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- Verified Buyer
This PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch (PAN, I got the black one) is the controller I use most often when I don't need my keyboard/mouse nor Steam Controller for fine tuned aiming or clicking. If I had to buy a controller that has two joysticks, this would currently be the one to buy.I like the feel, weight (Footnote #1), rear extra buttons, and like being able to pop in AA rechargeable batteries on the fly (I always have an extra charged set of AAs handy so I never really run out of battery). I hate controllers that you have to plug in to charge, because it runs out of battery at the worst times, and then having a cord sticking out messes with movement as well as injects another point of failure if it’s caught or bent on something. Also, the plug-in-to-charge controllers usually have hard-to-replace and buy batteries whereas AA rechargeables are cheap and insanely easy to find and replace.I won't really hold this controller to the standard of a keyboard/mouse nor the Steam Controller (SC), because for what those two are good for, they are far superior. You can't beat aiming with a mouse nor plethora of buttons with a keyboard, and the Steam Controller has an insane amount of niceties that work very, very well together (it’s great for games with some aiming). For instance with the Steam Controller, triggers with smooth start that sends analog signal first and then a clicky digital input at the end, touchpads that gently and precisely vibrate to give lots of different feelings (not just BUZZZZ) that also let you do fast and precise motions mimicking a joystick or mouse on your choice, rear buttons that are extremely easy to push that can be programmed to be anything (not just buttons on the controller), it has a gyro that is perfect to use with the touchpads, I could go on ... the Steam Controller is still my #1 choice of controller if I had no other controllers for use cases.Compared to the Xbox One Wireless (XO), it doesn't work in UWP microsoft store games, which is not PowerA's fault, no other controllers that I have seem to work with UWP games (not SC, not DS4, not this one only the XO seems to be allowed, just one of the many reasons why I don’t buy UWP games). It has to use bluetooth, and haven’t tested it with multiple PAN controllers, so I wonder how that holds up (the XO controller has to use use an adapter to connect multiple controller, but I don’t think a special adapter is required for DS4, PAN, nor SC[plus all SCs come with a free adapter whereas with XO you pay extra]). XO doesn’t have a gyro.Compared to the Dual Shock 4 (DS4) and XO, the PAN triggers are clicky digital with no analog movement (but that’s apparently true of all Nintendo triggers now oddly, Ive really grown to like the dual-stage triggers on the SC). It turns itself on when you touch ANY PAN button (so annoying when trying to put it away). HAS REAR BUTTONS YOU CAN CHANGE ON THE FLY!!! All controllers need to have this from here on out, I won’t buy a controller without it (PAN has it and SC has it, it’s insanely useful). I wish the PAN controller’s rear button could be mapped to joystick down presses (I hate joystick down presses usually because they are often required when you’re supposed to be moving the joystick too). I do like the button and joystick feel of the XO and DS4 controllers a bit better BUT the PAN buttons joystick, triggers are totally fine and I haven’t felt the need to go back and give up the rear buttons (compared to XO) nor easy-swap batteries (compared to DS4).Compared to DS4, they both have a gyro. You have to plug in the DS4 to charge it (built in battery instead of easy hot-swap batteries like the PAN). DS4 has a touchpad in the middle WITH different clicks! The joysticks are better, and it’s easier to push down on them (best implementation of joystick click I’ve seen). Otherwise, I think if the DS4 had rear buttons that can be seperately controlled (not just hardware mapped but able to use Steam to change them to whatever I want), hot-swap AAs, and I could put the controller into ABXY scheme so games used it automatically, and no vibration motors inside, it would beat the NAN and XO controller as far as controller performance goes. If the DS4 also had dual stage triggers… wow. I would still use my SC for games with some aiming (and mouse for a lot of aiming or clicking/RTS/management games), but it would probably be my go-to controller.However, for the price, features and build quality, this PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch (PAN) is my top two-joystick controller currently.Footnote #1:It saves weight by not having those ridiculous vibration motors inside, which some people oddly consider the extra weight to make the controller feel “premium,” which is a bit silly, plus having vibration that strong kills the battery too quickly so I don’t want it)I compared the Ralthy controller to the official Nintendo Pro controller (henceforth "Pro controller"). In short, the Pro controller is far superior and the better purchase. Read on below to understand why I think so.HAND COMFORTThe most important aspect of a controller is how it feels in your hand — after all, if you're going to be playing for hours, you want it to be comfortable. The Ralthy controller is not nearly as comfortable or ergonomic as the Pro controller; it feels flat in parts where the Pro controller comfortably hugs your hand. This seems independent of hand size, as my girlfriend also agrees and she has very small hands (whereas I can easily palm a basketball).BUTTON PLACEMENTThe placement of the buttons and joysticks on the Ralthy controller are subtly different than on the Pro controller and — in the opinion of both my gf and I — the positions are worse. Many of the buttons as well as the right joystick are less comfortable/harder to reach. This is especially true of the L/R trigger buttons. They FEEL like triggers on the Pro controller, whereas on the Ralthy controller it's a very large button which is much harder to pull with your finger. Also, the official controller has two additional buttons on the grip which are missing on the Ralthy controller.BUILD QUALITYThe Pro controller is constructed out of slightly lighter plastic, so although it's slightly lighter it doesn't feel as sturdy or durable as the Ralthy controller. I feel like if I dropped it, the plastic would chip / crack, whereas the Ralthy controller's plastic feels tougher and would more likely just dent if I dropped it.BATTERIESThe Ralthy controllers have a built in rechargeable battery, which can be handy, but today's batteries do eventually get worse with time. Invariably