Got slightly farther into the final boss fight on this attempt. First attempt today while testing a new Flydigi Apex Pro 4 controller. I was surprised that the clicky , microswitch Dpad felt on par or better than specialised 2D pads like the M30 ,Retroflag Genesis style controller, Saturn controllers. It even rivaled my modded joysticks for this game. Its unusual for a Dpad on a modern controller to compete with those pads. The rest of the controller is top notch as well. It may be the best universal controller Ive used, meaning it handles any type of game at a top level. Been experimenting with controllers for a while, but looks like these third party controllers are better than what the main companies put out. Will probably be using that for future attempts. Cant practice the final boss since there are no save states, so my completion of Hard Mode will definately have a high play time. Mainly the semi final and final bosses would mess up my runs.