Great or Gimmick? GameCube-Style Switch Pro Controller by EasySMX

I'm this episode, we unbox and test it the EasySMX ESM 8587 Wireless Controller for the Nintendo Switch.

It's wild to think that the Nintendo GameCube turns 20 years old this November. It is even more wild to think that it's controller is still one of the most popular, not just from that period, but even today. You've been able to use GameCube or GameCube-inspired controllers on the Wii, Wii U, and now the Nintendo Switch& Switch Lite. While adapters exist to connect actual GameCube controllers to the Switch, wouldn't it be awesome to have something like this without an adapter? That's where the EasySMX 8587 comes to play.

Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
2:31 - Unboxing
5:40 - Pairing
6:14 - Super Mario Sunshine
8:30 - Amiibo Compatibility Test
8:57 - Smash Bros Ultimate
10:10 - Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
11:41 - Horizon Chase Turbo
12:44 - Gradius
14:17 - Super Mario Bros 2
15:56 - Initial Thoughts
17:58 - Final Thoughts

Unboxing the 8587, it comes with the controller itself, a USB-C charge cable, & instruction manual. My initial thoughts were that it felt comfortable in the hands, however, the analog sticks were too short, too small, and the face buttons protruded to far from the casing. Would these be issues? We'll see.

Pairing the controller to the Switch was relatively painless. The manual doesn't mention this but, when pairing, once the LEDs start cycling you still need to hit the L&R triggers to initiate pairing.

It seemed only natural to start testing with a game built for the GameCube in Mario Sunshine. I've never been a huge fan of this game, it has poor mechanics and camera controls on my opinion. I will say that something felt off about the trigger function to me, particularly when using FLUDD. The game controlled well enough, but something was off.

On to Smash Ultimate and, for a button masher like me, this worked well enough. Now this version of the game was designed for the Switch Pro controller layout, so for me, the need for the GameCube design isn't as great.

On to Street Fighter and the limitations of the 8587 really stood out. The D-Pad was virtually unusable to pull off moves with. Rolling it for the Dragon Uppercut was impossible, and honestly the analog stick wasn't much better. Even the Shyruken & Haduken were impossible with the D-pad.

When playing Sunshine, I suspected that the L2/RE triggers were not analog but in fact digital. Upon starting a game of Horizon Chase Turbo confirmed this fear. Unless I completely depressed the triggers they did not register ANY input. This, along with the D-pad performance, made this a no-go for me.

Why it RoX:
- GameCube-style layout
- Comfortable
- USB-C for charging
- Built-in Turbo
- Powerful rumble

What could be improved:
- Triggers are digital and not analog
- Poor D-pad performance
- Analog sticks aren't great performers in fighting games
- Home Button is ginormous

Should you buy one?
There is a lot of potential here for the ESM 8785 EasySMX controller, but it just doesn't capitalize on those opportunities. My concerns about the face buttons weren't justified, but the D-pad & triggers really hurt the performance of this controller. How and why they decided to make the triggers digital instead of analog confuses me, as does the overall responsiveness. For me, the novelty didn't outweigh the performance issues, and I don't foresee myself using this into the future.

#NintendoSwitch #ProController #EasySMX #GameCubeControllerOnSwitch

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