daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
I enjoyed the Splatoon 3 pre-release splatfest event today. I tried out a couple of new weapons and checked out the new stages. Very cool! And I love the new squidling and octoling characters. They look awesome! I can’t wait for the game to be released next month. I am still going to try to master the splat-roller, which is super-fun.
I’ve been enjoying Animal Crossing New Horizons for the past month, but our Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controller drift problem has been making it frustrating. What is “drift”? Well, it’s when when the control stick is not being touched, but it registers as being pushed slightly in one direction. In Animal Crossing, this means that your villager will start walking slowly even though you aren’t touching the Joy-Con controller analog stick.
I did a little bit of research on how to fix Joy-Con drift and decided to try cleaning the controller stick. One method involves using a Q-Tip and rubbing alcohol to clean the mechanism, however we don’t have either of these items in the house at the moment. (We used our alcohol to make sanitizing spray because of COVID-19) But I remembered that I have a can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner, which is an alcohol-based electrical contact cleaner. I originally bought it to clean the dials of my electric guitars and get rid of that scratchy static sound that happens when adjusting the volume or tone dials.
The process I used to clean my Nintendo Joy-Con controller was to use a toothpick to gently pry up the rubber covering underneath the analog control stick, then spray the CRC QD Electric Cleaner into the exposed area. I then moved the control stick in all directions for a minute or so, and could immediately feel it move more freely. After waiting a couple of minutes, I repeated the process just to make sure it got thorough cleaning, then waited about 10 minutes before testing it with the game.
Happily, the Joy-Con controller drift problem was fixed! My Animal Crossing villager would remain in one spot when I didn’t touch the control stick, with no drifting at all. Also, the directional input was more precise and seemed to return to center quicker. This precision makes it so much easier (and less frustrating) to play the game, especially when terra-forming. And now that the right-controller’s stick is no longer drifting, the interior view when inside a house no longer pans by itself. Yay!
The Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controller is not an inexpensive piece of hardware, so before you go out and buy a replacement, give this a try, either with the rubbing alcohol, or the CRC QD Electronic Cleaner. But, I’d recommend picking up a can of the cleaner – it’s inexpensive and very handy!
Yay, Splatfest has begun! I am really enjoying Splatoon 2 on the Switch. It’s so fun! And today when I started the game, the square was a huge dance party. It’s very cool I could watch Pearl and Marina all day. And the Inklings have some nice dance moves too. Very cool!
Check out this video of the song “Ebb and Flow” that they sing during Splatfest:
For the US Splatfest, there’s a Halloween theme and the teams are Vampire vs. Werewolf. I chose Team Werewolf, so if you see Sachiモン in-game, that’s me! I have to say, Splatoon is one of my favorite games because A) I don’t suck, B) the clothing options are really cool and cute, and C) the weapons are so varied and fun.
Is anyone else playing?
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today I opened up an early birthday gift: Nintendo Switch – Splatoon 2 Version. I love it! The color of the Joycon controllers is awesome, and the game itself is fun as expected. I’m not very good but I have a great time playing. And of course, the kids love it too.
Now I’m thinking about what games to get. I’ll have to get the latest Legend of Zelda game, but I also think I am Setsuna looks great. Plus that might be a good “handheld” style game for the Switch. Decisions decisions…
I hope you also had a nice day.
またね～
I haven’t played my 2DS in a while, but I still want this!
