Mario playing basketball isn't a shock. We’ve seen him on the court in Mario Party and some Olympic spin-offs, but Mario Hoops 3 on 3 was a different breed of chaos. Released back in 2006 for the Nintendo DS, it wasn't actually developed by Nintendo’s internal teams. Square Enix handled the heavy lifting. Yes, the Final Fantasy people.
If you remember the mid-2000s, this was a peak era for Nintendo experimentation. The DS touch screen was still a novelty that developers felt obligated to use for literally everything. Consequently, you didn't press 'B' to shoot. You scribbled on the bottom screen like a madman. It was frantic. It was occasionally hand-cramp inducing. Honestly, it was one of the most stylish games on the system.
Why This Crossover Happened
Square Enix and Nintendo have a storied, sometimes rocky relationship. After the massive success of Super Mario RPG on the SNES, the two companies drifted apart when Square jumped ship to Sony for the PlayStation era. This game was a handshake. A "we’re cool now" gesture.
But Square Enix didn't just make a Mario game; they brought their own toys to the sandbox. You could play as a Moogle. You could dunk with a Black Mage. There’s something fundamentally surreal about seeing a Ninja from Final Fantasy cross up Donkey Kong. It felt like a fever dream. It still does.
The Stylus Control Nightmare (and Genius)
Most sports games rely on buttons for precision. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 threw that out the window. You used the D-pad to move, but every single offensive and defensive move was tied to the stylus.
Dribbling? You tapped the screen in rhythm.
Passing? You flicked in a direction.
Shooting? You swiped up.
It sounds clunky. For the first twenty minutes, it is. But once the muscle memory kicks in, the game reveals a surprisingly deep combo system. If you tapped the screen in specific patterns—like a triangle or a star—your character would perform a "Special Shot." These weren't just high-percentage buckets; they were cinematic events. Mario would create fireballs. Peach would spawn hearts. The Black Mage would literally summon a meteor.
It was over-the-top. The logic was thin, but the spectacle was 10/10.
The Coins Change Everything
Standard basketball rules don't apply here. In a normal game, a layup is two points. In this game, a layup is worth whatever you have in your pocket. As you dribble across the court, you run over Question Mark Panels. These give you coins.
If you have 40 coins and you sink a basket, you just earned 60 points.
This mechanic fundamentally broke the traditional flow of a sports game. You weren't just playing defense; you were trying to hit your opponent with a Red Shell so they’d drop their coins before they reached the hoop. It turned every match into a hybrid of a fast-break drill and a battle royale.
The Roster: More Than Just Plumbers
The character selection was surprisingly beefy for a DS title. You had your staples: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Wario, Waluigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Bowser Jr. But the unlockables were the real draw.
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Square Enix leaned into their fantasy roots. The guest stars included:
- Ninja: Fast, high jump, incredibly annoying to play against.
- Mage (White and Black): Classic designs that felt weirdly at home in the Mushroom Kingdom.
- Moogle: High technique, cute, surprisingly good at steals.
- Cactuar: Because why not?
Each character was categorized by type: Speedy, Power, All-Around, Technical, or Tricky. It mattered. Trying to outrun a Ninja with Bowser was a losing battle. You had to play to the archetypes.
The Music and Visuals
Visually, the game pushed the DS. The character models were chunky but expressive. Satoru Iwata, in his "Iwata Asks" interviews, often spoke about maximizing the hardware, and this game is a prime example. The courts weren't just flat planes. You played on a moving raft in Shipwreck Creek. You played in a desert where sandstorms obscured your vision.
The soundtrack, composed by Masayoshi Soken (who later became legendary for his work on Final Fantasy XIV), is an absolute bop. It’s jazzy, upbeat, and fits the frantic pace perfectly. It doesn't sound like typical Mario music, and that's exactly why it works.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often dismiss this game as "too hard to control." That's a bit of a misconception. The difficulty didn't come from the stylus; it came from the AI. The CPU in the later tournaments (Rainbow Cup, specifically) is notoriously ruthless. They will block your specials with frame-perfect precision.
Another common myth is that this game is a sequel to Mario Tennis or Mario Golf. It’s not. It’s a standalone project that eventually paved the way for Mario Sports Mix on the Wii. If you play them back-to-back, you can see the DNA of the basketball mechanics carrying over, though the Wii version simplified the controls significantly.
Is it Still Playable Today?
If you can find a physical cartridge and a DS (or a 3DS), yes. However, the lack of an analog stick makes the movement feel a bit stiff by modern standards. There’s no official way to play this on Switch yet, which is a shame. A HD remaster with traditional button controls would likely find a massive audience, especially given the current "cosy gaming" trend and the nostalgia for mid-2000s Square Enix.
The multiplayer was the heart of the experience. It supported local wireless play, and those matches were legendary. Nothing destroyed a friendship faster than a last-second Meteor shot that erased a 50-point lead.
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Actionable Tips for New Players
If you’re digging out your old DS to give this a spin, keep these things in mind:
- Master the "Perfect" Dribble: Don't just mash the screen. Tapping in a steady rhythm builds up your special meter faster.
- Ignore the Ball, Chase the Coins: You can be the best shooter in the world, but if your opponent has 100 coins, one dunk will end you. Focus on the panels.
- Use the Environment: In stages like Luigi's Mansion, the ghosts will steal the ball. Use that to your advantage by baiting the AI into haunted zones.
- Check the Special Shot Patterns: Every character has a specific shape they need to draw. Practice these in the tutorial mode until you can do them blindfolded.
Mario Hoops 3 on 3 remains a weird, shiny artifact of a time when Nintendo was willing to let other studios go wild with their biggest icons. It’s not perfect. It’s chaotic. But it has more personality in its tiny stylus-driven heart than most modern "realistic" sports sims.
To get the most out of it now, focus on the "Tourney" mode to unlock the Final Fantasy characters. That's where the real game begins. Once you have the full roster, the variety of playstyles keeps the game fresh for much longer than the initial Mario-only levels suggest.