One of the things I have always hated and loved about the Nintendo 64 was the controller. It would be a great pad if we had three hands, but because we don’t it the most awkward gamepad to hold, especially if you wanted to use the D-Pad for anything. Not only that, but the joystick was quick to wear out. I have seen mods that have to do with greasing the inside of the stick before they wear out, but that only prolongs the life of it a little bit.
Left: Replacement, Right: Original
I was doing some searches on Amazon and found that there was a replacement joystick for the Nintendo 64 controller that had been completely redesigned. It is more along the lines of the joystick in a Gamecube or Wii Nunchuck. I was skeptical when I first got one, especially because it does have some mixed reviews about the responsiveness.
Redesigned Joystick
Installation is pretty straight forward. Take out the screws on the bottom of the controller, pop off the connector, slide out the Z-Button, remove three screws and use them screw down the replacement.
Joystick Installation
The first thing I noticed was how smooth it was! It took less force to move the stick, and I no longer felt any feedback when it was pushed through the neutral position. There was no wiggle to it either. The one I am replacing here is on a brand new Nintendo 64 controller, and even the brand new joystick had a bit of wiggle to it. The difference was amazing.
I was skeptical at first, but after only a few laps in Mario Kart, I was sold. These were going in all of my Nintendo 64 controllers. They are tight, move smoothly, have no feedback going through the neutral position, easy to install, and cheap! I would highly recommend these to anyone who was thinking of finding a way to fix that worn out old stick on their controller. Though, some might argue that perfecting your skill with a broken joystick on the Nintendo 64 is part of being an expert player and brings back those nostalgic feelings, but I am sure there isn’t a shortage of broken controllers out there to still relive the good old days.
One Installation Complete
Joystick Replacement
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