I bought the NSO N64 controller for Ocarina of Time

Each year I feel the urge to play a childhood favourite, and recently that meant The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I normally pull out the original console, but setting it up felt like too much effort, so I grabbed my Nintendo Switch 2 and bought the official Nintendo Switch Online N64 controller.

Priced at $54.99 / £39.99 and sold through Nintendo's online store, the pad is meant to give a nostalgia-fueled way to play N64 games on Switch and Switch 2. The NSO controller is essentially the same as the original N64 pad, only wireless. It has the shiny red start button and the four yellow C-buttons that made Ocarina songs easier to learn, plus built-in rumble where the Rumble Pak used to fit.

The back is closed off, and you'll find a USB-C port for charging, a ZR button for the NSO menu, Home and Capture buttons, and a sync button with LED indicators. Before using it, the Switch 2 Joy-Con sticks felt too sensitive and the right stick never sat right in place of the yellow C-pad when I wanted to play Saria's Song.

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