The new Joy-Con improves the game, but there is a catch



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Note to Editors: Hori has announced a problem with the D-Pad controller – if left connected to the switch in standby mode, the Joy-Con can drain the Switch's battery quickly.

Released July 26 in Japan and finally scheduled for a Western release, the new Hori (L) D-Pad Controller for Nintendo Switch meets the prayers of many Nintendo fans, offering a traditional pad in the shape of more for the left thumb. We have tested the D-Pad controller extensively with several games and we highly recommend it – with some important warnings.

The Hori Controller is designed to be used in place of your left Joy-Jon in portable mode. It has a D-pad instead of the official Joy-Con arrow buttons left, with an badog stick, the Minus button, the capture button, and the L and ZL buttons, just like on the normal controller. .

to make the controller affordable (about $ 24 in Japan), Hori has omitted several key features that limit the ways in which you can use it. No Bluetooth button, gyro sensor or SL / SR means that it can be used only in pocket mode and not in TV or table mode. There is also no vibration, which is not a critical problem but not ideal.

The result is a controller designed for a very particular job: it is intended to make certain types of games easier to play. , scrolling shooters, 2D platform games and so on.

And in simple terms, the D-pad is wonderful. Rather than the tiny clicky arrows on the Official Controller, here you have a smoother button that gets in place, making it easier to diagonally strike or change direction quickly, and making long player sessions far, far more comfortable

The Switch Pro Controller of course includes a D-pad, but it is not really suited to the game on the move, so the Hori pad fills this niche with skill.

Do not get me wrong: the players who will appreciate this controller the most are retro players. Traditional side-scrolling or platform-based games such as Sonic Mania Plus, Metal Slug 3, Flashback and Donkey Kong gain a more precise movement that looks much more natural and undeniably improves player performance.

The players who will appreciate this controller the most are the retro players

The fighting games such as Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection and BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle also control much better, with special moves easier to remove – BlazBlue en particular features a workout mode that visually displays the inputs of your controller, and you can quickly see the quarter circle type inputs are enhanced by the directional pad compared to the official arrow buttons of Joy-Con . (Of course, the Joy-Con badog joystick works as a good alternative for these types of movements.) The dash-type controls work much better, just like the guard in the standing and squatting positions.

shooting games. A D-pad is much more reliable than an badog stick or arrow buttons for accurate top, bottom, left and right models required for a game like Ikaruga. With an badog stick, by doing the very subtle left-to-right movements needed to dodge bullets, the stick sometimes moves slightly up or down, pushing you away of course; since precise movement is essential for ball-hell games, the Hori D-Pad Controller lends a great advantage for this type of game.

And even a puzzle game like Puyo Puyo Tetris works better, allowing you to achieve harder turns and even basic horizontal movement. Super Bomberman R also benefits mbadively from a more precise movement. Runbow games are easier to win. In each 2D-based game we have tried, the Hori D-Pad controller is an improvement over the official left Joy-Con

That is to say until you remove it. We've always liked that Switch's left and right controllers can be used as thumb pads, which means you always have two controllers and you can play spontaneously with a friend wherever you are. Since the Hori controller does not work when it is detached from the main unit (and its D-pad does not have buttons), it can not be used this way, and I am I found myself with an additional controller in my Switch pouch – not a terrible burden, but also not ideal for a portable console.

At the very least, it would have been nice to be able to attach it to a jack and play in TV mode, but it's also impossible: The D-Pad controller does not work with a Joy handle -Con standard or a loading handle. Of course, the Pro Controller already allows us to play on a TV with a D-pad, but that means an extra expense.

Also, while the controller is great for shooters as mentioned above, since it can not be used the switch, it does not work with shooters who use the console screen in a vertical configuration. A Bluetooth connection would have been better for the shooter fans.

 Hori-Dpad2

Finally, it is a very minor thing to rent, but the catch button is raised slightly higher than on the official controller, which makes it easier to support without looking at the controller – a welcome fit.

By the end of the day, Hori's D-Pad controller is designed to do one job It's also a very affordable price, making it an easy purchase to justify – about $ 24 compared to the price Public $ 79.99 from a pair of official Joy-Cons

. included all the features of a regular Joy-Con and could be used in the TV and table modes, I (Daniel) would have personally been happy to pay more for this flexibility – not to leave Because, having used the Hori D-pad for a few weeks, the arrow buttons on the regular controller seem to me as unpleasant as when I tried a switch.

The comfort and accuracy of Hori's D-pad far outweigh its flaws. I never want to go back, and that confirms for me the new Hori controller as an essential accessory for Switch.

For more Switch Accessories, check out our selections for the best Nintendo Switch carrying cases, as well as some of the best switches. the cases that you can currently obtain.


Daniel Robson is editor-in-chief at IGN Japan; he could live quite happy without the third dimension. Shmup and Shin Imai, a fighting game, is the deputy editor of IGN Japan.

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