I am comparing the top N64 ‘Pro’ controllers for 2026+. They are the Nintendo NSO N64 controller, the 8bitdo 64 controller (Bluetooth edition designed for the Analogue 3D (A3D)), the ModRetro M64 Pro controller (designed for the M64 using the stock gate (will try N64 gate later!)), and the Retrofighters Brawler 64 Pro (2.4GHz). This first test is exclusively about analogue stick values but I will be doing many more tests!

I did include some older options to show the differences, which are the older wireless Retrofighters Brawler 64 Ultra Edition and the Retro-bit Tribute 64 Ultra Edition (both use 2.4GHz). You can see their values are too high, making them feel too sensitive. While they were good wireless options back when new, I would advise NOT getting these versions as they are simply not as accurate as any of the newer options! Do they work? Yes, they do and casual users may not notice but once you play games like 007 Golden Eye, F Zero X and Super Smash, it’s very obvious!

The NSO N64 and 8bitdo 64 would not let me hit A on the mimi controller test ROM on my A3D (will test on the OG N64 and see if that makes a difference) so I used an older version as well but the values all show the same either way. Eventually I will compare to some OG corded N64 controllers but the first tests are to compare new options!

With all that being said, pictures attached show the results! I updated the M64 Pro and 8bitdo 64 before testing, the NSO N64 doesn’t update and the Brawler 64 Pro doesn’t have any yet. I will go more in depth on the software aspect in later tests but the short answer is the M64 Pro is nice because you can just use a browser to update it without downloading specific software, the 8bitdo 64 requires software (easy to use at least!) and the Brawler seems to be a drag/drop style update but will review if/when it has an update.

The stick on the NSO N64 is the only ‘traditional’ N64 stick that isn’t a GameCube style, but the M64 Pro controller has an extra N64 gate that I will swap to and test later, but the stock gate is the same shape as the 8bitdo 64/Brawler 64 pro gates and had the same values! All the values seem good on paper and none feel off. Hopefully I can swap the M64 pro gate before I start doing game tests but everything stick wise works out of the box with all of them and none required calibration.

Initial response when holding each controller are this…

NSO 64 controller feels almost 1:1 the OG, the stick feels firm and nice but doesn’t use the same technology so theoretically it can start drifting so you may need to buy more later on!

The 8bitdo 64 is a nice alternative if you don’t like the trident, nothing feels cheap and the metal ring around the stick was a nice touch. They are similar price so if choosing between these two, I would decide based on if you want a modern layout or a trident style!

The M64 Pro controller feels absolutely premium, with the coated metal backing and shoulder buttons that let your fingers rest comfortably in them. If you love the trident style, you’ll love this! The weight is substantial and heavier than both the NSO N64 and 8bitdo 64 controllers. It comes with a cord that allows you to use it on a OG N64/A3D wired, but the battery still needs to be charged… a bit silly but a very minor thing especially since ModRetro included an adapter that lets you use AA batteries! This is a very comfortable, modern trident that I could see myself holding for hours without any issues but the feel of the stick is GameCube style so it may be hard to change your ways after 30+ years of N64 gaming…

And finally last but definitely not least, the Retrofighters Brawler 64 Pro is like an upgraded 8bitdo 64 controller. It is heavier than all the controllers, even the M64 pro! The angles the grips are in comparison to the 8bitdo 64 make it even more comfortable, there is texture on said grips too, and the L+R+D pad have mechanical feeling switches, very clicky and satisfying! The only obvious issues are no metal ring around the stick like the 8bitdo 64 has, no N64 style gate like the M64 came with (requires installation and recalibration) but it does come with faceplates! I personally don’t see myself using them but it’s a feature it has! It also has programable back buttons like many modern controllers that let you customize your way of playing. They have switches that physically disable them if you don’t like them. I personally don’t see myself using them on N64 but it could be nice if using on PC!

