Welcome to the Sega Saturn style Joy-Con D-pad mod guide.
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This guide will help you to build your own Nintendo Switch Joy-Con with a Sega Saturn directional controller, step-by-step. It's compatible with grip, portable (hand-held) and docked play.
There's no soldering or electronics knowledge needed. The hardest part is the fiddly size of everything inside the Joy-Con. You need to plug in and out some really super-tiny plugs inside there, etc. So, set aside a good few hours to patiently proceed, but I'll give some tips to make it as painless as possible.
I found the Switch pro gamepad disappointing for a couple of reasons. It has a D-pad, but it's a + pad, which I find quite limiting. Additionally, it's not compatible with hand-held play on-the-go.
The Sega Saturn D-pad is objectively the best D-pad ever created by humankind (no bias whatsoever ;). It's circular, so it has all 8 directions on it, and you don't have to fat-thumb two buttons to push a diagonal. The vertical and horizontal directions are suitably pronounced so there's no room for accidental diagonals. The material is textured to provide a low-friction experience, so it's easy to glide your thumb around it and give that arcade joystick feel to controlling fighting games.
My performance in precise platforming and my consistency executing fighting game moves have both improved markedly on the Switch since I made this Joy-Con. This is worth the effort!
Check out this video for a closer look at the mechanical performance.
The only caveat is that the D-pad is lower down than analog stick. This is fine when you're using a grip, but in portable mode, I sometimes find myself wishing I could grip the device slightly lower down. To that end, I'm probably going to grab some kind of Joy-Con grip which is compatible with portable mode, such as this. Bear in mind that I haven't tested this grip - it's just one I'm considering.
It's possible to pull out the D-pad from the Saturn controller, and this is what you'll see:
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You're seeing the shaft of the white nylon actuator which needs two things to work:
- It needs a hole in the controller housing big enough to expose the shaft, but small enough to stop the actuator falling out.
- The cross part underneath needs an internal space just right to hold it snugly against the switches (buttons) on the circuit board.
(So it doesn't rattle about and it depresses the switches consistently when you press it)
The original left Joy-Con front housing has holes in all the wrong places for (1), and has a slightly thicker gap between the housing and the switches, so it fails (2).
Enter the BASSTOP DIY D-pad. The BASSTOP left Joy-Con front housing nearly meets (1) with respect to the Saturn actuator, but not quite, and internal space is still too thick for (2). But, what if we could effectively replace the cross-part of the Saturn actuator with the BASSTOP cross pad? The cutout on the BASSTOP front housing is made for holding it in-place, and the thickness of BASSTOP D-pad underside is designed to fit snugly against the Joy-Con switches. That's (1) and (2) met!
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That just leaves the HOW of creating this hybrid Saturn-BASSTOP actuator. Read on.
You wouldn't want to do this with your only left Joy-Con, because some games use the 4 buttons on the left pad as actual buttons, for example Breath Of The Wild and multiplayer games when you use the individual Joy-Con as a whole controller.
You might want to get one of the new colours, since these were presumably manufactured later, and so are less likely to be one of the early units which have the bluetooth desyncing flaw.
I highly recommend an authentic Sega-manufactured controller. It's not too hard to find them around on eBay/Amazon (although it's getting harder).
I tried buying one 'retro' knock-off with a USB connection, but it's trash. The D-pad was cheap, slick plastic moulding (unlike the textured plastic of the original). It even had a slightly different size D-pad. That was Retro Power brand. If you decide to try another brand and you find a good one, please let me know in the comments.
It's easy to tell an original controller since they have weird plugs (not USB).
There are also some products around offering "replacement" d-pads for fixing up Saturn gamepads. They look pretty good, but I haven't tried them myself. This could be a good/cheaper option since you only want the d-pad, but just make sure it comes with the white nylon "cross" actuator in addition to the black D-pad piece.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B076SN9G5Y/
The link is a white one, but you might be able to find other colours if you shop around.
- Hooked forceps (tweezers)
- A lamp
- Superglue (don't let this put you off - it's not structural and this mod is rugged)
- Razor blade / very sharp pen knife
- A vice
- Some cloth
- Masking tape
- A drill
- A variety of drill bits ranging from 4 mm to 9 mm in diameter
- Needle-nosed pliers
- Nail file
- Phillips 00 screwdriver
- Y00 screwdriver
Here are some kits which have the right screwdriver types:
IFIXIT Pro Tech Toolkit
IFIXIT 64 Bit Driver Kit
Pro'sKit SD-9326M Consumer Electronic Equipment Repair Kit
Masking tape photo
I freaked out briefly after I reassembled my Joy-Con because it wouldn't sync. It was just out of batteries. Avoid the frustration of having to wait to test it by charging it ahead of time.
