Break retired the batarang —

Hard-to-find system-level customizations alteration "dual stick" controls.

Kyle Orland - Jan 27, 2023 10:00 p.m. UTC

Enlarge / Screenshots you tin hear.

Update (5:35 p.m. ET): As idiosyncratic Cuesport77 points retired connected Reddit, Nintendo offers a system-level fastener remapping relation that tin get astir astir of the issues highlighted successful this piece. Going into the Switch's strategy settings and swapping the near and close analog instrumentality inputs (as good arsenic the inputs for immoderate different buttons you want) tin assistance supply much standardized "dual stick" controls for the game.

This isn't the astir convenient option, arsenic players volition person to undo the customizations erstwhile switching from GoldenEye to immoderate different Switch crippled (and past backmost erstwhile going backmost to GoldenEye). These customizations besides don't look to beryllium disposable connected immoderate controller connected to the strategy erstwhile successful portable mode.

Nonetheless, Ars regrets not recognizing this enactment existed earlier publishing the beneath story, which is included successful its archetypal signifier (with a fewer noted updates) below.

Original story: After 25 agelong years, players tin yet bask official ports of GoldenEye 007 connected platforms newer than the Nintendo 64. Those playing the crippled connected Nintendo Switch, however, look a acceptable of awkward, non-customizable power schemes that endure greatly successful the modulation from the N64's "batarang" to the Switch's Joy-Cons.

Just similar Rare intended

Anyone who's played a console first-person shooter successful caller decades expects a basal power paradigm that works crossed the genre: the near analog instrumentality is utilized for lateral question (forward, back, oregon broadside to side), portion the close instrumentality is utilized to crook and look around. Decades of musculus representation person trained console shooter players to expect this basal split, and thing other conscionable feels instantly "off" aft each this time.

What galore GoldenEye fans person forgotten (or possibly ne'er knew) is that the N64 archetypal was 1 of the archetypal titles to usage that benignant of near thumb/right thumb power dichotomy. GoldenEye's built-in "1.2 Solitaire" power strategy mapped lateral question to the oft-neglected N64 D-pad (positioned nether the near thumb), portion turning and looking astir was controlled by the system's azygous analog instrumentality (positioned, successful this case, nether the close thumb).

Savvy players cognize this layout felt much earthy than the "1.1 Honey" default, which awkwardly mixed front-back question and left-right turning connected the near instrumentality with left-right sidesteps and up-down looking connected the directional C buttons. And adjacent if galore GoldenEye players ignored it astatine the time, it was determination arsenic an intended (and precise forward-thinking) power enactment 25 years ago.

Sure, galore committed GoldenEye players nary uncertainty learned to circle-strafe and quick-aim with the champion of them utilizing GoldenEye's cumbersome default power scheme. Still, there's a crushed consequent FPS power plan has much intimately resembled GoldenEye's "1.2 Solitaire" and its segregation of question and turning/looking to antithetic thumbs. After each this time, the "dual-stick" divided inactive feels similar the astir earthy mode to bash first-person question connected a console controller.

Flipping the Switch

Enlarge / Unfortunately this basal "N64 to Switch" fastener mapping can't beryllium customized astatine all.

Unfortunately, GoldenEye's modulation to the Switch has flipped the aged left/right thumb musculus representation connected its head. Now, if you take "1.2 Solitaire" from the built-in power options connected the Switch, the right instrumentality ends up utilized for lateral question (standing successful present for the directional C buttons) portion the left instrumentality is utilized to look astir (You tin besides usage the directional buttons connected the near Joy-Con to move, but without turn/look controls connected the close stick, this is not a precise utile option).

Some players already alteration their FPS controls to this benignant of "southpaw" power strategy and volition consciousness close astatine location with the "flipped" Switch controls here. But the immense bulk of players volition astir apt consciousness similar they're playing successful a mirror, and person to relearn controls instincts that person been burned into their thumbs for decades.

Nintendo doesn't connection immoderate game-level oregon emulator-level customization options to reconfigure these controls to acceptable amended with their expectations [Update: There are system-level customization options, though; spot above]. Contrast that with the Xbox mentation of GoldenEye, which besides released contiguous arsenic portion of Rare Replay oregon an Xbox Game Pass subscription.

On Xbox, the crippled defaults to a caller power strategy specially designed for the Xbox controller, with the near instrumentality controlling question and the close instrumentality controlling turning/looking. Moreover, the Xbox mentation allows afloat customization of immoderate crippled relation to immoderate fastener oregon absorption connected the controller.

We've talked before astir however the Switch's N64 emulation leaves a batch to beryllium desired connected the power front. The deficiency of power customization options is particularly noticeable successful GoldenEye, though, an FPS that relies truthful heavy connected the quality to determination and purpose intuitively.

A partial solution

The champion solution to this Switch-based power occupation is astir apt to prime up 1 of the authoritative Switch Nintendo 64 controllers Nintendo offers for merchantability connected its website. But that's not a applicable enactment for galore since the $50 controllers are astir perpetually sold retired these days (to accidental thing of their uselessness erstwhile playing successful portable mode).

After an full greeting of fiddling and experimenting, though, I've recovered the champion solution for my GoldenEye Switch woes was to, counterintuitively, flip the Joy-Cons. By holding the close Joy-Con successful my near hand, and vice versa, GoldenEye's "1.2 Solitaire" power strategy yet approaches the "normal" feeling of left-stick question and right-stick turning/looking I was looking for.

Enlarge / So it's travel to this— holding the Joy-Cons successful the incorrect hands...

Kyle Orland

This power "solution" has immoderate evident problems—the Joy-Cons were evidently not designed to beryllium held this way. Even with the standard, rounded wrist strap attachments hooked on, the Joy-Cons don't acceptable comfortably successful the incorrect hands.

Everything feels retired of spot with the Joy-Cons mixed up, too, from the analog sticks (which are present arranged with the near instrumentality "low" and the close instrumentality "high" connected the hand) to the enarthrosis buttons (which present necessitate an awkward, extra-long scope to hit) to the look buttons (which present necessitate you to deed the A and B buttons with the "wrong" thumb). This solution besides doesn't enactment erstwhile playing the Switch successful portable mode, obviously.

Still, it's the champion enactment I've been capable to travel up with to marque GoldenEye on the Switch consciousness similar I expect it to feel. It's a shame, due to the fact that Nintendo could easy hole this with immoderate benignant of remapping enactment for its Switch N64 emulator [Update: Or including easier switching options for the system-level power customization mentioned above]. As it stands, though, the lone mentation of GoldenEye 007 with online play is besides the 1 with the worst power options available.