Should You Buy the Hori Super Mario Odyssey Left D-Pad Joy Con for the Nintendo Switch

In this video, we are going to test out the Hori left Joy con featuring a D pad for the Nintendo Switch.

There is no denying that the Nintendo Switch is a runaway success. It provides console level gaming on the go, and it does it really well. One of the biggest criticisms with the Switch however is the lack of an actual D-Pad on the left Joy Con. While there are accessories and cases you can get that will add that functionality, accessory manufacturer Hori has recently released a left Joy Con that features a full-blown D-Pad!
One of the first things that you may notice about the Hori Joy Con is its price. At only $25 it's actually really reasonable. That reasonable price comes with some compromises however. You will lose key Joy Con features such as Wireless functionality, HD Rumble, compatibility with Joy Con grips, and a few other minor things. Essentially this is ideal for you if you use your Nintendo Switch in handheld mode, but if you use it docked primarily this has little if any use for you.
Taking it out of the box, it actually felt really good in the hands. There are two versions of this controller available, the one that we showed here with the Super Mario Brothers livery and a second one that features The Legend of Zelda. The D-Pad has a very nice feel to it, even better than the D-Pad in the Basstop case that I just installed on my Switch. The capture button has a very nice rubbery feel to it, and the triggers feel pretty good too. Overall build quality feels really nice. It is slightly wider than a traditional Joy Con, but that's not something I noticed during gameplay.
I primarily tested the Hori left Joy Con using the NES games featured on Nintendo's Online services. It seems like the perfect fit for this particular controller. The action of responsiveness felt great, there was no additional lag or latency over a traditional Nintendo made Joy Con. The D-Pad responded to my inputs as I expected, and that was well appreciated.
Why it RoX:
- At $25 it's incredibly budget-friendly
- Both the Super Mario and Zelda versions look great
- Very good responsiveness on the d-pad
- No modding required to install

What could be improved?
- No Wireless functionality at all
- HD Rumble is not available
- Plastics feel a little bit on the cheap side
- No matching right Joy Con to have a unified look
Should you buy one?
If you use your Switch in handheld mode a lot, you're playing a lot of games that could benefit from a traditional D-Pad, for $25 the Hori left Joy Con is actually a pretty decent device. However if you are looking for something with wireless functionality to use in a Joy Con grip I would look elsewhere. The build quality and responsiveness seems very good and I do like the style. There is a blue version coming out in Japan that I would like to see brought to the US as well.

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

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