Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Getting some drift in my current 3rd party (power A) wired controller that's about 3 or 4 yrs old at this point. Not bad for only spending 15 or 20 on it.

With that said, looking for another alternative for a controller, wired or not, doesn't really matter. I see alot of mixed reviews on these 3, Power A, PDP, and Hori. Are there any that seem to have a better reputation than the other? Or does anyone else have any recommendations? I've found all 3 on Amazon for anywhere from $12 to $35. I'm open to suggestions.

Edit: I like 8bitdo, but not for a pro controller alternative

@NintendoByNature
Why not use a pro controller? I mean, they do cost more, so if it's a money saving thing I get it, but I've just found there to be no quality substitute for it without making serious concessions (no gyro, or its wired, or it can't wake up Switch, no HD rumble, no NFC, etc).

I think I saw them for like $50 recently.

@JaxonH I got one already and I love it, this is just more of a backup/one I use with the little guy when we're playing. That's kind why I want a cheaper option. It's not my main controller. I don't necessarily need gyro or wireless for my backup, honestly. If I find most of these controllers are, for the most part, bad quality, I'll just grab a pro controller

I love my Pro controller, couldn't imagine using my Switch without it, even in handheld mode. That said the one thing I'm not huge on is the weak rumble, it's weird it's stronger in the Joycons than in the Pro controller.

@Pizzamorg
Joycon is really thin and small, while the larger pro controller absorbs alot of the finer granular detail so you can't really feel separation of left and right. I don't think they engineered the rumble for the Pro Controller as the primary unit.

Put joycon in the grip though, and it feels really good with rumble. The grip is super lightweight and was definitely designed to transfer the rumble of the joycon to the left and right hands separately. While I love pro controller, the joycon in grip is surprisingly comfy- I use it whenever I travel (such as now, back in Indiana this week again) or at work in tabletop. Beginning to really appreciate the design of that grip. Noticed it in Metroid Dread tonight how well rumble transfers.

@Pizzamorg
Joy Cons is not suitable for playing Street Fighter games.

Something I hate about the joy cons is their joystick. It is not only very small, but it has a very lousy texture as well. The thumb grip of they joystick is very slippery and even when I tried some additional thumb grips, the extra thickness they added was messing with the turning of the sticks, because their travel distance is so small.

Binbok joy cons on the other hand, have perfect joy sticks. Textured material to avoid slipping, and much better to hold in general. And I am not talking about the bulky model with the big joysticks, but the slim one.

It just buffles me how Nintendo can't get right something so simple and crucial, which even 3D parties with budget options get right.

@alexwolf The Switch also have terrible shoulder buttons, sometimes they're even unresponsive. I can get past the joysticks, but the shoulder buttons are awful.

Eh, I love the joycon. I switched back to them with the OLED as I just prefer the lighter, slimmer system. Shoulder buttons are amazing. Even the analogs work fine. I come from a long line of handhelds with 3DS mouse nubs and miniature Vita sticks. Compared to that, analogs are a Godsend for a handheld system. Binbok analogs are better, but they're also larger and more bulky to house them. Tradeoffs and all that.

This might be a weird question to ask on this forum, but I know I'm more likely to get a response here. What color is the hocotate from pikmin? I'm working on a project and all the photos I find are either red or pink.

Maybe history matters. I'm used to much more substantial controllers so the Joycons just don't feel good to me at all.

I go back and forth on my controller preferences. Even on PC. I spent years ignoring my Steam Controller, and now I'm on a bit of a Steam Controller kick again.

In general, Pro Controller when docked and SPP when handheld on the bigger model.

Although I do like having the joycons split apart, so, when there's a game that doesn't require a lot of precise inputs, I'll sometimes play with those.

Joy con are my favourite controllers ever.

@gcunit
They're extremely versatile which I love.

Like the Switch itself, there are compromises made to achieve that flexibility, but for me, it strikes the perfect balance.

Even the d-pad I've come to appreciate more over the years. Because 99% of games use D-pad as buttons for map access or health Potion. It doesn't work well for fighting games though. But I rarely play those, and have other controllers I can use if I do.

