Been meaning to get another few controllers for my switch, came across both this and the Mario style controllers. Just picked one up and its a solid build controller but doesnt have the motion sensor which makes it pretty light
Additional in hand images taken by myself. Plus my thoughts:
Had a play on Pokken this morning and I have concluded that this controller is better than I initially thought. It has both pros and cons when compared to the official pro controller which are as follows:
Pros:
- Only £30 in a choice of Zelda or Mario themes
- Better Dpad. Doesn't seem to have the issue of occasional multi directional input that the pro controller has.
- Bigger analogue sticks. This leads to better control than with the relatively tiny sticks on the pro controller. In my opinion this is its best feature, which is enhanced by the 6 additional sticks provided to find your preference.
- Better resting place for all trigger buttons. I find that on the pro controller my trigger fingers rest on the ZL and ZR buttons. This is all well and good for shooters but not so much for Pokken where, bizarrely, L and R are used. The Power A controller has your trigger fingers rest in the middle of each of the trigger buttons on both sides. Much better in my opinion.
Cons:
- No gyro, NFC or HD rumble. (I'm not even sure if it is has any rumble at all)
- The face buttons, ABXY and Dpad, are smaller than on the pro controller. Takes some getting used to.
- Lighter than I would like, probably due to having no internal battery. Not as light as the original Dual shock 3 however.
- All buttons have a more significant click than the pro controller, the mark of a cheaper controller, but no actual issues with input lag that I noticed.
Conclusion:
I am definitely happy with my purchase and will be using this pad for any games that prefer a Dpad, Pokken and some Indies, as well as FIFA and the inevitable Smash. Don't go in expecting the build quality of the pro controller and you will be pleasantly surprised.
PrinceRules64 to Kais
3 Sep 17#30
Really good quality thread, learnt a lot from reading everybody's thoughts, especially this post from Kais with the gallery of images which is more comprehensive than most reviews you could find, and also appreciated the comparison image from the OP a few posts before. I didn't even know it had a selection of sticks until I saw the picture with the six, call me old fashioned (I know a lot of them come with a selection these days) but that seems a pretty luxury feature to me.
The pros and cons seem like a good assessment, for me the biggest dealbreaker is the lack of motion. I know it will seem silly to some but I have experienced it in the past with third party controllers where you rely on it and take it with you up until you find you can't actually play the part you need to play, then you might as well have no controller. This is particularly stinging in multiplayer games where you thought it was your +1 but isn't.
I'm also severely underimpressed by Micro-USB to Type-A in a time where everything that's going to last a few years should be either compact and versatile Type-C or legacy Type-A. The benefit of the removable cable is severely reduced when the cable is something I'm carrying only for this controller. I know it's considered cheaper but it still affects my decision making.
I've typed too much already and nobody cares, but I still haven't bought a pro controller because joy con with grip (or even without) has served me well so far. I've really loved Zelda's black and white designs over the years and was tempted by this at half price (even if it needs to be plugged in to use), but ultimately I don't think I'm prepared to buy it as a useful-sometimes alternative. The brilliance of the joy cons has been how universal they are and the 20-hr battery has never hindered me so far. Anyway good morning to you all. :sweat_smile:
P.S. I gave it heat of course because there are definite merits there and everyone should make an informed decision themselves!
Dolphinzz to PrinceRules64
3 Sep 17#31
I was like you and was unsure about the pro controllers, but I ended up getting one and never regretted it. I always had to bring the Joy Con controller adapter thing wherever I went if I wanted to play it docked or tabletop mode.
The pro controllers are super comfortable and feel premium. I feel like the battery lasts longer but I may be wrong. Also there's no need to have them attached to anything else in order to charge them, and so that saves £30.
Personally I feel USB-C was the best decision they made. If you had a 3DS, or a Wii U, you will probably know the struggles of having a damaged port because you basically couldn't play while charging if you didn't want to damage it. USB-C avoids this, which is excellent (and you don't have to worry about which way you put it in as it's the same both sides).
