Official Nintendo Switch Online Controllers
As of the time of this post, Nintendo has released five sets of controllers based on their original legacy consoles.
- NES
- SNES
- N64
- Gamecube
- Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Advantages
- Wireless
- Good battery life
- Easier maintenance
- USB-C for charging and connectivity (post-NES)
NES
Charge on console just like joy-cons
SNES
The perfect mini controller w/ D-Pad and 6 buttons
N64
Perfect for entire N64 library
Gamecube
Flexible outside library, very good for 3rd person platformers
Downsides
- Higher costs
- Low availability
- No other modern features
- gyro
- Unable to configure controllers (remapping)
- Some unsustainable materials
NES
- No other ways to charge these controllers (third party joy-con chargers are not reliable)
- Very small number of buttons
- No dogbone variant
SNES
- Famicom variant only available to Japan
N64
- Only one color option
- Thumbstick is less reliable
Genesis / Mega Drive
As many buttons as the NES
Gamecube
Only one color option
The big problems
- Less flexibility outside intended online library
- No color variants
Alternatives?
8bitdo DIY
8bitdo sells a wide range of replaceable circuit boards for the original intended controllers. They replace the wired method to the original console with a wireless protocol that the Nintendo Switch can find and treat as if it's one of the official wireless Switch Online products.
Because you only purchase the circuit board (the interior), this means that this product can be used with any color, edition, or other custom variant of the legacy controller that you can source. Personally, I have used the DIY N64 edition in order to have some colorful N64 controllers that still work on the Nintendo Switch as well as the intended Switch Online official products.
I personally recommend this for tinkers, especially for those who either own the original controllers, or have ease of access to pre-owned controllers and some electronics tools to open and clean them up.
Handheld Legend
Handheld Legend Website GitHub Repo
HandHeldLegend specializes in building optimal Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers, but they have an ongoing project to source an optimal Nintendo Gamecube controller, compatible with both the legacy console and the Nintendo Switch in preparation for the Gamecube Switch Online library, but of course specially for Smash Bros fanatics with consideration of other flexibility using added modern features, including a sidekick app that can tweak, calibrate and remap bindings without a computer or console.
DaemonBite
Daemonbite Website GitHub Repo
This is a project of build-it-yourself USB adapters to convert existing wired controllers to USB controllers that the Nintendo Switch can recognize as Pro Controllers.
Retro Pi Switch
This is a promising open-source project that simply takes the wired protocol of a controller and uses a Raspberry Pi as a converter and transmitter to the Nintendo Switch. Only tinkering done around the connection, no need to touch the controller internals or the Switch software.
