We may have just found our favourite controller… perhaps ever. This is the NYXI Wizard Wireless Joy-pad for the Nintendo Switch. Okay, our second-favourite controller. The GameCube Spongebob Squarepants controller is still a thing, and as glorious as ever. Still, second place isn’t anything to scoff at.
If you couldn’t already tell, there’s a theme here. We, like many, loved the original GameCube. Anything that takes us back to those simpler times is alright in our book. If Nintendo could hurry up and release The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the Switch a little faster, our journey back to 2003 can conclude.
Keep the drifting for Mario Kart
What makes NYXI’s design that much better than anything Nintendo’s released? It makes use of Hall effect sensors – something Sega pioneered over 30 years ago that completely eliminates stick drift. Nintendo continues to stand by potentiometer controllers (which’ll eventually drift over time) because it allows them to sell six joy-cons to the same customer. It’s dodgy, but you gotta respect the hustle. It certainly worked on us.
Of course, Hall effect sensors aren’t indestructible. They’re just able to live that much longer than potentiometer controllers. Throw in the fact that Hall effect sensors have almost no dead zone, and you’ve got yourself a beautiful long-life controller to keep you going through Tears of the Kingdom.
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The Wizard Wireless improves on the triggers of the original GameCube controller by adding ‘Mecha-tacticle’ buttons. If you’ve ever used a GameCube controller, you’ll know that they weren’t always the most reliable. The rings surrounding the joysticks are interchangeable too, offering smoother ones for racing games or more solid tactile rings for fighting-orientated games.
You can’t really go wrong with the NYXI Wizard Wireless. It’s cheaper than Nintendo’s first-party Pro controller, and actually has some effort behind it. If it weren’t out of stock right now, we’d be placing an order (well, after payday). You can sign up to be notified once it’s back in stock right here. Once it is, you’ll pay R1,200 to lay your hands on one.
