My first impression of the Gulikit Elves 2 Professional wasn’t notably optimistic. Now, once I say ‘first impression’, I’m speaking concerning the second I laid eyes on the factor in a couple of press pictures on-line. I believe that a few of you testing the images on this assessment could be considering the identical factor. Sure, the plain throwback to the Sega Saturn is nice, however does a controller of this design actually maintain any weight within the fashionable age?
Effectively, fortunately, the reply to that query is a hearty “Sure.” When the controllers arrived and I unboxed them from their translucent circumstances (a pleasant contact so as to add further safety when travelling), I instantly fell in love. The colored ‘Retro’ mannequin specifically, primarily based on the ‘Mannequin 2’ Japanese Saturnis totally attractive and a beautiful homage to Sega’s Mega Drive successor.
The black variant is very nice, too, with the one trace of color being the blue sync button in between the 2 analogue sticks. This, once more, is a nod to the ‘Mannequin 1’ Japanese Saturn, although the jet black casing is maybe extra akin to the Western design. Consider it like a mix of the 2, then. The one draw back with the black model is that mud is of course extra noticeable on darker surfaces, so it exhibits up much more than the ‘Retro’ model.
Holding the controller reveals simply how well-made it’s. It’s acquired a hefty weight to it: 190g to be actual. That is lighter than the Swap 2 Professional Controller and the 8BitDo Final 2C controller — each of which weigh in at 235g — however the Elves 2 Professional is rather a lot smaller than each, so the load/dimension ratio balances out properly. It doesn’t really feel low cost, let’s put it that manner.
As for the form, sure, it’s a bit unorthodox by fashionable requirements and also you’re missing the longer grips essential to ‘hug’ it along with your palms, however the curved design feels nice. It’s simple sufficient to maneuver from the face buttons and D-pad to the 2 analogue sticks within the center due to the offset positioning, although the previous setup does really feel barely extra pure.
Certainly, you should use this controller for nearly any sport on Swap or Swap 2, although to say that it’s finest suited to retro titles or preventing video games wouldn’t be inaccurate. The form, the colors, the D-pad design: all of it feels completely suited to retro gaming. For preventing video games specifically, purists would possibly lament the shortage of the six-button setup on the Saturn’s controller, however I felt no concern when testing it out with the likes of Road Fighter 6 and Marvel Vs. Capcom Combating Assortment: Arcade Classics. The D-pad specifically feels nice, however extra on that shortly.
Wanting on the analogue sticks, they utilise Corridor Impact expertise, so that you’re theoretically a protracted lifespan for the Elves. It’s also possible to simply take away the caps for alternative if mandatory; I say ‘simply,’ however they do take a little bit of effort to take away, and it is a good factor – you don’t need them coming off throughout common play. They’re barely smaller than your common analogue stick – perhaps a fraction smaller than these discovered on the Swap 2 Pleasure-Con – and the textured grip across the edge is simply begging to select up grime out of your thumbs over time, however general, they’re very nice.
The identical goes for the ‘floating’ D-pad, too. Actually, I’d say the sensitivity for that is fairly spot on: holding down and rocking the D-pad backward and forward yielded completely zero unintended inputs when testing it within the Swap settings, and the identical may be mentioned in retro titles like Streets of Rage 2 and Contra. It really works precisely as supposed and as you’d count on. If you wish to go one step additional, you may truly change the D-pad setup between four-directional and eight-directional, relying on the sport you’re taking part in.
The face buttons and shoulder buttons all really feel good: pleasingly ‘clicky’ with out producing a complete lot of noise. Once more, an enormous shoutout goes to the ‘Retro’ mannequin right here: the gray, inexperienced, blue, and yellow ABXY buttons look beautiful, and I’ve grown actually fairly keen on the cranberry-coloured shoulder buttons and sync button. Very similar to the D-pad, you may fiddle with the settings to reassign inputs – fairly good in case you’re not fussed about doing it on the Swap itself.
Actually, there are a lot of various settings you may mess around with. You may modify vibration depth, analogue stick sensitivity, lifeless zone modes, movement purpose assists, turbo mode, APG recording (which mainly allows you to report particular enter combos and repeat them at will), and extra.
That is all performed through the ‘settings’ button situated within the centre of the gadget (aside from APG recording, which has its personal button just under). Holding the button down and urgent a corresponding button modifications a selected setting. So, for instance, ‘settings’ + ‘R3’ or ‘L3’ modifications the sensitivity of the chosen analogue stick. There’s rather a lot to study, so it’s value studying and memorising every setting mixture listed within the guide, but it surely’s good that there’s no separate app to fret about.
You’ve additionally acquired gyro help, three totally different rumble modes (together with its personal ‘HD Rumble’, which feels nice), wired help with the included USB-C cable, and a seize button. However what’s lacking?
Effectively, there’s no ‘C’ button for GameChat, no headphone jack, no NFC help, and no means to wake the Swap 2 from sleep mode. These are all arguably ‘good to have’ capabilities, and to be trustworthy you’re by no means going to get a third-party pad that does completely all the pieces. If you happen to’re notably involved concerning the lack of ‘wake-up’ help, nonetheless, Gulikit has confirmed that it’s going to quickly be the primary third-party producer to supply such helpalthough how and when this happens has but to be revealed.
Lastly, though the controller does flip off by itself after quarter-hour of inactivity, there’s a teeny, tiny button on the again to show it off manually. It is a good little contact that numerous producers don’t actually think about. In fact, whether or not it is going to truly be of use to you may be very a lot dependent by yourself circumstances, however hey, it’s a great factor to have. The pad will also be used with PC and iOS, with a three-way toggle situated simply above the off button to modify between the three modes.
All in all, although, I might say the Elves 2 Professional might be finest suited to retro video games and preventing video games moderately than your go-to controller for on a regular basis use. It is an exceptionally well-made pad, and a wonderful different to Nintendo’s personal SNES and Mega Drive NSO controllers. If you happen to’ve acquired an affection for the Sega Saturn, the ‘Retro’ variant specifically is a superb throwback; simply do not be shocked in case you begin glancing all the way down to admire it while you actually ought to be conserving your eyes on the display.
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The pattern used on this assessment was equipped by Gulikit.