Kais to PrinceRules64
3 Sep 17#33
No problem at all. Someone brought it up over on Reddit and I liked the look of the Zelda one so I thought I would go and help the internet out a bit. It is very odd that Power A have stealth released this considering they are officially licensed.
Your points are very valid but I feel that it is worth it for a second pad. The pro controller is hands down the best on the Switch, followed by split con in the power paks for me.
I also cannot recommend getting the Zelda controller to play BotW with because the lack of gyro will be sorely missed.
Ann3xe
3 Sep 17#32
Picked this up this morning, don't usually buy third party controllers however not only does it look awesome but it seems like a fairly decent controller to play with for the rare occasions when I actually use it docked
budgio
3 Sep 17#29
Bought one :wink: and it's ok. Not quite as good as the Hori or Gamewill controller's though. A bit overpriced aswell.
slannmage
3 Sep 17#28
Analog Triggers? Until the console gets that it won't have racing games other than MK.
SlashingSilence
2 Sep 17#8
As much as it's Zelda themed, it's not the best controller for Breath of the Wild really seeing as there is no motion control which certain shrines require the use of. Plus no motion assisted aiming when using the bow.
kingkongminesh to SlashingSilence
2 Sep 17#9
I do agree some shrines need them but you can actually turn off motion and do the labyrinth one in assume you're mentioning
Dolphinzz to kingkongminesh
2 Sep 17#26
You can turn off the motion? The only way I ever completed the shrine was flipping the board upside down and guiding it
kingkongminesh to Dolphinzz
3 Sep 17#27
I'm saying you can, but I did the same as you.. turned that controller completely upside down
Tequila
2 Sep 17#3
Worth mentioning it's Not an official Nintendo controller and is not made by Nintendo. so don't expect that quality. personally I wouldn't bother at all with non-official controllers even at half this price.
westy90 to Tequila
2 Sep 17#4
Look at the bottom left corner
deeperthought to westy90
2 Sep 17#5
That means they have licenced it not that Nintendo make it.
westy90 to deeperthought
2 Sep 17#6
I know Power A made it but to have the nintendo seal it has to pass a certain quility thats what I thought anyway
Tequila to westy90
2 Sep 17#24
Sorry to disappoint you but that seal of quality doesn't mean much nowadays. it simply means it's licenced. there are many awful product for Nintendo systems that carry that "seal".
willyzippy89
2 Sep 17#23
Connects to the dock, pfffft im out
Tiernanism
2 Sep 17#21
'Removable cable'... are these pads wireless??
Hedja to Tiernanism
2 Sep 17#22
No, just the cable can be swapped/removed. Guessing it's using micro-USB to USB like most controllers so you can take it around provided you have a cable lying around and if it wears away you can swap it.
pazuzu17
2 Sep 17#20
I've the Pro plus the Pokken Tournament controller for all my Switch related controllers, however, this could be a great Raspberry Pi controller if you haven't a good one already.
kingkongminesh
2 Sep 17#18
Here is both the official pro controller and the one I posted.. I can tell you for certain it won't beat the pro but like I said I wanted additional controllers and I'm not forking out the pro price again..
The build quality is slightly less than the pro but make the choice yourself. It's only Argos, you can hand it back if you're not happy with the feel
PsychONeill to kingkongminesh
2 Sep 17#19
Thumb sticks look a little bigger and appear to be concave which is nice, for people like me with larger hands and big stupid thumbs that might be a selling point
Djplonker
2 Sep 17#7
2 years manufacturer's warrenty too.
Ignore the fanboys who complain this is not "offical" because if nintendo did make this it would be twice the price, it also cant be worse than the offical lump of plastic you get with the switch.
ErChivo to Djplonker
2 Sep 17#10
Sure, it would also be twice the quality though.
kingkongminesh to ErChivo
2 Sep 17#11
do you actually own one?
ErChivo to kingkongminesh
2 Sep 17#13
I do not, I'm just saying that based on decades of experience as a gamer. Maybe it's the best controller ever, who knows. I wouldn't bet on it though.
