RepairBox Replacement Joystick for N64

Christmas came early this year.It was a little nerve racking having to open the controller & replace the mechanism (especially as the product did not come with directions), but ultimately it went right in & works perfectly (upon initial start up I only had lateral movement, but after a quick restart it has been fully functional with no issues since).Most criticism for this product stems from it being more sensitive than the original. I *might* agree that it is a little more sensitive, but does anyone really have access to an original controller with a mint condition joystick to compare it to? Of course it seems sensitive when most of us have been using joysticks with little to no spring left for years.All I can say for sure is that I'm power sliding with precision that's been missing from my Kart for years, and for the first time in a long time there's actually a level playing field when I Smash & Kart with friends. I originally ordered 2 just to try them out on my two worst controllers (on which the joysticks just straight up were laying to the side), but would say the results are still better than even my other two controllers where the joystick is still reasonably live. I will be ordering several more of these to insure my n64 controllers can keep going as long as the system holds up (which I can only assume will be forever).

I have three serious problems with this joystick.One: WHY IS THE CABLE LENGTH SO LONG?I cannot find ANYWHERE inside this controller that I can put this cable without the controller itself smashing the cord and potentially damaging it. Look at your original joystick, and then look at this one. It is over twice the length. There's a REASON it's so short: There's no room for more!Two: The joystick is rough, it doesn't feel anywhere near as smooth as an original one that is in good shape (or fixed with some epoxy and grease).Three: This thing is almost impossible to put back together correctly if you so choose to open it up and put some grease in to fix the horrible rough feel. The original design is painless and extremely fast to put together. This requires some sort of sacrifice. Every time I thought I had it put back together correctly, if I moved the stick to the bottom left or very bottom, it gets stuck. It took something like 5 or 6 tries, each time obnoxious to get it together, for it to finally stop doing that. (Note that I installed and used it a bit before I ever opened it.)This is awful. I bought two of these because I thought they would feel and work just the same as the originals, I didn't want to use those really terrible ones that look like Gamcube sticks (Incorrect range, way too stiff), and I didn't feel like spending the time to fix my originals. Now I have to fix them.I'm about ready to throw these away. Waste of my time and money.

I really only play smash these days so that's all I'll review it for. It's an acceptable replacement.The plastic seems far more durable than other 3rd party replacements and even the original sticks. If you open it up and grease the bowl part it should last a lot longer than any other stick. Due to the tougher plastic and a stiffer spring it does take more force to move the stick than you're probably used to. Not hard to get used to though.Like a couple of the other reviewers mentioned the parts don't fit perfectly when you're installing it. The cable is indeed too long and the connector takes a bit of force to fit in all the way. It took me a while but I forced it all in and screwed it together and it works fine for me.Also when it's new the stick might get stuck to the left or right every once in a while but it's not a big deal to un-stick it. Plus it seemed to stop after I got some wear on it (grease might have helped too).While it does seem to have a good amount of cons, overall it's a durable replacement that works well with smash. Tight, durable n64 sticks that have no functioning issues are incredibly hard to find these days, so when you take that into consideration it's a solid product IMO.Oh and unlike the other reviewer, mine works fine on my laptop.

Only complaint is it's ridiculously stiff, but a good shot of WD-40 into the "bowl" made it feel just like the original execpt with a "matte" texture vs the glossy texture of the original. The stick pad is thicker than the original and the two prongs that hold the Z button's conductive chip seems to by too wide? I had difficulty putting the shell back to together and saw stress marks on the prongs as if they had been bent and the Z button isn't as responsive as the original but I also bought new conductive pads so I'm not sure. I haven't tried to do the no magic sword spin in Zelda but I feel this is a great choice for a replacement part. I plan on buying a large quantity to ensure future repairs

Pros:Works decently well on the console, though it is a bit too sensitive (but not nearly as bad as most 3rd party controllers)Original-style control stick (not Gamecube style)Includes the entire replacement mechanism, not just the plastic stick, making installation easyCons:Was hoping it would be a bit less sensitive (read: would be exactly like the original)Does not work on PC - using Project 64 and a USB adapter, the joystick registers basically zero motion, even with the sensitivity and other settings tweaked fully up or down. Not sure why this would be the case, as other original controllers work fine and so do even the 3rd party ones. I was really hoping to be able to use this replacement on the PC, so I'm a little disappointed but this may just be a fluke.Bottom line: recommended if you need to give your mario kart or super smash bros games some new life, but not if you intend to use it on a computer