While the Nintendo Switch 2 is still technically in its infancy, it doesn’t look it, given how quickly third-party accessory-makers have stepped up to the plate. One of those is Retro Fighters, makers of the BattlerGC Pro, which still makes a case for being your go-to Switch 2 Smash Bros. controller. That’s in the past, now. We’re more interested in the company’s new BattleDock adapter, preying playing on our love for the Nintendo GameCube.
And the original GameCube controller, if we’re honest. We’ve got no issues with Nintendo’s more modern controllers, but there’s just something special about that original form, slathered in that Nintendo purple hue that gets us going. Retro Fighters isn’t selling you a modified version of that (it already did that), but is instead giving players a way to hook up their original wired GC controllers… while ridding the Switch 2’s dock of its dreary tones.
To your BattleDocks!
The BattleDock couldn’t have come at a better time. The launch of the Switch 2 included a classic library of GameCube games available to Switch Online + Expansion subscribers. Then, die-hard Smash Bros. purists will insist on playing even the newest entries in the franchise with an original GameCube (or WaveBird) controller in hand. And you’ll certainly hear about it should you (try) hand ’em anything else.
Fortunately, Retro Fighters’ BattleDock adapter is a cost-effective solution. It has launched on Kickstarter for $36 (∼R645) before it eventually launches on its website for $40 (∼R720). It houses four GC ports that’ll work with anything from that Nintendo era and, of course, Retro’s third-party updates.
Read More: Nintendo Switch 2 review – Proper Switch Pro
The name of the game is reducing latency, with the dock aiming to match or exceed the 4ms input latency the official Nintendo GC adapter provides. And if you’re worried about Nintendo “bricking” your Switch 2, as has happened when the console met other third-party docks, Retro assures us this isn’t an issue at all. “This is why we built the BattleDock to work with your existing official Switch 2 dock, not replace it,” it said.
When in use, the BattleDock will occupy both of the USB-A ports on the Switch 2’s dock, a fair swap for the four GC ports it offers. Each purchase comes with four hot-swappable magnetic faceplates — Spice Orange, Indigo, Jet Black, and Platinum Silver — to fulfill whatever surge of nostalgia drove you here. There’s just one problem. Retro Fighters expects to have delivery sorted by… January 2026. We’ll be waiting.
