The tiniest controller we’ve ever tested is a lot better than you might think

Enlarge / At 73mm long, the 8Bitdo Zero 2 controller, like its predecessor, is shorter than a standard Amiibo figurine. The reason we're reviewing it? It turned out to be serviceable in a pinch. (credit: Sam Machkovech)

Over the years, we've become frequent users of 8BitDo game controllers, particularly the company's "legacy" line. You won't find a much better maker of unofficial gamepads made for classic consoles' ports (NES, Genesis, Super NES), and those models also come in Bluetooth-equipped flavors, ready to run on modern consoles and PCs.

Between its classic and modern gamepads, 8BitDo clearly favors the SNES' controller as an archetype, and that goes for the company's "Zero" series as well. Hence, if you see a Zero gamepad in a photo by itself, you may wonder what's so special about it.

That's probably why people photograph the 8BitDo Zero series next to tiny objects for scale. At 73mm long and 36.5mm wide, it's barely bigger than an adult's thumb and dwarfed by an average GI Joe figurine. After receiving and unboxing my very own 8BitDo Zero 2 gamepad (the newest model, introduced one month ago to retailers), I laughed incredulously. Seriously, 8BitDo? Who in the world do you think would play games with one of these?

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