PowerA Wired Controller for Nintendo Switch GameCube

this controller is lovely, exact same form factor as a traditional gamecube controller, except it has no rumble and an extra Z button on the left side (left bumper, whatever it's called), and the R and L buttons are fully digital, not analogue.the one problem i've had: i've been playing super mario 64, paper mario TTYD, and a few other similar games on emulator, and one of the actions involved in regular play (for bowser throws in 64, tube mode in TTYD, hammer spin in TTYD) is spinning the joystick around in a circle as quickly as possible.within a month of having the controller, the wear from doing this has made the joystick squeaky whenever it's pushed upwards and moved from side to side (like rubbing between 1 and 2 on a clock face)i've tried all sorts of things to help this, i've cleaned it out with alcohol, nothing works.i've got to look for the package materials to try to take advantage of the warranty, i hope i didn't throw them away.edit and update: powerA have a fantastic warranty, this is worth picking up for the warranty alone.just sent them detailed information in a warranty ticket on their website, receipt for the purchase, evidence of the flaw (a short video of the creaky analogue stick), and they emailed me back asking for my address.within about 3 days a new one showed up at my door.thanks powerA!can't recommend this brand enough, the price was very good at my time of purchase (usually between $15 and $20), and you're guaranteed to have a functioning controller for at least one year.as a fairly degenerate smasher who chews through all my controllers like a dog, it's really nice to have an option with a very similar form factor to a gamecube controller, USB and switch compatibility built in, and with a warranty like this.since i wrote this review (originally written in late 2020, it's now early 2024), i have utilized their warranty probably about 5-7 times on different controllers, and they've never denied me.it's way cheaper than a gamecube controller (usually the OEM SSBU one runs about $50 from japan?) and mayflash (usually $20), so i would recommend it for casuals, but you'll need to either use it with your switch, or if you're planning on using it for gamecube games, you will need to manually map all the buttons in dolphin, and if you're serious you'll eventually want a real OEM gcc for analogue triggers, but especially if you just want to mess around with smash, or with gamecube games on the switch, or to emulate gamecube games that don't heavily rely on analogue triggers, i would highly recommend this one.it is an unbeatable price for a usable controller with a stellar warranty that can get you playing a gamecube game on a gamecube-like controller within like two days. there is a chance that the controller you receive is defective, if it is, submit a warranty claim ASAP and get another, they are VERY understanding and will not shrug you off if you complain to them.seriously, they have the best customer support out of anyone I've ever seen, write in eirh evidencenow with a few years of experience with this product under my belt, let me share some info for people who are interested in emulating gamecube games and see this as an alternative to getting a real gamecube controller.first of all, yes, you're right, if you don't want to spend $70 on the real deal, absolutely get this one.here's where it differs from the "real deal":basically the OEM gamecube controller had an R button that worked much like a shotgun, it had a long and smooth analogue range, and at the bottom of the throw, it had a hard clicky digital press.this was utilized beautifully in super mario sunshine because you could press analogue R without a digital click to "run and gun"—activate fludd without going into first person aiming mode—and then you could click the digital R to fully activate fludd, which gives you a crosshair and lets you pivot to aim.unfortunately, the switch's pro controller totally lacks the special analogue and digital triggers like the gamecube controller, instead it just has a digital trigger with a noticeably shorter throw.there's a few games super mario sunshine where you might struggle with this controller, because if you just don't map analogue R to its own button, you can't run and gun, and in this game, that is a debilitating limitation.for games like this, create a custom mapping in dolphin, and you basically want to do what they settled on for the switch port of super mario sunshine:face buttons, sticks, and dpad mapped normally.start/pause mapped to this controller's plus button.analogue R mapped to the powerA's R button (purple, right bumper)digital R mapped to ZR (gray, right trigger)Z mapped to L (purple the left bumper, which the OEM gamecube controller lacks)digital L mapped to powerA's ZL (gray, left trigger, vanilla mapping)analogue L can stay unmapped, or if you want to be able to press it, you can just map it to one of the extra utility buttons that the gamecube controller lacks: minus, home, capture, or a stick clickwhat the aforementioned mapping does is gives you access to both options with a standard pro controller, which lacks the analogue triggers that make the gamecube controller so unique. it doesn't feel quite as satisfying and intuitive as "depress the trigger to turn on fludd, then pull the trigger to REALLY turn on fludd", instead it just separates those two options into two separate digital buttons to press, which is a fine compromise, but you'll probably want a mayflash adapter and an OEM gamecube controller if you care about experiencing the game "how it was back then in all its glory" etc., or if you're going to be speedrunning sunshine, or something like that.this compromise works absolutely fine for casuals who missed some games this generation and just want to see what it's about, just don't forget to map your triggers properly or else the game will feel VERY clunky and stop-and-go without a "run and gun" option.thanks for coming to my TED talk, hope it was helpful for any casuals who are looking to experience a golden era of nintendo games (the time period between figuring out 3D and figuring out motion controls 💀), have a nice day!