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Best D-Pad for Switch (Wireless Recommendations Only Please)?

SOLDIER

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
I've been adding more and more 2D games on my Switch lately, and as much as I love the Pro controller, it is true that its d-pad is less than ideal (especially when playing Tetris 99).

So I wanted to see what the best recommendations were for wireless alternatives. I prefer full wireless, no cords, and if possible I don't want to take up the USB slot on the dock since I use that for wireless headphones (but if there's a cheap 2-in-1 adapter that works, I'll look into that as well). I don't want to lose any of the extra features either if possible (two analog sticks, HD rumble, etc).

I remember 8Bitdo was releasing an SNES-style controller that had analog sticks and rumble. Curious if anyone got to mess with that: https://www.amazon.com/8Bitdo-SF30-...s=gateway&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-3&th=1
 
CaptainNuevo

CaptainNuevo

Mascot Maniac
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,979
Yeah I have the SF30 Pro and the d-pad on it is pretty good. I like it for classic 2D games, but I'm also not super picky on my D-pads. I'm more curious about their genesis equivalent actually, mostly since that was my childhood console and I love the feel of it.
 
JeffGubb

JeffGubb

Giant Bomb
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
842
The SF30 Pro is great. It's what I use when I need a real D-pad on Switch.
 

Deleted member 10737

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
49,774
i've been replaying celeste a little bit using a dual shock 4 connected through an 8bitdo dongle, and it's pretty good. if you already have a DS4 (and like its dpad) it may be a good idea to just get the dongle.
 
CrabDust

CrabDust

Member
Nov 16, 2017
1,257
CaptainNuevo said:
Yeah I have the SF30 Pro and the d-pad on it is pretty good. I like it for classic 2D games, but I'm also not super picky on my D-pads. I'm more curious about their genesis equivalent actually, mostly since that was my childhood console and I love the feel of it.
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Same, it's also small enough that my kid can use it comfortably.
 
OP
OP
SOLDIER

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
Well again, the problem with the SF30 is that it takes up a USB slot. As I mentioned before, I need that slot for headphones.

Are there any adapters that add extra USB slots that are proven to work on the Switch dock?
 
pronk

pronk

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,644
I have that 8bit do SF30 Pro and I love it. It connects wirelessly, and will also work with a PC I think. I've seen some people who hate them, but I either got lucky or its good for me.. The dpad is much better than any of the pro-controller style controllers I've used.
 
CaptainNuevo

CaptainNuevo

Mascot Maniac
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,979
SOLDIER said:
Well again, the problem with the SF30 is that it takes up a USB slot. As I mentioned before, I need that slot for headphones.

Are there any adapters that add extra USB slots that are proven to work on the Switch dock?
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Go with the SF30 Pro, it supports switch natively with no need for a USB adapter plug?
 

Mathias Lesauvage

Member
Jan 11, 2018
143
It depends on what kind of D-Pad or controller you want.

If you want to stick with a Nintendo-style D-Pad, then you have the 8bitdo SN30 Pro and the 8bitdo SF30 Pro, two full-featured wireless controllers which take inspiration from the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. They're pretty much as close to the SNES controller as you can get, and you can also use them for most games since they have all of the buttons and sticks and gyros and McGuffins. If you have them lying around somewhere, you can also try and use the Wii Classic Controller / Classic Controller Pro or the Wii U Pro Controller using the Mayflash Magic-NS adapter in Red mode, it works great, but you do lack the gyro and L3/R3 buttons (At least on the Classic Controller, I don't know if Wii U Pro had L3 and R3)

If you're more of a SEGA boy, the 8bitdo M30 may be your best bet. It's the good old 6-button Genesis controller, but now wireless for PC and Switch. However just note that it's a way more specialized controller as it is lacking analog sticks, rumble and the gyro, but the D-Pad on that one is amazing. It's pretty much my controller of choice right now for traditional 2D fighting games across all platforms (PC Mode works on PS4 using the Mayflash Magic-S adapter).

If you're a Sony guy or an XBox guy (Even though I don't see why you'd be an XBox guy D-Pad-wise), you can also use your PS3, PS4, XBox 360 (Wired) and XBox One (Bluetooth/Wired) controllers on Switch using the Mayflash Magic-NS adapter, so if you already have one of these, it's pretty much optimal ^^ PS4 controller also has gyro support for all of your Splatoon needs.

Also, if you go the Magic-NS route and want to get an extra port, I just use a cheap self-powered USB 3.0 USB hub I found on Amazon for 10 €, so, there's that. The Switch is pretty flexible when it comes to USB hubs. Also, HD Rumble is only a feature in the 1st Party Switch controllers and will probably be the one exclusive feature for the next 5 years, but, eh, at least we have regular rumble
 

Deleted member 49166

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt-account
Banned
Oct 30, 2018
754
Mathias Lesauvage said:
It depends on what kind of D-Pad or controller you want.

If you want to stick with a Nintendo-style D-Pad, then you have the 8bitdo SN30 Pro and the 8bitdo SF30 Pro, two full-featured wireless controllers which take inspiration from the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. They're pretty much as close to the SNES controller as you can get, and you can also use them for most games since they have all of the buttons and sticks and gyros and McGuffins.
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Click to shrink...

You can even get closer by replacing the d'pad with on OEM SNES controller and by doing the tape mod.
With those two measures I tend to say you're close to perfect.
 
OP
OP
SOLDIER

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
Thanks to a Lightning Deal last week, I ended up with the SF30 Pro.

I like it a whole lot. Works great, the only minor quibble is that you can't use it to wake up the Switch; you have to manually power on the Switch and then wake up the controller, but it's no big deal.
 
RedOnePunch

RedOnePunch

Member
Oct 26, 2017
2,628
Honestly I think modding the joycon with a third party shell that has a dpad works really well. That's what I've been using and the best part is you can play your switch handheld like you normally would have a proper joycon
 
beetlebum

beetlebum

Member
Nov 24, 2017
776
Brazil
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