Cash crusaders rippa game controller reviews

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Mobus

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I just bought a rippa (rebranded shanwan) wireless game controller from cash crusaders. Rippa is the local cash crusaders home brand, with very little reviews or any information whatsoever online.

After installing, Windows identifies it as a Shanwan controller, which is the same as another vanilla unbranded controller I have.

If you own a rippa controller of any model, kindly post a short review here. Note the model number, the box description, year bought, on which platforms you've used it (playstation #, xbox, pc, raspberry pi etc) and the protocol (usb, 2.4ghz dongle, BT), as well as any other useful info.

Currently (2021-09), Cash Crusaders lists the following models:
Screenshot_20210902-202345_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
*UPDATED*
Model: Rippa RA902BSP (model number not on the box, from website)
Box description: Sony playstation 3 compatible, wireless 6axes BT, "compatible with Win XP/Vista/7/8" (back side)
Website description: Playstation 3 and pc compatible wireless controller
Cost: R229 (Sept 2021)

NOTE: Does not work wirelessly with PC via bluetooth (at least not out of the box)

Review:
I wanted a basic/cheap wireless controller for pc and raspberry pi gaming with the kids. My main requirements was dual stick, rechargeable batteries, wireless w/o input lag, PC and RPi compatibility and multiple controllers w/o interference.

Unfortunately this model only worked via usb on PC. Its "bluetooth" comms seems to be of playstation-only flavour and neither my laptop or phone could even scan for it. I did not test it on a playstation 3. I read some articles online that implied you can override your windows bluetooth drivers with specific "playstation flavoured" drivers from the SCPToolkit - which might then work - but I did not venture any further. I wanted something that works out of the box. I returned / exchanged it for the R269 controller (review to follow). As for the controller itself, the buttons and sticks were pretty good. Not as good as original playstation/xbox controls but better than some sub R200 wired controllers I've tried.​
 
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Firstly why would anyone willingly buy a DS3 shaped controller :) secondly yeah the Bluetooth is PS3 only, I'd spend a bit more and get an original Xbox One S or Series controller.
 
Lupus said:
Firstly why would anyone willingly buy a DS3 shaped controller :) secondly yeah the Bluetooth is PS3 only, I'd spend a bit more and get an original Xbox One S or Series controller.
Click to expand...

Hey!!!
I bought a P3 controller for my Pi box cause I grew up with them (PS1/2).... Muscle memory is a bitch :p

Only mine was from Takealot for only R185 and worked perfectly fine via Bluetooth on Raspberry Pi + Batocera and PS1 & 2 games. The same muscle memory is causing me to now buy an arcade controller for the NeoGeo & Mame games :)

Sidenote to OP: Actually never checked if it worked on PC.... will check tonight and give feedback. Did you use something like ScpToolkit or did you try and install it with no software? Cause if it was the latter you would not get anywhere.
 
Mobus said:
I bought (and returned) the "playstation 3 and pc compatible" wireless controller for R230 in 2021. I wanted a basic wireless controller for pc and raspberry pi gaming with the kids.

Unfortunately this model only worked via usb on PC. Its "bluetooth" comms seems to be of "playstation" flavour and neither my laptop or phone could even scan for it via bluetooth. I did not test it on playstation.

I read some confusing articles online that implied you can override your windows bluetooth drivers with specific "playstation flavoured" drivers, which might then work, but would prevent all other standard bluetooth connections. I did not venture any further.

As for the controller itself, the buttons and sticks were pretty good. Not as good as original playstation/xbox controls but better than some sub R200 wired controllers I've tried.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure you gonna need to do this for Bluetooth... will check tonight.
 
