I've been turning my attention to picking up extra bits and pieces in preparation for the arrival of my Switch 2 recently (OMG, it's so soon), and nothing excites me more with regards to this sort of endeavour than looking at snazzy new controllers, for no other reason than I have a serious weak spot for the damn things. You buy trainers, I buy controllers. It's all part of God's mysterious plan.
Yes, I know that Nintendo has got you covered with its fancy Switch 2 Pro Controller, and I've heard good things about the redesigned Joy-Con, but I always like to give third-party stuff a good shakedown, too, and the GameSir Tarantula Pro has sort of knocked my socks off, so I thought you should know about it.
First things first, this controller is 100% compatible with the Switch, right down to NFC support for your amiibo and full gyroscopic capabilities but, of course, I have yet to ascertain if it'll definitely work on a Switch 2, although I'm fairly confident. I guess I'll find that out soon enough, at which point I shall furnish you with an update.
In the run-up to Switch 2, we heard a lot of chat about whether or not it'd have Hall Effect sticks on its Joy-Con (it won't). Hall Effect sticks help reduce stick drift and are therefore a popular choice at the moment amongst gamers in the know. Hall Effect tech incorporates magnets and electricity (so therefore might as well be magic to me), instead of having moving and touching parts that can cause the age-old drift issue.
It's all very fancy, and it's here in the controller's triggers, while the sticks themselves get an even newer, and potentially even fancier tech, in the form of TMR ('Tunneling Magnetoresistance'). This tech, again, aims to rid us of stick drift by utilising them there magnets and is all the rage right now. Even the Hall Effect fans are digging it.
Looking into all this stuff, it's been a bit of a thing, as it turns out, just to find clear information to figure which controllers can connect, wirelessly, to a Switch whilst also containing the likes of Hall Effect or TMR. It's all a bit muddy, hard to parse, and I was very close to ending up with a wired pad (which this can also do) by accident.
Since taking delivery a few days back, I've been playing with the Tarantula Pro on my Switch, and it really does feel like a nice step up from my Pro Controller so far. I'm super impressed with its triggers, sticks, RGB lighting and all that important stuff. However, and being the slack-jawed balloon that I am, it's the way in which this controller changes its button layout that's got me most excited and needing, absolutely needing to show you, in a 100% primary school, showing-off sort of way. Hey, at least I'm honest.
Instead of recording my own video, though, check out the official demo video from the good folks at GameSir at the top of this article, because it'll be much better than anything I accomplish. If you haven't watched it yet, hop to it - I'll wait...
Pretty flipping sweet, amirite? The Dualshock shape of the Tarantula Pro is my preferred form, too, but the GameSir Cyclone 2, it seems, does all this same stuff — even the cool button-switching — with an Xbox form-factor. Nice.
I just need to wait and make sure that this super-flash controller, which comes with a dongle to connect to a Switch dock and also has a cool app to stick on your mobile for tinkering, actually works with my Switch 2. Let's keep everything crossed, eh. Now, I'm gonna go change the button layout and make a wooing noise again.
Have you already got your hands on a GameSir Tarantula Pro, or have you seen any other potential Switch 2 pads that feature TMR/Hall Effect tech, or a cool rotating button trick? Make sure to let us know in the comments!