While I don’t take issue with the layout of the original Nintendo 64 controller, like many seem to these days, the original thumbstick design was a major problem. As the controller got used the inner workings of the thumbstick would deteriorate and become practically unusable. As the years have marched on, replacement sticks have become available offering varying results in performance. They don’t however solve that layout issue that most like to bag on. In 2018 modern alternatives for the N64 finally became available with the Retro Fighters Brawler 64 leading the charge! While the improved ergonomics were quite a revelation, the stick performance isn’t quite there for many N64 players. Over-sensitive sticks and inconsistent ranges make a number of games difficult.
When the Retro-Bit Tribute 64 launched in 2019 it quickly became my go-to for wired N64 gaming. But it, too, suffers from similar issues as the Brawler, with over-sensitive sticks and wildly inconsistent ranges. Thanks to the larger thumb cap, dealing with these issues is far easier than the Brawler. While it has gotten the job done for me for nearly 2 years, the Tribute 64 is far from a perfect N64 experience and a new frontier in N64 gaming was dawning: wireless controls!
With the late 2019 release of the Hyperkin Admiral, we were given a taste of what N64 gaming could become. Unfortunately, that thing is a piece of crap, so let's just leave it at that. We finally got true wireless gaming on our favorite 64-bit machines in early 2021, when Retro Fighters released their Wireless Brawler 64. This model virtually eliminated all of the issues its wired counterpart suffered from, becoming the new third-party standard for N64 gaming. The Wireless Brawler does its job so well that I haven’t plugged in a wired N64 controller for over 7 months.
But even with its improved performance, the Wireless Brawler has a few interesting quirks, such as dropping sustained inputs in games like Mario Kart 64. It is also missing one critical feature found in a good chunk of N64 games: Rumble. Now in mid 2021, Retro-Bit is looking to retake the N64 controller crown once again with the release of their Wireless version of the Tribute 64. With loads of fan feedback taken into consideration, performance improvements, and the first wireless controller to implement rumble, it is poised to do just that! Oh, Retro-Bit also includes a USB receiver out of the box, expanding the usability of the Wireless Tribute 64 to a multitude of different devices. Now, let me take you on a journey and show you why the Retro-Bit Wireless Tribute 64 is the greatest replacement controller for the N64 to date!
What's In The Box
The Wireless Tribute 64 is available in 3 colors: Classic Grey, Atomic Purple, and a pre-order only limited edition Nintendo Ultra 64 themed Ultra Edition. Each controller comes in a traditional box bearing a life size depiction of your selected color and Tribute 64 branding. Notations of the controllers compatibility and receivers are also present. The side of the box highlights some of the key aspects of the Wireless Tribute, including that aforementioned Rumble feature! The back of the box gives us a nice selection of product shots and a more in-depth look into the Wireless Tribute’s features. The Ultra Edition packaging retains all of these same elements but changes the box to a darker grey and recolors the Tribute 64 branding to a more pleasing blue. Inside the box you will find your Wireless Tribute 64, wireless receivers for N64 and USB devices, a USB-C cable, thank you note with Retro-Bits social media handles, and finally an instruction manual available in English, Spanish, and French.
Aesthetics And Build Quality
When you first look at the Wireless Tribute 64 you can instantly spot a number of differences in its design over its wired counterparts. The placement of the controller's D-pad has been shifted more to the left, giving the A and B buttons more breathing room for D-pad only N64 titles. New Select and Home buttons have been added, giving the controller more functionality for USB devices compared to the USB Tributes released a few years ago. One of my favorite improvements to the basic design is that each shoulder button has a proper anchor point, making them feel far better to use over the originals. The D-pad likewise feels better anchored in place.
