The concept of “third party controllers” has always been a worrisome idea to me. I remember the terrible Madcats Gamecube controllers that wouldn’t even let you dash properly in Melee, or the terrible N64 controllers that had Turbo, sure, but the actual buttons themselves were mushy. The truth is that the bad reputation that third party controllers have gotten is absolutely warranted. More often than not, build quality is an issue, and so it makes it difficult to trust third party controllers. Still, just because most previous attempts were poorly-handled, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible for good ones to be made.
Power A has recently made an attempt to make a premium
controller, much in the same vein as the Xbox Elite controller. As such, it has
garnered some attention from the tech and gaming communities. I have perused
many so-called “reviews” of this device, on the Internet, but I haven’t exactly
found them helpful. They seemed to be closer to “unboxings” than actual serious
attempts at stress-testing the controller. Simply pressing buttons a couple of
times and saying “Feels good” does not qualify as a review.
As such, I have decided to play using this controller
extensively. I have played multiple hours of Persona 5 Strikers, Hyrule
Warriors: Age of Calamity, Hyrule Warriors Legends, Monster Hunter Rise, and
Super Mario Maker 2.
ABYX Buttons:
The face buttons are at least as responsive as those available
on the pro controller. They require the same amount of pressure, but there is
more of a click to it. Comparatively, the original pro controller needs a
longer press to get a click and the click is a lot softer. I could average more
clicks per second with the Fusion controller if I attempted to tap as quickly
as I could. Another minor improvement is that there are anti-friction rings
surrounding each individual button, which would make it harder to jam or damage
over time. The buttons are a tiny bit closer to each other, which some people
with larger hands may not appreciate. However, I have relatively medium to
large hands and found it comfortable. Another thing to consider is that the
clicks are noticeably louder. There is no texture when it comes to the letters
painted on the face buttons. While not an issue for most, it bears mentioning.
+/-/Home/Screenshot buttons
They are easy to access, but a key difference is that they
are elevated. I personally appreciate being able to feel them more easily, but
I have heard multiple accounts of people preferring not having that indentation.
They are quite responsive and have a satisfying click to them.
L + R buttons:
They are very similar, but side by side with the original pro, there is a bit more
of a click. It is a bit less slippery, but not much different aside from that.
ZR + ZL buttons:
These are magnetic impulse triggers,. They require noticeably less of a press to get a click, and they return to the default position faster if let go. It
is also a bit more angled upwards. I have heard different opinions on whether
they like it or not. I like it personally. The texture is less slippery as
well.
D-pad:
The D-pad has a better pivot, and it is much more difficult to
get the wrong direction (E.G. pressing left but actually going up). It clicks
sooner, but has a tiny bit more resistance. While it does feel better overall,
you might want to apply a little more force to it. This is not the best D-Pad I
have used, but it by all means a noticeable improvement.
Sticks:
The sticks do not seem to have any dead zones. Testing it
side by side with the original pro controller, there does not seem to be any differences
with how much tilt is required for input detection. The sticks are a bit longer
and have grip, which does give better control and makes it less slippery
overall. There is more resistance, which is actually a positive, as this means
that repositioning the stick to the default position is faster, and there is
just more feedback. There are also two additional replaceable sticks, one
without grip, and one that is more concave. They work fine, but I prefer the
default configuration. They are easy to replace.
A very positive aspect to it is that there are anti-friction
rings on the circumference of the sticks. These slightly improve movement
fluency, but also serve to protect the controller against drifting, which is
often caused by stick friction generating a white powder that gets stuck inside
the controller. These should theoretically be less likely to drift than the official controllers.
The sticks are clickable, and the click has a little more
feedback than the pro controller.
Now, one issue that I saw is that in games with a low stick sensitivity, in wireless mode, the shell blocks the sticks from doing tis full range of motion. Removing it gives you this range. Wired though, I have had no issues.
Paddles:
This controller also sports additional programmable inputs
in the form of metal paddles at the back of the controller. I was initially
very skeptical of the contraption, but I’ve actually found many uses for it. In
Monster Hunter: Rise and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, I assigned the
clickable sticks to the back paddles, which made it much easier to move around while
switching enemies to target. In Hyrule Warriors Legends, I put the left and
right D-pads on two paddles, which has enabled me to switch between items while
firmly keeping my hands on the camera stick. I’ve also found it very easy to
rapidly tap the paddles, which would be very useful in a game that asks you to
mash a button rapidly, like some classic Mario Party minigames. They are easy
to access and require some pressure to activate. While it is possible to tap
them accidentally at first, I find that I have gotten used to them over time,
seldom ever making accidental presses. Programming them is very simple. It is
simply a matter of pressing the button on the back of the controller for 3
seconds, and then tapping the button that you want, and then tapping the paddle
that you wish to assign it to. To remove that programming, just press the back
button for 3 seconds, and then hold the paddle for three seconds. One mildly irksome issue is that you cannot program two inputs pressed (E.G. Macros) at once. For example. L + A. This feels like amissed opportunity.
