TOTK Zelda Pro Controller on Switch 2: The Wake-Up Catch
The most desirable Zelda controller you can actually buy right now isn’t the one Nintendo has only whispered about. The Tears of the Kingdom Pro Controller — that black, faintly transparent pad smothered in Zonai-tech circles — still circulates through second-hand listings, and it genuinely works on Switch 2. But it ships with a conspicuous asterisk: it won’t wake the new console from sleep. Hold the Home button and all you get is a green light blinking back at you. That’s Nintendo’s polite way of telling you to reach for the console — or a pair of Joy-Cons — to start a session.
The pad also skips the C button that Switch 2 leans on for GameShare, so this is a gorgeous legacy controller missing two of the new system’s most visible input tricks. For a hybrid console, suspend-and-resume is the entire personality; the wake-from-sleep gap is exactly the kind of detail that separates a daily driver from a docked-only curiosity. Whether the TOTK pad earns its second-hand asking price — around $71 on eBay, $80 refurbished on Amazon — depends entirely on how you play.
Wake From Sleep Is the Feature You’ll Actually Feel
Handheld players should note the irony: losing controller wake is far less painful when the console is already in your hands. When Switch 2 is in portable mode, the power button sits a thumb’s width from your grip, so the blink-and-get-up penalty only really lands in docked setups — the classic across-the-room couch scenario where the Pro Controller once meant never having to move. If you’re a docked-first player on the new hardware, expect to feel that omission every single session.
GameShare is the bigger loss. The C button isn’t a gimmick; it’s the mechanism for sharing games with nearby Switch 2 consoles, and the TOTK pad simply can’t participate. That makes the old Pro Controller a strictly solo accessory on the new system — a serious consideration if local multiplayer is part of your routine. Gyro, rumble, and the general first-party Pro Controller feel are all part of this pad’s package, so it still plays beautifully. It just refuses to join Switch 2’s party.
The 2023 Pad vs. the 40th Anniversary Leak
The TOTK pad’s black-on-black transparency is the most understated thing Zelda-branded hardware has ever shipped — mystical without shouting fan merch from across the room. The leaked 40th Anniversary controller goes the opposite direction: green and gold, a tiny NES-era Link aiming at the Switch 2 logo, packaging that screams Legend of Zelda. It’s the prettier prospect, but it’s a leak, not a product page. No release window, no confirmed price, no guarantee it exists until Nintendo says so.
That leaves the OG pad as the only Zelda Pro Controller you can own today, and the supply situation is worth noting: sold out on Nintendo’s US and UK storefronts, with the realistic routes being a Tears of the Kingdom Pro Controller on Amazon refurb around $80 or eBay listings from the low $70s. Third-party Zelda pads from PowerA and Turtle Beach are cheaper, but they don’t gain any Switch 2 input features either — same compatibility boat, worse build quality. If you mostly play portably, grab the TOTK pad and ignore the missing perks; they’ll rarely come up. If you live docked or plan GameShare nights, wait for the 40th Anniversary model and budget for its inevitable price hike. The OG is a gorgeous stopgap — just make sure your play habits match it.