Video summary

My Favourite Controllers

Main summary

Key takeaways

Product Review

Product(s) reviewed

  • “My Favourite Controllers” (roundup of multiple controller picks)

This video isn’t a single-product review. It’s a collection of controllers the creator personally uses and loves. Across picks, the common theme is that “feel”—comfort, fit, button/D-pad feel, look, and how often you pick it up—matters more than specs.

Key controllers and what the creator likes/dislikes

1) Gamesir Tergan Light — $20 budget pick (wired)

Main features / experience

  • PlayStation-style shape (DualShock 2–like), but surprisingly comfortable even for Xbox “muscle memory.”
  • Textured grip: grippy without feeling abrasive.
  • Wider than typical PlayStation controllers, with controls landing where expected.
  • Hall effect sticks (“really accurate”).
  • Big squishy membrane buttons and “nice triggers.”
  • Surprisingly great D-pad.
  • Solid one-piece design that the creator says “rocks beautifully” for retro games.
  • Back programmable buttons + turbo, adjustable vibration, multiple input modes, and on-controller settings.
  • Wired connection: no pairing, no batteries, no Bluetooth unpredictability.

Pros

  • Amazing comfort and build for the price.
  • Hall effect sticks at a budget cost.
  • Strong for retro systems (NES/SNES/PS1/Dreamcast mentioned).

Cons / negatives

  • The main downside mentioned is it’s wired—the creator doesn’t mind because it’s reliable.

Numerical detail

  • Price noted: $20 (Amazon).
  • Battery not discussed for this wired model.

2) 8BitDo SN30 Pro — retro controller

Main features / experience

  • Definitive retro shape (the creator calls it “definitive” compared to Super Nintendo).
  • Uses an NES/Game Boy DMG-inspired color scheme (strong nostalgia factor).
  • Bought two units:
    • One for a Raspberry Pi mini console
    • One as a portable roaming controller
  • A wired version is also mentioned for plugging into a handheld dock (avoids Bluetooth hassle).
  • Battery life: around 18 hours; rarely needs charging.

Pros

  • Excellent D-pad and retro membrane button feel.
  • Works well across retro platforms: Super Nintendo, Game Boy, Genesis, GBA, PS1, arcade.
  • Comfortable + convenient, with “old beige plastic energy” (their comedic, nostalgic aesthetic preference).

Cons

  • No real downsides stated beyond joking about preferring retro.

3) Inie Retro “Anank Gen 2” (tiny pocket controller) — Game Boy-like micro controller

Main features / experience

  • Ultra-compact: fits in a pocket, “weighs nothing.”
  • Looks like someone chopped an original Game Boy’s controls off (gray plastic, red buttons, speaker line details, rounded corner design).
  • D-pad and buttons are almost full-sized.
  • Grippy back texture.
  • Shoulder buttons are surprisingly usable.
  • Multiple operation modes, including:
    • Xbox
    • Switch / Joy-Con
    • Keyboard
    • Media remote
    • Gyro mouse
  • The creator bought two color variants, plus mentions a purple GameCube version.

Pros

  • Great for spontaneous “TV-and-nerds” situations—quickly turns handheld/phone/game setups into multiplayer.
  • Surprisingly playable despite the size.

Cons

  • No major cons stated; the “tradeoff” is implied: it’s small, but you’re not losing much functionality.

4) Gamesir G8 Galileo — phone “handheld controller” dock-style

Main features / experience

  • Feels like a real controller, unlike many ultra-thin mobile options that sacrifice comfort.
  • Chunky grips
  • Full-sized Hall effect sticks and Hall effect analog triggers
  • Good face buttons + two programmable back buttons
  • Swappable stick caps
  • USBC connector pivots for easier phone insertion/removal (avoids the “impaling” concern)
  • Pass-through charging + headphone jack
  • Connects via direct USBC:
    • No battery to charge
    • No Bluetooth pairing/fiddling
  • The creator wanted the Super Nintendo-themed version (gray body, purple buttons)
  • Describes it as making the phone feel like a proper gaming handheld.

Pros

  • Comfort-first mobile design.
  • Hall effect controls and proper trigger feel.
  • More convenient than Bluetooth-based options (charging + connection flow).

Cons / negatives

  • Chunky/chonky form factor (the creator likes it, but it’s only an aesthetic/size preference issue).
  • The brand reportedly wouldn’t send it for review (the creator had to buy it), which affected their scoring—but it’s not treated as a product flaw.

