Ok so here is a brief rundown for those asking about the Razer Kishi:
Phone used: Google Pixel 2XL
Apps Played:
XCloud ( via the Xbox Game Streaming beta app)
ePSXe (PSone emulator)
PPSSPP (PSP emulator)
My Boy! (GBA emulator)
Snes9x
Google Play (app store)
Basic thoughts:
The triggers have a nice resistance to them and the sticks, although small, are set in comfortable positions. D-pad was a bit stiff but felt responsive, and the face and shoulder buttons all felt like normal controller buttons, which was nice. I have big thumbs, but button/stick size was not an issue. The mounting and connection to the phone is pretty stable. When I tried, the controller will not really bend away from you bc of how it’s built, but will bend toward you if you try. I don’t see this being an issue for me, but something to be mindful of. One strange thing I did notice was that bc my hands felt like they were holding a Switch, I was prone to hitting B when I wanted to hit A. That is just a weird “me problem”, and just muscle memory from playing multiple consoles.
Emulators:
I played each of the emulator apps I listed above, and all buttons worked as if it was the native controller, except with the ePSXe app. I needed to go into config and select the Kishi as my controller, but after that all was well. The only buttons I had to remap were the optional/extra ones (fast fwd, save state, turbo, ECT). There were no problem with the 4 games I tried, NHL 96 for SNES, FFVI advance for My Boy!, Trails in the Sky for PPSSPP, Legend of Dragoon for ePSXe. It felt natural to play these with a mounted controller and not touchscreen.
Google Play Store:
I don’t own/play many games from the app store, but I do have Chrono Trigger, so I tried that. It, again, was just plug and play. The game controlled with the Kishi perfectly and I could still use touch controls if I wanted to.
Conclusion:
I really liked the Razer Kishi, it felt comfortable and natural on my hand, it was easy to use with other apps outside of XCloud, and it made XCloud on the phone more enjoyable. Is it worth the $100 pricetag? (Well $90 if you go on Razer, sign up for their newsletter, and get $10 off your order) I’d say if you were gonna use XCloud mostly on your phone, it’s the most comfortable way, much more than the clip on attachment for the Xbox controller. The weight of the Xbox controller and phone and the awkward angle it is in with the clip is not ideal. But times are tight for many now, and the clip is at or under $15 on Amazon. So if you have the means, and think that you will get a good deal of use out of it, then it is 100% worth the purchase.
Hope this helps everyone, drop any questions if there’s something I missed that I can answer or I can try for you to see if it works for what you need.
- J
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