On the ergonomic front, Retro-Bit has done away with the classic N64 handle layout found on the original wired Tributes and has instead shifted them outward, resulting in a vastly superior grip that naturally brings your fingers to rest on the controls. Each button feels great to use and the analog stick has a good resistance to it that feels a bit tighter than before. Rounding out the new inclusions are a USB-C charging port, LED strip to convey usage modes, and the built-in rumble motor. A list of macros can be found on the back of the controller. The included N64 receiver shares the same color as your selected controller, which makes me happy, as Retro-Bit could have easily elected to keep them all grey for simplicity. On the receiver you will find a Memory Pak slot, function switch, USB port, and a sync button.
The build quality of these new Tributes is also topnotch, with each controller having a solid construction to them. The plastic feels sturdy and my usual assortment of tests proved little trouble for them to withstand. They do come in a bit on the light side, so you will want to take that into account if you have issues with lighter peripherals. I am also digging all three available color schemes as each brings up their own levels of nostalgia when I look at them!
Gameplay
While the Wireless Tributes make a good first impression when you first hold them, it wouldn’t last long if it didn’t perform well in games. So let’s go ahead and dive right into it! Starting with some synthetic benchmarks you can see that Retro-Bit has truly refined the analog sticks for the Wireless Tributes. On the original Tributes you could see ranges vary wildly across each axis and diagonal. One direction could be as high as 113 while another could be as low as 82. This led to a very inconsistent gameplay experience in a number of titles, but one you could get used to over time. The problem with such high ranges came from games like Buck Bumble and Toy Story 2, which would completely drop input along an axis if the range increased above 100.
To make matters worse, each wired Tribute 64 would have it’s own random ranges on the sticks, making each controller behave differently. While I only have 3 Wireless Tributes currently, each has put up the same results when running this test, leading me to believe that this is going to be a universal result for all end users. Further proof of my assumption can also be seen during the Wireless Tribute 64 preview stream where Mad Little Pixel runs the test on his review units to the exact same results. With these lowered ranges there are no longer any concerns with Buck Bumble or Toy Story 2 dropping input!
While synthetic tests can give you a broad overview of how well an N64 analog stick will work, it can’t give you the full story. Max analog range is one part of the N64 experience but there are also dead zones and analog stepping. One of the best ways to test every aspect of an N64 analog stick, in my experience, is to load up good ol’ Super Mario 64. Back in 1996 the game showed us why analog input would be the future, and even today it can show us the shortcomings of modern analog technology. An original N64 controller had no dead zones and relied solely on raw input from its gears. On a controller with a good stick this resulted in very tight and responsive controls where Mario can literally spin in place without taking a single step.
On a controller with a bad stick though, you might get some drift as the stick sags to one side. Modern sticks in comparison feature dead zones to prevent a certain amount of drift. On an N64 this can result in the game feeling less responsive, as you need to overcome the controller's dead zone before your action will take effect. Up until the Wireless Brawler 64, our available modern N64 alternatives haven’t been the best at giving us a suitable dead zone for N64 gaming. Thankfully the Wireless Tribute 64 is able to perform admirably in the Super Mario 64 dead zone test! Does it perfectly match the original? Oh, absolutely not, but it comes so dang close that you would be hard pressed to tell the difference in actual gameplay.
The next biggest hindrance of modern N64 controllers is having odd analog steppings. With an original stick, Mario has a very distinct movement buildup. A number of third-party controllers have reduced steppings so this movement range ends up being lost, and you are either going nowhere or going somewhere faster than intended. The best way I can think of to show you an example of this problem is by using the Hyperkin Admiral. Mario has reduced movement ranges and you achieve peak speed far too quickly. With the Wireless Tribute 64 though, not a single issue to be found along the entire movement range!
The last hurdle the Wireless Tribute 64 needed to overcome from its original wired release was its insane sensitivity. While I was able to get used to it with my games, I often received comments about it in regards to the N64’s library of shooters. Well, you can rest easy knowing that thanks to Retro-Bit’s stick tuning, shooters are no longer a sensitive mess! Using Goldeneye as an example you can see how the new Wireless Tribute stacks up against my original N64 controller. A little bit faster since the range is still higher, but not uncontrollable compared to how the wired options handled. Precise aiming is also much easier thanks to the improved dead zones!