AlphaJohn said:
Hey!!!
I bought a P3 controller for my Pi box cause I grew up with them (PS1/2).... Muscle memory is a bitch :p

Only mine was from Takealot for only R185 and worked perfectly fine via Bluetooth on Raspberry Pi + Batocera and PS1 & 2 games. The same muscle memory is causing me to now buy an arcade controller for the NeoGeo & Mame games :)

Sidenote to OP: Actually never checked if it worked on PC.... will check tonight and give feedback. Did you use something like ScpToolkit or did you try and install it with no software? Cause if it was the latter you would not get anywhere.
Click to expand...
I bought one of those as my PS3 controllers are shot, but they just feel so foreign nowadays
 
AlphaJohn said:
Hey!!!
I bought a P3 controller for my Pi box cause I grew up with them (PS1/2).... Muscle memory is a bitch :p

Only mine was from Takealot for only R185 and worked perfectly fine via Bluetooth on Raspberry Pi + Batocera and PS1 & 2 games. The same muscle memory is causing me to now buy an arcade controller for the NeoGeo & Mame games :)

Sidenote to OP: Actually never checked if it worked on PC.... will check tonight and give feedback. Did you use something like ScpToolkit or did you try and install it with no software? Cause if it was the latter you would not get anywhere.
Click to expand...
I only tried the standard bluetooth but read about this scptoolkit. Seems to be more trouble than its worth though and quite a few reports of adware/spyware and the likes.

Can anyone confirm or debunk whether the scptoolkit bluetooth driver disables usage of normal bluetooth devices?

Good to know that this P3 model works straight out of the box with RPi / Batocera. Maybe Batocera has the scp bluetooth drivers baked-in? Did you ever test the sixaxis motion control? R185 is really cheap if it has sixaxis too.
 
Mobus said:
I only tried the standard bluetooth but read about this scptoolkit. Seems to be more trouble than its worth though and quite a few reports of adware/spyware and the likes.

Can anyone confirm or debunk whether the scptoolkit bluetooth driver disables usage of normal bluetooth devices?

Good to know that this P3 model works straight out of the box with RPi / Batocera. Maybe Batocera has the scp bluetooth drivers baked-in? Did you ever test the sixaxis motion control? R185 is really cheap if it has sixaxis too.
Click to expand...

Spyware is a thing when you download pre compiled versions

You should install V Studio and compile your own --> https://github.com/nefarius/ScpToolkit

Did not try sixaxis, PS1 & 2 games dont use it?
 
Model: Rippa RA818
Box description: Sony playstation 2/3 & PC compatible, 3-in-1 wireless gamepad controller, "compatible with Win XP/Vista/7/8" (back side)
Website description: 3-in-1 wireless controller
Cost: R269 (Sept 2021)

NOTE: Works wirelessly with 2.4GHz usb/PS2 dongle, no bluetooth

Review:
I wanted a basic/cheap wireless controller for pc and raspberry pi gaming with the kids. My main requirements were dual stick, rechargeable batteries, wireless w/o input lag, PC and RPi compatibility and multiple controllers w/o interference. This model worked out of the box and met all my requirements.

This model comes with a square 2.4GHz "multi-loop" wireless dongle. The 2-in-1 dongle can be plugged into either USB on the pc or the controller port on a PS2 (I assume, Playstation connection not tested). Multiple controllers each need their own dongle and dongles are assigned on a first-on-first-connect basis. I also had another generic shanwan 3-in-1 wireless controller (which works with AAA batteries) with a similar dongle, which worked interchangeably with the rippa dongles and controllers. With three dongles/wireless controllers and one normal USB controller connected, no input-lag could be detected at all. The wireless controllers were just as responsive as the wired usb one.

As for the controller itself, the buttons and sticks were pretty good. Build quality is better than other generic P2/P3 controllers I've tried, especially the push buttons. No analog triggers or 6axes as far as I can tell. A good comfortable grip for small or big hands. The controllers worked out of the box with standard windows 7 and 10 drivers, as well as with the RPi. The dual vibration motors only worked once the drivers were updated with the driver CD included in the box (tested on win 7). My only complaint is the rather odd square dongle, which can make for some awkward usb port clusters - but still an easy compromise for not dealing with bluetooth drivers and possible input lag. All-in a good, affordable wireless controller for casual/retro gaming. Obviously not as good or advanced as original playstation/xbox controllers but better than some sub R200 wired controllers I've tried.

