Whenever there's a notable anniversary in the retro gaming world, you can always count on 8BitDo to pay homage to our favourite devices in style. I'm typing these very words while using the Sega Saturn 30th anniversary keyboard that they released last year, and it's never failed me once. Their attention to detail is second to none, crafting premium products that look as good as they play.
It's safe to say I'm a big fan of their work, and after reading about their NES 40 collection, I'm pretty confident that you will be too. 8BitDo were kind enough to send over their Ultimate 2 Controller and the Retro 2 Cube from the collection for me to review for our readers, and I've been putting them through their paces to see what they can do.
The collection continues to grow with the arrival of the N40 Keyboard releasing this January, but for now, let's look at two of the most stylish looking 8BitDo pieces in my office that don't just pay tribute to the NES, but take players back 40 years to the year that the gaming industry changed forever.
Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller
The Ultimate 2 Bluetooth - NES 40th Limited Edition is a work of art, packaged beautifully and designed perfectly. It comes with a sturdy carry case and has lots of great features, including back paddles and extra triggers to make playing your favourite games even more comfortable and enjoyable. I can't fault this controller!
- RRP - $79.99
- Compatible With - Switch 1/2, Windows, NES (via Retro Receiver)
- Weight - 246g
- Battery Life - Around 25-28 hours off a 4-hour charge. Keep topped up using the charging dock.
- Where To Buy - eBay, Official 8BitDo Website (Sold Out).
- Where To Buy The Standard Ultimate 2 Controller - Amazon
Just take a minute to let everything about this controller sink in. It's honestly one of the most beautiful-looking accessories that I've ever seen, with a lightly textured surface to the shell (which you can make out in the picture above), key dates of Nintendo releases over the last 40 years, and a charging dock that looks just like the outer casing of the NES.
Right out of the box, the controller feels fantastic, with a lightly textured casing that you can actually see in the pictures throughout this article. It's not enough to feel sandpapery, but just the right amount to stop it from slipping out of your hands when you've got sweaty palms after finally defeating the boss you've been stuck on for the past month.
There are so many little touches to the controller that I love too, like the red LED rings around the joysticks that mirror the red on the action buttons, the same colour used on the original NES remote. It's modern technology that perfectly embodies the spirit of both the 80s and Nintendo's first home console, and it's a true work of art.
As you might expect for a Limited Edition controller of which there are only 1985 made (1985 being the year that the NES came out in America, if you're just getting into your Nintendo history), the controller comes in an incredibly sturdy hard case that feels like it's made from tough leatherette. The inside is lined with soft velvet on the lid and a durable polyester on the back. It reminds me of the Angus Young SG hard case I have for my Gibson SG, a premium case for a premium product.
And one of the best parts is that if you are travelling around with your Ultimate 2 controller, then you can charge it in the case while on the go to avoid any damage to the controller itself. It's a nice solution if you're charging in the car on the way to a friend's house, for example, or if you have pets that like jumping around on surfaces and are prone to knocking things off.
Let's talk specs, shall we? The controller has two TMR joysticks, which are now standard on all 8BitDo controllers. TMR (which stands for Tunnelling Magnetoresistance) is a more precise version of the Hall-effect joystick that you might have on some of your other controllers. They register movement at a quantum level through tiny changes in magnetic resistance and are highly responsive, giving you a level of precision far higher than Hall-effect sticks and offering a higher guarantee of zero drift than Hall-effect.
Tl;DR - TMR is the future, and these ones come with red rings around them called 'Fire Rings'. Do I need to say anymore?
The action buttons are made from smooth ABS plastic and have a really nice shine to them in a similar vein to the PS5's DualSense controller. They have little circles around them in the same grey as the rectangles that surrounded the original NES controller's action buttons - the attention to detail here is phenomenal.
The D-Pad, as you've already guessed, is the same style as the one on the NES remote too, albeit slightly curved to keep it in line with modern controllers and the Ultimate 2 style. You'll also find - and + buttons on the controller as it works with the Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, as well as the usual 8BitDo buttons for accessing Home and other settings through the 8BitDo Ultimate Software V2. The controller will also wake up both Switch models too.
This is where things start to get even more interesting, because as well as having the usual L1/R1 and L2/R2 triggers alongside the L3/R3 triggers in the joysticks, this Ultimate 2 controller has L4 and R4 triggers tucked neatly into the shoulder button design. It looks like a Tetris experiment fused with a controller, and I'm loving how easy it is to use all three while gaming.
The shoulder triggers, on the whole, are fantastic. The L1/R1 and L4/R4 buttons press with a satisfying click and are easy to travel to without looking at the reverse of the controller all the time. The L2/R2 triggers have a nice level of travel to them and the same amount of resistance on both sides. I hate it when I review controllers or handhelds and the triggers aren't evenly matched, but I've never had that problem with 8BitDo products.
Ok, so you still want more back buttons, I can feel it. How about PL and PR buttons that you can customise for your most used actions? Yeah, that should do it alright! The pro back paddle buttons are superb, and the trigger function buttons are very firm and slide from side-to-side with a resounding clunk.
Other notable features I want you to know about are Motion Controls for Switch games, vibration, and Turbo functions. They all work great and make this a serious contender for becoming my permanent Switch 2 controller (if I can bring myself to take it off my desk as a display piece, that is).
If you had to force me to find something to pick fault at this controller and the Ultimate 2 series, it would be that the Bluetooth and 2.4G slider is a little small and requires your nail to switch between the two settings. Honestly, that's the only thing I could find and it's really picking hairs.
