One of the main ways I first got into the James Bond franchise was through the GoldenEye 007 video game for N64. Not only is GoldenEye my favorite Bond film, but the game itself is one of my top 5 favorite games of all time.
This is why you see posts on this site asking why Jack Wade and other characters aren't in the game, and why I have a backlog of content I still haven't had a chance to put out yet where I try to pitch how Rare could have made a GoldenEye-style video game about all the other 007 films.
I bought the Nintendo 64 specifically for this game back in 1998 or so. My bachelor party even involved playing this game. Needless to say, after so many years of waiting impatiently for a remaster to come to a future console (and the remake doesn't count), to finally see that it was coming to Nintendo Switch had me doing mental cartwheels.
That is...until I loaded up the game and saw that it was completely unplayable with these controls.
I'm not talking "it'll take me some time to get used to using a different style controller" confusion. I'm talking "who the hell mapped out these buttons this way and why can't I fix it no matter how hard I try?" levels of frustration.
So frustrating, in fact, that I gave up.
No online multiplayer, like I had assumed. No upgraded graphics. No possible combination of remapped buttons felt the slightest bit comfortable to even go after the first few guards in Dam, after years of being able to essentially play it blindly because it was muscle memory.
And after spending all this money to upgrade my Nintendo Online account subscription for the Expansion Pack, I couldn't even pay more money to buy a N64 Switch controller because the online Nintendo Store was perpetually sold out!
I resigned myself to disappointment, turned off the game on my fourth attempt at "coming back to it another day to see if I can get the hang of it" and figured that was it. I even considered trying to get a refund for the subscription upgrade.
Thankfully, I have a wife who cares enough that she was looking into trying to find more of the N64 style controllers and did some research of alternatives, eventually coming across the Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller.
It had great reviews and a lot of testimonials from people saying it was just as good, if not better than buying the official Nintendo 64 Switch controller, and she bugged me to take a chance to pick one up. Specifically, I ordered the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Bluetooth NSO Edition controller as I'm now used to wireless controllers and didn't want to be stuck in a position where I had to crank my neck up and sit closer to my television.
I had my doubts, but let me tell you: this makes a world of difference.
The moment I picked it up, I could tell the adjustment time between what I was used to with the N64 controller and this would be minimal. Obviously, there is some unfamiliarity in comparison to the way I used to grip the other style controller and had grown accustomed to the sensitivity of the buttons from my N64. But I went from not being able to functionally MOVE in this game with the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons to beating all the way up to Statue (on Agent) within a few minutes.
Spending the extra money on top of the subscription just to buy a controller that can allow me to play the game irks me, along with how Nintendo should have definitely at least tried to upgrade the graphics a bit better (widescreen can't even happen in the pause menu or the mission select screen??) and DEFINITELY should have online multiplayer functionality. But finally, after so many years, I'm able to play arguably my favorite game of all time once more without having to go through the annoyance of trying to hook my N64 up to a modern HDTV with God knows what types of cables and distortion.
And that is entirely due to this Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller saving the day.
So if you're on the fence about picking up this game again, and you're struggling with the controls making it feel entirely unplayable and too frustrating, and you can't find an N64 controller, do yourself a massive favor and pick up one of these Retro Fighters ones and thank me (or more so, my wife) later.
What do you think of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Switch?
Have you tried the Xbox version?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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