Retro Fighters Brawler64 Next Gen N64 Controller Game Pad - Nintendo 64

This controller is a great modernized version of the original. The most important feature to me was the thumbstick. I've tried other 3rd party controllers, classic joystick replacements, and "Gamecube style" replacements for my original controllers, and there are always joystick issues. If you've never tried one of these, basically the stick goes from 0 to 100 way too quickly, and can cause major inconveniences, or has such a large deadzone you have to press the stick all way to get it to work. This controller, however, does a great job. It feels about the same as a Gamecube controller (as it is also a Gamecube style stick) with very accurate response. I tested it with Goldeneye's manual aim (Dam level sniper rifle) and all I can say is that it feels right. The crosshair moved around the screen just as you would expect it to, with no major jumping across the screen. I also tested with Ocarina of Time's quick spin attack and it worked flawlessly. I didn't test it, but I would assume that if the quick spin attack works, then spinning and throwing Bowser in Mario 64 would also work just fine. Also, the rubber grip is a God send and huge improvement. Other pros: The controller feels good. It was clearly designed for people, not aliens. The physical button press feedback is also good (the buttons don't feel soft, for the most part). Personally I would like a bit more, but it is acceptable. The cord has sufficient length. I saw some other reviews before I bought this saying that the cable was too short, but mine was a couple feet longer than the original N64 controller. Maybe the manufacturers increased the length since those reviews or I just need less cord than others. Cons: The D-pad is noticeably stiffer than the other buttons, and gives much less physical feedback when pressed (the D-pad does feel soft instead of giving a nice click). Maybe it would feel better after being broken in with use, but honestly, not many games even use the D-pad. Probably Mortal Kombat, but I did not test this because I'm terrible at fighters anyways, so I probably wouldn't have noticed a difference. Another issue (kind of) is the Z buttons are designed as triggers. This was covered in other reviews, but the Z button is just a button, not a pressure sensitive trigger, and is unnecessary. A Playstation style L2, R2 button would have sufficed. I do like that there are two Z buttons, however, and makes shooting games make more sense for right handed shooters. For those curious, you have to pull the trigger about halfway for the button to register as a button press. One last thing: I did not do much testing on the turbo function. It seems to work, but I've never really used it before on any controller, so I don't know how effectively test it. It's a great controller overall, and I'll likely buy another in the future; however, it is not without it's small flaws that could use some improvement. It's hard for me to justify a five star rating because it is not perfect, but in my experience this is the best replacement out there right now.

As an avid gaming enthusiast with a deep-seated love for classic Nintendo 64 games, I have found the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Next Gen N64 Controller Game Pad to be a delightful fusion of nostalgic design and modern gaming comfort. Starting with the aesthetics, the Brawler64 retains the classic look that us die-hard N64 fans love, while simultaneously incorporating a more modern, ergonomic design. The updated controller fits snugly into my hands, making long gaming sessions noticeably more comfortable. The buttons and analog stick are a highlight. They're both responsive and have a solid tactile feel, similar to what you'd find on today's high-end controllers. The redesigned "C" buttons, in particular, provide a level of precision that significantly enhances gameplay. I must also mention the phenomenal compatibility of this controller. Whether you're replaying a classic like "Super Mario 64" or delving into a lesser-known title, the Brawler64 connects seamlessly, giving you an immersive gaming experience every time. In terms of build quality, the Brawler64 is sturdily built, and it's clear that Retro Fighters prioritized durability when designing this product. The controller feels robust and able to withstand the occasional accidental drop or hard button press. Last but not least, the controller is plug-and-play. No additional software or lengthy setup procedures, just pure gaming pleasure right out of the box. In conclusion, the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Next Gen N64 Controller Game Pad provides an exceptional balance between nostalgia and modern gaming convenience. It truly revitalizes the Nintendo 64 gaming experience. For any fan of the N64 era looking for a worthy upgrade, this controller is an absolute must-have. Five stars all the way!