Djplonker to ErChivo
2 Sep 17#16
Guys I think this is sarcasm and that this is not the best controller ever..... Expire the deal!
Really though it is good for those looking for a second controller or those who don't use docked mode much.
If you think the official one is better value for money post it and see what happens.
(Hint: nintendos official stuff is overpriced and it will go cold)
ErChivo to Djplonker
2 Sep 17#17
It's not a deal for hotukdeals, but with most third party stuff, you end up buying a first party version eventually because the one you bought that was cheaper wasn't as good. So you do end up spending more in most cases.
I will never argue that Nintendo hardware is overpriced, because it is, but it is the best that you can get for a Nintendo console.
UberPark
2 Sep 17#15
Cool but remember it's a 3rd party licenced product, other wise it would be £65 like the pro controller lol
dezontk
2 Sep 17#14
Woah, what an original design.
SilverAnchovies
2 Sep 17#12
is this USB and does it work for PC aswell like the joycons?
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
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Opening post
Mario link:
argos.co.uk/pro…214
Has a 3 metre cable so no issues there..
Latest comments (33)
Additional in hand images taken by myself. Plus my thoughts:
The pros and cons seem like a good assessment, for me the biggest dealbreaker is the lack of motion. I know it will seem silly to some but I have experienced it in the past with third party controllers where you rely on it and take it with you up until you find you can't actually play the part you need to play, then you might as well have no controller. This is particularly stinging in multiplayer games where you thought it was your +1 but isn't.
I'm also severely underimpressed by Micro-USB to Type-A in a time where everything that's going to last a few years should be either compact and versatile Type-C or legacy Type-A. The benefit of the removable cable is severely reduced when the cable is something I'm carrying only for this controller. I know it's considered cheaper but it still affects my decision making.
I've typed too much already and nobody cares, but I still haven't bought a pro controller because joy con with grip (or even without) has served me well so far. I've really loved Zelda's black and white designs over the years and was tempted by this at half price (even if it needs to be plugged in to use), but ultimately I don't think I'm prepared to buy it as a useful-sometimes alternative. The brilliance of the joy cons has been how universal they are and the 20-hr battery has never hindered me so far. Anyway good morning to you all. :sweat_smile:
P.S. I gave it heat of course because there are definite merits there and everyone should make an informed decision themselves!
The pro controllers are super comfortable and feel premium. I feel like the battery lasts longer but I may be wrong. Also there's no need to have them attached to anything else in order to charge them, and so that saves £30.
Personally I feel USB-C was the best decision they made. If you had a 3DS, or a Wii U, you will probably know the struggles of having a damaged port because you basically couldn't play while charging if you didn't want to damage it. USB-C avoids this, which is excellent (and you don't have to worry about which way you put it in as it's the same both sides).
Your points are very valid but I feel that it is worth it for a second pad. The pro controller is hands down the best on the Switch, followed by split con in the power paks for me.
I also cannot recommend getting the Zelda controller to play BotW with because the lack of gyro will be sorely missed.
A bit overpriced aswell.
so don't expect that quality.
personally I wouldn't bother at all with non-official controllers even at half this price.
it simply means it's licenced.
there are many awful product for Nintendo systems that carry that "seal".
The build quality is slightly less than the pro but make the choice yourself. It's only Argos, you can hand it back if you're not happy with the feel
bigger and appear to be concave which is nice, for people like me with larger hands and big stupid thumbs that might be a selling point
Ignore the fanboys who complain this is not "offical" because if nintendo did make this it would be twice the price, it also cant be worse than the offical lump of plastic you get with the switch.
Really though it is good for those looking for a second controller or those who don't use docked mode much.
If you think the official one is better value for money post it and see what happens.
(Hint: nintendos official stuff is overpriced and it will go cold)
I will never argue that Nintendo hardware is overpriced, because it is, but it is the best that you can get for a Nintendo console.