I had the 8bitduo Ultimate and I loved it, though it was a little awkward to hold at first as I was more used to the slanted handle design of an Xbox controller. Unfortunately, I think I must have left it somewhere in public leading to it being stolen, as I haven’t seen it in a few months in spite of constantly looking for it. (Fucking ADHD, man) I was also already in the market for a second one as I have a younger sibling who enjoys playing with me, and her current controller isn’t winning any awards (powerA). I also wouldn’t mind something more comfortable to use in handheld mode. I had a Hori Split Pad pro, but I did not like it at all. The controllers felt cheap and hollow, they drained the switch’s already poor battery life even faster, and one half quit working after like a month.
With that out of the way, I’ve looked at a few options:
I could get another 8bitduo Ultimate, and I definitely might, but I’m curious if there are other, more comfortable options available.
I’ve looked at the Gulikit King Kong 2 (and 2 pro) controllers, and they seem great on paper, but I’ve read a lot of reviews claiming they’re prone to hardware failure in some form or another.
Lastly, I’ve seen a lot on the Nyxi Wizard. It’s newer, so I don’t know that there’s any long-term reviews available, and I don’t know how comfortable the GameCube layout is for most games, but I’ve read that in terms of quality it seems great, plus it has the benefit of being a joycon substitute.
Last lastly: Another thing I want to consider is whether I should get a joycon substitute, or get a console mount for a pro controller. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Fixture S2 (i have an OLED) but I’ve also read that it tends to break with extended use.
Oh I would never use bluetooth on PC, that adds input latency like crazy. I was talking wireless only ever over 2.4Ghz with the 8bitdo adapter. Even there the KK2 had really bad latency while all the others were fine. The KK3 Max actually comes with its own adapter to achieve 1000Hz wirelessly (I got only around 880, but still higher than all the others on stock which are usually stuck on 250 or 500Hz. You can overclock the PS5 to 1000 when wired but I never did).
Also since you mentioned them going for an elite controller style with the KK3 Max, I wouldn’t count on its back pedals. Personally I find they make it impossible to hold the controller. I’ve never liked the back pedals on the Xbox Elite, and I like them even less on the KK3, while I found the one on the 8bitdo ultimate really nice (though I never used them anyway).
As for the branding I have no clue. They did have a US/Target version of the KK2 Pro called the Zen Pro which was the exact same controller, just sold at Target. I think they’re just weird with their naming.
On that note, I’ve also heard there is supposed to be more budget versions of the KK3 Max coming out over the year (I think it was two more), similar to how they had a KK2 and KK2 Pro.
I bought a KK3Max and it’s a really good controller, with a couple of caveats.
It has the best control sticks I’ve ever used, hands down. Hall effect sensors instead of crappier potentiometers like the official switch pro controller mean no risk of the infamous stick drift. Very responsive, and allow me to raise the stick sensitivity for the most precision (still prefer a mouse for FPS games, but for every other genre it’s a good alternative).
The analog triggers are excellent and a physical toggle lets you switch them to digital triggers. Alhough the triggers are spongy in digital mode, with a fair amount of travel time before registering the input, you can open them up and mod them to eliminate this delay. Apparently it was added after product testers complained about the triggers being too sensitive or something (which I wish they didn’t).
The buttons are solid, without sticking. D pad is good, though I prefer classic D pads from older Nintendo controllers like the Wii U and the SNES (the switch pro D pad is trash). Back paddles are welcome, though the lower paddles are less ergonomic unless you bend them to rest closer to the back of the controller. You should also note that the back paddles can only be assigned to other controller buttons, and not unique key binds. The gyroscope is also perfect in Switch mode, though I wouldn’t recommend it in Xinput mode because it can feel wonky and imprecise. This controller also has a form of HD rumble, and even carries an NFC sensor for Amiibo support.
The big caveat is the input delay when connected by Bluetooth. It can be noticeably slow, even in Switch mode, adding a good 40+ ms of lag. For most games that don’t rely on precise inputs, you can eventually adapt, but to resolve this issue for games like Super Smash Bros or racing games, I’d recommend a long Usb C cable for the Switch, or to use the 2.4 GHz adapter on PC.
One more thing I’d note is that this controller doesn’t come with proprietary software to customize input mapping. This is a positive for me because I don’t care for bloat, but for others that would prefer extra customization options, it’s a sore spot.
It’s been about a month, and I haven’t had issues with quality control or component failure. I’d recommend the controller for people who don’t want stick drift, and enjoy a controller that punches above its weight (the Xbox elite 2 controller that rivals most of its features costs more than twice as much). Although its input lag in Bluetooth is a big headache, its performance is exceptional by wire or dongle and it almost completely outperforms the official Switch Pro controller IMO (which still suffers from stick drift and has a terrible d pad).
Can the 2.4ghz adapter be used on the switch to eliminate the input delay or would I have to get a cable?
Sadly, no. Bluetooth or wired only.
Borrowed a buddy’s official pro controller and WOW that is one hell of a dpad. Honestly I was a little offended.