Review: PowerA Advantage Wired Controller For Switch 2

Like the Switch 1 before it, the Switch 2 will no doubt play host to dozens of third-party controllers over the course of its (hopefully) long lifespan. First out of the gate is PowerA with its Advantage Wired Controller, which I received in a rather jovial Mario Time theme. You can also get a Mushroom Kingdom themed variant along with a standard black design – y’know, if you’re boring (joking!).

Boasting a similar layout to Nintendo’s official Pro Controller, the Advantage pad features offset analogue sticks, two mappable ‘AGL’ and ‘AGR’ buttons on the backside, and a handy headphone jack on the bottom. Really, the only major change in terms of layout is the placement of the start, select, home, GameChat, and capture buttons, which are all housed beneath the d-pad and right analogue stick.

To be honest, this alone was enough to throw me off my game; I’d often go to reach toward the centre of the pad to hit the home button, miss, and instead give the image of Mario a good ol’ fondle (Sorry, Mario) before realising the home button is actually down toward the bottom.

Having all of these buttons gathered together in one place is convenient in a way, and it does allow the artwork to really shine if you go for one of the themed variants, but it definitely plays havoc with about thirty years’ worth of muscle memory in which controllers at least housed the start and select buttons in the centre. Why fix what isn’t broken, y’know?

As for those mappable buttons on the back, these don’t function like the ‘GL’ and ‘GR’ buttons on the Pro Controller. Well, they do, but you can’t assign inputs to them quite as easily. With Nintendo’s own offering, you can simply hold down the home button and assign inputs via the quick settings menu, but that isn’t available for PowerA’s controller.

Instead, you need to hold down the additional ‘PRGM’ button on the back until the LED light on the bottom turns dark blue. Then, you hit the button you want to remap and then assign it to either ‘AGL’ or ‘AGR’. It’s pretty manageable in practice and won’t take long to figure out after your first couple of goes, but it would’ve been nice if it supported quick remaps via the settings menu like the Pro Controller.

In terms of build quality, this is very much a budget controller, so it’s incredibly light at just 143g. For comparison, the Pro Controller is 235g, the GameCube controller is 210g, and 8bitdo’s Ultimate 2C Controller is also 235g. Combined with the mandatory wired setup, the lightweight design makes lengthy gaming sessions an absolute breeze – no need to worry about discomfort or loss of battery life at all.

On the flip side, it’s… well, too light; to the point where it comes off as being pretty cheap. It feels like there’s barely anything inside the device, and you can tell by just tapping on the exterior with your finger: it sounds very hollow. This is exacerbated by the buttons, all of which give off very loud ‘clicks’ when pressed.

The worst of these are those aforementioned back buttons, which when pressed, sound like they’re reverberating throughout the interior of the controller.

Looking at the analogue sticks in a bit more detail, I don’t have a great deal to complain about here. They’re perfectly smooth and functional, with decent travel and good grip. Again, they sound pretty loud when hitting the casing on the outside, which you’ll definitely notice if you’ve been using the Switch 2’s official Pro Controller, but otherwise, they’re good.

I can’t say the same for the d-pad, though. It’s slightly thicker and more rounded than Nintendo’s own offering, and it feels weirdly spongy when pressed. Needless to say, this makes more precise inputs a bit tricker on some retro games, and I wouldn’t even consider using it on Street Fighter 6.

All in all, this isn’t a controller I’d recommend if you’re after a daily driver for the Switch 2. Your best options at the moment are Nintendo’s own Joy-Con 2 or Pro Controller. That said, if you’re after something cheap and cheerful for the player two in your life, this is a perfectly adequate option for you. Yes, it may feel a bit too light for some, the lack of rumble and motion control support is frustrating, and the wired setup sure isn’t for everybody, but it’ll come in handy in a pinch if you’re looking for some local multiplayer fun.

The sample used in this review was supplied by PowerA.

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