Asus RAIKIRI II Controller Review – THE NEW ULTIMATE GAME CONTROLLER??

Asus has put Razer squarely in their sights with this one – this is the Asus RAIKIRI II – and this might just be the ultimate game controller. This has pretty much everything you might want in a gamepad, so let’s dive in and see what this offers, and if it holds up to Razer’s offerings, and some of the other amazing controllers I’ve checked out recently too!

First, let’s have a look at the thing. This is a pretty typical Xbox One/Series style controller in terms of the shape – obviously the asymmetric joysticks are here, as is the main button layout – although naturally we do have a few additions. From the front we have two extra buttons up top that are reprogrammable through Asus’ “Gear Link” web configurator – we’ll come back to that in a second. From the back you have four extra buttons, two per grip, along with a pairing button, three way power switch, and an Xbox/PC slider. The genuinely unique thing here is this little hatch that hides the tiny USB dongle. This is actually a brilliant idea, at least if you plan on moving the controller anywhere – without the very nice hard carry case anyway. That case houses not only the controller, but optional taller joystick tips, and the charging stand too. The most unique feature by far though is the cut-out on the back of the case that gives you clear access to the USB C port on the charging dock, meaning you can charge this thing inside the case! How cool is that?!? They missed a trick though, because while the charging stand does have a USB A port on the front for the dongle – so when this is sat on your desk the dongle has a close and clear line of sight to the controller for the best connection – you can’t leave the dongle in the stand while it’s in the case. There isn’t space for that in the case, and that, for me anyway, seems to defeat the purpose of being able to charge the controller in the case. Still, it’s a really cool ideal I’d love to see on more controllers!

The controller itself feels great in the hands. It’s remarkably light and feels like it was custom molded to fit my hands perfectly. Genuinely comfortable straight out the gate. It’s worth adding that you have an ROG branded textured rubber on the sides so your palms can grip well. Oh, and you naturally have RGB lighting on the sides, in the form of strips you block completely with your hands. Fun times. Since we are talking about the grips, we should talk about those buttons. They are super clicky and feel really nice, and are placed really really well. Almost too well. See, they sit perfectly under your ring and pinkie fingers as you hold the grips, but that’s kind of the problem. It is really easy to hit them just trying to hold onto the controller. Buttons you have to put some thought or effort into hitting are actually a little better, because then you don’t end up with mis-clicks. It isn’t the worst version I’ve felt for sure, it just isn’t perfect. 

Heading back to the front, one thing you’ll very quickly notice with this is just how clicky everything is. The ABXY buttons, the D Pad, the bumpers, everything is a tactile switch. There is next to no travel on anything here, which is great for a competitive edge, but isn’t quite as nice for a comfortable and easy gaming experience. It’s clear this thing is geared towards more competitive gamers – which is fine – it’s just important to know that going in. Interestingly, I found the TMR joysticks remarkably light, and unlike the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited you can’t customise the weight. The only customisation is from those taller replacement joysticks for people who like to pincer grip their sticks. Again though, for competitive (especially FPS) gamers, those lighter sticks are actually a benefit.

Another pro-FPS gamer feature are the trigger locks. These aren’t super unique anymore, but this implementation is notable for just how little travel the triggers have after you lock them out. Much like Razer’s Wolverine V3 Pro, the RAIKIRI II’s trigger locks slides a microswitch into the trigger housing, limiting the travel from, well, the whole swing, to, well, nothing. It barely moves. This is the most responsive trigger lock I’ve used, it’s impressive just how fixed they become, and how clicky the switch inside is!

The final hardware feature I want to mention is that Xbox/PC switch on the back. That is basically the polling rate selector – the Xbox setting has it recognised as an official Xbox controller, which means it’s limited to 250Hz. In PC mode it turns itself up to 1000Hz, and reports as an Asus RAIKIRI II. That 1,000 hertz by the way works both wired and wirelessly, which is a little more rare to see. Interestingly though, there isn’t a way to adjust the polling rate other than that switch. In their Gear Link WebUI polling rate is nowhere to be found. You can control button mappings for the six macro buttons, adjust the joystick deadzones and sensitivity curves, trigger deadzones, and the vibration strength. You do need a PC to change any of these settings though, which might be a deal breaker for some console gamers.

When it comes to the latency, as always I made use of the controller testing mode on my very own open source latency testing tool (available at OSRTT.com by the way, link in the description below), by tapping the B button for what feels like an eternity. Thanks to the low travel and high polling rate, the Raikiri II is the second fastest controller I’ve tested in wired mode – and only second by 0.1ms on average – and the fastest controller I’ve tested wirelessly – by exactly one millisecond, so a more significant result. That’s a great result, and shows how strong a competitive controller this can be.

For actually gaming on it, well it’s obvious that for FPS games I am the limitation, not the controller. The ultra-responsive triggers, the lightweight and customisable sticks, and the fast polling rate (on PC anyway) means this is ridiculously good for FPS games. I didn’t end up mapping the back buttons to anything as I was hitting them constantly by accident, but someone better than me could definitely make use of them to a great advantage. For FPS games, this is exceptional. For anything else though? Well it’s not bad, but it’s clearly focused on competitive FPS games. The vibration – despite having motors in both grips – even at 80% is incredibly weak and wouldn’t satisfy anyone. I mean, you can’t feel much from it. For racing games, that feel is an important feature to help feel the grip and how the car handles, and this doesn’t offer that. Like I said, it’s fine, but for an all-rounder controller, you might want to look elsewhere.

Of course there is the final catch, the price tag. Asus is asking for a whopping £200 for this thing – £20 MORE than Razer’s Wolverine V3 8K – and over twice something like the ZD Gaming Ultimate Legend that I think is still my favourite controller around right now. That is a lot of money. I know for some that is worthwhile, but I’d struggle to justify that myself. I don’t know if this is quite the new ultimate controller – it’s great for sure, but it’s a little too specialist for my tastes. Of course if you do sweat FPS games full-time, you’ll love this thing. For the gamer that plays a bit of everything, you’ll want to look elsewhere.