I'll touch briefly on the charging dock here too, because the controller sits so nicely on it and charges effectively every single time. There's no faffing around trying to finds the 'sweet spot' like there is with wireless charging sometimes, and your controller will always be ready to roll.
What good would a NES 40th controller be without being able to work with the original NES? Yes, if you lift up the Limited Edition certificate and take a look underneath, you'll find an 8BitDo retro receiver that plugs directly into your NES console, allowing you to use a modern controller that fits perfectly in your hands instead of (and sorry NES, because I do love you) a remote that is angular and pretty simple in design. It's a little weird playing NES games with such a modern feeling controller at first, but you soon get used to it, and setting the controller up to work with the retro receiver is incredibly easy.
The controller also comes with celebratory thumb caps too. They're a little fiddly to put on and I'm not a massive fan of thumb stick caps in general, but they do add provide extra grip and feel nice under my thumb. I suppose it's general preference if you want to use them or not, but they're definitely a cool feature.
Retro Cube 2 Speaker - N Edition
The Retro Cube 2 Speaker could well be the ultimate NES-themed accessory. It manages to portray all of the key elements of the original NES controller in its design, all in a portable speaker that charges wirelessly and connects to your devices via Bluetooth, 2.4G wireless, and wired USB connection. The speakers aren't massive, so don't expect tonnes of bass, but for general radio/podcast/audiobook listening, it's great!
- RRP - $49.99
- Connectivity - Bluetooth, 2.4G wireless, USB
- Weight - 450g speaker, 87g charging dock
- Battery Life - 30 hours usage with 3-5 hours of charging time
- Where To Buy - Official 8BitDo Website, AliExpress, eBay
Now, onto the Retro Cube 2 speaker, which I know a lot of you have been excited for us to review. Like the controller, it's themed around the colour scheme of the original NES, with speakers that look like the original controller's action buttons complete with the grey rectangle that surrounded them, and a huge D-Pad to control your music.
And the base that it's sitting on - that's a wireless charger that can be used to keep your speaker topped up or for charging your phone while you're listening to music if it's wireless charging compatible.
Let's take a look at the huge D-Pad, because it's one of the most interesting controllers I've seen on a speaker ever. This whole speaker makes me feel like a massive kid, which is what every retro product should do, right? Pressing the Up arrow turns on the speaker and presents you with an '8BitDoooo' little jingle to let you know that it's on. You'll also hear a little tune when you leave it idle for too long to let you know that it's turned itself off.
I took a short video of the speaker in action to show you how the D-pad controller works, and while you can't get the best idea of the audio quality without being here in the room with me, it should give you a good idea as to how it sounds. As you can hear from the disembodied voice coming from the speaker, the middle button changes between game and music mode depending on whether you're using it to accompany your favourite game or while listening to tunes as you relax or complete Metroid for the 100th time.
I'm going to be a little pernickety now when it comes to sound quality, mainly because other than writing, my background has also been in music production. The Retro Cube 2 is a great speaker, but it isn't very bass-heavy. I use a Sudio Femtio speaker that has bass drivers on it for listening to a lot of Metalcore music, to capture a lot of the low ends that the genre is known for, but the Retro 2 Cube doesn't manage to capture them with its 2x 5W speakers. It all felt a little tinny with a high levels of treble.
Switching to '90s pop music like Steps (it had to be, didn't it), and something more relaxing like Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez had much better results. It seems that with simpler tunes (sorry, Steps) the speakers can cope much better and provide a much clearer sound. The bass on Heartbeats, for example, was perfect. It also depends where on your desk or in your room you place it too; closer to a wall or sloping roof makes the sound bassier in general too.
One thing this speaker excels at is audiobooks and podcasts. I've been writing this afternoon while listening to Harry Potter through it, and it sounds brilliant. So, if you're into your true crime or fancy hearing Stephen Fry telling you all about Voldemort's search for the Elder Wand, then you'll be pleasantly surprised.
In short, if your music has lots of distorted guitars in it, then you might not be too happy with the sound quality, but if you're more likely to listen to Michael Bublé and Mike Oldfield than I Prevail, then you'll be fine.
It wouldn't be an 8BitDo product without the famous 8BitDo receiver, either. This sits neatly into the base of the wireless charger and can be used to hook your speaker up using a 2.4G connection instead of using Bluetooth. You can also accept calls through this thing too, so if your mum rings you to tell you about your coal delivery while you're listening to The Deathly Hallows on Audible, then you can answer her call (and end it) seamlessly.
Final Thoughts
The N40 collection is, as you might expect from 8BitDo, brilliant in every way. The controller feels incredibly premium despite having a reasonable price tag, as does the Retro Cube 2 Speaker, and both units are designed in a way that makes them feel like fun and exciting gadgets. We're all just kids with adult money now, which makes this collection perfect for general gamers and collectors alike.
Attention to detail is everything when I look at products like these, and 8BitDo have smashed it out of the park once again. From the important release dates on the controller to the D-pad on the speaker, I can't knock the product design of these products at all. Yes, I would like to see a bassier version of the speaker in its 3rd edition, but not everyone listens to bands like Cold Rain and Polaris like me, so I guess that won't be a problem for everyone.
As the controller was highly limited to just 1,985 units, it's currently sold out on the official 8BitDo website. You can pick up units on second hand sites, though the RRP is, as you can imagine, much higher. Pre-orders for the Retro Cube 2 Speaker are now live, however, so make sure you grab one of those before they disappear forever!
