The best Nintendo Switch Controllers: crowd reviews

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>i can't afford to buy new controllers every year

Just an FYI, I actually just replaced a joystick in a joycon that my wife uses. She gets competitive and not only did the joystick have drift, she ended up ripping off the rubber top of the joycon. It only cost $7.50 to replace it (2 pack of new joysticks was $14.99 on Amazon and comes with all the tools you need). Works beautifully now. There's videos online to walk you through the steps to fix it too.

For anyone looking for a link to the ones I got, they were these ones.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071YVC3NJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I took my Switch over to a friends once and immediately wanted another option for travelling with my dock.

This does require you to basically trash your original dock, but it's much more manageable for space and quite easy to do. Took me 30 minutes to do the swap and haven't had issue in any form in the month ive had it.

It's an easy enough fix no soldering needed.

https://www.amazon.com/Veanic-2-Pack-Replacement-Joystick-Controller/dp/B07MRJ12HX/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=nintendo+switch+replacement+joystick&qid=1562768080&s=gateway&sprefix=nintendo+switch+repl&sr=8-3

It’s being choked by the switch dock more than the dbrand skin. I gutted my dock and put it in a shell I bought from Amazon. Looks better, easier to travel with, and has an open back to the vents.

Here’s the Lunk https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071YVC3NJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_c4lQCb1SKX4K9

Your dock has 3 or 4 different types of screws, all Phillips though. You’ll have to pretty much tear the whole thing apart.

Order a joycon repair kit off Amazon

Used this one myself, no complaints.

Veanic 2-Pack 3D Replacement Joystick Analog Thumb Stick for Switch Joy-Con Controller - Include Tri-Wing, Cross Screwdriver, Pry Tools + 4 Thumbstick https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MRJ12HX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_WpJoiomk1UIcU

Direct Link to the 1.13 Firmware update

I just played some Rocket League to test it out and it seems to work flawlessly with no perceptible lag and rumble support. The buttons correspond to the button position on the Pro Controller, so the transition was seamless.

Only the newer Xbox One controllers are supported since the earlier ones didn't have Bluetooth. I am running on the latest firmware(5.0) for the Switch as well.

The adapter is available from Amazon for $20.

Edit - This usually gets asked everytime so let me preemptively say No,Third Party Controllers do not support Amiibo.

look into this. It's the shell for a smaller dock, but you have to DIY the thing by taking apart an official Nintendo dock.

https://www.amazon.com/BASSTOP-Portable-Nintendo-Replacement-original/dp/B071YVC3NJ

I ended up buying a used Dock for $70 on Amazon Marketplace

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B06ZZ6FGGL/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=all

It's been worth it having it in two rooms of the house.

> I'm already searching for a third party dock without a front (that doesn't brick your system) so I can still play some games on my TV. Any suggestions?

i'd recommend getting one of those dock shells that are of that design and then you take out the contents of your dock and put it inside. should be cheap and uses all of nintendo's hardware (other than the plastic shell) so no bricking.

edit: afaik this one is popular on this sub so it must be decent: https://www.amazon.com/BASSTOP-Portable-Nintendo-Replacement-original/dp/B071YVC3NJ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1533556540&sr=8-3&keywords=nintendo+switch+dock+shell

Joystick drift?

I'll describe it like this: In Breath of the Wild when I am not holding the controller Link will subtly move forward. In the game I would be standing at the edge of a precipice and he would tip-toe off of the edge.

If you go into the calibration settings where you can see what the joycon's joystick is inputting you will see that the signal it is receiving is "dancing" around center just slightly (when it should be perfectly stationary).

This is a known issue. It's due to a design/engineering flaw. With use over time all joycons will eventually suffer from it. There was a guy here on reddit that finally broke it all down with pictures and showed exactly why it happens.

You can buy yourself some time by using Electronics cleaner underneath the joystick, but it's a band-aid at best. Thankfully there is a cheap kit that you can buy online (I purchased mine on Amazon) that allows you to replace the joystick, if you are not afraid to open it up yourself. It comes with all the tools you will need.

However, there are third party cases to hold the proprietary guts in the dock. BASSTOP's Switch dock shell comes with the tools you need, takes about 30 minutes to transfer. It fits in the palm of your hand & fits in a lot of carry cases.

> [a huge amount of features in an impossibly small package]!"

The actual circuit board is tiny. Hell you can buy 3rd party enclosures that just hold the circuit board.

All that people want is one of those from Nintendo. I don't know about you but I don't want to put my dock into a bag where the open part will just get bent. Which would be useful for a 1-2 week vacation for TV setup in a hotel/house rental/etc. Even more so for people with travel based jobs where they spend a lot of time in hotel rooms at the end of the day.

For less than $20 you can get one of these, all you have to do is take the circuit board, USB c connector, and a small spring out of the stock dock. I myself have done it on two of my own docks and it works like a charm. Makes the dock WAY more portable, and you no longer have to worry about the whole bending problem.

As someone who grew up using the Wiimote, use whatever you want to. Some controllers are relatively cheap, but use whatever you're comfortable with.