4.8/5 - A great N64 controller. 100% Working compatibility with Analogue 3D. My "-.2" stars is because the joy stick can get slippery. It could benefit from some design patterns or grip aid. Very natural feeling and responsive. Have used it on multiple games and it worked perfectly. Mario kart 64, WCW/nWo, LoZ... All work and feel great. Controller layout is a little weird for some games that really used the original N64 controller well. Does not feel super cheap.

I just got this controller in and boy let me tell you this controller rocks! It is lightweight and has a good feel and grip. I have larger hands so to give you a comparison: a PS2 Dualshock feels relatively smaller and less comfortable unlike this Retro Fighters controller which fits and feels fine for hours of gameplay. I have seen some complaints about GoldenEye 64 and Perfect Dark in terms of the joystick sensitivity however I don't have the same response. It feels fine and trying to compare the same technology now versus 1998 is apples to oranges. The joystick feels fine but is more sensitive than a standard 64 controller but that is due to the original design of the 64 controller so it only makes sense why there would be some sensitivity. The inlay the original 64 had on the joystick has been replaced to make your thumb less sore. The Z button has been replaced by using buttons on the back left and right which I felt were natural when playing Zelda using the Z button to lock on to enemies. The A and B buttons look as if they may be a little too low however there weren't any issues when playing any games so far. The C buttons feel fine and not too sticky like on the original 64 controller. The D-pad is much easier to navigate especially when playing a fighting game that requires it like Fighters Destiny. I have not found any usage so far for the Turbo or clear buttons. Highly highly recommend for retro gamers like myself who still enjoy pulling out the PS2, N64, Saturn, SNES, GameCube, Dreamcast, etc. Games I reviewed this controller with: Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Starfox 64, Doom 64, 007 GoldenEye, Ogre Battle 64, StarCraft 64, Fighters Destiny, MegaMan 64, Star Wars Rogue Squadron, Star Wars Shadow of the Empire, Killer Instinct 64, Mortal Kombat 4, Super Smash Bros

I wanted a N64 controller I could use on both the Switch and the N64 itself, I stumbled across this one and figured I'd give it a shot, and I'm glad I did. It's a solid controller for the price you pay and the quality is pretty good, especially the way the buttons feel. The control stick is very nice too, very much so a Gamecube feeling stick and I personally love that. Being able to use a memory or rumble pak is very nice as well. I haven't had a chance to use it on the N64 yet but it works perfectly on the switch so I would assume it'll be fine. Only minor issue I had was the switch/adapter was swapping the A and B buttons, turns out that's common with this adapter (Mayflash N64 adapter MF103) and all I had to do was hold a button combination to fix it. There is also no way to hit the minus button, ZR button, X and Y buttons, and the home button (although the adapter has a button to take you home) without another controller on standby, and when you're in a NSO N64 game only one controller will work so you basically have to hit the home button, close, then relaunch the application every time you're ready for something new. Great controller but if you're looking for something specifically for the switch, id recommend going with Retro Fighter's wired USB or Wireless USB Brawler64 controller. Overall I'd say this controller is a great alternative to the real thing, it will be a joy to use when I get my N64 up and running again, not my pick for the best Switch N64 controller though, but it gets the job done when paired with an adapter if you need it to.

Left Z button does not detect when you press down the button. Once the button "snaps" down from slight pressure, there is no input registered, you have to force the button down harder to get the input to register. None of the other buttons are like this and I get missed inputs constantly in Mario Kart and Goldeneye. I have literally used this controller for maybe 1 hour since I bought it last year. It is brand new. Besides the defective controller, the main reason I am leaving a 1 star review is I have purchased many controllers in the past (this one in the review is #4) and ALL of them have been defective in some way. Retrofighters is very nice though and they did give me free replacements for 2 of mine in a row. However, once the 3rd started having the same issues only after a few weeks, I gave up on this company. I didn't bother getting another replacement. I just assumed they were defective. This was in 2018 ish I think. Ok, fast forward 5-6 years. I finally feel like giving them another try. I email support and they tell me the issues with the analog stick have all been fixed etc. So I decide to give it another try after so many years and purchase a new one. And go figure I get another quality control travesty of a controller. Great controllers if you get a good one. photo of my 3 original ones that had defective stick after 6-8 months of light use. New one on the bottom (defective left Z trigger, needs too much force to register input)