The new analog stick is also capable of doing quick back and forth movements, which some have found to be problematic on the wired originals. Pulling off quick spin attacks in Zelda also proved to be a breeze. Flight games have been extremely enjoyable as well. To be completely honest, I have yet to encounter a single game I haven’t enjoyed the stick with. Even Starcraft 64 controls perfectly. All the while the resistance on the stick has been right at my preferred levels!
While the Analog stick was definitely the area where the Tribute 64 needed the most work, you can’t understate the importance of the other changes it has implemented. Using the new shoulder buttons feels vastly superior to before and having a more tactile feel to pressing them is awesome! The new grip design makes playing games for longer periods of time more comfortable. The D-pad’s shifted position is also sure to delight many who enjoy playing the various D-pad only N64 titles. The D-pad is also very accurate and allows me to pull off any of my moves in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with ease, unlike a certain piece of junk we brought up earlier. I am also glad that we can roll it, unlike the D-pad found on the Wireless Brawler. Also unlike the Brawlers, The Wireless Tributes doesn’t lose sustained input on Mario Kart 64.
With the controller being wireless there is no more worry about cord length or tripping hazards if you have kids or pets. Thanks to the 2.4 GHz transmission I haven’t noticed any latency. I press a button on the controller and it happens in game as I would expect it to. Battery life is also fantastic as I was able to get in more than 20 hours of play before needing a charge. If you need to step away for a second don’t worry, the controller will go into sleep mode after 5 minutes to preserve battery life. It only takes a couple of hours to get the controller charged with the included USB-C cable letting you get back into the action quickly. If you need to you can also play while it is charging.
And then there is the fact that it has a rumble motor included! If you have ever done a no battery mod to one of your official N64 Rumble Paks the rumble strength in the Wireless Tribute is pretty comparable. Thanks to the switch on the receiver it is very easy to switch the controller over to Memory Pak mode for the games that require it, or in case you’re a heathen who doesn’t enjoy the glorious rumbles of early 90’s games. There is a small selection of titles that can potentially have issues with Memory Paks on third party controllers, and while these all seemed to work for me during testing, results may vary.
Unfortunately swapping between memory and rumble modes isn’t quite as seamless as you would hope for yet. Many games will have a screen dedicated to you swapping the paks, but just flipping the switch doesn’t trigger the mode swap. Instead you currently have to unplug the receiver, switch the modes and put it back into the N64 for the change to take effect. I hope that we get a firmware update to address this in the future, but even if we don’t, I’m glad it is possible to get both functions in supported titles. And just as a heads up, Transfer Paks are not compatible with the Wireless Tributes just like nearly every third-party option to date.
I am extremely happy with how the Wireless Tribute 64 has turned out as an N64 controller, and if that was all there was to it, I would be alright with that. But thanks to the inclusion of a USB receiver, the Wireless Tribute 64 can take on extra roles across various USB equipped devices like PC, Mac, Switch, and Android devices. The manual also lists support for PS3 systems, but mine didn’t like the Tribute so I guess you can try it out on yours if you desire, but for me it’s kind of whatever. My main goal with USB capabilities with controllers such as these is to put them to use with N64 emulation. After configuring some controls and turning off controller dead zone options in Retroarch, the Wireless Tribute 64 is ready to give you the same experience in emulation that it gives on the real hardware! It is honestly a bit jaw dropping how authentic of an experience we can get out of emulation these days. This same process also worked great on my Pixel 3 with similar results!