If you're looking for some, HORI makes a few that are relatively inexpensive. Here is a wired controller for only about $20, and for only $5 more (depending on the design), you can get these switch controllers which closely resemble gamecube controllers. Both of these work with other titles, and are wired. The only downside is that both of them would only be able to be used in docked mode (since they plug into the dock). There are some wireless controllers that can work in handheld mode, though most of the time when I'm playing in handheld mode, it's usually with the joycons attached to the console.

Wiimote - grab this and you are good to go: https://smile.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Adapter-Nintendo-Switch-Raspberry/dp/B0786JC6VW/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1540860048&sr=8-15&keywords=8Bitdo+Nintendo+Switch

Please, don't do that. That's the dumbest plan I've ever heard.

At least buy a used one (so that you can give a little less money to the company that sells you faulty hardware) and just fix the controllers yourself. It's CRIMINALLY easy. If you're good with your hands (even being able to use chop sticks is good enough) it'll take 30 minutes MOST. if you're a clumsy person, I'm going to say 4 hours for two controllers is the peak time.

Please please please don't give them 100 extra dollars, plus 80 Everytime they sell you a faulty product. Just think about how that sounds.

If you want I'll even PERSONALLY walk you through the entire repair process for free through twitch or YouTube live. Just anything but your first plan.

15 dollars for parts and tools

Edit: to be clear that's enough to replace 2 controllers thumbsticks.

Its amazing, how ignorant people are as to what this dock actually is, what it does, and what is included with it. Made painfully obvious when they refer to it as "a piece of plastic".

THIS is a piece of plastic.

If you are too dumb to know what the switch dock is, then shut up, dont buy one and move on with your life.

You can buy it on Amazon JPN (if you make an account). I placed a pre-order when they were announced (back in Sep). Literally just came in 10 mins ago. Shipping is faster than Amazon US, for me at least.

Even with shipping this was cheaper than me going to a store and buying it for retail.

This isn't the official Nintendo Pro Controller, this is the HoriPad which retails for bout $16

Get the 8BitDo SN30 Pro Plus. Easily my favorite controller, and it's cheaper than the Nintendo Pro Controller. I think the only thing the Pro has over it is HD Rumble and you can't wake the Switch from sleep with the 8BitDo.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8JKVNT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_CF.3FbJ2XB9BC

Real talk: As someone who travelled a lot for work this year, the best solution for bringing the dock is to get one of the 3D printed shells and buy a 2nd official dock and transplant its contents in to it.

Unfortunately Nintendo still aren't taking portability seriously and don't offer a travel dock of their own so this is the only real option if you're looking to down-size the official dock (don't use 3rd party ones as they are known to fry your switch).

This is the one I use: https://www.amazon.ca/BASSTOP-Portable-Replacement-Nintendo-Original/dp/B071YVC3NJ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1542135143&sr=8-2&keywords=basstop

Taking the parts out of the official dock and putting them in to this really isn't hard and this is the only SAFE way to have a proper portable dock.

I would just pay an extra $4 and get the Pro+. In my opinion it is much better. 8Bitdo Sn30 Pro+

This PowerA Wireless GC Controller is OFFICIALLY Licensed by Nintendo. Might be the closest to an official Nintendo wireless GC controller we'll get (other than the WaveBird of course).

>Official Licensed Product

>This PowerA Controller is officially licensed for Nintendo Switch. Always look for this seal when buying video game accessories as assurance that the product has gone through Nintendo’s rigorous testing and evaluation process.

8 bitdo sn30 pro plus, it says in the description that it's compatible with windows 7 and works well on switch. The only downside is that it can't wake the switch up from sleep.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8JKVNT

I bought a controller just for this game

Get an 8bitdo wireless adapter! I actually just picked one up for other games and I have been using my ps4 controller on the switch. Sadly I think your biggest problem will be that let’s go doesn’t support pro controllers and only uses the buttons to throw the ball in handheld mode.

Here it is on amazon though i have seen it around other places!

this is the most typical exaggeration I see from Amico fans. A switch comes with two controllers. Okay, say you don't like joycons. You can get a second controller for around 20-30 bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Switch-HORIPAD-Controller-Officially-Licensed/dp/B01NAUATSM/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=switch+controller+hori&qid=1623703738&sr=8-8

Second, there are plenty of good games that are not 60 on the Switch. Like, seriously. Are you from Atari Age or something?

in case anyone doesn't know it exists there's already a gamecube style pro controller for the switch on amazon

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not trying to one up or anything I just know people who would want to see it will be on this post

I actually bought one and changed the housing to this one

I usually move around with the switch, and having a portable dock is really convenient

Holy moly this is excellent. If you really want to get people excited, I think that adding support for the 8bitdo receiver and wireless N64 controllers would really push this over the top.

It also looks like a very good "my first mod", with only a handful of connections and no fine pitch soldering.

Honestly, replacing a joycon joystick isn't that hard. I fully believe that even a total novice could do it. All it requires is a replacement joystick, a YouTube video, and some patience. Not to mention that the replacement joystick is pretty inexpensive.