Since the N64 days, Nintendo has earned a reputation for taking big, ambitious swings on its controllers--sometimes, arguably, to the company's detriment. But there is no denying that few companies know how to put together a controller like Nintendo, and their controllers typically dominate lists of all-time great game controllers.
For the last few console generations, Nintendo has gone in some pretty quirky directions with the controllers packed in with its consoles, but they've also offered alternatives for people looking for a less gimmicky experience. The Wii U's Pro Controller was a great pad, although there was definitely some room for improvement. And improve Nintendo did with the Pro Controller for the Switch, easily one of the best controllers ever made--though it's not without its faults.
10 Good: Amazing Battery Life
Raise your hand if you miss wired controllers. Exactly. Nobody is longing to return to the days of being literally tethered to their consoles, and the move to wireless being the standard is one of the most significant changes in video game history. The downside, of course, is that wireless controllers need batteries to run--and one of the biggest knocks on the PlayStation 4 is its controller's short battery life. The Switch Pro Controller can get upwards of 40 hours of play on a single charge, which is borderline miraculous.
9 Bad: Very Expensive
Controllers have been expensive for a long time now, but at $70, the Pro Controller is the most expensive of its two main competitors (the DualShock 4 and the standard Xbox One pad). It also doesn't come included in any official configurations of the Switch, which means buying one separately is the only option.
It's a steep investment just to get a standard controller option for the Switch. It being cheaper than a pair of Joy-Con is of little consolation give that Joy-Con do have a few extra features (like the infrared camera).
8 Good: Perfect Weight
One of the toughest things to get just right about a controller is its weight. Too heavy is obviously a bad thing, but at the same time, you want at least a little heft there so the thing doesn't feel cheap. The Switch Pro Controller absolutely nails that balance, feeling strong and sturdy yet light enough to not leave you exhausted after a day-long Super Smash Bros. Ultimate marathon. It's heavy-feeling-enough for adults, but not too heavy for the kiddies, which is necessary for a Nintendo controller.
7 Bad: Lackluster Triggers
When shoulder buttons were first added to controllers, they primarily served as just an additional set of buttons. But around the turn of the millennium, the idea of shoulder "triggers" was introduced, offering more precise analog input. However, on the Switch Pro Controller, the rear shoulder buttons are very much just buttons and not actual triggers as they are on other controllers.
This is a side effect of Joy-Con being that way and Nintendo not wanting Pro Controllers to do "more" than Joy-Con do, but it's still a significant omission for a modern controller.
6 Good: High Durability
It's definitely true that the average gamer today is an adult, but even adults can get a little careless during heated bouts of gaming--and it often feels like controllers for modern systems are only one drop away from disaster. One of the advantages to Nintendo still having youngsters as part of its target demographic is that the company knows they need to build their hardware to be durable, and as such, the Switch Pro Controller feels like it can handle a lot more wear and tear than most modern controllers.
5 Bad: Face Buttons Jut Out Too Much
Unfortunately, it's not all good news in regard to Nintendo making controllers for kids and families in mind. One can only assume that the Switch Pro Controller's face buttons are so prominent and stick out so far so that younger and/or less seasoned gamers can find them easily. But Nintendo might have taken that idea just a little too far, as the amount that the buttons stick up robs the controller of some of its comfort and leads to fingers occasionally "tripping on" the buttons as they glide around the overly-bulbous inputs.
4 Good: HD Rumble
Sure, the majority of Switch games don't make much use of the console's "HD Rumble" feature, and beyond 1, 2 Switch, it's hard to think of any Switch titles with vibration that needed such an advanced level of rumble. But the Switch Pro Controller still has it, and it's still the best rumble of any current console's controllers in strength but also subtlety.
Why is subtlety important? Well, It doesn't sound like a controller sitting on aluminum siding every time it vibrates, like the Xbox One pad does.
3 Bad: No Headphone Jack
For a console that prides itself on its portability, it's far more complicated than it needs to be to use headphones with a Switch. Unfortunately, things don't get any easy for the Switch Pro Controller, lacking a headphone jack even though that's become a fairly standard feature of modern controllers going all the way back to the Xbox 360. The Switch Pro Controller also doesn't have a jack for a headset, but we won't even get into the Switch and its issues with voice chat.
2 Good: Another Peerless Nintendo D-Pad
Going all the way back to the company's Game & Watch line of devices, Nintendo has been using its iconic cross-shaped d-pad design--that is, until the Switch, when a d-pad was forsaken for four separate buttons on the Joy-Con in the name of symmetry. Fortunately, Nintendo's vast experience with digital control came roaring back with the Switch Pro Controller, featuring a fantastic d-pad that allows for the best digital/2D control of any controller out there today (not counting the Switch Lite which as an equally-excellent d-pad).
1 Bad: Unreliable/Inconsistent "Wake Up" Feature
One of the biggest additions to consoles in the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Wii era was being able to turn them on and off with their controllers, and all console controllers have offered that option since. However, much like with Joy-Con, the Switch Pro Controller's ability to wake up the console doesn't always seem to work on the first try, if at all--often, it never seems to find the console until you go and physically turn it on yourself which is annoying if you've already plopped down on the couch, ready to play.