As I'm sure everyone knows, the official N64 controller has a joystick that can be very uncomfortable, especially for we gamers who are getting up there in age. I use these little rubber joystick covers to make the stick a bit softer which helps a bit but it can still start to hurt my thumb after a while. At one point I bought the Hori Pad mini after hearing good things. I was not impressed. The stick on the Hori is fine in terms of comfort but the input on it is extremely sensitive, making it near impossible to just walk in SM64. I also did not like the way the Hori felt in my hands. It is very small and the shoulder buttons are not comfortable. So I bought this controller not expecting too much- the Retro Fighters Brawler 64 - and ya know what? It's not too shabby. The overall design is decently comfortable. The slot on the back for the memory/rumble pak does get in the way somewhat, unfortunately. I wish they would have made it higher up so my fingers had a bit more room to chill, but it's not a deal breaker. The buttons do feel quite cheap and are very clicky. At least they all work fine though (I did not notice any input lag,) and I like the design of the shoulder buttons. The D-pad is also very clicky but I doubt anyone is buying it for that since the official N64 controller has one of the best D-pads of all time in my opinion. No, what people are buying this for is the joystick, so they don't get a blister on their thumb whenever they play Mario Tennis. (At least that's why I bought it anyway.) And well, it's decent. It feels quite nice, and it is not extremely sensitive like the Hori Pad, so walking around in SM64 is no problem. That being said, it is nowhere near as accurate as an official Nintendo controller. Don't expect to be playing Perfect Dark with this thing, (at least not on the higher difficulties.) But for Mario Tennis, it worked fine for me. I'm writing this on the day it arrived so I will update if it holds up over time. The price is pretty steep for a third party controller ($40), but I would say it is worth it for someone who plays N64 a lot like I do. I would even say this is the best 3rd party N64 out there, at least out of the ones I have tried. I would love to see someone make the ultimate N64 controller someday.. one that has a perfect joystick. I would pay a lot for something like that. But for now, this thing will do to help me keep playing some N64 games without destroying my thumb in the process.

I'll admit that I'm more of a purist when it comes to Nintendo 64. I like the original controller because I grew up with it and it just feels right for the experience. But I was curious to see how something like this would feel and work in practice. And honestly, this was the one I had seen recommended the most, so I finally took the bait and bit on this one. After playing a variety of different games with this controller for testing purposes, I've found it has some advantages. The buttons are fairly big so they're easier to hit if you have bigger fingers or hands. The redesign makes it more practical for utilizing the entire controller at once for human-beings that only have two hands. This also makes Z a trigger on both sides while L and R and like shoulder buttons. The d-pad feels a lot nicer on here which is good for the few games that allow you to use it. The control stick feels nice and responsive and feels like it'll remain usable for a tad longer than control sticks on the real deal. It even supports the rumble pak and memory pak accessories. The downsides, other than not being the authentic experience of course, stem mainly from that control stick. It's very responsive, which is good for certain games like platformers, some racing games, and others where movement is more about directional input. The issue comes in when sensitivity is a factor. It's incredibly difficult to move the stick in reserved motions. So sneaking around in Super Mario 64 or making slight aiming adjustments in Goldeneye are going to be very difficult and require a ton of adjustment. For games with sensitivity sliders it's not too bad, but for many games you'll find yourself struggling not to flail about exaggeratedly due to an overly-responsive stick. I also found that the size of the C-buttons were too similar to the A and B buttons to the point that often I would hit the wrong ones when not looking down. Again, muscle memory on the positioning can come in time but it can be a tough adjustment at first. Also, any games that use both the control stick and d-pad in tandem... which is not too many but still... won't work too well with them both being up on the same side of the controller. There's also no transfer pak support for some odd reason. And I hate to bring up such a petty thing, but the Z buttons as side triggers just don't feel as satisfying as the singular one in the middle of the original controller. So what I'm trying to say here is that this is a good quality controller what will ease modern gamers into playing Nintendo 64, either for the first time or for a return after years out of practice. It's situationally a more comfortable option to use but also situationally a more frustrating option to use. It's worth checking out for N64 enthusiasts to see when and where it's useful, plus it's a great backup or extra controller for multiplayer. Give your Mario Party guests some options! Given the quality, the experience, and the price, I do think this one is worth checking out.

