First things first, just to get this out of the way: This 8bitdo Arcade Controller was not provided to me by anyone but my wallet. This is a controller I purchased using my own money for myself, primarily to play games like Street Fighter, so all thoughts and opinions herein are courtesy of myself and my diminutive bank account. On with the review!
The version of the 8bitdo Arcade Controller that I purchased uses a combination of black and red buttons meant to look like an NES controller. The black panel area of the controller is covered in a smooth, semi-matte finish that collects smudges pretty easily, being especially obvious when taking photos of the device for the purpose of a review. The front panel of the controller isn’t removable to place artwork underneath, as far as I can tell, but given that this controller is primarily intended for use on a Nintendo Switch or PC, it makes sense that 8bitdo went for a retro NES aesthetic instead. There’s still plenty that can be customized with this controller, but the appearance isn’t one of them (without vinyl decals, stickers, and the like, anyway).
When the controller is turned on, LEDs underneath the black panel surface light up to show you which button is what, which is incredibly helpful while retraining your brain to navigate menus in your favorite fighting games, since ABXY positions swap depending on if you’re in Switch or X-input modes for play on PC. The visibility of the LEDs is much more obvious on this arcade controller, which is a good thing since the button labels were incredibly dim on 8bitdo’s Arcade Stick from 2020. These small improvements are really nice because it can take a few moments to remember what button is where especially in menus.
The actual feel of the controller is incredible. The main circular buttons are all 24mm except for the 30mm jump button, and the button switches have a satisfying click with low resistance so they’re easy to actuate during intense matches of Street Fighter or Guilty Gear. When pushed in, these buttons are almost flush with the surface of the controller, which makes sliding my fingers across the directional buttons for motion inputs quite easy given their lower profile. There are no rims around the buttons at all, which is something I’ve discovered I vastly prefer after using four or five fight sticks that have hearty rims and Sanwa buttons with healthy pre-travel. Performing wakeup 720s has basically never been easier than using a controller with low profile switches.
The Arcade Controller itself has a very nice amount of heft to it, given its thin, sleek profile and between 1.5 to 2cm standing height. There’s an anti-slip rubber mat on the underside of the controller that’s emblazoned with arrows and letters meant to evoke various quarter and half circle motion inputs common in fighting games. There are two small feet that can be extended to have the controller rest at a slight angle on your table or desk, and the 2.4GHz dongle is easily located on the back of the device, held in by a small magnet. The size and shape for the controller are perfect for resting your wrists while you play, whether you set this on your desk or your lap to play.
Across the top row of the controller you can see the power switch that turns on the controller in Switch or PC mode, your pairing button, star button for mapping the bean-shaped P1-P4 buttons or enabling turbo, and the home button. On the opposing side, you can see the L3 and R3 buttons, start, and select. They’re out of the way enough that you shouldn’t ever run into instances where you accidentally hit them during a game. Additionally, the tournament lock switch on the upper left gives you a quick and convenient way to disable your macros, home, and start/select buttons, or any other customizations you may have done to this controller that may prevent it from being tournament legal.
The switches underneath the buttons on this controller are low profile Kailh Wizard switches and are hot-swappable, allowing you to change them out for other switches if you want this controller to be quieter (or louder, I don’t know your life). The extra buttons, labeled P1-P4, can be mapped using a button combination on the fly thanks to the star button in the upper left corner. Two of these bean-shaped extra buttons are positioned naturally around the jump button, easily pressed with the thumb of either hand, with the other two above your main controls, within reach of your index fingers. Due to the P1-P4 accessory buttons having that bean-like shape, they’re really easy to distinguish from the main buttons in the heat of the moment, which was an issue I would run into sometimes with my Haute42 R16.
If you decide you don’t need any of the extra buttons on this controller, you can easily remove the bean buttons and replace them with the included caps that make them inaccessible, unable to be used. This is handy in the event you’re playing somewhere that has a maximum button limit for controllers during a competition. It’s also worth mentioning that should you try to change out the Kailh switches just to see if you may like others better than stock but be sure to put the button caps back with the prongs facing horizontally. I carelessly placed one of the button caps the wrong way and my ZR button was stuck for a bit until I managed to loosen it and replace the button cap properly.
Editor’s Note: Check out our review of another amazing controller from 8bitdo.
It also needs to be mentioned that if you’re buying this controller to use it on a Nintendo Switch 2 system, you’ll have to download 8bitdo’s Ultimate Software or firmware updater in order to update the Arcade Controller’s firmware. This controller won’t work on a Switch 2 out of the box, at least not right now. It’s easy to imagine that eventually the current firmware revision will be flashed onto these devices as factory default at some point. But as of right now, you’re going to have to update it manually if you buy one.
