gritgodx
Character non-specialist
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2015
- Messages
- 16
- Switch FC
- SW 2453 9593 2123
Hi all, I recently got a PowerA wireless GC and I just wanted to share my thoughts on it after having used it for a few hours. My background is about 3 years of playing Smash 4 with my friends (no tournaments). So, please keep in mind these are just my initial impressions coming from someone who doesn't play competitively but who has gotten very used to playing Smash 4 casually with friends on the GC controller. I just wanted to share my initial thoughts and see if anyone has had any similar or different experiences with the controller. I certainly don't pretend to be an expert in the game or controllers, and I could definitely be wrong about some of these things, so feel free to correct me!
I usually use a regular, very broken in GC controller so that is what I be comparing the PowerA to. I will try to provide pictures wherever possible to demonstrate my impressions.
Build Quality
The build quality overall feels quite good, I'm very satisfied. The material is about the same as a typical GC controller, plastic with a slight roughness to it for better grip. The controller feels solid overall. The PowerA feels only slightly heavier than the normal GC controller, the added weight of the two double A batteries is the only real difference and overall isn't noticeable.
![]()
Z Buttons
The Z-buttons feel pretty good and are on both sides unlike the normal GC controller.. They are a bit larger than the GC controller counterpart as well. The normal GC controller has a low-travel click while the PowerA has a lot more travel and more of a soft thud. The actuation isn't quite as nice and takes a bit longer than the GC controller overall but it works fine for me.
![]()
![]()
L and R Buttons
I really don't like the right and left triggers. They feel closer to the controller than the normal GC so when I push them in the end of my my finger often gets caught on the shell of the controller and I don't get enough travel to get the input. Simply put, the cutouts to allow your finger to push down into the shell aren't as deep as on the normal GC controller and therefore block my presses. Also, the triggers feel looser and more finicky and wiggly than the normal GC controller, which contributes to my low confidence in them when I press them. Especially, I can wiggle the triggers up and down (in relation to the face and bottom of the controller) much more than the GC controller. Now, with a little practice I'm getting the L and R inputs fine but I don't like the fact that the buttons wiggle throughout the actuation so they aren't guided in nicely like the normal GC controller. These problems could easily be the way I hold the controller (I only put my index fingers on the L and R buttons since I have X mapped to grab so I don't press the Z buttons) or the way that my hands are, but either way L and R don't work well for me.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
A Button
The A button feels good and responsive. There is a slightly larger amount of travel required for actuation as compared to the normal GC controller but it isn't noticeable in practice and doesn't hinder inputs.
B Button
Like the A button, the B button feels responsive and overall is good. However, it also has a slightly larger amount of travel as compared to the normal GC controller. Also, the actuation is more of a soft thud as compared to the clickier actuation of the normal GC controller. Again, in practice, the differences are negligible.
X Button
The X button also feels good but has slightly larger travel. Again, not noticeable in practice.
Y Button
Y feels good responsively but it sticks out more than the normal GC controller, and has a sharper/higher ridge on the back side (the side furthest from the A button). Between those two things it's harder to press and slide over to other buttons like the A button, and I'm not a huge fan of it. However, these things are not a huge deal, but they have made me miss a few short hop inputs before.
![]()
Smash Stick
The smash stick is slightly stiffer than the normal GC controller, but this could definitely be because the normal GC controller has been heavily broken in. I actually like the PowerA smash stick better, as it feels like it snaps back faster and extends higher than the stick on the normal GC controller.
Smash Stick
The D pad is fine and does its job (I rarely use it).
Control Stick
The control stick feels really good. It is slightly stiffer (again, could be that it's not broken in), but doesn't bounce back in the same way that the normal GC controller control sick does (in a good way). When you flick PowerA stick, it returns directly back to the neutral position, as opposed to the normal GC controller, which bounces a bit to the opposite side when you flick it before settling in the neutral position. The PowerA stick also flows more freely, which could be a good or bad thing depending on whether you like the stick going more precisely into the grooves or not. I don't know exactly how the normal GC controller control stick works internally but it has some kind of internal grooves which guide the stick into the grooves on the shell. The PowerA doesn't guide the control stick at all, so it flows more freely. In play, I haven't noticed anything detrimental with this and still get all my inputs
Charging
The controller takes two double A batteries, which is fine but I would have preferred if it just charged normally like the pro controller.
Lag
The lag feels slightly better than the GC controller, but with all the conflicting information I've seen this easily could just be placebo. However, using it on the menus where I could most notice the tiny amount of lag with my GC controller, the PowerA feels more responsive.
