Switching on Gamecube

With every new console, there's usually a new controller that takes some of the best aspects of the previous generation and improves on it. The Dualshock series of controllers has seen many improvements and additions since its debut in 1997 and the Xbox controller has gone from the large and clunky duke to what it is now. In Nintendo's case, there always seems to be a new controller design every generation from the N64's weird three grip design and the Wii's motion controls. But with the Nintendo Switch. Both the Joy-cons and the Pro controller are great controllers for the system in terms of how comfortable as well what they offer. The Joy-cons being great for handheld gaming while the pro controller creates a more traditional feel when gaming. And then of course there's the Smash Bros fans who refuse to play Smash with anything other than a Gamecube controller.

With the release of Super Smash Bros Ultimate next month; I thought it would be a fun little project to go through every game I own on the Switch and see which ones are fairly viable and can work without any issue. And which ones are the worst to play with because of the Gamecube controller's lack of buttons. Some games lose a lot of important functions immediately, while others just feel plain awkward.

Being a 16-bit RPG. Octopath Traveler is one of those games that actually doesn't require the use of the ZL or ZR buttons and there's not really a need to press in the thumb sticks. For the most part. Octopath can be played without any issue.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Come on. What did you expect. All you really need from Mario Kart is A, B, L, and R. Since ZL and ZR do the same things as L and R. Mario Kart works without any issue.

This is where things get weird. some games allow the option to mess with the controls. That is why I am putting Fortnite on the list. While it is a bit awkward changing the controls. It is quite possible to play a match without certain buttons on the controller by remapping all of the necessities to other parts of the controller. Here is the best one I can come up with. No matter what you do. It's always going to be a bit awkward to play.

In the case of Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Both of them are missing a lot primary functions. In Breath of the Wild the Gamecube controller is unable to crouch or lock onto an enemy. Both of which are functions that find a lot of use in this game. In Xenoblade's case. you're unable to access the character you have equipped in party slot three as in order to use them, you need to press ZL in battle.

For the most part. It was fun running through all of these games with the controller I grew up with. But looking at it. There isn't really much use for it now aside from Smash. Without a home button, you'd have to get up every single time and put the console in sleep mode if you wanted to go back to the home screen. And while the lack of certain buttons is okay in some games. Many games need many of the buttons that are missing from this controller. Honestly I'm probably not going to pick these up again until Smash us released. Or Gamecube virtual consoles.