Nintendo is bringing back its classic NES controller for the Switch, but now it's wireless - take a look

Including the D-pad, Start, Select, A, B, and the ability to press A and B at the same time, there are only so many buttons on the NES gamepad. And for many Switch games, using the NES gamepad simply wouldn't translate — it doesn't have enough buttons!

And that's before we start talking about the fact that there are no analog thumbsticks.

Since the NES gamepad for Switch charges by attaching to the Switch console itself, like the Joy-Con gamepads that come with the Switch, it uses the same connection rail as the normal Switch gamepads.

You can see it above — it's the black strip of plastic along the top of the gamepad, taking the place of the usual connection cable.

That rail comes with two new buttons: L and R. They're tiny, and wrapping your fingers around the hard angles of the NES gamepad to tap them isn't really workable while playing games. But the good news is that they exist solely as a means of accessing a Switch menu; you tap them both at the same time to access the menu while playing NES classics through Nintendo Switch Online.

For some people, it might be worth owning the NES gamepads for Switch solely so they can outfit their home console with this amazing throwback look. Personally, I can't imagine doing that (ahem).

Regardless, the way you charge the NES gamepads on Switch — as previously mentioned — is by sliding them onto the sides of the Switch tablet. They don't appear to have USB connections or any other way to charge via wire.

More clearly: The NES gamepads can only be charged on the Switch, just like the Joy-Con gamepads.

Sorry, solo Switch owners: These gamepads only come as a pair.

Technically speaking, they're $30 apiece — but since you can only buy them as a pair, the real cost is $60. And that's on top of the $20/year fee for Nintendo Switch Online.

But also being able to use wireless NES gamepads on the Switch, playing NES games from 30-plus years ago, is super rad.