Summary
Overall, it's a pretty solid wireless GC controller. I will probably keep it and try to use it again I'm the future, and definitely keep it around as an extra. However for now, while I transition to this new game from Smash 4 and try to learn the new mechanics, playstyles, and characters, I'll stick to my wired GC. I just don't have enough confidence in my L and R inputs with the problems I described to play with it while I'm learning the new game.
Thanks for reading! What do you guys who have the PowerA think?
I usually use a regular, very broken in GC controller so that is what I be comparing the PowerA to. I will try to provide pictures wherever possible to demonstrate my impressions.
Build Quality
The build quality overall feels quite good, I'm very satisfied. The material is about the same as a typical GC controller, plastic with a slight roughness to it for better grip. The controller feels solid overall. The PowerA feels only slightly heavier than the normal GC controller, the added weight of the two double A batteries is the only real difference and overall isn't noticeable.
Z Buttons
The Z-buttons feel pretty good and are on both sides unlike the normal GC controller.. They are a bit larger than the GC controller counterpart as well. The normal GC controller has a low-travel click while the PowerA has a lot more travel and more of a soft thud. The actuation isn't quite as nice and takes a bit longer than the GC controller overall but it works fine for me.
L and R Buttons
I really don't like the right and left triggers. They feel closer to the controller than the normal GC so when I push them in the end of my my finger often gets caught on the shell of the controller and I don't get enough travel to get the input. Simply put, the cutouts to allow your finger to push down into the shell aren't as deep as on the normal GC controller and therefore block my presses. Also, the triggers feel looser and more finicky and wiggly than the normal GC controller, which contributes to my low confidence in them when I press them. Especially, I can wiggle the triggers up and down (in relation to the face and bottom of the controller) much more than the GC controller. Now, with a little practice I'm getting the L and R inputs fine but I don't like the fact that the buttons wiggle throughout the actuation so they aren't guided in nicely like the normal GC controller. These problems could easily be the way I hold the controller (I only put my index fingers on the L and R buttons since I have X mapped to grab so I don't press the Z buttons) or the way that my hands are, but either way L and R don't work well for me.
A Button
The A button feels good and responsive. There is a slightly larger amount of travel required for actuation as compared to the normal GC controller but it isn't noticeable in practice and doesn't hinder inputs.
B Button
Like the A button, the B button feels responsive and overall is good. However, it also has a slightly larger amount of travel as compared to the normal GC controller. Also, the actuation is more of a soft thud as compared to the clickier actuation of the normal GC controller. Again, in practice, the differences are negligible.
X Button
The X button also feels good but has slightly larger travel. Again, not noticeable in practice.
Y Button
Y feels good responsively but it sticks out more than the normal GC controller, and has a sharper/higher ridge on the back side (the side furthest from the A button). Between those two things it's harder to press and slide over to other buttons like the A button, and I'm not a huge fan of it. However, these things are not a huge deal, but they have made me miss a few short hop inputs before.
Smash Stick
The smash stick is slightly stiffer than the normal GC controller, but this could definitely be because the normal GC controller has been heavily broken in. I actually like the PowerA smash stick better, as it feels like it snaps back faster and extends higher than the stick on the normal GC controller.
Smash Stick
The D pad is fine and does its job (I rarely use it).
Control Stick
The control stick feels really good. It is slightly stiffer (again, could be that it's not broken in), but doesn't bounce back in the same way that the normal GC controller control sick does (in a good way). When you flick PowerA stick, it returns directly back to the neutral position, as opposed to the normal GC controller, which bounces a bit to the opposite side when you flick it before settling in the neutral position. The PowerA stick also flows more freely, which could be a good or bad thing depending on whether you like the stick going more precisely into the grooves or not. I don't know exactly how the normal GC controller control stick works internally but it has some kind of internal grooves which guide the stick into the grooves on the shell. The PowerA doesn't guide the control stick at all, so it flows more freely. In play, I haven't noticed anything detrimental with this and still get all my inputs
Charging
The controller takes two double A batteries, which is fine but I would have preferred if it just charged normally like the pro controller.
Lag
The lag feels slightly better than the GC controller, but with all the conflicting information I've seen this easily could just be placebo. However, using it on the menus where I could most notice the tiny amount of lag with my GC controller, the PowerA feels more responsive.
Summary
Overall, it's a pretty solid wireless GC controller. I will probably keep it and try to use it again I'm the future, and definitely keep it around as an extra. However for now, while I transition to this new game from Smash 4 and try to learn the new mechanics, playstyles, and characters, I'll stick to my wired GC. I just don't have enough confidence in my L and R inputs with the problems I described to play with it while I'm learning the new game.
Thanks for reading! What do you guys who have the PowerA think?