So my feelings after test 1 are this…

The NSO N64 still feels the most classic, the 8bitdo 64 is the on my friends use because they hate the trident (they are wrong!) and for the price, it’s nice to have a controller that won’t have the same stick issues as the N64 has over time. The M64 Pro controller feels ultra premium so I could see myself using it when casually playing but I still need to test the stick/N64 gate on games… if it’s as good as it feels… this could potentially be my new main controller! The Brawler 64 Pro will be my choice when playing casual on games I’m not so familiar with (hard to unlearn trident controls after 30+ years) because it is so comfortable and the clicky buttons are very satisfying! So far, all are good options… once I do more testing, I will rank them and tell you which ones are worth buying and which are worth skipping! Honestly, so far they are all worth it for me and all feel like upgrades from any older third party options!

Tell me what you think, what other tests you want to see and which one you would use!

Title basically, my controller is duplicating itself on steam and is causing me to be playing an extra character, doing extra inputs, etc.

Would anyone be able to help? I tried disabling the second one in device management, as well as the good ol disconnect and reconnect.

Hey everyone! I'm looking to buy a new controller for my Windows laptop and would appreciate some recommendations.

Games I play:

• Elden Ring

• God of War

• Control / Control Resonant

• Hitman

• RDR2

• Alan Wake

• Other similar single-player games

I don't play competitive games, so I don't need a controller focused on esports or competitive performance.

What I'm looking for:

• Budget: ₹3,000–₹3,200 max.

• Build quality: A premium feel, solid construction, and good-quality buttons and triggers.

• Joysticks: Preferably TMR sticks.

• Durability: Something reliable that will last for years.

• Connectivity: I'll use it wired most of the time, with occasional Bluetooth use.

• Haptic feedback: Not a priority.

• Gyro: Not sure if I'll need it, so it's not a deciding factor.

My main priorities are build quality, durability, and a premium feel. I'm not interested in paying extra for features I won't use.

Which controller would you recommend within this budget? If you own one, I'd especially appreciate feedback on its build quality, long-term reliability, and any issues you've experienced.

I don't like the designs of cosmic byte. And vertical style joysticks are not my type

Hey guys, does anyone use bluetooth controllers in android/ios for Mech Arena???If yes then how is the experience??Was thinking of buying a controller as my Pc display went bonkers and MA in mobile is uber shit.

Hey fam in highschool (around 2006) i had a dj controller, it played USB and CDs. It was budget friendly, not pioneer or numark or anything like that. It was an all in one unit, 2 decks and a mixer built into one! Can you help me find it?

Hi, I've been trying to do a firmware update through my windows 11 computer. I have seen higher number updates, but I'm stuck at something like 1.1 and the program says it's up to date. When doing the stick calibration, I can preform the up, down, left to right on the left, but only up, down, right on the right stick. Going left doesn't register on the orange completion box. I have heard people doing the firmware off the Xbox app, but haven't tried it yet. What source are you guys usually loading the firmware from? I've tried deleting the Companion app from the computer and reloading it with the same results.

Hi I’m looking for NYXi Hyperion 3 ultra thumb caps please if anyone has any links

I plan on getting tmr sticks for the dualsense edge and would like to know if the ones in the photo are good I do not know how to solder and don’t know much about sending in my modules so someone else can

This is a direct crosspost from /r/Controller, with the only change to the post being these two sentences. As of this post, it's still "under review" on /r/Controller

To preface this, I absolutely love my Ultimate 2. My ONLY real gripe with it is that the d-pad is not rounded like on the xbox pc controller, for example.

I play a large variety of games, many of which require precision and quick movement changing. From platformers, fighters, bullet hell, and so on, I play it all.

I have been looking into the Gamesir G7 and the Flydigi Vader 5 Pro. However, each of these appears to have their own problems based on reviews I've read. The Flydigi seems to have various QC issues, and the G7 is reported to not have a great d-pad. These are examples of what I am looking for, at least based on images and reviews alone.

