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The Retro Fighters 'Brawler64' is awesome! (Modern N64 Controller)

Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
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I haven't seen any threads about this here so I wanted to post something about it.

This was a Kickstarter from a company called 'Retro Fighters' from about a year or so ago for those who don't know. It's pretty much a modernized Nintendo 64 controller, with a modern 2-prong form-factor/button layout and a modern-style rubberized analogue stick.

I just got mine yesterday and I absolutely LOVE it! It's a night and day difference to me from the original 3-pronged 1st party N64 controller. And even better than the famous "Hori pad mini".

The stick is super responsive and grippy compared to the OG N64 stick, which was always too tall, too small, and too slippery for my liking.

Also has 2 'Z' triggers on each side, so you can use whichever feels more comfortable to you, and is fully compatible with the official Memory Pak and Rumble Pak. Also has a turbo function as well.

So far, I've tested Mario 64, Star Fox 64, Turok 64, Smash 64, and F Zero X with this pad and they all feel amazingly good.

You can order one here for $30: https://retrofighters.com/#home


Has anyone else here heard of this or got one for themselves and wants to share opinions?

EDIT: And just so you know, the issue with the stick hitting the L-button on the original backer version from 6 months ago has been 100% completely fixed for this final current version.
 
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phanboy4

phanboy4

Member
Oct 27, 2017
413
Got scared off of it because reviewers said there was an issue where the LB would hit the stick if it was pushed all the way to the upper left.

Did they fix that?
 
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OP
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Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
phanboy4 said:
Got scared off of it because reviewers said there was an issue where the LB would hit the stick if it was pushed all the way to the upper left.

Did they fix that?
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Yes! I should've mentioned that in the OP. The L-button issue has been completely fixed!

EDIT: Meant L, not R. Fixed.
 
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Deleted member 23212

User requested account closure
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Oct 28, 2017
11,225
It looks great, not sure if I'll get it though since I already have a few original N64 controllers and I don't use the N64 enough to justify getting one of those.
 

N.Grim

Member
Nov 30, 2017
117
Someone need to do one of those with two stick to replace the two controller scheme in goldeneye
 
Camjo-Z

Camjo-Z

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Oct 25, 2017
6,561
As someone who thinks the N64 has one of the worst controllers ever made, I backed this immediately and did not regret it. Anyone who likes to play N64 games on the original hardware really needs to treat themselves to one of these.
 
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Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
Amiibola said:
Does the transfer pack works now?
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Unfortunately no, but it is 100% compatible with the Memory Pak and Rumble Pak.

N.Grim said:
Someone need to do one of those with two stick to replace the two controller scheme in goldeneye
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Yeah, but tbh I actually like that they kept the controller as faithful to the original pad as far as buttons are concerned to keep it feeling 'true' to the OG. They improved on what needed to be fixed (the shape/stick quality) and still kept what makes it feel almost like a true 1st party N64 controller.
 
chalkitdown

chalkitdown

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,245
What's the deadzone like on the stick compared to the OG pad? That's always my issue with these 3rd party pads (or hell, even GC pads while playing N64 Games on the Wii VC), they just never feel right, particularly with games like Mario 64.
 
Aeana

Aeana

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,984
The L button issue was fixed. I got mine a few days ago and it's pretty good. I need to try playing Mischief Makers with it.
 
Pop-O-Matic

Pop-O-Matic

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,041
I'd be down with it if they got rid of the unnecessary analog-style triggers for the Z buttons and remapped the right side so both the trigger and bumper were R.
 
Diarrhea Day-Lewis

Diarrhea Day-Lewis

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,818
I love the look of it. If I get a n64 again (since Nintendo doesn't want to re release them lately) I will get this first thing
 
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Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
chalkitdown said:
What's the deadzone like on the stick compared to the OG pad? That's always my issue with these 3rd party pads (or hell, even GC pads while playing N64 Games on the Wii VC), they just never feel right, particularly with games like Mario 64.
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Deadzone is about as good if not better than the OG pad. Def better than any other 3rd party pad ive ever used for N64. And unlike the OG stick, this one wont grind itself to death just by regular use.

MasterOfPuppets said:
I'm guessing you just swapped L and R, but the issue was with the L button.
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I didn't swap anything, Retro Fighters just fixed the issue internally. I dont know how since i'm not willing to open up my pad to find out lol but I can 100% confirm that I dont feel ANY contact on the L-button from the stick at all. And nothing has affected my gameplay as well. EDIT: Sorry, yeah that was a typo. Whoops! I said 'R' but I meant 'L'.
 
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VinylCassette64

VinylCassette64

The Fallen
Oct 26, 2017
2,455
There's no photos of the controller input on the website; but based on the website description, it sounds like the controller is specifically designed to be played on actual N64 hardware. Is this correct?
 
OP
OP

Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
VinylCassette64 said:
There's no photos of the controller input on the website; but based on the website description, it sounds like the controller is specifically designed to be played on actual N64 hardware. Is this correct?
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Yes. The input is the same as an actual OG N64 pad. Made for original real N64 hardware, no USB.
 
InsaneLuchador

InsaneLuchador

Member
Dec 20, 2017
368
This looks beautiful. Scroll down a bit and it looks like they're working on a Switch variant that will have a right stick.
 
ASaiyan

ASaiyan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,228
The real story here is that the Brawler64 is finally available for non-backers. Thanks for the heads up, OP!

I've been eyeing this thing since the moment it was announced. I'm a huge controller nerd and can't wait to try out my old games with this. And with the new bigger C buttons, it could probably even work as a makeshift Saturn pad!
 
