Etsy seller CustomCircuits has bits and bobs for your Gamecube and accessories. We love reaching out to Etsy sellers with unique items. The items that we’re going to be reviewing from CustomCircuits is a transparent orange Gamecube controller shell and Gamecube thumbstick caps.
Pros for shell:
- Colors. CustomCircuits has multiple colors and transparent colors to match GameCube console colors. The orange one I reviewed is naturally a great match to the Spice Orange Gamecube. The one in this review is seriously just one of many that they have to choose from on their etsy page.
- Out of the Box. The shell comes with screws, no need to worry about saving original screws or if your original controller is missing a screw, you’re fully covered here. The screws are the proper length as well. Sometimes when you buy third party and it comes with screws, they’re just generic screws that usually don’t work and it forces you to use the original ones. And in those scenarios, that usually means they only included random screws to make it look like you’re getting a good value out of the box. That didn’t happen here; good on CustomCircuits
- Strength. In my testing, I found that after assembly, this thing was incredibly durable. I dropped it on the floor several times, applied (probably too much) weight to it, let it tumble down a staircase even. All in all, I find it truly hard to believe that it wasn’t made by Nintendo themselves. This thing stood the test I put it through and it still looks amazing. I couldn’t find any scratches, just a couple of scuffs from the staircase. It was worth it to let you all know that it is going to be a shell that stands the test of time.
- Assembly. Best of all, the shell was extremely easy to assemble. You may be thinking that we can thank Nintendo for that, but hear me out. I’ve assembled countless other 3rd party shell replacements that didn’t go this smoothly. You oftentimes find excess plastic in the screw holes or shells that have a slightly off form factor and don’t fully close or worst of all, it just doesn’t work at all. CustomCircuits fills the void that was left by Nintendo and 3rd party controller companies where we just wanted more colors with the original form factor.
Pros for caps:
- Feel. These caps have the proper texture from what feels like the original material used by Nintendo. I was thoroughly impressed in this regard, to say the least. Sometimes you’ll find a more plasticy thumbstick with third party replacements or offerings. This is another commendable effort on behalf of CustomCircuits.
- Durability. While you may feel there can’t be much to say about thumbsticks, I do have to speak to their durability. I found that these things, once properly applied, could stand the test of time. I played games that heavily relied on the thumbsticks a lot. We’re talking Mario Party games to FPS’ to Star Wars games where you were flying ships. I tried anything and everything I could try. Not only that, I’ve technically had these thumbstick caps for more than 3 months as of the time of writing this article. I don’t just play Gamecube games, I also use this controller on both my Wii U and my Nintendo Switch. I’ve gotten a tremendous amount of use out of these thumbsticks since finally installing the caps. CustomCircuits deserves an award for their extreme patience.
Cons for shell:
- Strain. This is something that CustomCircuits is already aware of. When you put it together you may notice a couple of pressure fractures here and there. This doesn’t affect the overall product, but if you have a transparent shell, it may be slightly less pretty. I found that these only really showed where my hands held on the controller anyway, so no big deal to me. Your mileage may vary.
Cons for caps:
- Colors. CustomCircuits has these caps exclusively in the default Nintendo grey. This isn’t a huge ordeal if you’re wanting to replace an old cap for a new cap. It may matter if you’re going for an original feel with a custom color. I recommend that you find a color that you’d like and buy a smaller can of spray paint to paint the caps with. They’re already a primer grey and it shouldn’t take much paint to remedy the situation.
- Installation. The caps aren’t necessarily hard to put on. It’s more so removing the previous caps without damaging the stick to put the new caps on. I would appreciate if CustomCircuits had directions either on their site, or a YouTube video to link to or a quick one-page instruction sheet in with the caps. Just something so I don’t feel so aimless and like I might be doing something to damage the stick before I even get to put the new caps on.
Final Thoughts:
Get these replacement items while they last! The shells are quirky and great. After the shells are all sold out, he’s going to be replacing them with dyed shells for Gamecube controllers (it may have happened already by the time you’re reading this or maybe they’re still in the transition phase). But fret not, those new shells are still clearly going to be high quality as well. With regards to the thumbstick cap replacements, just know that I have seen that he sells out of them quickly. So if there is none on the etsy page when you check it, check back later, it could be there. All in all, this guy has stuff that I just couldn’t find anywhere else on the internet. If you’re looking for unique items at affordable costs, you need to buy from CustomCircuits (link below)!
