Introducing the Trooper II Atari 2600 USB controller

NickBiederman · December 2020

For several years, USB versions of vintage game controllers have been available. Most of these controller replicate the control layout of the original controllers as closely as possible. While this works well in some applications, many modern emulators rely on additional buttons to access menus and exit games. The Atari 2600 controller is no exception to this, so we decided to create a controller that works better with modern emulators while maintaining the feel of a classic controller: The Trooper II.

We worked with Hyperkin to design this new and improved version of the Trooper controller for the Atari 2600, dubbed the Trooper II. It’s a USB controller with the same general layout of the original controller, but features a dedicated start and select button, two shoulder buttons, and an additional button on the top. This makes it perfect for emulation systems like Retroarch that provide their own in game menus or rely on the start and select buttons to exit games. It's compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, and Raspberry Pi. The Trooper II is available exclusively from Micro Center.

EDIT: Our new image with support for the Trooper II is available now. Check out this thread to learn more.

Support for the Trooper V2 is not currently baked into the Retropie image distributed on our Atari Micro SD Card (including our Atari Pi kit, arcade cabinet kits, and Ultimate Fight Sticks). However, adding the configuration for this controller is fairly simple.

Start by downloading the file “Trooper V2 Trooper V2 .txt” at the bottom of this post. After downloading the file, change the file extension to .cfg so the file is named "Trooper V2 Trooper V2 .cfg" Next, copy the file to the Raspberry Pi directory “/opt/retropie/configs/all/retroarch/autoconfig/udev”. As a Windows user I use WinSCP for this, but you can also use the SCP command in a macOS or Linux terminal. Reboot your system, and make sure you have the Trooper V2 and another controller or keyboard connected. Press the “start” button on your second controller or keyboard, scroll down to “Configure Input”, and press A. From here, follow the instructions posted on the Retropie docs to configure your controller. Move the joystick in the appropriate direction for up, down, left, and right, and use the images below for the layout of the remaining buttons.

We're currently testing an updated image that will include support for the Trooper II. This post will be updated with information on installing the new image once it is available for download.

JimS · March 2021

I purchased this joystick to use with The C64 ( the C64 "Maxi"). I read a review from someone who said they use it with that system, but I have no idea how to get it to work. Any help would be appreciated.

TSTDavey · March 2021

@JimS just chiming in. How are your attempting to configure this joystick with the C64? I believe for the C64 maxi controllers can be configured in the CJM config file.