Razer Naga Left Handed Edition review

Over the last decade, gaming has become a serious endeavour for many Australians. It's always been an enjoyable means of entertainment, but now it can also be a career. Going pro, as they say, and making a living from professional play on titles like Fortnite, or through streaming, is not only possible, but desired.

When you add in all the other additional hours we spend at our desktops or laptops working or organising our lives, a good mouse is essential. That's why products like the Razer Naga exist. A mouse that is highly customisable and fast for the high-end gamer, while still being super functional for everyday computer activities.

It's to Razer's credit, then, that the expert game peripheral manufacturer has remembered the left-handed minority. Not content with delivering a right-handed version of its high-end gaming mouse, it's also launched a left-handed version. A mouse designed for the 10% of people worldwide who do it the other way.

So, is the left-handed Naga gaming mouse any good?

Design

Design

• Comfortable and functional
• Long and durable cable
• 20 programmable buttons
• No wireless model

Razer has kept the design of the Naga focused on function while adding just enough flair to give it that gaming feel. Most importantly, the mouse is very comfortable to use. The contoured shapes and indents for your leading fingers and the side buttons fit snugly in the hand, your palm resting up against the body and your pinkie given its own little rubberised spot to rest.

The Chroma RGB lighting we see across Razer products gives the mouse wheel and the logo a customisable glow. It allows you to spot it in the dark and look cool in front of friends. But the lights don't go as far as to offer feedback on in-game activity.

The star of the Razer Naga's design, however, is the programmable buttons – 20 in all. The onboard memory allows you to save five profiles, too, which gives you the flexibility to not just optimise the mouse for different games, but also for use outside of gaming.

The 12 buttons that run down the right side of the Razer Naga are the main point of difference here and they work smartly. The mechanical press gives you a quick response and while close to each other, the buttons are distinct. This allows you to find the right button in games – specifically MMOs – where there are a lot of inputs to consider.

The left-handed Razer Naga only comes in a wired form, unfortunately. (The right-handed Naga has a wireless Pro model.) However, the connecting Speedflex Cable is tough, durable and long. And even wired, moving the 109g mouse about is a breeze.

Small hands may find the design a little on the bulky side, so that's something to keep in mind. But the main issue many left-handed players may have with the Razer Naga's design isn't the Naga's fault. If you're used to gaming with a standard right-handed mouse, it may take a period of adjustment to come to grips, literally and figuratively, with using your dominant hand.

Performance

Performance

• 20,000 dpi
• 650 inches per second
• great app

When we look at the performance of the Razer Naga, we need to consider more than just its speed and precision. But to linger on those two points for a moment, the Naga – like most of Razer's suite of gaming mice – is impressive. The Razer Focus+ Optical Sensor can deliver 20,000 DPI sensitivity with 99.6% resolution accuracy at speeds of up to 650 inches per second. That's top class. And while a wired mouse isn't the most user-friendly, it does effectively kill-off latency issues.

You'll feel its speed, too. Especially if you pair it with a Razer mouse mat, which it glides over effortlessly. Thankfully, through the Razer app, you can customise the sensitivity to get it just right.

Where the performance of the Razer Naga really shines is in-game and making use of all those customisable buttons. Be warned, it's a little overwhelming at first. It will take you some time, and even trial and error, to get all the buttons doing something useful for each game – and doing it in the most accessible place for your hand.

However, once you have it customised to where you want it, it's a true game changer – be it an FPS, an RTS or an MMO. Being able to transfer much of your keyboard shortcuts to the mouse so that you can keep both hands on the job at all times will transform your prowess in-game. Well, if you put in the effort to master it.

Perhaps Razer should further grease the wheels for its consumers by providing example button layouts for the biggest games? Think Call of Duty, FIFA, World of Warcraft, Fortnite and the like.

Should you buy the Razer Naga Left Handed Edition gaming mouse?

As a brand, Razer is renowned for not just its quality of build, but being near the pointy end of gaming technology when it comes to performance, usability and design. These traits can be seen in the Razer Naga left-handed mouse. For left-handed gamers, it's the best option available in what must be said is a market slim on offerings.

But be warned; it takes some adjustment. Depending on how long you've been using a right-handed mouse, that learning curve may be too steep to be worth the final payoff. For younger gamers without decades of muscle memory to overcome, and the time to perfect their button set-up, the Razer Naga left-handed mouse is a game changer.

Just be conscious of the fact that there have been two eras of the Razer Naga left-handed mouse. The first edition was doing the rounds circa 2015, while this latest second edition launched in 2020. As you would expect, the latest 2020 model has the better tech.

Pricing and availability

As of the time of writing, the Razer Naga Left Handed Edition gaming mouse is only available direct through Razer. You'll pay $185.95, which feels over the mark given it's just US$99 overseas. However, if you sign-up to the Razer mailing list you can get a one-time $15 discount.

Price

RRP: $184.95

Where to buy

Check availability at eBay

Check availability at Amazon

Razer

Specifications

Where to buy

Images: Old Mate Media