Kishi for Android - Smartphone Gaming Controller (USB-C Connection, Ergonomic Design, Individual Fit for Mobile Phones, Analog Stick, Ultra Low Latency) Black

So, I had been looking for a controller that works with my mobile phone for some time and I came across this. Seen the original price and it instantly put me off, then it was on a Black Friday deal at half price (£50) so I bought it without a second thought. First impressions were great, it works straight out of the box with nothing extra to do, except for installing the app which isn't required for it to work (unless you want to use xcloud). It doesn't work for some games, only came across a handful so far but the majority of controller supported games work perfectly and if you use an emulator, you can easily remap buttons no problem. The controller sections fit snug around my phone, though not with a case, but you can remove the rubber buffers from both ends as they aren't glued in and won't get damaged when removed. Once removed the left side has a bit of a 'wobble' but isn't that noticeable when playing, there is no 'wobble' when the buffer is attached but then my case doesn't fit so you'll need to feel what feels better for you. After about a month of using the Kishi, i have no complaints, im impressed with it. A great device, maybe wouldn't spend £100 on one though.

A solid product from Razer and great for mobile gaming. This controller was released at an excessive £100 barrier, which only the hardcore mobile gamers would access. The price point slightly lowered but it remained excessive, even more expensive than a PS5 DualSense without the abilities and capabilities to justify the price point, the price point was “jumping on a fad”. Now with the recent release of the second version, this is dropping in price to become much more accessible for the masses. I jumped on board and see that this is a solid product from Razer. My old Huawei Mate 20 Pro is packed full of emulation from DuckStation (PS1) and AetherSX2 (PS2) to Mupen64 (Nintendo 64) and Dolphin (Gamecube and Wii), it plays most games very well. Before I purchased this product I was using an Xbox One controller connected to the phone via BlueTooth to play games, but it was a cumbersome and heavy set up, and the Xbox One controller relied on AA batteries to power the controller. I tried using a DualShock 4 controller but set up was a pita, and I had the same issues again (heavy and cumbersome set up, poor battery life of the controller etc). This Razer controller solves the issues that I had with the console controllers. The Razer Kishi controller is light and sturdy. Releasing two clips on the back of the controller releases the mechanism to fit your phone. Using the USBC port it removes the need for BlueTooth, and the Razer Kishi is set as an Xbox One controller making it very easy to set up, set your controls and play games on the phone. The controller is comfortable to hold on my palms, I used to have a PSVita and used to hold it the same way that I hold the Kishi once set up. One downside I can see is specific to my Huawei Mate 20 Pro. I noticed that the left side of the Kishi controller is not clamped flush with the phone, meaning that when I play games with the set up I need to be careful to avoid flexing the left side upwards. There is enough flexibility on the Kishi to prevent it from tearing but it’s a reflex I need to get used to. I am considering using double sided sticky tape to secure the phone in place during play and using IPA to remove any residue when not playing with the Kishi. Overall this is a good low cost solution and I specifically recommend it to anyone using emulation. Edit (April 2023) - I noticed two more downsides to this. The first is the abhorrently slow charging ability of the Kishi when connecting the charger in it’s designated charging port, on the base of the right side of the Kishi. No fast charging whatsoever, in fact the charging reminds me of the old generic 5W chargers ever-present up to 5 years ago, and what was available on iPhones before they adopted the faster 20W standard. The second is the D-Pad is terrible and borderline useless for fighting games. I was playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 using the Kishi and performing combos with the mushy D-Pad is like wading through a sea of treacle. Just don’t bother with fighting games using the Kishi.

Bought this for use with xCloud, and it's genuinely revolutionary, turning my phone into a portable console. The controller itself is sturdy and well made, sticks feel great, face buttons are nice and responsive. The d-pad may be a little devisive as it's somewhat mushy, but I quite like it. The small triggers take some getting used to, and they don't feel as nice and smooth as the ones on the Xbox, but they're usable. Everything works perfectly with xCloud, both on the app and via browser. I don't have the Xbox branded version, but everything works as it should, right out of the box, it's literally just the branding that's different, so you can save yourself a few quid by not buying the official Xbox version of the Kishi. I have also used this controller with Stadia and GEForce Now and it works with both of those services. Use on mobile games is a little hit and miss. The list of games the Kishi supports is small, and I've found that some games listed as being supported aren't, and some games not listed work fine. There is a Kishi app which includes things like a launcher, which is very helpful. Overall, at least for cloud gaming on the go, this is an exceptional product, if a little pricey at full retail price.

I got this specifically for playing Microsoft Xcloud games and game streaming from my Series X. This controller is absolutely fantastic! The button layout mimics an Xbox controller pretty well, with all of the buttons except the share button. The butons and sticks all feel good and are nice and responsive. The analoge sticks and triggers work really well. The triggers don't feel exactly the same as on the Xbox controller, but still feel nice. The controller connects to your device via USB-C, so there is no noticable input lag. This keeps the bluetooth free for other devices such as headphones or external speakers. There is also a charge-though circuit so that you can charge your mobile device while using the controller. I cannot recommend this product highly enough. It is a MUST BUY is you are using Xcloud or device streaming on your mobile.

