Mario Hoops 3-on-3

 MARIO HOOPS 3-ON-3

Mario Hoops 3-on-3 is a collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix, and the Mario series's only full foray into basketball. The basketball mechanics are pretty standard, with two teams of three vying for control of a ball that they toss into a hoop at either end of the court. The game comes with all the fixings, like dribbling, dodging, passing, and defense, with a few fantastical elements like special shots for each character and coin panels on the floor that you can dribble on to get coins.

The game starts with ten characters, standard Mario staples including: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Wario, Waluigi, and Bowser Jr. Unlockable characters include Bowser, Birdo, Dixie Kong, Boo, Paratroopa, and Fly Guy, alongisde five guest characters from Final Fantasy: a Moogle, Cactuar, Ninja, Black Mage, and White Mage. Mario and Luigi use fire for their shots, Peach uses hearts and Daisy uses flowers, Yoshi performs a flutter jump, Donkey Kong just dunks it very hard while Diddy uses his rocketbarrels, Wario does a butt bash and Waluigi performs a spin, and Bowser Jr. uses his paint. Bowser uses his fire, Birdo shoots an egg, Dixie shoots from a cannon, Boo teleports, Paratroopa flies it up, and Fly Guy uses an electric spear. Our guests (while we won't be covering them too much here) perform their moves by the Moogle dancing, the Cactuar uses its needles, the Ninja uses leaves to disappear, the White Mage levitates it, and the Black Mage calls down meteors.

Our stages include Mario Stadium, a basic court; Koopa Beach, a beach court with a pirate ship in the distance; Peach Field, an island with cliffs on both sides; Sunset Beach, more or less the same as Koopa Beach; DK Cruiser, a raft going down a jungle river; Luigi's Mansion, based on Luigi's Mansion; Daisy Garden, with two Petey Piranhas acting as the nets (awesome); Malboro Garden, very similar but with Final Fantasy enemies instead; Wario Factory, set in a factory; Jr. Street, a casino-themed court; Bowser's Castle; Glare Desert, a desert level; Sherbet Land, an icy level; Bloocheep Sea, an underwater level; Pirate Ship, featuring Gooper Blooper as a hazard; and Rainbow Ship, set on a flying ship.

Lightning, Mushrooms, Poison Mushrooms, Stars, Bananas, Bob-Ombs, Fake Panels, Green Shells, Red Shells, Spiny Shells, and Freezies all appear as items, acting pretty much exactly like your mental picture of them would that you just brought up. Mimics from the Final Fantasy series also appear, which will chase after the character with the ball.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Mario: fireball, Super Mario

Luigi: green fireball, tornado, Super Luigi

Peach: heart ball, Freeze Frame

Daisy: flower ball, Crystal Smash

Yoshi: egg ball, rainbow ball, Egg Roll, flutter jump

Birdo: weird ball, suction, Extreme Egg, egg shot

Donkey Kong: banana ball, barrel, Thunder Wham, dunk

Diddy Kong: boomerang ball, banana, Red Card, rocketbarrels

Wario: phony ball, Gas Mask, butt bash

Waluigi: liar ball, Wall-Luigi, cyclone spin

Bowser: killer ball, fire breath, Fire Storm

Bowser Jr.: killer jr. ball, paintbrush, Sonic Roar

Pianta

Noki

Monty Mole: Dirt Drill

Toad: Fire Meteor

Toadette

Toadsworth

Baby Mario

Baby Luigi

Shy Guy: Bullet Bill Blast

Dixie Kong: barrel cannon

Goomba

Paragoomba

Koopa: Shell Smash

Paratroopa: fly

Boo: Possess, teleport

King Boo

Petey Piranha: Mud Slinger, act as hoop

Magikoopa

Hammer Bro: Hammer Throw

Dry Bones: Shocker

Lakitu: hold hoop

Piranha Plant

Klaptrap

Chain Chomp

Thwomp

Baby Peach

Baby Daisy

Baby Donkey Kong

Funky Kong

Tiny Kong

King K. Rool

Wiggler

Blooper

Kritter: goalie

Super Team: football, goalie (Robo-Kritter), electric walls, items, Super Shots, Mega Strikes, Special Abilities, metal ball

Fly Guy: electric spear

Moogle: dance

Cactuar: needles

Ninja: leaf veil

White Mage: holy magic

Black Mage: meteor

Stages:

Mario Stadium

Peach Garden

Yoshi Park

Donkey Kong Jungle

Wario Palace

Bowser Castle

Toy Field

Baseball Kingdom

Peach Ice Garden

Wario City

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Cruiser

Bowser Jr.'s Playroom

The Palace

Pipeline Central

The Underground

Konga Coliseum

Crater Field

The Battle Dome

Bowser Stadium

The Vice

Thunder Island

The Sand Tomb

The Classroom

The Lava Pit

The Wastelands

Crystal Canyon

The Dump

Stormship Stadium

Galactic Stadium

Mario Stadium

Koopa Beach

Peach Field

Sunset Beach

DK Cruiser

Luigi's Mansion

Daisy Garden

Malboro Garden

Wario Factory

Jr. Street

Bowser's Castle

Glare Desert

Sherbet Land

Bloocheep Sea

Pirate Ship

Rainbow Ship

Items:

Bat

Glove

Green Shell

Fireball

Mini-Boo

Bob-Omb

POW Ball

Banana Peel

Lightning Bolt

Red Shell

Blue Shell

Spiky Shell

Chain Chomp

False Panel

Freezie

Mimic

Thanks for reading! Now, let's go on to the sort-of sequel to this game, Mario Sports Mix!