Victrix Pro BFG Reloaded

I was never the person who believed in taking out the second controller to let my brother play. If anything, it was better for us to play together. The reasons for that were endless. Who else is going to help me beat Life Force, or Contra with 30 lives? Who else am I going to hone my skills within Street Fighter II for the SNES? How else is my mother supposed to keep two very active boys preoccupied?

It's simple. You buy a second controller. In the interest of fairness, you would never ever buy a "different" controller for player 2. That said one of the brothers was better than the other, and my mom had enough problems. And we all know the stories of going to a friend's house and they hand you the "other controller." That's a no. Why is it too colorful? And why is it transparent? 

All this to say, the original controller has always been a mainstay with me. There is no way that I will ever defer from the controller that came with the console. I still don't consider myself a PC gamer, so this still holds true to this day. Even more so, that I use an Xbox One/Series controller when playing PC games, because it's Microsoft. And Microsoft goes with Microsoft. That's my logic and I'm sticking to it.

I could adjust to most controllers. The PSOne controller was just like the SNES controller. The Dreamcast controller was just another version of the old Xbox controllers. On the flipside, the Gamecube and N64 controllers can be melted in a volcano. And don't get me started on trying to play six-button fighting games on a three-button controller. I'm looking at you, Sega Genesis. 

I'm also from an era with the sticks, and it's well known that I own an Arcade 1up Big Blue Street Fighter cab. In the last few years, I've dabbled in new controllers. I bought a Mayflash F500 Fightstick, and almost sold it, until Marvel VS Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was released. Then I fell in love with the game again. I also won a PowerA Xbox Series controller from fellow streamer Loot Lovas Lounge. That has already gone faulty. The right trigger is sticking. There's no way you can convince me that a more expensive, off-brand controller is going to be better for me. That didn't stop Victrix from taking a shot. 

Turtle Beach and Victrix invited me to their booth at Evo to take a look at their upcoming modular controller, the PRO BFG Reloaded. The controller comes packaged in a nice protective zip up case, and on the inside is a premium presentation. The controller sits perfectly in the case, above two thumbstick gates, the six-button modular, and the wireless dongle. The flipped up other side of the case holds a 3m USB-C braided cable, that I'm probably going to use most of the time. Once you lift the controller, you get your screwdriver, two addons for the analog sticks, and two more mods for the cross pad. This makes a grand total of 14 interchangeable parts. 

The modulars are easy to change out and take seconds to do so. Unscrew the screws, pull the modular out, and put the new one in. That's it. If you want to put a new cross pad in, you'll still unscrew the modular, and then take off the top metallic layer, pull the D-pad off, and fasten the new one on. I was afraid I was going to break something, but this was not the case. The favorite module, automatically, is the six-button layout for the right side. The buttons are clicky like an arcade joystick or professionally known as Kailh Microswitches. They are very responsive. Almost too responsive, but we will get to that. On the left side, I used the highest analog stick, and put the UDLR cross pad in. This is the button configuration I stuck with. With this configuration, I took my mid-level skills to my favorite fighting games. 

Now, before we get into the feeling of it, let's talk about what's new here. This is, after all, the Victrix Pro BFG, with some new features. The first is the Hall Effect Analog Sticks. Instead of mechanical parts, the hall effect sticks used magnets, which are to eliminate any sort of stick drift. This also makes them more durable, in case you use your controller like a video game skit on Tik-Tok.

The second is that six-button pad mentioned above. These modules were sold separately beforehand and now come standard. Still, here are the mappable button and the hair trigger effects on the back of the controller. Apparently, you can set this controller on your lap and push the buttons with your fingers like you would do a fight stick. My fingers cramped up typing that very sentence. I don't think I can do that at all. And yes, I tried it. 

Of course, the back buttons are already set, so if you set the controller on your lap, you're hitting buttons you don't want to. Luckily, you can assign them to any button you want. For the PS4 and PS5, you can set these buttons by just holding the back button until it lights up. Once you click the button you want to assign, the light starts blinking. Then you choose any button on the front of the controller, and this includes the triggers. Additionally, if you want to disable them, you can hold the button, and double click the buttons you want to disable. You can be like me, an absolute trad gamer, and disable them all! 

Ok, so the first game I tried out was Capcom Fighting Collection 2. The games I chose to play online, were Capcom VS SNK 1 and 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and the widely panned Capcom Fighting Evolution. Out of the gate, I had to remember for myself, that there are six buttons on the front now. This isn't the Genesis pad of old, so it took some readjusting.

Once I got in the groove, I was doing pretty well in these games. I then moved on to Tekken 8, and again, not many problems adjusting, but something was a little amiss. I thought nothing of it and moved onto the main game I'm playing right now, and the game that is getting all the traction, Street Fighter 6. I was decimated. I did not win one game. And then, my middle finger on my left hand was throbbing. 

So, on the stock controllers, and this goes for all of them, the underbelly is deeper than the BFG Reloaded, and my finger discomfort is not the only thing that's bothering me. I have what I can only describe as "fat thumbs." While this is probably good for NES controllers, and games with more raised, and less clicky buttons, I kept pushing two buttons at the same time. This made me miss precision timing, and once I finally found out what I was doing, my left pinky would smack the left trigger button sometimes to. I don't think this is the fault of the controller, but more of the fact that I am used to stock controllers. These problems went away as soon as I switched back to a stock controller. Instantly. 

I do think it's really cool that you can use it on PS4, PS5, and PC, and there's a small dial on the top of the controller to switch between these platforms. The PC version even has a companion app that you can download, and remap your buttons there too. Of course, being on PC, must mean that it works with Xbox, because everything is an Xbox. I also should point out that the touchpad functionality is also here and intact. The in-controller microphone is not, but it does have a 3.5mm jack for all your favorite Turtle Beach or otherwise peripherals. Last, but certainly not least, there is 20 hours of battery life, if you choose to run this wirelessly with the dongle. 

The controller is durable, and it is a little bigger than, say, a PlayStation 5 DualSense, or even bigger than a Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller. There are two grips on the front of the controller, and the hall effect sticks do feel nice. The modules are easy to take off, and put on, and the presentation is even cooler than the controller itself. There are hair triggers on this controller, and can be turned into clicking or full analog with a couple of switched on the bottom. The discomfort could because I haven't broken in the new controller. It could also be years of me adapting to the controller that comes in the box, and now I sound redundant.

I suppose if you're Pro BFG is wearing down, or you're looking for a modular controller to have all six buttons on the front, it's very nice. To me, unfortunately, I'm too nice to anyone who steps foot into my house. A host with the most if you will. If I had a friend over, I would take this controller, designated as the second. And I think that's ok. See for yourself when this version of the Pro BFG becomes available on September 28 in the States.