This review was made possible by Popped receiving a review unit of Retro Fighters’ Battle Dock for Nintendo Switch 2.
For better or worse, gamers are nostalgic beings. It doesn’t matter if you grew up playing Atari, SNES, PS2, or even something as recent as the Xbox 360. We’re in a culture that capitalizes on it, offering us T-shirts, figurines, and collectibles that commemorate our games and consoles of old. It’s all too easy to get sucked into buying cheap, hollow trinkets with little but cosmetic appeal. Conversely, there are controllers and accessories that offer actual utility that still appeal to our nostalgia, but they often prioritize function over fashion… to a fault. So as a Nintendo GameCube fan, when I heard about the new Retro Fighters Battle Dock — a Switch 2 accessory that seemingly offers the best of both worlds — my interest was piqued.
The Retro Fighters Battle Dock Makes Your Switch 2 Look Like a GameCube
The Nintendo Switch—and now Switch 2 dock has always looked… fine. It serves its purpose without being an eyesore. But it never goes so far as to have an iconic look like that of Nintendo’s past consoles. It’s lowkey and inoffensive (apart from the logo that blends in on the front face), but nothing more. Enter: the Battle Dock. What if your Switch 2 looked like a GameCube? The GameCube is instantly recognizable to any gamer, with its boxy design and grey rectangular face panel featuring four controller ports and two memory card slots. And what we have with this accessory is a sort of dock for your Switch 2 dock that takes that design and adapts it beautifully to its shape.
The Battle Dock isn’t actually a cube; it’s a base that your dock sits on, with a facade on the front that mimics the GameCube’s face. While it may sound like a cheap facsimile as such, I’d argue the contrary. The way it’s shaped to the top of the Switch 2 dock’s curves and fits snugly underneath makes it feel simply like an extension of it. There are no panels on the back, or any type of fasteners or adhesives. You can lift your dock off of it just as easily as pulling your Switch 2 out, although I doubt you’ll ever want it to leave its new home, especially considering another problem it solves. I’ve always felt the Switch 2 dock is too light, often moving with the yank of a wire or the motion of docking your console. The Battle Dock, however, is weighted, and that heft is a welcome addition alongside four extra-long rubber feet. No more slipping and sliding!
The cherry on top of everything is the removable face. I would’ve been more than happy with selecting a single color when you purchase the Battle Dock. But instead, Retro Fighters is adding even more value by including a whopping four faceplates with the product, each a different iconic GameCube color — Spice Orange, Indigo, Jet Black, and Platinum Silver. I’m partial to the Jet Black, having grown up with a console in that color. It also just blends into the Switch 2 dock naturally. But the three other colors all look incredible, and identical to the original console’s shades. The Platinum Silver even nails the matte metallic finish. As for swapping the faceplates out, it couldn’t be any easier. Again, no fasteners or anything. There are instead six built-in magnets that allow each one to stick onto the Battle Dock. Pull one off, put one on. It takes two seconds.
Using GameCube Controllers on Nintendo Switch 2 With the Battle Dock
As I’ve mentioned, setting up the Battle Dock takes no time at all. You set your Switch 2 dock in it and slap on a faceplate of choice. But chances are you’re here for its primary function… those sweet, sweet GameCube ports. Yes, they’re completely functional. No, there’s no trickery or anything. They’re straight-up good old-fashioned proprietary GameCube ports. And the only thing you have to do to get the magic going is plug in an included short cable from the Battle Dock to your Switch 2 dock. The Battle Dock end is a USB-C that plugs into a small port on the back of the base. From there, it splits into two wires, each with right-angle USB-A connections that simply plug into the two ports on the left side of your Switch 2 dock (Don’t worry, you gain back two free USB-A ports on either side of the Battle Dock’s base). It’s quick, easy, and tucks away nicely.
From there, plug in a controller and play! There are no buttons to push or wireless components to sync (although nobody is stopping you from using a WaveBird controller). It just works, plain and simple. Hop into Nintendo Switch Online’s GameCube titles and play Chibi-Robo on the controller it was made for. Or load up Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and pass a few OG GameCube controllers to friends to relive your childhood. Now, there are absolutely a couple of trade-offs here worth considering. Having used the 8BitDo GBros. Wireless Adapter before, which has a single port for a GameCube controller, I certainly value the freedom that grants. Especially because it has a button on it to access the home menu (which your old controller obviously does not). But 9 times out of 10 I’ll take the convenience of the Battle Dock’s ease of setup over that wireless freedom. Will I have to have a Joy-Con 2 nearby so I can change games? Sure. But in my eyes, that beats a pesky wireless sync process (and one that only benefits one controller).
Retro Fighters Battle Dock – Final Thoughts
The Retro Fighters Battle Dock is nothing short of an astounding Nintendo Switch 2 accessory. It simply lets you and your friends plug in your old GameCube controllers and get to playing, while looking rad as hell in the process. It may come with the minor inconvenience of not having easy access to a home button for your console, but the Battle Dock more than makes up for it with its ease of use, sleek style, cosmetic customizability, and bonus bit of heft and grip for your Switch 2 dock. It’s a must-have for Switch 2 owners who love the GameCube.
The Retro Fighters Battle Dock for Nintendo Switch 2 is available via Retro Fighters’ website. Check out the trailer below:
