Use an N64 Controller with Your Nintendo Switch — Complete with Rumble!
If you want to use your N64 or GameCube controller with your Switch, then you need to check out this adapter designed by David Pagels.
Nintendo finally added N64 emulation to the Switch, which is fantastic news for retrogamers. You can use your regular Switch controllers to play N64 games, but that doesn't always feel right. Those games were developed with the famously unique N64 controller in mind and you don't get the full experience when you use Switch controllers. Fortunately for those of us who still have N64 controllers lying around, David Pagels developed an adapter that will let you connect either an N64 or GameCube controller to your Switch via Bluetooth or USB — and Rumble works!
Our younger readers may not realize how big of a deal Rumble was when it came out. Prior to that, Nintendo gamers had no way to feel any feedback from the game. The Rumble Pak, which was a separate unit that plugged into the bottom of an N64 controller, introduced force feedback. By modern standards, that feedback was pretty rudimentary (just on or off). The later GameCube controllers had Rumble built-in that was a bit more sophisticated. Both of those work with Pagels's adapter, ensuring an authentic gaming experience.
This tiny adapter has a female port on one side for the controller's cable. The other side has a micro USB port, so users can attach a USB cable. They can either plug the USB cable into the Switch to use their controller or connect through Bluetooth—though that still requires a USB cable for power. It would be nice to see a version with an integrated battery, but beggars can't be choosers. As with most third-party controllers, this adapter does require manual re-connection each time you turn on the Switch.
On the hardware side, this is adapter is very simple. It uses either a Raspberry Pi Pico development board (for USB-only) or a Raspberry Pi Pico W (for USB and Bluetooth). The only other hardware is a pull-up resistor on the data pin. The adapter's enclosure is fully 3D-printable and that includes the female controller cable port, so there is no need to purchase one.
In addition to the Switch, this adapter will work with any system that supports Nintendo Switch Pro controllers. It automatically detects whether the connected controller is an N64 or GameCube, and pressingL+R+Start triggers the Switch home button. There is even dynamic joystick scaling to accommodate the reduced range of older controllers.