Of course, you can put the Wireless Tribute to work with far more than emulation if you desire, that's just my number one use. Playing an assortment of fighting games with the 6 button controller feels good once you configure them around a bit. Any number of games that don’t make use of a second analog stick will play perfectly. That’s not to say you can’t play dual analog games with the Wireless Tributes, it just takes a bit of extra setup. Ahh, come on, you have to know by now that I’m going to put this controller to the test in games it has no right to play! I would like to point out that the D-pad on the Wireless Tribute is far better for movement than the ones found on the old USB Tributes, even if it does require a bit of an extra stretch to use it. Thanks to the inclusion of an Xinput and Direct Input mode, the controller also functions on a number of legacy operating systems, making it an ideal wireless option for retro PC gaming.
But I would be remiss if we didn’t spend a few moments talking about the Wireless Tribute’s usage on the Nintendo Switch. Setting the controller into legacy mode gives us a nice Nintendo standard button mapping which will allow us to enjoy any number of Switch titles, albeit with similar restrictions to those found on PC, thanks to the lack of a second analog stick. Thanks to the controller registering with the system as a Pro Controller, we are also able to remap the buttons to our liking to take full advantage of the Tribute for Switch gaming. But wait, there’s more!
If you had thought about picking up the Wireless Tribute as a fun input device to play the Super Mario 3D All-Stars Collection, then Retro-Bit has you covered with an included All Star Macro. This macro essentially maps the right analog stick to the controller’s C buttons which in turn allow you to play Mario 64 on the Switch just like the original N64 version! Even crazier is that it works perfectly for Super Mario Sunshine as well! But a cool side effect of the All-Star mode is it allows us to use the Switch’s controller remap feature to play dual analog games. It isn’t as nice as using a PC remapping tool, but hey, now everyone on Switch can play some gimmick shooters as well! Another nice feature of using the Wireless Tributes across USB devices is the rumble motor works on all supported titles!
Even though I wasn’t able to test it, the Wireless Tributes should also work on Raspberry Pi setups and Mister FPGA systems.
What It Could Have Done Better
While the Wireless Tribute 64 has proven to be a fantastic input option for the N64 and a fun method of playing some modern games, it isn’t without its quirks. The biggest one to me is the ease of switching between rumble and memory modes. While it is possible to do in game, being able to simply flick the switch would be far better in the long run. There are likely hardware limitations making this difficult, but again, I hope that it might be added to the controller down the road. The next issue some might come across is incompatibilities with Memory Paks in certain games. As stated earlier, my Memory Pak is able to work fine in all of the typical trouble games but others might not be so lucky, so do be aware of it!
On my current selection of Tributes, none of the macros listed on the back of the controller work on PC outside of the mode switch. Not a huge deal to me, since I custom remap everything on PC anyway. I do know that there will be a few people out there who will be disappointed to learn that the macros also don’t work on the N64 receiver. I also wish that the controller would give a little buzz when a macro has been entered successfully to take the guesswork out of the whole process. But one final nitpick I’m sure some of you out there are likely to have with the Tributes, is that the analog gate is more circular than square like an original N64 controller. This might make these controllers less ideal for speedrunners but for your everyday N64 fan it shouldn’t prove to be a big deal.
Verdict
Retro-Bit has once again taken the N64 controller crown by offering us a finely tuned wireless N64 controller with a number of features that are missing from the competition. While I do hope to see a couple of improvements made with future firmware updates, what we have now is feature complete and will make most N64 players extremely happy. I have been having an absolute blast revisiting my N64 library and having a wireless option capable of supporting both Rumble and Memory Paks is exactly what I have wanted since new modern alternatives have begun appearing on the scene. With the Tribute’s added ability to work on Switch and PC, there are just so many possibilities for use it’s staggering; being able to have a practically identical experience to a real N64 console through emulation is a big one. While I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Wireless Brawler and still find it to be the more comfortable of the 2 controllers, it just doesn’t compete for me anymore as a main N64 controller option, especially when you consider both share the same $39.99 price tag. You get so much more bang for your buck with the Wireless Tribute 64 that it easily takes the top spot on my N64 controller recommendation list!
