Photos and Features
The ROG Raikiri Pro, like the packaging, implies, is an Xbox controller at its core and Asus hasn’t changed the shape of the controller too much. The overall shape is still very Xbox and it does have the offset analog sticks that the Xbox controller style is known for with the left analog stick up higher and the direction pad on the left down at the bottom like the right analog thumbstick. The Raikiri Pro does have a unique split design where the left side of the controller is black and then on the right it has a translucent cover over top of a black base which they use to integrate ROG logos into the styling all over. The black side has ROG logos as well with extremely tiny ROG slayed out and gaps in the small logos that make MORE ROG logos. The layout is moved around slightly in the top middle to accommodate the OLED screen at the top which is one of the big features of the Raikiri Pro.
The left side of the Raikiri Pro has the top thumbstick which has a concave top and around the outer edge, it has a heavy knurled texture all on the rubber cap on top. The direction pad below that is round similar to the Xbox Elite design only it has a surprisingly flat shape to it with a slight X shape in it where each of the raised up, down, left, and right areas meet together in a valley. It is flat enough that I initially thought the colors you can see in the picture below were just painted on until I felt it. Next to these, the Raikiri Pro does have a View button which has the two boxes on it. Then over on the right side mirroring the view button it has a menu button with the three lines on it. You have the X, Y, A, and B buttons on the right and they have the same colors as on a standard Xbox controller but the font here is a lot harder to read than is needed. You can see the translucent cover on the right side of the Raikiri Pro that lets you look down through and of course like the other side has ROG logos in it. The right thumbstick or thumbstick has the same concave top and knurled grip on the rubber cap so no difference there compared to the left side. It all leads to the center where the Xbox logo is down lower and a little smaller. There is a status LED just under the Xbox button and below that the triangle-shaped button is the share button that you can find in the same location on the Xbox S and X controllers. Above that is a small OLED display which is 1.3 inches in and has a resolution of 128 x 40 and supports two grey levels for a little more than black and white pixels.
The bottom of the Raikiri Pro does have a headphone jack just like the Xbox controllers but it doesn’t have the wider bottom plug that Xbox controllers have in the center. Over on the right, there is a button hidden away, this is the pair button for pairing Bluetooth devices to the Raikiri Pro. The bottom view as well as both side views of the Raikiri Pro show the knurled grip that wraps around from the back up onto the sides of the controller and on the inside of the grips at the bottom as well. This is the same grip that the Raikiri Pro has on the thumbsticks and calling it knurled isn’t completely accurate. While that is what it feels like it is actually tiny raised dots.
The top edge has a few things going on. As you would expect both sides have top bumpers and analog triggers down below just like on any modern controller including all of the Xbox controllers. The analog triggers do have a short throw mode that shortens their throw but they aren’t instant like with the instant triggers on the Scuf Reflex, but being able to swap between them is worth the tradeoff. Then in the center, there are two buttons on either side of a USB Type-C connection. This is the charging port for the Raikiri Pro which also doubles as a wired controller when you have it plugged in. The two buttons on either side of the plug however are unique and these are the navigation buttons for the OLED screen on the front of the Raikiri Pro.
The back of the Raikiri Pro has the same textured grip wrapping around the bottom half of the grips on both sides. Then like with the Scuf Reflex, the Raikiri Pro has four programable back buttons. Unlike the Reflex or the Xbox Elite designs, however, these aren’t removable or swapable. In between all of those, there is a sticker with the model information, required certification logos, and of course the serial number and a barcode for the serial number. Then below that in between the bottom back buttons, there is a small removable cover held in place magnetically. On either side of the serial number sticker, there are small sliders that switch each of the analog triggers between the full-length and short trigger modes.
The removable cover on the back hides the 2.4 GHz wireless dongle for PC use. The dongle is a little longer than most that you will find these days which hardly stick out past the USB plug at all. It has a black plastic end on it with the ROG logo on it.
I did also get the Raikiri Pro onto the scale when checking it out. Asus has it listed at 330 grams but that includes the cable which is a weird way to list the weight on a wireless controller. On our scale, it came in at 258 grams while having the wireless dongle inside. If you are using that it will take a little off of that as well. That puts it right in between the Cooler Master Storm Controller which was 220 grams and the Scuf Reflex which was 288 grams. The Xbox Elite controller is 275 grams (with no accessories on it), the Xbox One is 279 grams, and the Xbox Series X controller is 287, all with two AA batteries. The Raikiri Pro comes in lighter than all of those. Personally, I feel a lighter weight controller is going to be more comfortable over longer periods of time but the tradeoff is that they will also feel like they are lower quality. Asus did manage to get rechargeable batteries and the screen in the Raikiri Pro and come in lower weight than the other Xbox controllers though.
