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Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

With the likes of the SN30 and SN30 Pro - as well as DIY kits - 8BitDo is responsible for some of the best third-party controller options for Nintendo fans, and this year has updated its wildly popular N30 Pro pad for the Switch generation.

The N30 Pro 2 (catchy name) looks very much the same as the older model, right down to the rather fetching LED lights and button placement.

However, this year, the pad has been upgraded with USB Type-C for charging and also has Home and Screenshot buttons, which are important for Switch owners. It also includes vibration and motion controls for the first time.

Outside of that, it's very much business as usual, which means the controller looks, feels and plays fantastically. We can't decide which we like best out of this and our well-used SN30 Pro, but we're equally comfortable using both.

What's really fetching about these refreshed models is that each one is based on a different classic console - the NES, N64, GameCube and Mega Drive / Genesis. Now you can select a controller which says a lot about your past loyalties, as well as offering you the ideal means to play.

The only drawback of these pads is that they don't offer NFC support, which means you can't use them to interact with amiibo. This might not seem like a big issue now, but when Smash arrives, you may well be hankering for a controller which offers this functionality.

Even so, 8BitDo has given Switch owners yet another solid interface for their console, and at a considerable saving when compared to the official Pro Controller.

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