PS. I found the controllers always worked in the windows control panel "Set up USB game controllers". I tried to play Overcooked via the EPIC games launcher but only one controller was detected. I added Overcooked as a third party game on my Steam library, enabled Playstation device support in Steam controller settings, and launched Overcooked from Steam. All three controllers worked 100%.​
 
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Mobus said:
Model: Rippa RA818
Box description: Sony playstation 2/3 & PC compatible, 3-in-1 wireless gamepad controller, "compatible with Win XP/Vista/7/8" (back side)
Website description: 3-in-1 wireless controller
Cost: R269 (Sept 2021)

NOTE: Works wirelessly with 2.4GHz usb/PS2 dongle, no bluetooth

Review:
I wanted a basic/cheap wireless controller for pc and raspberry pi gaming with the kids. My main requirements was dual stick, rechargeable batteries, wireless w/o input lag, PC and RPi compatibility and multiple controllers w/o interference. This model worked out of the box and met all my requirements.

This model comes with an square 2.4GHz "multi-loop" wireless dongle. The 2-in-1 dongle can be plugged into either USB on the pc or the controller port on a PS2 (I assume, Playstation connection not tested). Multiple controllers each need their own dongle and dongles are assigned on a first-on-first-connect basis. I also had another generic shanwan 3-in-1 wireless controller (which works with AAA batteries) with a similar dongle, which worked interchangeably with the rippa dongles and controllers. With three dongles/wireless controllers and one normal USB controller connected, no input-lag could be detected at all. The wireless controllers were just as responsive as the wired usb one.

As for the controller itself, the buttons and sticks were pretty good. Build quality is better than other generic P2/P3 controllers I've tried, especially the push buttons. No analog triggers or 6axes as far as I can tell. A good comfortable grip for small or big hands. The controllers worked out of the box with standard windows 7 and 10 drivers, as well as with the RPi. The dual vibration motors only worked once the drivers were updated with the driver CD included in the box (tested on win 7). My only complaint is the rather odd square dongle, which can make for some awkward usb port clusters - but still an easy compromise for not dealing with bluetooth drivers and possible input lag. All-in a good, affordable wireless controller for casual/retro gaming. Obviously not as good or advanced as original playstation/xbox controllers but better than some sub R200 wired controllers I've tried.
​
Click to expand...
That sounds/looks like the old Astrum controllers?

Must admit I wasn't a fan of the buttons, that is why I went for the P3's mentioned above. Also in some systems example PSP emulation had issues with the Astrum.

Edit: Ok doesn't look like them so would be interesting to test. As I hate the current Astrum's I use on my PS2... so much that I went back to original corded controllers.
 
AlphaJohn said:
That sounds/looks like the old Astrum controllers?

Must admit I wasn't a fan of the buttons, that is why I went for the P3's mentioned above. Also in some systems example PSP emulation had issues with the Astrum.

Edit: Ok doesn't look like them so would be interesting to test. As I hate the current Astrum's I use on my PS2... so much that I went back to original corded controllers.
Click to expand...
The Rippa RA818 controller action buttons have a nice firm/solid feel to it. They give a decent amount of resistance before the click. The buttons don't sink all the way in like on the generic P3 I have, nor do they feel wiggly or loose in the button socket. The R/L1/2 buttons a bit wiggly, but not to the point where you'll have a "misfire".
 
AlphaJohn said:
Hey!!!
I bought a P3 controller for my Pi box cause I grew up with them (PS1/2).... Muscle memory is a bitch :p

Only mine was from Takealot for only R185 and worked perfectly fine via Bluetooth on Raspberry Pi + Batocera and PS1 & 2 games. The same muscle memory is causing me to now buy an arcade controller for the NeoGeo & Mame games :)

Sidenote to OP: Actually never checked if it worked on PC.... will check tonight and give feedback. Did you use something like ScpToolkit or did you try and install it with no software? Cause if it was the latter you would not get anywhere.
Click to expand...
Did you ever get round to trying your P3 controller wirelessly on PC? (hopefully without scptoolkit)
 
Mobus said:
Did you ever get round to trying your P3 controller wirelessly on PC? (hopefully without scptoolkit)
Click to expand...

Busy with it right now, in fact I am busy recompiling the code while I came to waste time here..... I'm not winning.

Works via cable, Bluetooth is telling me to go jump off a cliff.... but I suspect its cause I am running Windows 11 :(

Edit: Also busy playing with my new toy.
 
how did you guys get this controller to work via usb? my computer doesn't recognise it at all. just keeps flashing llights when i switch it on.
 
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