Ninja tap

Interesting! For those using the joyMega, there's also an alternative: the Sega Multitap for the Mega Drive. It can still be found being sold on eBay etc. HIDlib already has support for it.

Advantages:

• Better option for those who use Mega drive controllers, like the excellent 8bitdo M30
• Supports all buttons of the Mega drive controllers on either 3 or 6 button types
• Has per-port controller detection, so the game can know ahead how many players there will be
• No need to build one yourself. Can be purchased on eBay etc

Disadvantages:

• Only works with Mega Drive controllers.

Wow.... the Shinobi Tap is super cool!

BTW, I finished the binary driver to be used under Basic : https://github.com/aoineko-fr/MSXgl/raw/main/projects/sample...

To load the driver (at C000h):

BLOAD "s_usr.bin"
DEF USR=&HC007

Then you have 3 functions.

1) To detect Ninja Tap:

A=USR(0)
Return:
  7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0
  │   │   │   │   └───┴───┴───┴── Number of joystick ports available (2, 5 or 8)
  │   │   └───┴────────────────── Tap type pluged in port 1 (0=No Tap, 1=Ninja Tap, 2=Shinobi Tap)
  └───┴────────────────────────── Tap type pluged in port 2 (0=No Tap, 1=Ninja Tap, 2=Shinobi Tap)

2) To update all joystick data (Ninja Tap and normal joystick):

A=USR(-1)

3) To get data from a given joystick (1 to number of joystick given in first function):

A=USR(1~8)
Return:
  7    6   5   4   3   2   1   0
  │    │   │   │   │   │   │   └── Right direction
  │    │   │   │   │   │   └────── Left direction
  │    │   │   │   │   └────────── Down direction
  │    │   │   │   └────────────── Up direction
  │    │   │   └────────────────── Start bouton (for NES pad)
  │    │   └────────────────────── Select bouton (for NES pad)
  │    └────────────────────────── A bouton
  └─────────────────────────────── B bouton

The driver is 678 bytes in size.

I took the opportunity to add in MSXgl, the support to generate directly binary files that you can load and use from a Basic program. There is a new target for the build tool: BIN_USR.

I have many famiclone controllers, some are terrible indeed, but some are good enough to play with. It is possible to scavenge controllers for cheap in Ali Express (link), some look good and you have customer ratings and photos to to help you to decide. But controllers can be also found in flea markets, thrift stores and even in recycling facilities.
Original NES controllers can be used too, with a different board with proper NES sockets (link).

or this PCB board with DB9 and Nes connector !!

I have in DIPTRACE form otherwise I have reported the dimensions of the connector from ALIEXPRESS
con nes