If Nintendo had this design originally, I think gamers might have been a bit more receptive to the N64. The layout of this controller just makes sense when you take modern controllers into consideration. There isn't a single game that I can think of that would suffer any drawbacks from this design. Being able to access both the analog stick and the dpad without having to change grips is a blessing. That analog stick is just so fluid though. It doesn't feel grindy like the original n64 controllers do (due to the gears). I can't tell if these are hall effect sticks but they seem to perform like them. I can get the full range of movement in Mario 64 from tiptoe to run using 100% of the stick rather than the first 30% from the center like so many other cheap 3rd party controllers - which I had most of back in the day. No more sore thumb from the stick treads imprinting into your thumbprint either. Sweaty thumbs are also a thing of the past vs. the original slippery sticks. The buttons feel good too, especially the c-buttons. They just seem to work better with my big fingers. Originals are narrow and almost rounded at the top while the Retro Fighters' c-buttons are spaced out a wee bit more, flatter and larger in diameter. The expansion port is a bit tight. It takes a bit of force to get a memory pak in all the way and it never actually clicks in and the Tremor Pack really struggles to fit in. Not worth deducting anything . Cord is nice and long if you need it. I tend to drag the console out on the floor so I can hit the reset button though. It's kind of surprising to see a turbo mode included given the dearth of shooters on N64 and I can't really think of many other games that would benefit, but hey it's there. I'm definitely going to get at least one more of these in the near future.

Super ,hat alle Erwartungen erfüllt. Damit lässt es sich sehr gut spielen.

I’ll admit, I’ve never been a fan of the N64 controller, the shape, the feel of it in your hands, the analogue stick , so as soon as i saw this it was an easy buy for me, the controller itself is immense, I would go as far to say it exceeded my expectations, it doesn’t have the build of a cheap 3rd party controller, instead everything is solid, well built thick plastic, the controller in the hands feels perfect, the grips are perfectly shaped and extremely comfortable, the D-pad isn’t “quite” as tactile as the original N64 controllers, but it’s by no means bad, if does the job and sits on a central pivot so there is no mushy inputs there. The biggest star is the show however goes to the analogue stick , it’s ultra smooth , no dead zone at all, highly accurate, moving it in any direction in tiny increments is no problem at all, this goes far and above the original stick. Accuracy is comparable to a new Xbox one or ps4 analogue stick. The face buttons are also good, they don’t have any gimmicky annoying clicky micro switches like a lot of so called “premium” controllers have, instead they function in the traditional way with rubber membrane pads, they do the job as good as any quality controller that uses the same membrane function. As far as I’m concerned a must have controller for the N64

For the $90ish AUD pricetag this sure does feel clunky and cheaply made. The unit i recieved has a strange deadzone in the bottom left corner, would need to modify the controller to get full range in that section. Overall hand feel is average. Not compatible with Gameboy Transfer Pak. Overall not happy with this controller, have requested a return with the seller as it doesn't function as it should. has been refunded and returned.

Malheureusement déjà un souci dessus 🫤