Gearing up for quite possibly the longest ‘official’ review I’ve conducted, writing about hardware isn’t something I’m not entirely up-to-speed on as you mostly have to accompany it with an unboxing, “Hey guys, like and subscribe”, plus lay down some phat beat that everyone else uses with their RGB wiring. Not me. This initial draft was written with a quill and scanned into my ‘puter.
Getting to the point, PB Tails kindly sent me one of their new controllers, the Sakura Warrior. Now, I have to admit that I hadn’t heard of the brand before, but then again, my finger isn’t on the pulse when it comes to the latest peripherals, as typically, we don’t need them, we want them. One thing my finger(s) is on (steady…) is a decent controller, the tools of the trade.
Some background. On the PC, I use a DualSense – the same as the PS5. For the Nintendo Switch, it’s typically handheld with HoriPad Pros, and when in docked mode, switch to a Switch Pro Controller, occasionally an 8-Bit-Do SN30 Pro(?). For retro gaming – notably the Raspberry Pi, when not using custom joysticks, it’s either the 8-Bit-Do SN30 Pro or M30.
PB Tails Sakura Warrior Review
Considering that, I’ve been using the PB Tails Sakura Warrior for a few months now, exclusively for the Switch but also on the Pi and PC. In all honesty, the Sakura Warrior can’t stand up against the DualSense – not as a Sony fanboy (I’m not), but because it’s clearly superior. Alright, so how about the Switch?
The Sakura Warrior is a dinky little thing with sharp angles and cute graphics. It’s not a dedicated Switch controller, but it has all the buttons required; analogues, d-pad, capture, +, -, shoulder buttons and home. My hands are… medium-sized, and the controller comfortably sits well and a billion times better than the joy-cons.
Button pressing feels excellent, and despite the small frame and thumbsticks, it’s a versatile controller with a great battery life. Though bright white, it hasn’t shown any marks. Naturally, if you’re sticking it down your pants when on vibrate or scratching your arse with it or throwing it about, it’s going to show signs of wear and tear. As I do none of these things, it’s held up well. In other words, it’s not a fingerprint magnet, nor does it accumulate excessive finger jam in the cracks.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been on the playlist these past couple of months, so that got some testing with the Sakura Warrior. Generally speaking, it felt ideal for racing with the button presses, and because they’re close, it’s easy to move around the layout, green shelling Bowser after you’ve had a cheeky look behind. But there are three things I’d like to point out that let it down.
Break It Down
With Mario Kart, the acceleration would drop without letting go of the button. I tried this on a few other games and noticed occasional lag. I’m not a specialist in hardware reviews, so check out bigger sites, but for the everyday gamer, there might be some drops. Connectivity seems fine, and the Switch found the controller instantly, but I need to keep an eye on the button – specifically the A button.
The second is down to the actual design of the controller: it’s sharp. Though the buttons feel great and don’t leave an indentation on your digits, there will be marks on your hands where the frame rests. Of course, this doesn’t hurt – especially if you’re tough like me, but my children didn’t like holding the controller for long periods because of this. They loved the design and would fight over who gets to use the Sakura Warrior instead of the crappy Joy-cons.
The third negative is the vibration. It feels very cheap. That’s not a comparison to the DualSense, but it’s far too often and buzzes like a gnat more than anything. The feedback could be better; I’d be tempted to turn off the feature in some cases. Sure, haptics is the way forward, but I still think the N64 Rumble Pak was a winner. The vibration was so frequent that my eldest would complain that it distracted her game. Likely excuse.
Go-To Controller?
Those are the negatives, and from my perspective, not enough of an issue to retire this anytime soon. I much prefer PB Tails’ Sakura Warrior over my 8BitDo controllers and the Joy-cons, and if those niggles above were too much of an issue, I wouldn’t bother. I can be picky about my controllers – they have to feel right, and despite some of the angling and odd distracting vibration, this is my go-to controller, and I have been using it on the Pi for all my retro gaming as well.
Yes, PB Tails provided me with a controller to review, but I’ve given an honest appraisal of it; the questionable A button(?), sharp edges and overperforming vibration are the issues, but everything else? Spot on. Within the first hour of using this, I wanted more of PB Tails’ controllers and genuinely want to get the Mr Wulong model.
Luckily, you can get a 15% discount on your order if you enter PB15OFF at the checkout. Head to the official site to pick up yours. The link is neither affiliated, nor do I get any money or stickers for my endorsement. Nevertheless, these new controllers get my seal of approval. Get yours now!