In regard to software use, 8bitdo’s Ultimate software lets you set up profiles where you can change button mappings, assign macros to specific buttons, or change the SOCD cleaning method (which is neutral by default). For those uninitiated, SOCD stands for Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions, such as holding back and forward at the same time, or down and up at the same time. This is something that lever controllers can’t do, and different events may have different requirements depending on the games being played. For example, some titles like King of Fighters may let you block both sides during a cross up by holding back and forward simultaneously, so events for those may require holding two opposing directions resulting in a neutral input instead. You can change the SOCD cleaning mode of this controller to one of four options, like down and up prioritizing an up input for instant Flash Kicks or something, but I left this setting on default.
This particular arcade controller is compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, and PC through wired connection, Bluetooth, or the included 2.4GHz adapter that’s tucked away in the back of the device. What’s strange about this particular controller is that the connection mode you get to use depends on your platform of choice: PC can use all of the above, but you can only play on your Nintendo Switch via Bluetooth or a USB-C cable (no 2.4GHz connection for you). I didn’t notice any obvious issues with input latency or lag, but I could very easily see homes with big families having enough Bluetooth interference to cause issues.
Another strange and seemingly arbitrary restriction is that there is no longer any way to output directional inputs as anything other than d-pad should the game you’re playing require it. The older 8bitdo Arcade Stick from 2020 had a physical switch on the unit that would force the stick’s directional inputs to be read as d-pad or analog stick, allowing you to choose your output based on the game you’re playing. Curiously, this feature is completely missing from the 8bitdo Arcade Controller, and I can’t even surmise a reason for why this feature was cut. Due to the fact that you can’t have this controller output directions as left stick, you can’t use this as a Smash Box alternative to play Super Smash Bros Ultimate for a significantly lower price. Given that Super Smash Bros Ultimate is one of the most popular titles on the Nintendo Switch, this seems like a massively missed opportunity for very little gain.
What makes it strange that these two features are missing from 8bitdo’s leverless Arcade Controller is that other controllers 8bitdo has produced have had this feature, like the aforementioned arcade stick or their M30 6-button gamepad. The 8bitdo Arcade Stick, released 5 years ago, let you use the 2.4GHz wireless adapter, Bluetooth, or cable in directly, whichever made the most sense for your gaming setup. Aside from those two flaws with the 8bitdo Arcade Controller, this is currently my favorite way to play fighting games. The size, shape, and profile of its buttons make this an easy pick for when I want to just sit on my couch and play some Street Fighter, though it’s also very good for things like Metal Slug, Streets of Rage, and similar 2D titles. Of course, for purposes of testing this controller out, I played all sorts of games that can be played entirely with a d-pad, such as Cadence of Hyrule, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Tetris, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, River City Rampage, and more.
The 8bitdo Arcade Controller’s battery is a very reasonable 1,000mAh capacity, and it lasted for around 19-20 hours before needing a charge. It took around 2.5 hours or so to charge after it was noticed that the power LED on top of the controller was flashing. You can continue to play while plugged in via a USB C cable, though you may need a longer one than what comes included in the Arcade Controller’s box. In fact, it’s probably ideal to get a longer USB-C cable if you decide to play in competitions using this controller because you’ll want to be hard wired in event spaces.
All in all, 8bitdo’s all button Arcade Controller is an extremely competent leverless controller at a low price. Fight sticks, mainly leverless ones, tend to be pretty pricey depending on size and additional features, especially if they’re wireless. 8bitdo’s leverless has features on par with some significantly more expensive controllers since it has brilliantly clicky buttons, accessory buttons you can disable if they’re unneeded, quick mapping, turbo, and macro support, along with hot swappable switches that allow for further customization. The downsides are that you can’t use the 2.4GHz adapter when playing on Switch or Switch 2, and it would be nice to have an option to output directions as left analog stick to expand the number of games in which this can be used, even slightly, since previous controllers by 8bitdo had such functionality (not to mention, it’s commonplace on competitor controllers like the MayFlashF500 Flat).
That being said, if you’re looking for a wireless all button controller with excellent ergonomic placements for its extra buttons, you likely can’t do better than this on the Switch for now. Haute42 has a number of wired options that are cheaper, but practically anything else I can find at the moment is $150 to $250 or even more, making the 8bitdo Arcade Controller an absolute steal at $90. The Xbox variation, which works on Xbox or PC, adds customizable LED lighting for $10 more, so if you play on PC and need RGB more than you need a nostalgic NES theme, you know which version is more likely to fit your fancy. Overall, I’m pleased with this controller and am happy that this is the one I got to use to climb out of Diamond 5 on the Nintendo Switch 2.