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JustinH

JustinH

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,476
I'm curious to see how well this plays with Doom64. I didn't like playing it with the original pad or a Hori Mini pad, and apparently I'm too lazy (or forgot lol) to get a GCN to N64 adapter to try that out.
 
snapcracken

snapcracken

Member
Oct 25, 2017
619
Adam802 said:
I didn't swap anything, Retro Fighters just fixed the issue internally. I dont know how since i'm not willing to open up my pad to find out lol but I can 100% confirm that I dont feel ANY contact on the L-button from the stick at all. And nothing has affected my gameplay as well.
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He's saying that you're saying the problem with the R button is fixed, when the issue mentioned was with the L button.
 
onpoint

onpoint

Neon Deity Games
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Oct 26, 2017
15,238
716
I picked up two of these, one for me, one for my sister.

I hope you're right OP!
 
Phoenom

Phoenom

Avenger
Oct 28, 2017
1,331
What's the Dpad like? I still use my N64 for WWF No Mercy and this looks like an ideal replacement for my worn controller.
 
OP
OP

Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
snapcracken said:
He's saying that you're saying the problem with the R button is fixed, when the issue mentioned was with the L button.
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Whoops you're right, my bad. I meant L. Fixed.

Phoenom said:
What's the Dpad like? I still use my N64 for WWF No Mercy and this looks like an ideal replacement for my worn controller.
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D-pad is fine, nothing special really. It's "shallower" than the OG pad.

MaverickHunterX said:
Maybe I'm mistaken, but aren't they doing other colors as well?
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Yep! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1247448559/retro-fighters-next-gen-n64-controller-transparent

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As well as other colors too.
 
Rickenslacker

Rickenslacker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,415
Despite playing the hell out of the XBLA release, I'm almost tempted to pick one of these up solely for Perfect Dark play.
 
Polioliolio

Polioliolio

Member
Nov 6, 2017
5,406
Well.. if other colors are coming, maybe I'll wait.... or just grab one...

edit: okay, just ordered the one. If I like it, I'll grab 3 of the upcoming colored versions... to bad you can't preorder those now..
 
chalkitdown

chalkitdown

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,245
Still waiting for mine since shipping on the 5th. :( It doesn't usually take 2 weeks for things to arrive from the US to Ireland. I really hope it gets here before the end of this week otherwise it's just taking the piss.
 
chalkitdown

chalkitdown

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,245
Arrived this morning!
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I'm still at work so I haven't been able to test it on an actual game yet but it feels great in the hands. Really good build quality.
 
InfiniDragon

InfiniDragon

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Oct 25, 2017
2,355
That's a damn nice looking controller. It looks really polished which isn't always the case with third party work for the older consoles.
 
boris_feinbrand

boris_feinbrand

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,624
Wow, I actually quite like the design. Very curious about the build quality. I am always extremely weary about non OG controllers. PS1/N64 era scarred me for life in that regard.
 
Coreda

Coreda

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Oct 26, 2017
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Adam802 said:
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As well as other colors too.
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Oh boy.

Happy there's another 6 main face button controller we get out of this. Was one of the things I liked about the OG controller. Wonder how the D-pad feels after heavy use as I'm unsure what I think of the placement. The original was too stiff imo.
 
OP
OP

Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
Beegeous said:
What's delivery times like folks? Also, am I dreaming or do I remember Metal Jesus saying that the analogue dead-spot was quite large?
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Appears to be sold out at the moment. Website says they'll be restocked in November. And the stick is maybe not quite as sensitive as the OG stick, but its negligible. Stick is 100x better then the original imo.

boris_feinbrand said:
Wow, I actually quite like the design. Very curious about the build quality. I am always extremely weary about non OG controllers. PS1/N64 era scarred me for life in that regard.
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Its very light, but the build quality is solid. I know most 3rd party N64 controllers are crap, but this one is genuinely great. I actually can't believe it took 22 years to finally come out with an N64 controller like this tbh.
 
boris_feinbrand

boris_feinbrand

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Oct 26, 2017
6,624
Adam802 said:
Appears to be sold out at the moment. Website says they'll be restocked in November. And the stick is maybe not quite as sensitive as the OG stick, but its negligible. Stick is 100x better then the original imo.



Its very light, but the build quality is solid. I know most 3rd party N64 controllers are crap, but this one is genuinely great. I actually can't believe it took 22 years to finally come out with an N64 controller like this tbh.
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Sounds amazing tbh. For those still using the N64 this should Def. be worth looking into then. And it's nice to hear that a 3rd party N64 controller actually works.
My brother bought me a 3rd party controller for Christmas back then. Of course it didn't work, and I got mad... To this day I feel horrible about how I reacted. Poor kid was so happy when he bought this for me.
 
Raptomex

Raptomex

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,249
Yeah, I waited until they fixed the LB issue. I got mine recently but my friend got one back when it originally released and it was quite the improvement compared to the standard 64 controller.
 
OP
OP

Adam802

Banned
Feb 12, 2018
660
boris_feinbrand said:
Sounds amazing tbh. For those still using the N64 this should Def. be worth looking into then. And it's nice to hear that a 3rd party N64 controller actually works.
My brother bought me a 3rd party controller for Christmas back then. Of course it didn't work, and I got mad... To this day I feel horrible about how I reacted. Poor kid was so happy when he bought this for me.
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Lol sounds like you've been redeemed after all those years!
 
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