How To Add Some Retro Styling to Your Nintendo Switch Pro Controller by Swapping the Casing

In this video, we show you how to add some retro styling to your Nintendo Switch Pro Controller by installing the MASCARRY SNES replacement shell.

When it comes to gaming, I love old-school, classic video games. My favorite system of all time remains the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, I just loved it. From top to bottom it had great aesthetics and an amazing library. While I love the old school games I certainly also enjoy the current lineup of games on modern consoles, including the Nintendo Switch.

The Switch is such a versatile console, in both handheld and docked mode. One of the best ways to play the Switch is with the exceptional Pro Controller. I've had mine since the day I bought my Switch, and I am really glad I did. Unlike the Joy Cons, however, you by-and-large can't get a different color or look for the Pro Controller (yet, the Super Smash Bros Edition is coming at the time of this video). That's where Mascarry comes into play as they offer a selection of different shells for the Pro Controller, from green and blue to white and even including the one I bought here, the SNES-style. One difference between the SNES version and others is the colors of the buttons; the SNES version here comes with 2 different color purple buttons, just like the original SNES controller. Other replacement shells come with Super Famicom-style red, yellow, blue, and green buttons.

Disassembly requires a #00 phillips screwdriver, thankfully no need for a Tri-Wing screwdriver here! Once you remove the grips themselves and are inside the case the Pro controller actually comes apart pretty easily. Make sure you keep track of all the screws, you'll need to reuse them to put the controller back together!

Once inside the shell, the Pro Controller comes apart pretty easily. One thing I would highly recommend is to make sure you are familiar with how the rubber membranes come off of the inside of the old shell. It took me a bit to get the one over the A/B/X/Y buttons back into place, but once I did just about everything else fell right into place.

Perhaps the most difficult part of this process, and it wasn't that hard honestly, was figuring out how to install the grips on the ends of the controller shell. It was just a bit of a pain getting them lined up properly, but after a few seconds, and some Tetris music in my head, I got the grips installed.

Once it was together though, I was a little disappointed. The fit between the grips and the body of the controller was less than ideal. The gap between the grips and the body just isn't great. Plus the plastic is a lot slicker than the stock plastics of the Pro Controller.

Why it RoX:
- The style is spot-on
- Reasonable Price
- Easy Installation
- Works with Amiibos
- Multiple color options

What could be improved?
- Fit and finish leaves something to be desired
- Misses the concave/convex button layout of the original controller
- No instructions included

Should you buy one?
If you're a hardcore nostalgia nerd like I am then for $25 you get a decent chunk to add to your Switch. If the pieces fit together better then this would be a no-brainer, but it just doesn't feel as good in the hand with these molded pieces as with the stock parts. Nintendo has been molding controllers for a long, long time and they have learned a lot along the way. Unfortunately, this shell is just ok, not great. I may go back to the stock shell eventually, but for now, I'm digging the look and, well, that's really what this was all about for me.

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

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)