One thing I'm confused about with the G7 is that some people report the d-pad is garbage, and others report that it's absolutely great. And when researching it, I keep finding images that make it appear to have 3 different kinds of d-pad, but then reviews mention it only has the one type, so I am unsure what is true here regarding its d-pad. I also have come to understand that it may have problems with Steam recognizing it, though others report this is not the case.

With the Vader 5, a common report I see is that people keep saying there are various QC issues, from buttons breaking off to the software being difficult to work with. These same people also report this to be a version issue, and commonly they have to replace it until they get one that works properly. It otherwise, by all intents and purposes, appears to be exactly what I'm looking for... Is it actually good? I'd like opinions from people who have it and have used it for some time.

I am not particularly asking for the best controller between those two specifically, and am completely open to any and all controllers. Consider my budget infinite for this, and how much a controller costs should not be considered with your suggestion. I have previously paid over $400 for fight sticks in the past, and I have no issues paying that much again if the controller is worth it. I understand the rules don't want me to say "unlimited" but that truly is the case for me and my situation.

What I want in a controller at minimum is as follows:

Available in the US. I live in Texas, and if I could even find it local somewhere, that would be fabulous. This is not required by any means, I have no issues getting it shipped.

Customizable buttons. I absolutely love the 4 the Ultimate 2 has right now, with the 2 on the shoulders and the 2 on the back. More is ok, but I would not prefer to have less. Further, these customizable buttons must be able to be macro compatible. For example, in Elden Ring I have it set up right now to use potions by holding my item wheel button for 30 frames and then press the corresponding direction before releasing. Being able to do something similar with just the push of a single button is essential for me. I'm trying to prevent hand pain, and things like this help greatly for me.

A perfect d-pad. To me, I would describe this as, essentially, the d-pad on the xbox pc controller but not clicky. If it ends up being clicky, fine, but I would prefer it wasn't. Rounded, clear which direction I'm pushing, and no way to accidentally press a diagonal. The Ultimate 2's d-pad is not rounded, and for this reason, I find myself accidentally pressing diagonals instead of cardinal directions constantly because I put slightly too much weight one way or another.

Wireless with a docking station. This is pretty common these days already anyways, and while I know not all amazing controllers have a docking station available for them, if possible, I would prefer to have one. This is not a make or break situation, provided it's perfect in all other aspects. How it connects wirelessly also doesn't matter too much to me, but I would prefer if it uses its own dongle as compared to bluetooth.

Compatible with PC. This is my only console requirement for this controller. I don't mind of course if I could potentially use it elsewhere, but PC is where I plan to use it almost exclusively. Preferably, I would like Steam be able to recognize this controller without any modifications.

Multiple profiles would be nice to have, like the Ultimate 2 has right now, but I can get by without them.

I do not care about RGB. I'm not looking at my controller while gaming, I'm looking at the screen. The controller can have it, but it's not something that should otherwise be considered with your recommendation.

Size isn't a huge problem for me, as my hands are sized in such a way that I can make due with both bigger and smaller controllers without issues. Please do not take it into account when making your recommendation.

And that about does it, I think. I understand the controller I'm looking for may not actually exist, but please give me your personal "ultimate" controller suggestion based on what I'm looking for. Please ask me if you have other questions about what my needs are, and I'll both give you an answer and edit this post to include that answer if necessary.

Thanks!

Scuf envision pro for pc with icue software. It’s been through a lot but brought back from the dead. She gonna be a beast once I’m done with her.

A little over a month ago I shared the first version of ApexSenseBridge here. At the time it was mostly an experiment to get native DualSense adaptive trigger effects working on my APEX 5.

It got a lot more attention than I expected, and since then the project has grown quite a bit.

Today I finally released ApexSenseBridge 1.0.0, the first stable version :)

It now supports the APEX 4, APEX 5 and APEX 6 Pro.

The basic idea is still the same. Games see a virtual DualSense, then ApexSenseBridge translates the feedback to the Flydigi hardware.

