It’s no secret that 8BitDo is among the premier producers of third-party Change equipment, with the agency making waves over time with the likes of the SN30 Professional Gamepad and the M30. Its newest Change pad, the Final 2C Bluetooth Controller, is one other slam dunk, providing up a compelling different to Nintendo’s Professional Controller with minimal concessions at half the worth ($29.99 / £24.99 / €29.99).
Accessible in pink and two shades of blue, the Final 2C rocks a lot of the performance you need in a Change pad. You’ve acquired gyro assist, Corridor impact analogue sticks, a correct D-pad, roughly 15 hours of playtime on a single cost, and rumble (not HD), with an additional pair of remappable ‘L4’ and ‘R4’ shoulder bumpers thrown in for good measure. The one main lacking element is NFC assist to your amiibo; a disgrace, for certain, however doubtlessly not a dealbreaker for a lot of.
We have been despatched the sunshine blue and pink variants for evaluate, and first impressions have been very robust. The colors are pleasantly muted, with 8BitDo choosing a pastel method for a extra delicate presentation. We’ve not seen the darkish blue mannequin in individual, however our opinion primarily based on pictures alone is that it’s not fairly as enticing because the blue and pink.
The ABXY buttons, D-pad, and analogue sticks are barely darker than the shell, whereas flipping the pads over reveals an excellent lighter bottom marred solely by 4 small screws and an unintrusive sticker displaying product data.
Wrapping our fingers across the controller for the primary time, it’s extremely comfy. The grips are just a little extra ‘vertical’ than the official Professional Controller or an official Xbox pad, so there could also be a slight readjustment required in case you’re used to grips that stick outward a bit extra. As for the texture, the plastic has a delicate, but nice texture, although it definitely would not come throughout as ‘premium’. We concern that one drop on concrete and even vinyl flooring may lead to a crack or two.
With average-sized mitts, our index fingers relaxation comfortably on the triggers whereas our thumbs can simply attain all required positions on the entrance. The offset analogue sticks take inspiration from the Professional Controller, and switching between sticks and face buttons feels as comfy and pure as you’d hope; definitely an enormous enchancment over the likes of the CRKD Nitro Deck and Nintendo’s personal official Pleasure-Con.
The one draw back to the general really feel is the burden, or lack thereof. That is very a lot a price range machine and is sort of a bit lighter than your common pad. The Final 2C is available in at 225g, the Change Professional Controller is a bit heavier at 246g, the PS5 Dualsense is 280g, and the Collection S|X controller 287g. Finally, this can come down to private choice, however this author likes his controllers to have a little bit of heft to them, though whereas knee-deep in a Tears of the Kingdom session our issues with the 2C’s weight melted away.
Preliminary setup is simple: You merely head into the ‘Change Grip/Order’ part of the controller settings in your Change, press the house button on the Final 2C, and briefly maintain down the small pairing button subsequent to the USB-C slot. The ability gentle will flash rapidly for just a few seconds earlier than pairing, and that is it.
Now for specifics. The Corridor Impact analogue sticks work very effectively, providing up considerably extra ‘journey’ than the sticks discovered on the official Pleasure-Con for added precision. They embody a textured rim and metallic joints that 8BitDo states will assist cut back common put on and tear. In the meantime, the SNES-inspired D-pad really feel satisfyingly clicky, with gentle presses required for enter; it really works splendidly with retro classics on NSO, extra trendy side-scrollers like Animal Nicely, and preventing video games reminiscent of Marvel vs. Capcom Preventing Assortment: Arcade Classics and Responsible Gear -Try-.
Shifting to the highest of the pad, the triggers have a bit extra journey than these discovered on the Pleasure-Con together with a barely softer click on to them. They really feel nice although, and the identical will be stated for the bumpers, although the latter are fairly loud when clicked.
What’s not fairly so sizzling are the additional remappable bumpers. These sit on the within of the triggers and are roughly the identical dimension because the ABXY buttons, albeit with a extra rectangular form. It is good to have accessibility choices and remapping is simple sufficient — you merely maintain down each buttons and select which enter you’d wish to configure — however remembering that they’re there within the first place requires you to faucet into your muscle reminiscence in a means that may show uncomfortable. Then once more, ignoring them completely is simple.
Lastly, the ‘Star’ button discovered beneath ‘Residence’ and ‘+’ is used to assign Turbo Mode to any button except for the D-pad. Once more, it’s simple sufficient to implement and clear directions are included if want be, however how a lot use you’ll get out of that is going to differ drastically relying in your wants. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent factor to have, even when most individuals most likely received’t make use of it.
8BitDo Final 2C Bluetooth Controller Assessment – The Verdict
Contemplating its comparatively price range worth, it is troublesome to fault the Final 2C controller. 8BitDo has definitely reduce in just a few areas, leading to an adjunct that is unusually gentle with casing that seems like it might break aside after a few drops. That stated, virtually all the essential bits are current and proper, together with Corridor impact analogue sticks, gyro assist, a wonderful D-pad, and rumble. Positive, NFC is lacking, however we might argue that is a nice-to-have characteristic, moderately than a necessary.
Options like the additional bumpers and Turbo Mode really feel considerably pointless to us, however that’ll come down to private style. Finally, we’re not going to lament their presence on a tool that already prices half the asking worth of a Professional Controller. It is a robust different to Nintendo’s first-party providing, and in case you’re trying to save a bit of money, it is a remarkably comfy and feature-rich pad that punches effectively above its weight.
The samples used on this evaluate have been provided by 8BitDo.
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