If four paddles is too much for you, you can remove any
number of them, or even remove the back module altogether. I would suggest
giving them a chance before removing them altogether, but the option is there.
Customization:
As said earlier, the paddles offer a lot quality of life
options if used to take awkward input placements and making them more
accessible. However, you cannot remap the button configurations through the
Switch menu. While this has not caused issues for me yet, I still need to dock
points for accessibility reasons.
Feel:
The rubberized grips feel nice, and the weight feels very
nice. The overall build quality is great, albeit the additional optional
faceplate included with this controller makes it feel more plastic. I cannot
stress the importance of weight when it comes to a controller’s feel. This
would mean that this controller might be less adapted for a small child
however. This weight is achieved by two weights inside of the handles. This
does mean that it sacrificed the rumble feature. I personally am not bothered
by this, as I do not use rumble as all, but some players may not appreciate
this. All in all, this feels rather premium.
Additional features:
Battery life: This has a 900mAh battery as opposed to
s 1300mAh battery that is available in the Pro controller. Instead of around 40
hours of battery from a full charge, I have averaged around 30 hours. It does
not last quite as long, but is still a very decent battery life. It uses a
USB-C cable to charge and does so very quickly. It comes with a nice and long
braided cable.
Auxiliary cable output: Unfortunately, this only
works when the controller is plugged into the console in wired mode. I must
stress that this is a problem with how Nintendo designed the console. I can’t
dock points for this.
Wakeup: The controller does wake up the system.
No rumble: This has no rumble whatsoever. This
appears to be due to the fact that where the motors would normally have been (the
handles), there are weights to make the controller heavier. I can see why some
would dislike this. To me, this is an acceptable sacrifice, as I prefer the weight.
For the cost though, I struggle to see why this could not have been
implemented.
No NFC: You cannot scan amiibos with this controller.
You will therefore require another controller on the side if you use amiibos.
While they are rarely used, they still can be useful in games like Bowser’s
Fury.
Motion controls: It has motion controls. Works
exactly the same (E.G. poorly). To me, this feature is pointless. Still, not real difference. One thing of note is that is doesn't work in wired mode.
Wired/Wireless switch: It is wireless, but switching
to wired mode does provide faster response time. The wireless response time
is just as good as the pro, but obviously, if you are playing a competitive
game, you want to be wired.
Additional parts: The package includes a soft shell
carrying case that is fairly durable. It also contains a nice and long braided
USB-C cable and two extra interchangeable sticks. For the sticks, I would have
at least liked two of each kind, as this would have enabled more
customizability. It also includes a white plastic faceplate with orange rings
that I plan to paint. It is very easy to remove and replace, using strong magnets
to clamp everything together. It is an interesting addition, and I wish Nintendo
had this feature for their official pro controllers. This would make them quite
a lot of money and allow for incredible customization.
PC compatible: This works on PC. On Steam, you must use the Switch gamepad mode.
Is it worth it?:
It depends how much you value certain things. It is a very
expensive controller. It cost me a whopping 129.99$ CAD. The lack of rumble,
NFC and slightly lower battery life could bother some people, and it becomes
harder to justify the price despite the more premium parts. They should have
included them. The inability to remap buttons in the menu is the biggest disappointment.
However, if you are like me and mostly care about the core essential
parts of a controller, those essentials are a definite improvement. The sticks,
D-pad, buttons, triggers, shoulders, etc… are all very solid. There are no
inputs that are worse in any way, and the paddles are surprisingly useful. It
is very easy to set up and unlike some early 8Bitdo controllers, connecting it to
the system is not a hassle. The auxiliary output has proven useful to me when
playing next to my girlfriend who was watching videos (we have a two TVs
setup). While there were other ways I could have done this, it did remove the
need for an auxiliary extension cable. The weight of the controller feels very
good. It is unfortunate that it came at
the cost of sacrificing features, however. The grip feels very nice and stable,
but I have also heard of a single account stating that it would rip and tear
over time. I have not experienced this at all, but this is worth keeping in mind.
This is definitely very expensive, and it could provide a
little more for what it costs. I do however very much like using it and would
use it over a regular pro controller in almost every instance. I do not exactly
regret my decision and so far, this is a very good controller. I personally
care a lot about the quality and build of my controllers and I am willing to
spend more for that. Could it be better? Absolutely. Is it better than a Pro
controller? Arguably. In the rare event that you absolutely must use one of its
missing features and you already own a Pro controller, you could switch between
controllers. If money is a problem, stick to the original Pro controller, or
even some of the more recent 8Bitdo controllers like the SN30 Pro+. They tend
to be sold at a cheaper price and have most of the required features, and even
some additional improvements.
To me, this was worth a buy, but I will keep using this and
if anything comes up, I will update this review.
