougher plastic – not harder so much as less prone to cracking from fatigue. Though I bet making the part from metal or even hardwood would be the best long-term solution. Don’t even bother trying to get support from Hyperkin. In particular, you will find no driver software for this stick at the Hyperkin website, nor will you find any documentation, nor is there even a users forum to which one might direct questions about setting up and using the stick. There is a support form, into which you can type your request, and the response from Hyperkin was pretty quick in my case. However, the response was largely unhelpful, providing no specific information to help me solve my problem of configuration on my computer. If you do buy this joystick in order to use it with a Mac, I can recommend the USB Overdrive shareware driver, which made it possible for me to use this joystick for its intended purpose. I also tried using the Joystick Mapper driver, available on the Mac App Store, but that software did not help me. As stated before, YMMV. Summary: Hyperkin built an inexpensive and rather fragile joystick which they then fail to support in any useful way.

good product with decent placement of buttons.

Seems like a good quality joystick. I purchased it for my mother to play Pac Mac on her computer. Unfortuantely, I can't get the joystick to work correctly. It doesn't come with any drivers or software. I'm not sure if it's USB class compliant or not but I can't get it to work correctly.

Solid, well built and works really well. I use it for Mame64 retro games. Works in Linux Mint Vbox Win 10 and 11 on HP Z240 i7 32GB RAM and Linux Commodore OS Vision 3.0 on 2011 Samsung NP300E5A Laptop16GB RAM using Wine Windows emulator. Really great joystick.

Excelente

Perfeito

Super expensive and does not work with normal PCs on Windows 11, even though the USB port fits.

I love the one made for the Atari 2600 and 7800. This one here works perfectly well on my macOS M4 with Steam and C64 emulator. It is not only confortable, but I am able to use 2 button (fire and trigger) at once while holding the stick. So it is perfect for simple platformer where 1 button is jump and the other is fire. A positive also is that the joystick can be use left and right handed. It is juste the perfect tension, perfect feel, the buttons are clicky. It is so confortable that for a second I was thinking about using it for FPS. lol I am tempted to buy another one just because they feel so good in hand. Hyperkin, you make the best classic joysticks (from a guy who have 40 controllers and joysticks). PS : It does not work on C64mini, but its probably just because that stupid mini computer has no button remapping.