Yeah, especially on keyboard it's literally painful. Maybe I should have put a "Controller highly recommended" prompt. :D
Even still, it depends on the controller itself how good the reeling will feel. On mine the entire D-pad is one solid platform, so "rotating" it takes some force, but it's doable. Still way harder than the joystick, which is the best experience in my opinion. Not very gameboy-ish though, since that thing didn't have a joystick. :D