Donkey Kong Bananza has been out for a few days now, and if you’re anything like me, you can’t help but smash DK’s fists through everything in sight in search of fossils, treasure chests, and hidden areas with Golden Bananas (technically called Banandium Gems). Hearing “Oh! Banana!” and watching DK’s eyes light up like he’s looking at his newborn child for the first time makes me chuckle 100-plus unearthed bananas later. But while Donkey Kong’s fists might be made of steel, my thumbs are not. Bashing buttons repeatedly to carve tunnels does indeed get a bit tiresome. Players of a certain age (like me) may also find their thumbs getting sore. If this describes you, I’d recommend a Switch 2 controller with a turbo button, ideally one with remappable buttons, too.
If you’re unfamiliar with turbo buttons, it’s a function that “tricks” the game into thinking that you are rapidly pressing a button. In reality, you are just holding the button down. In the case of Donkey Kong Bananza, this means when you activate turbo functionality, you can press and hold the Y button, and DK will repeatedly swing his fists. It essentially turns him into a power drill. I’ve rarely made use of turbo buttons in the past, but it’s a nifty feature for a game that sometimes feels like a button-masher.
There’s no shortage of Nintendo Switch 2-compatible controllers with turbo buttons. Sadly, the Switch 2 Pro Controller, which is a fairly significant upgrade over the original, isn’t one of them. Most of the really good options aren’t officially licensed by Nintendo, but the licensed Horipad Turbo for Switch 2 is one of the exceptions. It also has the new C button for GameChat, a feature you will only find on first-party or licensed controllers. The Horipad Turbo is only $40, with the caveat being that this is a wired controller. It’s actually quite similar to the old Horipad Turbo, an original Switch wired controller that’s $21 (was $30) and works on Switch 2 (no C button, though).
These gamepads have turbo buttons to smash terrain without mashing your thumb.
Like many Switch 1/2 users, my go-to third-party controllers are made by 8BitDo, and all of the manufacturer’s Switch 2-compatible wireless controllers have turbo functions that can assigned to any button and quickly be toggled on/off.
More than half of my time with Bananza thus far has been spent with the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller, my favorite controller for Switch 2 in general. With four remappable extra buttons, premium TMR joysticks, hybrid Hall Effect and microswitch triggers, and support for 8BitDo’s app to configure up to three custom control profiles, the Ultimate 2 is 8BitDo’s most advanced controller yet. It’s available for $63 (was $70) at Amazon and comes with a charging dock.
Though the Ultimate 2 is a big leap forward for 8BitDo, the original Ultimate Bluetooth has the core customization features that I’ve found most useful for Bananza, including a turbo button, two back buttons, custom profiles, and full button mapping. You can save some cash by opting for the still-great Ultimate Bluetooth for $46.79 (was $60). It probably won’t be available for long but a bundle with a white Ultimate Bluetooth and controller carrying case is only $45 (was $70) at Amazon.
The original Ultimate Bluetooth also has the customizable features I’ve found most useful for Bananza–turbo, two back buttons, custom profiles, and full button remapping–so you can save some cash by opting for the old model. You can get the black Ultimate Bluetooth for $46.79 (was $60) or the white version with a carrying case for only $45 (was $70). These also include matching charging docks.
If you prefer PlayStation-style, aligned thumbsticks, the 8BitDo Pro 2 has the same core features as the original Ultimate and is on sale for $42.49 (was $50) in a retro-inspired shade of gray. A Pro 2 bundle with a carrying case is discounted to $45 (was $60) in three different color schemes.
Before buying the Pro 2, you should know that the 8BitDo Pro 3 Bluetooth Gamepad releases August 12. It has the upgraded sticks/triggers and four extra buttons found on the Ultimate 2 as well as magnetic face buttons. You can use the included tool to remove the ABXY buttons and rearrange them. The main reason for this feature is so players can swap A/B and X/Y to match the Xbox controller layout when playing games on PC and other platforms. That said, it could be useful for Switch games, too. Bananza lets players swap the jump and punch buttons, but if you wanted to switch X/Y for instance, you remap the input and swap the button location. As a result, you can play with your preferred layout while retaining the accuracy of on-screen button prompts.
The Pro 3 is missing the Ultimate 2’s RGB lights, but it does come with an extra pair of joystick caps that resemble arcade stick ball-tops. The Pro 3 costs $70 and is available in three colors, including a cool GameCube-inspired purple model with a matching charging dock. For more details, check out our 8BitDo Pro 3 Bluetooth Gamepad preorder guide. We haven’t tested it yet, but the Pro 2 is great, and the key new features are already well-implemented in the Ultimate 2.
Two other Switch 2-compatible 8BitDo controllers have turbo functionality: the budget-friendly Ultimate 2C and the SNES-style SN30 Pro. Neither controller has back buttons, custom profiles, or full button mapping, so these wouldn’t be among my top choices for Donkey Kong Bananza. The Ultimate 2C does have two extra remappable shoulder buttons and only costs $30, so it’s still a great controller for the price.
If you purchase any of the controllers from the list above, you’ll likely need to install the latest firmware before it’ll work with Switch 2. All of the controllers in the list below also work wirelessly on PC, Mac, Steam Deck, and various mobile devices. The Ultimate 2, Ultimate, and Pro 3 support 2.4GHz and Bluetooth wireless connections, while the other ones are limited to Bluetooth.
Beyond turbo functionality, the Ultimate 2 has other features I’ve found quite useful for Donkey Kong Bananza. Most notably, the Ultimate 2–and the Pro 3–have four remappable buttons, whereas their predecessors–as well as the Switch 2 Pro Controller–only have two. Along with a pair of ergonomically placed back triggers, there are two small shoulder buttons, which gives you a total of six top buttons. The jump from two to four bonus buttons is impactful because you can, for example, map ABXY to the back/shoulder buttons. With this configuration, you get to keep your thumb on the right stick at all times. Bananza’s winding terrain tunnels demand near-constant camera movement, so one of my three custom control profiles is configured to not require the face buttons at all.
The new dual trigger modes found in both of the new 8BitDo controllers complements alternative configurations well. By default, the Hall Effect triggers operate like ones everyone is familiar with. But if you flip the switches on the back, and the triggers become microswitch buttons. Since you can remap every input using 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2 on PC, Mac, and Android, you could assign the triggers to a frequently used function in Bananza such as jump or punch. The app also lets you adjust trigger/stick sensitivity, rumble intensity, and the RGB lighting rings (just for style).
There are a few caveats to using unofficial controllers like the ones made by 8BitDo. These controllers don’t have the new C button for GameChat or NFC support for Amiibo. And while the adjustable rumble motors are good, Nintendo’s HD Rumble tech is better. If these features are important to you, I’d recommend the Switch 2 Pro Controller instead. Otherwise, the Ultimate 2’s additional customizable features put it above Nintendo’s controller for me.
More Switch 2 controllers with Turbo buttons
8BitDo is far from the only third-party manufacturer designing customizable controllers with turbo buttons. Below, you’ll find several turbo-enabled Switch 2 controllers from a few other popular brands on Amazon, including EasySMX and GuliKit.
I haven’t tested all of these controllers, but I can vouch for the NYXI Warrior Lite and ManbaOne. The Warrior Lite is a premium GameCube-style wireless controller with customizable features, including back buttons, trigger locks, swappable Hall Effect sticks, and microswitch face buttons. The ManbaOne has a built-in display that can be used to configure inputs, create custom profiles, and tinker with various control settings. It has Hall Effect sticks and triggers as well as microswitch face buttons.
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