Fired Up Mods: Custom Joycons (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
Picture this: your Switch is drab like raw beets, your controllers are limp and smooth like baby's rear, and you're desperate for answers, some way out, some way to stop the mockery of your ruthless peers shouting "my word, look at the human with stock joycons stuck to their switcharoo, what a kerfoogle I bet they eat bananas", and you don't know what a kerfoogle is or why you don't want to be one, but it stings all the same because you do eat bananas. It's alright, we've all been there. The solution? Less potassium in your diet, but also, these custom joycons.
For your perusal, a store on Etsy known as Fired Up Mods happens to make custom joycons with unique designs and textures. The design sent to me is dubbed "Rocky Mountain", and features a granite-like pattern and a semi-rough, yet glossy, texture.
The joycons came in a stock joycon box, with handwriting indicating the style the seller has included, along with a fair amount of packaging inside just to keep the joycons safe. Nothing else is included in the package, no grip nor joycon rails, just the custom controllers themselves. The design is pleasant enough to look at, with dusty browns, blacks, tans, and what might be a shred of orange all sprinkles together to evoke the look of an extremely fine granite.
The prime source of the joycons' appeal, in my opinion, is the odd and pleasant texture to them. It's something I think I'd most closely describe as "glossy sandpaper", paradoxically both rough and smooth, yin and yang, heaven and hell, Simon and Garfunkel, Imogen Heap, etc. This gives it a very delicate, yet grippy texture against one's hand, which doesn't distract while actually playing games. In addition, because of the unique texturing pattern, light is also scatted interestingly on its surface, making it look almost glittery at different angles.
(The design is given a cute extra touch by the joycons having their indicating color changed when registered on the Switch.)
The casing itself is slightly thicker than the normal shell, which didn't present any problems for my hands at all, however it did give me some extra resistance when sliding the joycons onto the sides of my Switch, and especially into a joycon grip. The extra resistance wasn't so much as to make me worried about damaging anything, though, so it's really a non-issue. The holes around the buttons and joysticks are a little larger than normal, revealing more about the internals than one would see normally, though this again is something I only noticed in passing. Unfortunately, the top sliver of plastic between the L/R and LZ/RZ buttons isn't made of this custom molded material, likely due to the comparative difficulty in creating a fitting mold, and while I do miss the extra touch, it's something rarely seen.
For anyone looking to customize not just how their joycons look, but how they feel, Fired Up Mods seems to have you covered. I'm quite pleased with the quality of these joycons, and would be happy to recommend them to anyone. The store manager also handles many other mods, repurposing broken electronics, LED mods, and more.
Links and info: where to buy
Verdict
- Textured pattern gives a smooth yet bumpy grip.
- Scatters light with a glossy finish, making it "sparkle."
- Custom color when connected to Switch console.
- Holes for buttons/analogues are slightly larger than stock shells
