Is this custom N64 controller for the Switch from 8BitDo worth the effort? | REVIEW

in this review I'm going to take a look at 8-bit Do's N64 Bluetooth controller mod kit that converts an original N64 controller into a wireless Bluetooth pad for your switch I'm going to talk about the hall effect joystick replacement too and let you know whether it's a suitable mod for a controller you plan on using with the Nintendo 64. I'll also summarize the installation process for both of these mods give you an idea of how easy they are and provide a few comparisons between the original Hardware okay so first off the wireless mod kit is a DIY kit that requires a genuine and original N64 controller this mod replaces the entire board so I'd recommend cannibalizing a faulty controller you'll need to keep the d-pad and all the buttons including the soft pad inserts to complete the mod though as this Kit only contains the new board luckily I had a couple of controllers in my collection with doji sticks and one with a busted cable so I've converted this Atomic purple one into a wireless switch pad with a new stick and with this blue one I've simply replaced the stick to use with original Hardware the wireless kit will set you back 30 us or just over 40 Australian or forty dollars US and just under 60 Australian if you get the kit that comes with the hall effect stick individual sticks can be bought for 20 us or 30 Australian each so there is a discount when buying the stick with the wireless kit both the wireless kit and the hall effect stick come with the tool necessary to do the modification which is a nice touch although it would be nice if there was a no tool option during the ordering process because I already have a ton of these compatibility with the wireless kit is fairly limited officially it'll work with the switch and Android devices although if you have a Bluetooth dongle like the N64 blue retro you can use it with an original N64 I've heard that the performance is kind of laggy through adapters like this but I haven't tried it myself so consider this secondhand knowledge hopefully 8-bit do have plans to release their own solution seeing as they just announced something similar for the PS1 and PS2 now the best part about both of these mods is that you don't need to solder anything and in terms of difficulty I'd say that the stick replacement is about as easy as it gets and the wireless kit is only slightly more complicated so I'm just going to do a quick overview of each mod to give you an idea of what's involved for both mods you'll need to unscrew all the screws on the underside of the controller to open it up then there are just three more screws that hold the stick in place you'll need to unplug the stick from the board it should just pull out with a bit of force even if you're not replacing the stick you'll still need to remove it to get at the board underneath if you're just replacing the stick simply screw in the hall effect stick and plug it into the board making sure that the plug is facing the right way up as it only goes in the one way then fit the Zed button part of the board with the soft pad onto the slot on the stick and then screw the shell back together all up replacing the stick should take you about 10 minutes if you're doing the wireless mod once you've unscrewed the stick take the original board out and leave everything else in place so the buttons the d-pad and the soft pads then place in the new wireless board making sure to add the little plug thingy that covers the hole left by the cable then screw in the new stick into place or the original stick if you're not replacing it then reattach the Zed button part of the board and do the same with the shoulder buttons you'll need to bend the cables for the shoulder buttons to make them fit into place and this is probably the trickiest part of the mod these cables are quite stiff so to make this step easier keep the original board handy so that you can duplicate how these cables are bent then you just have to put the back of the shell on and screw it together if you find that the case doesn't want to go back together easily or it feels really tight just double check that you haven't got a cable pinching or rubbing up against part of the case because you could damage it if you force it and that's it it's ready to go this took me about 25 minutes in total alright so how well do these mods work in practice let's discuss the wireless mod first as I said before this doesn't work with the original Hardware without an additional Bluetooth adapter which 8-bit do currently doesn't sell so if you want to use it with the N64 you'll need to look into other third-party adapters for this review I focused on its performance with the switch alone now a couple of things to note here firstly the transmitter is contained in the rumble pack so you need to have it inserted at all times thankfully it's much smaller and lighter than the OEM Rumble pack also a bit of a downside is that the rumble feature only works with switch online and N64 games and even then not all games support Rumble now before we get into usage here's a quick spec Roundup battery life is up to 8 hours