What is a game controller for? It's to allow you to interact with a game without noticing the controller surely? Well, for me this device fails in every respect. It has taken the features of portability and compactness as the foremost consideration and done away with comfort and ease of use. The face buttons felt mushy and the buttons and right stick are too close to each other meaning you are always grazing the buttons with your right thumb unless you hold it awkwardly. Then there is the grip for holding. Or lack of it meaning you have to shift your hands around constantly to use stick or buttons. Including the start/options button which you have to regrip if you want to use it at all. If you have grown up hands then get an Xbox controller with a phone grip (or the 8bitdo equivalent) and forget this expensive flimsy contraption that has only one use as opposed to the myriad of uses bluetooth controllers have. I coveted this controller for the longest time thinking it would the Holy grail of solutions but couldn't justify the high price tag. Even 2nd hand it was £55. Madness. After trying it I honestly don't think this is even worth £25 brand new and that is if you can find it comfortable to use and absolutely must have a mobile phone gaming solution that is as light as possible. Consider the 8bitdo clip and 8bitdo Pro 2 controller before you go near this. You will then also have a controller with decent software configuration and multiple options of compatibility (including latency free cable control).

A great controller accessory to make mobile gaming much better. The grip is comfortable in hands and has all the buttons / controls you'd expect. It interacts well with games through Xbox Game Pass and is picked up like an xbox controller automaricallg which hides the on screen control prompts. The buttons have good travel and overall feels sturdy. It's easy to use in terms of folding and unfolding by releasing two clips at the back. My Samsung S21 fits in the grip fine without its case on and charges through the pass through charger. Overall whilst the price is a little steep the grip feels like good quality, is responsive and works well and I'd happily recommend.

I couldn't imagine buying a controller of this quality at £80. I bought it at £35 and still feel scammed. As I'm writing this, an Xbox series X controller is £36... EVERYTHING on this controller is MUSHY. D-pad, face buttons and triggers are all a pain to use. At the price of a full sized controller (let alone when it was >double), this is unacceptable quality. Only the analog sticks are good, but even then, the right one is positioned right underneath the face buttons, such that your thumb is constantly jamming into it whenever you try to press anything, and I don't even have large hands. Combined with the mushy, unresponsive-feeling buttons, trying to game with this thing will drive you crazy. Another thing I haven't heard anyone mention is how heavy this thing is - it's actually about the same weight (if not heavier) than some of the full sized controllers I have on hand, despite having no internal battery. It adds a significant amount of weight to your phone. Also, it fit my phone fine, but much larger than 6.8 inch screen probably wouldn't. Also, I have a phone with flat edges - a rounded one would probably not be held in place properly. Good points: charging port, retractable/portable design, looks good visually... and packaging was nice

Despite lack of handles, the ergonomics were quite comfortable as on the back the plastic is slightly pressed inward and I've been using it as a grip. A more grippy mold would have appreciated however, even if it's just a little grit texture. I've got a huge 6.5 inch phone and not only does it fit this stretchy controller, it's comfortable enough to grip for hours at a time as long as you're not the sort prone to squeezing the grip of your controller. I imagine it could strain one's hand with this thing. The passthrough charging is great, but theres no fast charging so I could potentially lose battery with intense usage, such as doing GameCube/Wii emulation or playing Genshin Impact. It's still a nice touch. Additionally, the port doesn't pass through data, so you can't use a USB-C dongle, and there's no headphone jack either. To be fair, there's clever holes on the end you plug your phone into which passes through the speakers very clearly. Additionally, if you have top-mounted speakers those also won't be muffled, as the rubber has ridges that prevent it from fully covering the speaker, so it sounds unmuffled too. Lastly on the USB port, because of course it's a physical connection the latency is simply brilliant. The buttons are okay. ABXY are soft and appear to have a linier press to them. As those sorts of buttons should, they appear to be rubber domes. Weirdly enough though, as someone who uses an Xbox controller a lot, seeing the A button be red, and the B button being green threw me off initially. It appeared to have reversed the traditional colours for A and B, as well as X and Y, but like, why would you do that? Anyway, the triggers are anolog, which makes them better for driving games as you can depress the trigger half way and drive slower to drift and such. What makes them slightly bothersome is how they are just short, my small index fingers are thicker than the triggers and could slip off if I'm not careful. The joycons are simply good, they're more like Xbox joycons than those low-profile Nintendo joycons, but it does compromise how slim the controller is, if you care. Lastly there's the D-pad, which isn't my favourite but it's passable. It's not clickly as how I prefer them, they appear to also be rubbery domes like ABXY, but that's fine. The issue is in classic games such as NES or GameBoy titles where you need precise movement. I can click the two adjacent directions to the one I'm pressing if I shift the weight slightly... Often resulting in me moving left and up, instead of simply up. It's a shame, I thought D-pad are supposed to be precise where you can only move in one direction at a time, but you can press more than one so it feels more like a gimped thumbstick. Put a pivot in next time. As one last point, this device sips power, as it's very hard to decern the power draw with or without it on; which is great. it leaves that precious battery for actual gaming, or just longer general usage. It's likely to do with the fact it has no rumble motors, but most phones have them so I don't put it against the controller. With it's mostly good ergonomics, the low power consumption and low latency, I really can just game playing classic titles all day, and while it's got a lot of concessions, I honestly think this is the best controller if you're into these telescopic phone controllers. Here's to hoping this inspires competition in this niche market. The Kishi definitely is hard to beat.