(Credit: Will Greenwald)
The new mouse mode for the Joy-Cons on the Nintendo Switch 2 is compelling for any game needing the kind of precision that motion controls or analog sticks aren’t good at providing. When I first tried the Switch 2, I found that using the right Joy-Con as a mouse made the demo of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond feel amazing. I also found that my hand hurt after playing it for 10 minutes. The thin controller isn’t ergonomically designed to be held on its side and slid around like a mouse. Sadly, Nintendo hasn’t announced any sort of mouse accessory for the Joy-Cons (even if it would pair perfectly with Mario Paint on Nintendo Switch Online, and would be way more useful than a plastic Virtual Boy shell).
Fortunately, I have a 3D printer, and a fellow Joy-Con-as-mouse enthusiast has provided what Nintendo has not. Reddit user Melt-in created mouse adapters for the Switch 2, rounded shells the Joy-Cons can slip into. They work great and provide a much broader and more stable grip for mouse mode than the controllers alone. The models are available to download for free on Maker World, and include both left and right versions. You'll even find alternative models that look like Koopa shells and Yoshi eggs (with separate pieces that can be printed green or white for the right look).
(Credit: Will Greenwald)I 3D printed a shell and was blown away for a few reasons. First, it printed correctly. That wasn’t a concern regarding Melt-in’s modeling abilities, but it was for my printer. I have a Creality Ender-3 Max Neo, and like all 3D printers, it can be finicky. That wasn’t the case here, because the large, simple design of the shell (and a habit of wiping the build plate down with rubbing alcohol before each print, which I recommend everyone do) meant it came out without any false starts or excess PLA that needed to be trimmed.
Second, it fits my right Joy-Con perfectly. I can certainly laud Melt-in for this because getting any kind of reliable friction fit for a 3D-printed object is really difficult in my experience, especially if the fit needs to be easily removed. The Joy-Con slides into the slot and stays firmly in place, and it pulls out with a reasonable amount of force.
Third, it feels great. Holding the Joy-Con in the shell like a mouse with my thumb on the analog stick feels as natural as any standard mouse. My index finger can easily click the R1 and R2 buttons, and even without adding mouse skates, the shell slides smoothly. Accessing the face buttons is a bit more awkward, and I have to shift my palm up on the shell a little to reliably hit them. But even then, it’s a stable and reasonably comfortable way to use the controller as a mouse. It’s definitely easier than just sliding the Joy-Con around on its own or with the thin wrist strap plate it comes with.
I reached out to Melt-in about how they modeled the shells, and they explained that they created them in Blender with polygonal modeling, instead of parametric modeling through Autodesk Fusion 360, which seems to be a common way to make 3D printing models. They manually beveled the edges of the shell to let it slide easily on a flat surface, even without attaching skates, though you can still do so if you wish (you can find sets for about $10 online).
I know what I’ll be using when Metroid Prime 4 comes out, and for any shooters on the Switch 2 that support mouse controls. This is a really neat little accessory that’s easy to print if you have a 3D printer. It does a job Nintendo currently isn’t doing with the Joy-Con’s mouse mode.