at some point in the future the Ralthy controller will become unusable because the internal battery will hold no charge. In contrast, I like the fact that the Pro controller uses AA batteries, which means in theory as long as that type of battery exists this controller should be usable forever. Also, the Ralthy controller seemed to need a recharge after a long day of gaming but I have yet to need to replace the batteries on the Pro controller with about the same amount of usage.PRICEThe Ralthy controller costs about $15 less than the official Nintendo Pro controller, which makes it a tempting option for some people (including me). I decided to get both and see which I liked best and share those results with you so you can make a better decision. Sorry Ralthy, but in my opinion I would much rather pay an additional $15 for superior comfort, button placement, and the ability to always be able to use the controller far into the future.The controller is very easy to connect and has a few buttons on the back side for button mapping. The design is also very nice and sleek and doesn’t fade. However, the controller itself doesn’t feel how I’d expected. It is battery powered so I guess I should have known, but the controller is very light and doesn’t have the weight of a switch pro controller, so it ends up feeling a bit cheap. But if a lightweight controller is your thing, you might like this. Overall though I was very pleased with the design and it works great.I bought this controller because it’s cheaper then the Pro controller, and I didn’t need NFC and rumble.This controller feels confortable to play for long period of time, motion control works too, the pairing is automative, and the controller wakes the Switch up.However, the left stick becomes reliable after one week of normal playing. I think it is because the left stick’s gotten used the most. The movement is jumping around. Open up the controller to have a look inside, to my horror, the manufacturing of the board is very low quality with many dry solder joints. This is why so many complaints on Amazon.com and .co.uk, for this controller after only very short time.Returning this controller and getting the Pro controller instead.Pros: really cool images are on these controllers the kids loved it. That’s pretty much it...Cons:1. didn’t notice this when ordering but it is battery powered instead of rechargeable. I mean I understand some people like this but it’s 2020 I mean everything should be rechargeable at this point it saves on battery waste that there already is so much of.2. It disconnects all the time from the Nintendo switch that we have to constantly reconnect it.3. We’ve had this maybe two weeks and in that time have used the controllers maybe 6 or 7 times in that time frame and both controllers we purchase have already begun to drift terribly to the left. You can’t even make the character you’re controlling move right.Honestly anyone who is thinking of buying this because they think it’s a bit cheaper on the wallet don’t the amount of money you’ll have to spend on batteries will add up to the normal Nintendo controllers cost in no time. The price on these are already very close to the normal ones sold by Nintendo and those ones are rechargeable.Again this is a warning to anyone thinking of buying one of these stay away from these. I’d only recommend these if you really want something kinda cool looking to look at.I bought one of these for a Switch I use at home to play games like Zelda and Diablo.Having kids, I decided I needed an extra controller for the kids.These new controllers are much cheaper than the PRO controller, so I thought I would give it a go.Build Quality***************Its OK, but not as good as a PRO controller, feels plasticy, buttons feel cheaper.In Use*******Played Diablo for a whole day with it, my fingers on the joystick on the left for moving means my finger hurt after a while, its uncomfy for extended play :( A real issue if you play games a lot.No recharging either, its AA batteries onlySo Its OK as a controller, but for a slight bit more the PRO controller offers, more comfort, rechargeable, built in rumble, built in AMIBOO reader, and in my opinion significantly better build qualityI found this controller to be more comfortable than the 2xJoycon in the grip included with a switch and highly responsive overall. If you can't afford a pro-controller this will do 95% of the job and is about half the price!I was going to give this 4 stars because it's not a pro-controller but considering it is about half the price and does nearly everything the same to a high standard I can't help but recommend this with 5 stars. Yes its technically inferior to the pro-controller but the lack of 2 features (Rumble and NFC) don't effect its performance for playing games, plus you could get 2 of these for the same price as 1 pro-controller.Pros:Economic - you can get 2 of these (the Zelda ones were cheaper) for the price of a Pro Controller. (If money is a big factor you can get a wired/USB controller for about £25)Wireless - runs on 2xAA batteries and lasts 30 hoursComfort - Much more comfortable than the 2x joycons in the grip, the +,-, home and snapshot buttons are slightly raised compared to the pro controller which makes them easier to use in my opinion. The pro-controller's buttons have a different profile (slightly more sunken in) so your preference may vary too.Appearance - available in a variety of styles, the zelda one is particularly nice. Some of the USB versions aren't available in wireless and vice-versa. In contrast the pro-controller is just available in black.Cons:Weight - comparable to the 2x joycons but a lot lighter than the pro controller, could feel a bit flimsy although it seems robust enough. I suspect the weight difference is mainly due to lack of rumble motors.Ergonomics - Not as 'grippy' as the pro controller. The case is all moulded plastic compared to the pro controllers rubberised grips. I've not had any problems but your mileage may vary.Features - No rumble or NFC (this keeps the cost down though) I suspect the lack of rumble also keeps the weight down too.Responsive - the controller is highly responsive to inputs, however having used a pro-controller as well it feels a bit more precise with the analogue sticks than the A-power one.Overall: I'd prefer if it was a little heavier feelingI'm on my second controller, having returned my first one a couple of months after buying it. Both suffer from serious drift issues on the right stick after two months of moderate use, making the camera on games like BOTW and Rocket League to suddenly twist 90° and lock there, making it impossible to see where you're going or what you're doing.
