Hand Held Legend is a well established and quite popular company that's been around for more than a decade and focuses on controllers, upgrades and replacements for retro consoles and handhelds of all kinds, be it Nintendo's or Sega's older consoles like the NES, Game Boy or Master System, to modern systems like the Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.
A couple days ago, Hand Held Legend officially unveiled their latest project titled "GC Ultimate Controller", for which they will start a Kickstarter page on September 16th. This project aims to bring the feel of the original Gamecube controller to modern games and systems by offering a DIY solder-free kit that the user can put together on their own and also customize to their own liking, with even an app made to customize through software and recalibrate the sticks, remap buttons and more.
The project will also offer hardware customization as well, like modifying the octagonal plate for the analog stick to a rounded one, a special split D-Pad design where each button can individually be pressed to make it more accurate, two different triggers, one low profile mechanical (fully digital) and a full analog one to replicate the feel of the original Gamecube triggers too, and other options as well.
Currently, their Kickstarter page lists the following features for the GC Ultimate Controller Kit:
- 1:1 footprint with the original GameCube controller
- Support for GameCube, N64, NES, SNES
- Open source firmware and 3D models (Available on GitHub)
- Compatible with OEM triggers and buttons
- Hall effect joysticks (Gulikit TMR with stick-click buttons)
- HD Rumble (The best in its class for aftermarket controllers)
- Bluetooth support (Switch/PC/Android)
- Configuration app (Android/PC/Mac/Linux)
- RGB stick underlighting
- Split D-pad design
- Dual motion control sensors for improved gyro accuracy (Switch/Steam supported)
- Dual Z buttons
- Built-in support for mechanical triggers OR analog triggers (for all of you Melee and Sunshine enthusiasts)
- Swappable gate-plate (Octagon and Circular included)
- USB-C connectivity and recharging
- XInput support for PC/Android (1000hz input rate)
- Native Slippi support (1000hz input rate)
- Ergonomic trigger shape
- Injection Molded buttons
- 100gf tactile Z buttons
As for the kit itself, here's what will actually be included within each kit:
- Injection Molded Shell (Emerald Blue is the default) and peripheral parts
- Trigger bracket
- Screw and spring hardware kit
- Analog stick caps
- Button set
- Split D-pad set
- Li-Po battery
- Main PCB
- C-Stick PCB
Those interested can subscribe to be notified about the launch of the Kickstarter project, with the current number of followers sitting at around 1000 right now. The GC Ultimate Controller Kit Kickstarter starts off on September 16th, 2024.
"GC Ultimate Controller Kit" Kickstarter page
Hand Held Legend Website