and the battery is charged via the rumble pack using USBC charge time is about two hours and you can use it and charge it at the same time you can also use it with a USBC Cable in wide mode with a PC I didn't do a huge amount of testing in terms of how long it holds this charge for but in my testing it did happily hold the charge for at least two weeks the wireless range I'm guessing is about 10 meters 8-bit do doesn't have this listed anywhere so this is just based on similar Bluetooth controllers that I own and my own testing the weight of the transmitter Rumble pack is under 50 grams which compared to an oem Rumble pack is significantly lighter and on the rumble receiver you have a bunch of additional buttons to use with the switch the arrangement is fairly similar to the official N64 controllers layout just lower down all right let's discuss what these mods are like to use I'm going to talk about the hall effect stick first because it relates to both mods so right off the bat this doesn't feel like a genuine stick not even close and if you're looking for a stick replacement that feels authentic this definitely isn't for you it feels much smoother than the original and because the height is shorter it has less travel distance which makes more precise adjustments harder for games like GoldenEye Perfect Dark and Mario 64. it initially takes some getting used to and you could make a solid argument that it's not as good as an original stick for racing games though I think it's Superior for Mario Kart in particular pulling off power slides is much easier because your thumb doesn't have to work as hard you still don't have as much control over smaller inputs but I think that's less important here so there's a bit of a trade-off for some games it allows you to react faster and I think this is better and then for other games the lack of precision is clearly an issue it's pretty hard to find decent replacement parts for original controllers so while this isn't the cheapest solution it's significantly better than the cheaper alternatives and much cheaper than those sexy steel sticks overall while this isn't a perfect one-to-one replacement it is a viable option that's reasonably priced if you simply need to replace a broken stick you can certainly do a lot worse okay now let's talk about the wireless mod pairing it with the switch is as easy as connecting a genuine controller and for the most part it works flawlessly with every game that I tried now just like the official N64 pad this is intended to be used with N64 games but you can of course use it to play other games too compatibility with non-n64 games is a bit hit and miss though for example it doesn't recognize the C down button as X in outrun which is a pretty big deal because this is the button you need to start the game running the controller through a tester picks up input so I know it's not a faulty button and I don't have this problem with other third-party controllers like the retrofighters brawler 64 Bluetooth NSO you can't remap buttons either so I'm gonna have to say that compatibility isn't Rock Solid and that might be a deal breaker if you want to use it for more than switch online games otherwise it's a pretty impressive controller in terms of performance latency seems to be on par with official pads and it really does feel like using a genuine N64 controller because you are obviously adding the whole effect stick will result in a less authentic experience although depending on the types of games you play you might prefer how this feels the bottom line is that if you want a proper N64 controller experience on the switch this delivers exactly that ultimately I think the wireless kit is a pretty good effort by 8-bit do if you have a faulty original N64 controller lying around this makes for a great alternative to the official pad for the switch not only does it bypass the need to have a Nintendo online account to purchase but it's competitively priced too even with the hall effect stick included this mod comes in at about 10 us cheaper it would be nice if 8-bit do sold an adapter to work with the original N64 Hardware like they do with some of their other controller kits as it stands though if you just want to play N64 games on the switch then for sure this is an authentic and reasonably cost effective way to do that now the hall effect stick isn't the greatest thing to happen to the N64 controller having said that for some games I actually prefer it also if you just want to replace a bung stick on a faulty controller this isn't a bad option both kits are easy enough to install for the average person and overall I give them a thumbs up

Channel: goukigod

Views: 7,644

Keywords: n64 controller switch, n64 controller for switch, custom controller switch, custom controller for switch, n64 switch controller, custom n64 controller for switch, n64 switch controller mod, n64 switch controller review, 8BitDo Mod Kit for Original N64 Controller, 8bitdo n64 controller mod, 8bitdo n64 controller, hall effect joystick, goukigod, 8bitdo n64, 8bitdo n64 mod kit

Id: Kh5VdByv4P8

Length: 8min 13sec (493 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 15 2023