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Controls

Controls Guide

A visual reference for every standard and optional Mectura cabinet control.

Version
1.0
Revised
Jul 24, 2026
Hardware
joystick
Download PDFPrint-ready layout
01

Standard controls

B

Confirms a menu choice or opens the highlighted item.

Launch the highlighted game from a game list.

A

Returns to the previous Batocera screen.

Leave a game list and return to systems or collections.

Y

Opens Search from a game list.

Press Y, then enter enough of the game title to search.

X

Adds or removes the highlighted game from Favourites when held.

Hold X and confirm the favourite marker appears or disappears.

Start

Opens the main menu and provides player-start input in games.

Open Batocera settings or begin an arcade game after adding a credit.

Select / Coin

Opens contextual options and inserts a virtual arcade credit.

Add a credit before pressing Start in an arcade title.

Hotkey

Works with another control to perform protected system actions.

Hold Hotkey and press Start to exit any active game or emulator.

Joystick · Left Joystick

Moves through menus and controls direction in most games.

Mectura maps the Suzo Happ joystick as Batocera Left Joystick, not D-pad.
02

Mectura locked layout

  • Hotkey is the dedicated top-row Hotkey button. There is only one Hotkey.
  • Start is the very-top left button. Select is the very-top middle button.
  • The action bottom row is B, A, and R1.
  • The action top row is Y, X, and L1.
  • The cabinet joystick is mapped as Batocera Left Joystick, not D-pad.
03

System control layouts

  • NES controls: B uses the cabinet B button; A uses the cabinet A button.
  • SNES controls: B uses the cabinet B button; A uses the cabinet A button; R uses the cabinet R1 button; Y uses the cabinet Y button; X uses the cabinet X button; L uses the cabinet L1 button.
  • Dreamcast controls: A uses the cabinet B button; B uses the cabinet A button; R uses the cabinet R1 button; X uses the cabinet Y button; Y uses the cabinet X button; L uses the cabinet L1 button.
  • Neo Geo controls: A uses the cabinet B button; B uses the cabinet A button; C uses the cabinet R1 button; D uses the cabinet Y button.
  • PlayStation controls: ✕ uses the cabinet B button; ○ uses the cabinet A button; R1 uses the cabinet R1 button; □ uses the cabinet Y button; △ uses the cabinet X button; L1 uses the cabinet L1 button.
  • Genesis controls: A uses the cabinet B button; B uses the cabinet A button; C uses the cabinet R1 button; X uses the cabinet Y button; Y uses the cabinet X button; Z uses the cabinet L1 button.
  • Master System controls: 1 uses the cabinet B button; 2 uses the cabinet A button.
  • TurboGrafx-16 controls: I uses the cabinet B button; II uses the cabinet A button.
  • Windows controls: A uses the cabinet B button; B uses the cabinet A button; R1 uses the cabinet R1 button; X uses the cabinet Y button; Y uses the cabinet X button; L1 uses the cabinet L1 button.
04

Trackball

The trackball provides free rolling movement for games designed around a ball, pointer, or analog aiming device. It is not automatically used by every title. See the dedicated Trackball Guide for games, cleaning, and sensitivity.

05

Spinner

The spinner provides continuous rotational input for paddle, steering, and dial-based games. Sensitivity is title-specific. Avoid pulling upward or striking the knob.

06

Light guns

Optional Sinden light guns use a visible tracking frame around the game area to calculate aim. Keep the complete frame visible on all four sides, handle the controllers safely, and run the main calibration when accuracy needs improvement.

07

USB, Bluetooth, and player order

First identify whether the controller is USB or Bluetooth.

  1. 1At the Batocera Main Menu, enable Show Controller Activity and press a button. The matching upper-left player icon should flash and identify the controller's player position.
  2. 2Open the player-order list and assign the intended first controller to Player 1. Assign later controllers to Player 2 and onward as required.
  3. 3USB: shut down normally, connect one controller to an approved USB port with all controls released, then start Batocera.
  4. 4If a USB controller is not detected through a hub, shut down and connect it directly to the PC. If it works directly, replace the USB hub.
  5. 5Bluetooth: charge the controller, disconnect it from other devices, put it into pairing mode, then open Start, Controller & Bluetooth Settings, Pair a Bluetooth Device.
  6. 6For an 8BitDo Ultimate 2C, press Home to power on, then hold its separate Pair button for three seconds for first pairing.
  7. 7Test it in the intended game.
  8. 8Restore the cabinet controller to Player 1 afterward when that is the normal arrangement.
08

Related help

Before troubleshooting a controller, light gun, trackball, or spinner, ask whether any USB cable, adapter, hub, port, or internal connection was moved. A customer may restore only a documented external USB connection after shutdown. Internal pins and wiring require a technician and the original Mectura reference.

For a button problem, first test the affected button on the Batocera main menu. If it fails there too, shut down and unplug the cabinet. From underneath the control panel, trace the two wires from that button and check for an accessible connector that has come loose. Press an obviously loose connector fully back onto the same terminal; never move a wire to a different terminal. If wiring is inaccessible, damaged, or uncertain, stop and contact Mectura.

  • A game with (C) beside its title requires an external controller rather than the cabinet controls.
  • Game uses unexpected buttons: test the button on the Batocera main menu and record the title before changing mappings.
  • Optional control missing: confirm the serialized cabinet hardware list.
  • Never globally remap the cabinet or inspect wiring while power is connected.