Same thing with digital shoulder buttons. I hear a lot of complaints, but 99% of games don't use analog shoulder buttons. I'd rather have a digital button that's better than squishy analog for the 99% of games that are better with digital, than make the vast majority of my games feel worse to play just so one or two games can use the analog (and even then, games like Trials Rising use the analog stick instead and I prefer it more- I beat courses on Switch Lite I still haven't beaten on Steam).

The good news is, there's a lot of choice and alternate options, so even if someone doesn't like them, there's plenty of alternatives to use instead.

Joy-Con's an odd one, I think it was an interesting concept back in 2017 though more recently it has felt like its biggest advantage is that you can replace it if it gets drift (if the Switch Lite got drift you'd have to get the whole system repaired or replaced) rather than something gameplay related.

I like joy cons but I love the pro controller more. It’s great that out of the box you can play multiplayer games without buying more controllers. Snipperclips was my first eshop game and it great with single joy cons shared with family and friends

The biggest advantage of joy cons is definitely playing with one joy con in each hand, in games with motion controls and rumble. Super Mario Odyssey was one of my best gaming experiences, partially due to the above reasons. Also, lazily playing like a sloth with only one joy con on your hand and the switch on your bed is another big plus for me, in games that dont have a lot of different commands and with slow gameplay, because playing handheld can become tiring very quickly, especially without any kind of grip.

But when playing handheld with the joycons attached, the ergonomics are pretty bad, and often without any good reason. I already mentioned the thumb grips and I will insist, even without changing the size of the joysticks, there are much better thumbgrips out there, compared to the slippery flat textured ones of the joy cons.

5 days to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Grand Theft Auto III Remastered, Grand Theft Auto Vice City Remastered, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Remastered. Followed by Shin Megami Tensei V the day after.

I think Thursday I'll hop into GTA Vice City and KOTOR.

GTA III was the first 3D Grand Theft Auto, and the most archaic to go back to. I'm sure it's MUCH better now in the Remastered version, but it's still the smallest map. Then again, Vice City and GTA III maps combined still don't even match half the size of the San Andreas map, but Vice City is a little smaller, a bit more focused, and has the whole Scarface thing going on. Better to save San Andreas for after.

And I'm very excited to get a save file going in KOTOR. Finally, after all these years, I'll be able to play it, and on a hybrid device at that.

But, it'll only be a toe in the water because SMTV will take priority on Friday.

@JaxonH San Andreas has a lot of empty space in it, which contrasts with the smaller but more content-dense worlds in the other two games. But I remember being a bit awed by how big it all was at the time. It was very cool.

Really looking forward to messing around with the system where your character can gain or lose weight. No playthrough of SA was completing without making CJ eat a bunch of fast food and become morbidly obese. 😂 I really miss fun, stupid stuff like that from the older games.

@Ralizah
Ya, that was fun. Not like nowadays where they've taken it too far and made it "realistic". Though I do think part of Vice City's appeal is not having to deal with that- I think you'd die after a few days of not eating anything in SA. Still, that's a far cry from RDR2 where you could write a GameFAQs guide just on the hunger mechanic. If rumors of GTA6 going even more realistic are true, I'd be happy to stick with these. Especially since they're on Switch where I do most of my gaming.

Btw, the GTA Trilogy seems to be doing very well on Switch. It's already jumped to the #11 spot on the eShop (KOTOR at #16, and unfortunately, SMTV at #44 and #48 if only counting paid games and not free downloads or DLC, then again the sales for SMTV are being split across two versions). It's also tracking at least 100 spots ahead of the PS4 version on Amazon, and about 400 spots ahead of the Xbox One version on Amazon.

EVEN IF you say OK, there's a much higher digital attach rate on those systems, I still think this is one heck of a statement. I never thought I'd see the day a game like GTA was physically tracking ahead of the HD twins, by any metric at any time. Guess it just goes to show, when a game offers parity without severe downgrades, and is sold day and date... Switch versions are a force to be reckoned with.