From the Saturn Gamepad, you need the D-pad, and the white + shaped actuator which is stuck underneath it. They just pull apart.
Unscrew the Saturn Gamepad and take out the D-pad and the white plus actuator. This is really easy. Once you have the top shell of the gamepad separated from the rest of it, you'll be able to see the white actuator attached to the underside of the D-pad. Just put a butter knife or flat-head screwdriver in between the actuator the controller shell to lever the D-pad and the actuator apart.
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Here you'll want to make cautious use of the video referred to in the paperwork which comes with the BASSTOP replacement shell. It's helpful, but beware.
Do NOT pull on the battery wires to disconnect the battery from the circuit board as shown in the video. People have reported this ripping the wires loose. The reality is, there's no need to disconnect the battery at all, as long as you carefully ensure the battery is supported and not tugged on while you work. In fact, I got by with only unplugging the inner panel (which the ZL is attached to). All the rest can stay connected as long as you don't mind them getting in the way a little bit while you work.
That said, I only replaced the front plastic piece (you can see my Jon-Con is multi-coloured). I made the choice that I wanted to disturb the internals as little as possible, and keep as many Nintendo-manufactured components as I could. If you decide to replace the entire shell, you might find you need to unplug a couple more plugs, and you'll have to deal with putting the ZL springs back together, which I have read is the trickiest part of reassembly.
When I separated the middle panel with the ZL, I put some masking tape around the end to hold the ZL trigger in-place while I moved it about. I didn't want to have to realign those springs if I accidentally knocked it out of place.
I also wouldn't recommend opening and closing the little plug releases with metal forceps. Rather, use a toothpick or something plastic. Metal may scratch the delicate circuitry if you slip.
The video shows a different colour shell which happens to have normal buttons, not the cross pad like your product, but the only difference is you would be placing the cross-pad in instead of buttons. Of course, you have some modifications to do first.
The shaft (the white bit the Saturn D-pad sticks into), has little 'struts' sitting between it and the cross part, for structural support. Cut those away with your razor blade so that the shaft is a perfectly round cylinder. To be clear, I am NOT talking about the cross part. You need the cross part to stay attached.
This is the most delicate part of the project, because if you get the hole off-centre or break the D-pad, it's back to Amazon.
The idea is for the actuator shaft to be able to fit up through the centre of the BASSTOP D-pad from underneath. There's a bit more shaping to do before that will be possible, but you'll be able to test the size of the hole you drill by inserting the actuator shaft from the top.
It's really important that the hole is right in the centre on the D-pad, because otherwise the Saturn D-pad will end up misaligned and the thumb pressure required for different directions may be uneven. To help with this, start with a smaller hole. There's a little square/rectangle of structural plastic on the underside of the BASSTOP D-pad, right in the centre. If you select a drill bit which just fits inside that square, then the square can act as a guide to get the initial hole right in the centre. From memory this was about a 3 mm drill bit, but I didn't record it. If there's a line of structural plastic in the middle of that square, carefully tear it out with your pliers and/or cut it away with your razor so that the drill bit can line up easily.
My finished hole needed to be either 8 or 8.5 mm. I'm sorry I didn't record it, but there's no guarantee your actuator is moulded exactly the same as mine, and regardless it's helpful to drill progressively bigger holes, going up about a millimetre at a time. This will apply minimal torque to the D-pad, so it doesn't need quite so much grip to hold it still. I recommend very carefully gripping the D-pad in your vice to keep it still while you drill. Line the inside of your vice with a cloth to improve the grip and soften the pressure applied to the D-pad. What worked best for me is positioning the cross pad on an angle, so that it was gripped by all four directions, i.e. like this: |x|, not this: |+|. Getting the grip just tight enough to hold the D-pad still while you drill, and yet not enough to break it as the hole gets bigger and the D-pad gets structurally weaker, is the trickiest part of this project. Take great care when winding that vice, the pressure it applies is extreme!
