Stick it Up!
Most may say that the game just aged like milk. How quaint things were! Others may blame the shoddy port to the newer platform, or even suggest to tweak your input settings.
But what if the culprit was actually the physical size of your analog stick?
Not every thumbstick is made equal. Yes, they can often vary by the mechanism used to detect motion, from virgin potentiometers to chad Hall-effect sensors. Some of these sensors can be more precise than others, yes. Sometimes, the build quality itself influences a lot.
But it seems that I somewhat discovered a factor that was hiding in plain sight, but no one seemed to have brought up yet. And I did intensive searches on Google and YouTube.
It's the concept that the physical properties of the stick matter. More precisely, the thumb-travel range.
Thumb-travel range is a term I coined to describe the maximum physical distance (range) that a finger pushing an analog stick can go. Higher the range, more precise a stick can be. For the same "thumb travel" of 10 mm on both the Switch 2 JoyCon and the Steam Deck, you'll understand that the smaller JoyCon stick will be way more tilted and register a greater input value than on Valve's handheld.
The TTR of the N64 is so high that developers took that fact into account.
When I'm using a N64 controller, I feel that I don't need to push the stick all the way in order to do what I want. I noticed that I naturally kept my thumb around the TTR of modern controllers (i.e. Xbox-like controllers)—let's name that range the natural range. With controllers with TTR extending that natural range, it seems that developers can reliably add new behaviors when exceeding that standard range. That's why modern platormers often have a dedicated "run/sprint" button, when Super Mario 64 didn't. Well, it didn't need one.
No wonder why N64 speedruners are struggling with joystick issues.
It seems that N64-enthusiasts are putting too much attention on the fact that the original analog stick uses a sensitive optical encoder instead of a common but less-reliable potentiometer. Yes, it tips the scales that the latter is prone to stick drift.
But if TTR isn't considered, all efforts are in vain IMHO. I'm certain that it could fix a lot of issues, or at least help the community to better understand by introducing this new concept.
Since I stumbled upon this "discovery", I'm now able to explain exactly why, sometimes, it feels weird playing games with some controller analog sticks. It feels good. (well, it at least explains why I sucked at it felt weird playing F-Zero GX on my Switch 2 using its JoyCons)
But the nice thing is that it's somewhat "fixable". You can fix any titlable joystick by… extending it's length. It's simple as that. You can use my tool just below to know by how much.
It changes EVERYTHING. For the first time in ages, I played a N64 game and it felt exactly like I remember it playing. Smooth. In control. And having so much fun.
Here is a sample of my gameplay of GoldenEye 007 (N64) on the Nintendo Switch 2 using an original JoyCon 2 thumbstick.
It is definitely not a perfect replacement (as the JoyCon sticks have probably one of the worst TTRs to begin with). But it does improve the experience at least tenfold.
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Compatible consoles | Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Gate type | Circular gate |
| TTR | 2.974 mm |
| Pivot point radius (≈ the stick "height") | 9.797 mm |
| Max angle | 16.89° |
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
|---|---|
| Compatible consoles | Nintendo 64 |
| Gate type | N64 gate (wider diagonals) |
| TTR (horizontal/vertical) | 10.177 mm |
| TTR (diagonal) | 11.501 mm |
| Pivot point radius (≈ the stick "height") | 18.719 mm |
| Max angle | 31.57° |
Adhesive putty (also known as "mounting putty" or Blu Tack) is a great and cheap way to test it for yourself.
Apply enough putty on the top of your stick in order for your thumb to be able to confortably rest on. Your thumb should be 28.09 mm (1 7/64") higher than it was before. Also make sure that the putty is well bounded to your stick; you don't want it to fall while playing.
For more modern controllers (such as the Xbox ones or the PS4/PS5 controllers), it is possible to buy joystick covers, made in silicone or hard plastic. Their purpose is to improve aiming, but it does so by extending the TTR. While finding one matching the exact pad size would be proving difficult, they are certainly more durable and less sticky than putty.
It's simple trigonometry! The values make a right triangle. The right angle is at the tip of the stick and the known angle is the max angle. TTR is then the opposite side, and the pivot point radius is the adjacent side. You just need to apply TOA, and bingo!