5) Ghillie Kit K3 Pro — minimal-friction all-purpose controller

Main features / experience

  • “Zero friction”: disappears while playing.
  • Xbox-style shape (matches the creator’s long-term hand training).
  • Comfortable and consistent:
    • Hall effect sticks (described as big/smooth)
    • soft clicky membrane buttons
    • great D-pad
    • buttons placed where expected
  • Works for “basically anything”: shooters, action, racing, platformers, retro.
  • Connection options:
    • 2.4 GHz dongle on PC
    • Bluetooth (button-based)
    • USBC wired
  • Bluetooth described as not having annoying quirks
  • Battery described as longer than most
  • Optional back paddles exist, but the creator personally doesn’t like back buttons and leaves them off.
  • Comes in beige/red, matching the creator’s nostalgia preference.

Pros

  • Comfort + responsiveness (“don’t think about it” during play).
  • Flexible connectivity.
  • Great all-rounder feel.

Cons

  • Back paddles exist, but the creator dislikes buttons under their fingers (so they remove/avoid them).
  • No other explicit negatives.

6) KK3 Max (mentioned as comparison, not the final pick)

Main differences

  • “Fancier version” with:
    • macros
    • optional hair trigger style

Why K3 Pro wins

  • The creator still prefers K3 Pro, mainly because of look (“I just like the look of it better”) and a preference for the one they actually want to pick up, not the one with the longest feature list.

Overall theme / comparisons across controllers

The creator repeatedly prioritizes:

  • Comfort and fit
  • D-pad and button feel
  • Hall effect stick accuracy
  • Connection reliability (especially avoiding Bluetooth pairing hassle)
  • Aesthetic/nostalgia (beige, SN/retro color schemes)

They compare controllers by use case:

  • Retro-focused: SN30 Pro, micro Game Boy-style
  • Budget value: Gamesir Tergan Light
  • Mobile integration: G8 Galileo
  • All-purpose “best feel”: K3 Pro vs KK3 Max (features matter less than how it feels)

Pros/Cons summarized (from the video’s points)

General pros mentioned

  • Hall effect sticks in multiple picks
  • Great D-pads and satisfying button feel
  • Controllers tailored to different use cases (retro, travel, phone-as-handheld, all-purpose)
  • Multiple connectivity options and/or wired reliability

General cons/limitations mentioned

  • No single “perfect controller for everything”
  • Some picks are wired (could be a con if you prefer wireless)
  • Mobile setups can be chonkier for comfort (creator likes it, others may not)
  • Feature-heavy controllers aren’t preferred by the creator—they want fewer functions

Creator’s final verdict / recommendation

  • If you care most about feel and comfort: choose the controller that makes your hands happy, not the one with the best specs.

Standout recommendations by category

  • Best budget/value (wired): Gamesir Tergan Light
  • Best retro classic shape: 8BitDo SN30 Pro
  • Best pocket emergency multiplayer controller: Inie Retro Anank Gen 2
  • Best phone-to-handheld solution: Gamesir G8 Galileo
  • Best all-purpose “disappears while playing”: Ghillie Kit K3 Pro (preferred over KK3 Max mainly for look)

Unique points mentioned about the product(s) (consolidated list)

  • “Feel” matters more than specs.
  • Multiple controllers are useful for different game/usage contexts.
  • Gamesir Tergan Light
    • $20 price
    • PS-style wider shape + textured grip
    • Hall effect sticks
    • Great membrane buttons + D-pad
    • Back buttons/turbo/vibration/modes
    • Wired reliability
  • SN30 Pro
    • Retro definitive shape
    • SN/NES/Game Boy nostalgia colors
    • Bought 2 units
    • Wired version used to avoid Bluetooth hassles
    • ~18 hours battery
    • Great D-pad + retro membrane buttons
  • Inie Retro Anank Gen 2
    • Game Boy look
    • Extremely tiny/pocketable
    • Nearly full-sized D-pad/buttons
    • Grippy back + usable shoulder buttons
    • Many modes (Xbox/Switch/Joy-Con/keyboard/media/gyro mouse)
    • Also mentions purple GameCube variant
  • Gamesir G8 Galileo
    • Feels like a real controller
    • Chunky grips + full-sized Hall effect sticks/triggers
    • Swappable stick caps
    • Pivots USBC insertion
    • Pass-through charging + headphone jack
    • Direct USBC means no battery charging/pairing
    • SN-themed purple variant mentioned
  • Ghillie Kit K3 Pro
    • Xbox-shape comfort + “zero friction”
    • Hall effect sticks + great membrane click + D-pad
    • Great button placement
    • 2.4G/Bluetooth/USBC options
    • Long battery
    • Optional back paddles exist (creator removes/avoids)
    • Beige/red aesthetic preference
  • KK3 Max comparison
    • More features (macros/hair triggers), but K3 Pro preferred due to look
  • Advice
    • Exploit return policies to try controllers and find the one that fits your hands.

Speakers/views

  • Single primary speaker/creator (no separate interview voices).
  • “Different views” are different controller use cases explained by the same person: retro, travel, phone gaming, and all-purpose.

Original video