After each drill, test the hole size. Make sure you first remove the plastic shavings and file away any excess plastic with your nail file. Ideally it will take some light pressure to fit the shaft in, but no so much pressure that you risk breaking the drilled D-pad when you squeeze with your fingers.
We only want to keep the "T" of structural plastic at each direction/end of the D-pad underside. By the time you're done drilling, there wont be much else left anyway, but clear out any unwanted stuff that remains, so it ends up looking like this:
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Don't remove the T's, because they will play an important part in actually pressing the switches.
Use your razor blade to trim the ends and edges of the cross part of the Saturn actuator until it fits snugly inside the underside of the BASSTOP D-pad.
You want to be able to slot the actuator shaft up through the hole in the BASSTOP D-pad from underneath and have the actuator cross part settle in flush with the remaining structural plastic. You'll end up cutting away some of the cross part as well as some of the thicker circular part of the actuator base.
Try to shave the ends and sides off the actuator evenly. Ideally it will take a bit of pressure to get the actuator cross part to press into place, so it fits nice and tight. On the other hand, it's vital that the actuator doesn't try to pop back out, or it will mess with the next step, and ultimately result in uneven press pressure. Be patient and shave off just a tiny sliver at a time. Remember - you can always shave more off, but you never put it back if you go too far. Eventually mine 'clicked' into place satisfyingly.
Use the wooden end of a matchstick to smear a touch of superglue into the flat underside of the D-Pad near each of the T's, then quickly press the actuator into place.
If you did the last step well, the actuator will stay in place by itself while you leave it to dry for 15 minutes.
You only need a tiny, paper-thin smear of glue or less. Don't use blobs of glue, or the excess will squeeze out and create bulges in place which may interfere with the precise fit which this component is designed to have in the Joy-Con.
The glue is not really structural, because:
- The hybrid actuator will be sandwiched pretty snugly inside the Joy-Con.
- The main lever strength when you move the D-pad will come from the Saturn D-pad moving the actuator via the shaft.
- A later step will ensure the Saturn actuator does not need to 'pull' down the BASSTOP cross pad to get it to do it's part in depressing the switches.
The glue is there as a paranoia measure to reduce the possibility of any transverse wiggle in the hybrid actuator and to guarantee it doesn't fall apart during reassembly of the Joy-Con.
Back to the video for this. It shows reassembly. I suggesting watching ahead a couple of steps for each step you do, because looking ahead can prevent you working yourself into a corner and having to backtrack.
Make sure you put the battery in the right way up. The video shows the battery being put in the wrong way up, and then it skips a few frames and just for an instant you'll see the battery wire has changed place so that it uses the little gap in the bracket which allows the wire through.
Now you have yourself a Joy-Con with a Saturn actuator shaft!
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Turn on your Switch and play around with all the buttons. Try it in attached mode and wireless mode. Don't forget the little SL and SR buttons.
There's a screen somewhere in settings that might come in handy as it lets you test most of the buttons.
If anything doesn't work right, you're going to have to open it back up and adjust something. The comments in the Youtube video might help. You're on your own for this. Good luck!
If you insert the Saturn D-pad now, you'll notice that it stands out quite far from the Joy-Con and the supports around underneath don't touch down on the BASSTOP D-Pad.
You want those supports to rest on the BASSTOP D-Pad, because it will prevent bending the pillar and over-stressing the actuator shaft. It may also help ensure the BASSTOP D-pad plays it's part in depressing the switches without pulling away from the Saturn actuator. I think the ends of the Saturn actuator cross part are probably over the switches enough to click them in by itself anyway, but better safe than sorry.
To achieve this, use your razor blade to slice a small, even sliver off the end of the Saturn D-pad pillar and reinsert the D-pad. Press it down nice and firmly until it doesn't go in any more, and then check whether the supports are touching down yet. Repeat this until the supports rest on the D-pad for all four directions.
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It's important to make sure the end of the pillar is sliced nice and flat to eliminate any tilt. A bit of filing with your nail file can help with this if you make an uneven cut.
Don't trim off a millimetre more than necessary. It's important that the D-Pad still goes down into the shaft as deeply as possible, because that's what holds the D-pad in and gives it structural strength when using it. As before, remember that you can always take more off, but you can't put any back on. Trim, test and repeat, and slowly wins the race.
Congratulations! Now go do some pixel-perfect platforming and super-consistent dragon punching!
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