N64 Replacement Joystick GameCube Style, High Sensitivity

These days, this is a no brainer. I never much liked the design of the original N64 analog stick, even when they were fairly new they were stiff, stuck out too far and had a small slippery thumb pad area that your thumb could easily slip off of. Then of course there’s the durability problems with getting loose and scratchy over time. I do still like the wacky 3 wing controller so didn’t want to get one of those ones that re-arrange it into a more modern layout such as the Hyperkin Admiral as the way I play some games rely on the original design (I like to play Goldeneye 007 and Perfect Dark in the Solitaire control scheme where you move and strafe with the D pad holding the left handle with my left hand and aim with the thumb stick holding the center handle with my right hand, it plays surprisingly similar to modern FPS games that way). I recently got an N64 for the first time (the ones I played when a kid were my friends’ I had a PS1 at home) and an original controller. To be fair the original stick on mine is still in pretty good shape, has very little wiggle, does not drift, and is only getting slightly scratchy while in motion, but since I never liked the stick I just figured I’ll go ahead and get one of these stick swaps, which replicates the much superior (IMO) GameCube left stick. While in use it doesn’t feel that different from the original, it has a similar texture but there is a larger top and a free-er much smoother range of motion. It’s also 8-way gated just like the original so that’s retained as well.The replacement process was incredibly easy. Just remove all the case screws (note there are 2 in the memory card/rumble pack slot that I didn’t notice at first), carefully pop the small PCB containing the Z trigger pad out of the original one. Then there are 3 screws holding in the stick, and then carefully with a small flathead screwdriver or something unplug the stick’s ribbon cable. Then it comes free. Drop in the new stick and everything goes back together in reverse. It was easier to plug the ribbon cable in before screwing down the new stick I found. Just be careful with that little Z trigger PCB it seems like both it and its ribbon cable are somewhat fragile, both removing it and snapping it back into the bottom of the new stick. That’s it! My steering precision in Mario Kart 64 has immediately improved, and I’m sure it will help in other games as well. For this price I highly recommend it. Long time durability remains to be seen but it already feels much more durable than the original. I’ll update if anything changes on that front.

Had a N64 controller come in with a dead stick. Saw this product and I can honestly say this stick replacement is perfect. Easy install. Very snappy. Great feel. Just like a GameCube stick. I've seen some reviews saying it doesn't fit in OEM controllers. Simply not true. Had no issue installing this into a OEM Nintendo 64 controller. Definitely recommended.

Wow this thing is perfect for what I needed. Feels exactly like a GameCube stick and seems perfectly calibrated. Love it for Smash Bros. and Mario 64!

I'll preface this by saying I am no N64 wizard. I never had one growing up and was only able to play when I went over to a friend's house. So there is little to no muscle memory ingrained in me.Well my girlfriend busted out her N64 the other week and we had a great time playing. The one trouble spot was that one of her controllers had a pretty loose joystick. Even though I never had much experience with N64 controllers, I knew it wasn't supposed to feel the way her's did. I looked into getting another controller, but prices for OEM N64 controllers are getting pretty ridiculous.So I YouTubed what could be done and came across people replacing their joystick module and it seemed pretty easy and inexpensive. So I purchased this and gave it a go.Installation was a breeze. If you're unsure about being able to do it, but have basic screwdriver skills, you'll be fine. Just make sure you have a small phillips head. Everything fit tight and tolerances seemed accurate. The thing that took the most time was getting the rear controller shell back on properly. This was only because the controller cable slipped out from the posts it was snaked through. The whole think took about 10 minutes.I certainly won't sit here and tell you I tested it with dozens of games--we really only play Mario Kart, Smash Bros., No Mercy, and on the rare occasion GoldenEye. Like the description said, it feels just like a GameCube stick--which I AM very familiar with. So it felt much more comfortable to me, and I prefer the feeling of this stick over a tight N64 stick for sure.Mario Kart felt pretty good, but I could tell there was a slightly different feeling. It took me a race or two to get a feel for drifting. But after that it felt great. My girlfriend, who isn't an expert, but more experienced than I, said she couldn't even feel a difference. In Smash Bros. I felt no different during a match. The only thing I felt different was the quickness of this stick in the character menu. Nothing to say for No Mercy, as the stick is used only for taunting. Like others said, in GoldenEye is where you certainly felt a big difference. The aiming is too sensitive and I wouldn't recommend using it if you're a big GoldenEye player.Like I said, if you're a well seasoned 64 player, the feeling may be a bit too different. There is another less sensitive version of this stick in a yellow box that may be a better match to the original, but it wasn't available at my time of purchase. Overall, for me, a casual player, I found this to be a solid replacement and have no regret purchasing.

So, I originally bought this stick in 2021 and hated it. It was way too sensitive and made playing certain games difficult. However I recently learned that the stick has been updated with a new version and I decided to buy one to see how it was. Long story short, it’s perfect. It’s bigger and has a domed tip like a GameCube stick whereas the old version was smaller and had a flat tip. The ranges on this stick are essentially identical with that of a new original n64 stick. This means the sensitivity is identical to an original stick. The previous version had ranges over 100 in all directions. There is also a small deadzone in all directions as was the case with the previous version, but it’s not an issue with this version thanks to the lower sensitivity. Overall, playing games, especially fps games feel so much better. One thing of note is when I was installing it, I had to push one of the tabs that hold the z button back a bit so I could fit the z button board and conductive pad. Time will tell how durable it is but, overall, highly recommended.