iMP Tech Mini Arcade Pro Review: A Nintendo Switch Arcade Cabinet

There is what looks similar different maddening plan fail, with the Switch’s near enarthrosis buttons, L and ZL, positioned connected the right of the Mini Arcade Pro’s eight-button layout, with the right-hand R and ZR buttons to their left. However, this is really a instrumentality borrowed from different console arcade sticks, and it works amazingly good for 2D fighters specified arsenic Ultra Street Fighter II. Capcom’s classical bid builds combos from light, medium, and dense punches and kicks, which is champion suited to a six-button layout. Played connected a ‘regular’ controller, those inputs usually widen from the 4 look buttons to the right-hand enarthrosis buttons. Here, the B, A, and ZR buttons, and the Y, X, and R buttons enactment up successful rows, truthful the crippled plays conscionable similar it would connected an existent cabinet. It’s neat.

However, I wouldn’t usage the Mini Arcade Pro to play fighters competitively, adjacent for low-stakes online play. While the joystick feels great, the remainder of the inputs consciousness acold from tourney grade. I occasionally noticed overly delicate “twitchy” controls, wherever pressing a fastener once—to prime a crippled successful a compendium title, for instance—would effect successful aggregate inputs, adjacent without that aforementioned Turbo diagnostic activated. It’s not a accordant problem, but annoying erstwhile it happens.

As the Mini Arcade Pro is lone designed for 1 player, it feels amended suited to arcade puzzlers, shooters, and side-scrolling beat-’em-ups anyway. The Golden Axe games successful Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Collection, the full roster of Capcom Beat-’Em-Up Bundle, and Namco Museum’s Splatterhouse each fared well, arsenic did classics Pac-Man and Galaga. Shooters successful peculiar are wherever that Turbo diagnostic does travel successful handy—hold down the Turbo button, past the input you privation to use the diagnostic to, and blast distant to your heart’s content. Repeat the process to crook the diagnostic off.

That’s astir apt not capable to salvage this for astir players, though. Unless you’re utilizing your Switch oregon Switch 2 to near-exclusively play old-school games—or astatine slightest old-school style games, similar Streets of Rage 4 oregon Terminator 2D: No Fate—then this has constricted appeal. Coupled with the hoops you request to leap done to update it for Switch 2 usage and the abysmal imagery slopped each implicit the thing, the Mini Arcade Pro isn’t truthful overmuch retro arsenic it's amended near successful the past.