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Controls
Up to 4 players. Controllers become players in order: wireless controllers as the system numbers them, then the console in handheld mode (a Pro Controller is player 1 as soon as it wakes, and the attached Joy-Cons are player 2).
Controls > Sync controllers in the − menu opens the system's controller screen: pairing, the player order and single Joy-Cons.
- Two Joy-Cons as one controller: press L + R on them.
- One Joy-Con alone: hold it sideways (the rail, with SL and SR, on top) and press SL + SR. Pressing L or R instead makes the screen wait for the other half.
A Joy-Con that stays on its own for 2 seconds outside that screen (its partner switched off, or the only one connected) becomes a single sideways controller by itself. To make a pair again, open Sync controllers and press L + R on both.
Handheld, Pro Controller and a Joy-Con pair. Driving, by default:
| Switch | Does |
|---|---|
| Left stick, D-pad | steer |
| A | accelerate |
| B | brake / reverse |
| ZR | drift (hop) |
| X | use item |
| R | switch driver and rider |
| Y, L | rear view |
| ZL | jump (when Game > Jump height is on) |
| Right stick click | Kart FPV on / off |
| Left stick click | camera reset (free camera) |
| Right stick sideways | free camera |
| + | pause |
| − | the options menu |
Controls > Button mapping changes what each button does while driving. Menus and the pause screen always keep the standard layout (L and R both Z there). A, B, R, X and Start always keep a button. Reset to defaults gives the table above again.
Held sideways with the rail (SL / SR) on top, stick on the left. The stick steers as you hold it, and the face buttons are named by where they are, in races and menus alike:
| Joy-Con | Right Joy-Con | Left Joy-Con | Does (default) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Right button | X | ↓ | accelerate (A) |
| Bottom button | A | ← | brake (B) |
| Top button | Y | → | use item (X) |
| Left button | B | ↑ | rear view (Y) |
| SL, SR | SL, SR | SL, SR | drift |
| L / R (shoulder) | R | L | switch (Z) |
| Stick click | stick click | stick click | switch (Z) |
| ZL / ZR (trigger) | ZR | ZL | pause |
| + / − | + | − (players 2-4) | pause |
- The options menu: − on a left Joy-Con; stick click + + on a right one.
- Controls > Joy-Con sideways remaps these for driving, one mapping for both Joy-Cons, with its own Reset to defaults. In menus SL / SR are L / R.
- HOME and Capture belong to the system: no game can remap them.
- No free camera on a single Joy-Con (it has one stick).
With the official adapter: its own layout, analog L / R included. Not remappable. It has no - button: player 1 opens the menu by holding Z and pressing Start.
On controllers with HD Rumble and on GameCube controllers (Game > Rumble).