Retro Fighters has iterated on its core range of controllers so many times I'm honestly in danger of losing track; when the Brawler64 Pro ($69.99) sample arrived in the office, I was certain I'd covered a similar pad not so long ago (and I had – the non-Pro version, of course, which comes in both wired and wireless options).

The big difference with this new model is the design, which opts for a smoother, more ergonomic appearance and comes in a range of 'skeleton' colours, such as Watermelon Red, Extreme Green, Ice Blue, Atomic Purple, and Smoke Black (as well as the usual N64 grey).

As you can see, I was sent the near-radioactive 'Extreme Green' variant, which ranks as one of the most garish controllers I've ever cradled in my sweaty palms. Even now, after spending quite a bit of time in its company, I'm still not entirely sure if I really love the colour or really hate it – and I imagine that's an internal debate I'll be having for some time.

Thanks to its pair of 2.4GHz wireless dongles (one for the N64, one for USB devices), the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Pro offers low-latency wireless gameplay for a wide range of systems, including Switch, Switch 2, MiSTer and PC. However, it has no Bluetooth option, so you'll need to keep track of those dongles. You can also use the pad's USB wired mode, which offers the lowest latency.

The pad certainly is comfortable, and I like the GameCube-style Hall Effect analogue stick. The face buttons take their cue from the N64 pad (obviously), while the shoulder buttons mix digital and analogue input; the ZL and ZR buttons, however, don't have much in the way of 'throw'.

On the back you'll spot two additional buttons – P1 and P2 – which offer up more input options. If you're not a fan, two switches can disable this, removing the risk of accidental button presses.

The digital pad uses a microswitch system not entirely unlike the one seen on the Dreamcast D6 controller. I had serious issues with the approach in that instance, as the rolling pad didn't work well with microswitches.

Due to the shift to a cross-style pad (and a lesser focus on 2D fighting games on GameCube), I'm not quite as put off by it on the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Pro, but the fact remains that it's a very clicky pad that doesn't feel (to me, at least) as nice to use as one with a traditional membrane connection.

One final thing: the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Pro features a magnetic front panel that comes off in two sections, so if you own more than one of these, you can mix and match the two front sections to create unique colour combinations.

Like all Retro Fighters controllers, the Brawler64 Pro feels solid and is really comfortable. Will it become your ultimate N64 interface? I'm not entirely sure about that yet – I tend to find myself craving the original three-prong controller design when playing N64 games, purely due to muscle memory – but it's certainly another pad that I'm glad to have in my arsenal, and it has already come in handy on gaming evenings when four-player GoldenEye 007 is involved.

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