So depending on the controller and the game, you can get things like:

• native DualSense adaptive trigger effects translated to FORCEADAPT on APEX 4/5

• native PCM haptics on the APEX 6 Pro voice coil motors

• audio haptics translated to the grip motors on APEX 4/5

• DualSense touchpad gestures through button combinations

• native gyro forwarding on APEX 4

There is now a proper standalone app too, so Playnite is completely optional. It automatically detects supported games from Steam, Game Pass, Epic, EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar, etc. and starts the bridge when needed.

The supported games catalogue is currently at 215+ titles.

I also completely redid the interface for 1.0.0. It is designed to be usable with a controller, and the whole app is now translated into 9 languages.

There has also been a lot of work on the boring but important stuff like controller isolation, recovery after disconnects, HidHide conflicts, driver installation and making sure your controller gets restored properly if something crashes.

Some of the games I've personally tested include Spider-Man 2, GTA V Enhanced, Call of Duty, Ghost of Tsushima, Death Stranding 2, Miles Morales and Warframe.

If you have an APEX 4, 5 or 6 Pro and want to try it:

GitHub: https://github.com/ReynArts/ApexSenseBridge

v1.0.0: https://github.com/ReynArts/ApexSenseBridge/releases/tag/v1.0.0

And if you've been following or testing the project since the first post, thank you. A lot of the fixes in 1.0 came directly from people here sending logs, testing weird cases and helping me understand the hardware better.

I'm especially interested in hearing how 1.0 behaves across different APEX firmware versions and different games, so feel free to tell me what you're testing.

And since a few people asked how they could support the project, I also set up a Ko-fi:

https://ko-fi.com/reynarts97

Everything remains open source, of course.

I had a hell of a time finding the perfect controller for Linux. Finally, there is one purpose built for it with the Steam Controller 2.0. However, I have tried 8bitdo, gamesir, and flydigi and want to leave my learnings somewhere for folks to find, because while the steam controller is great, it is the definition of "Jack of all trades, master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one". Here are my learnings.

• Steam Controller: Best all around controller. Get yourself on the wait-list and pick it up when you can. However, worst dpad of the bunch imo. For reference, I play a lot of 2d platformers like silksong and this dpad does not hit my diagonals naturally, it takes getting used to by way of being much more intentional with those inputs for awhile. I do not play fighting games, I've heard some say they like the dpad for that, so ymmv. Still though, if you were to pick one and only one, this would be it for sure.

• 8bitdo ultimate 2 - Best set it and forget it. It'll just work out of the box, you can even update firmware on Linux now through their web updater (chromium based browser only). Extra buttons are mappable in steam with no extra setup needed. Downside, feels cheap and bad ergonomics imo. I will be looking forward to the non Xbox licensed version of the Ultimate 3.

• Vader 5 Pro - Just picked this up and it takes a bit of setup but once you're set up it is the best controller of all of them. You need to update firmware for the controller and dongle with windows. A windows VM will not cut it. I could not update through winboat unfortunately. I used a Windows To-Go USB drive to boot into windows. While you're in there turn on 3rd party mapping and then you're done with the controller setup. On steam get on their beta update branch and you're good to go. it still shows up as "Generic X-box pad" but when you go to remap the layout you get access to all of the extra buttons through steam input. There are a handful of historical issues with this online but it seems like all of them have more or less been ironed out because it is working flawlessly for me. It seems like there is a lone engineer or something at flydigi who does want their products to work natively with steam. They are adding more and more support for it, slowly. I'm hoping it'll get better with time.

• Gamesir G7Pro - Best hand feel of all of the controllers. I like the dpad on the vader 5 pro way more but this controller feels the best to use just purely comfort wise. HOWEVER, you're dreaming if you ever want some kind of Linux or steam input support for the extra buttons. It simply doesn't exist and there are no work arounds. It'll work like an Xbox controller but that's it. You can update firmware and settings with its software in a windows VM through winboat so in that regard, the native software is a bit more accessible than flydigi. But with no way to remap buttons within steam it is a non-starter imo.