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Mario Hoops 3 on 3: A Guide compiled by NintenDan

TEXT ONLY VERSION. (For screenshots, read TEXT AND PICTURES VERSION)

Introduction:

First of all, let me tell you what this guide will be covering. I will cover the aspects of the courts, characters, items, and some hints, tips and miscellaneous. This guide will assume that you know hopefully the basics, and the advanced controls, such as blocking, tricks, etc. If not, go study that instruction booklet / in-game help!! Also, this guide uses 'codes'. Press Ctrl+F at the same time to access the find menu. Type in the code to go to that specific section quicker, rather than scrolling down! Or up!

Contents:

{A1}
The Rules:

Basically, Mario Hoops 3 on 3, (which will be called Mario Hoops for short) is a basketball game that sits in Nintendo's wall of Mario sports games. It is what you'd expect to see from a Mario Game. Items, wacky courts, classic characters, and a couple of bonuses. The aim is to get as many balls in the hoop as possible, by any means possible. This guide will explain the basics of scoring, the different ways to score, etc.

Shooting:

No, not guns… The simplest form of scoring is to 'shoot' the basketball into the hoop. There are two ways of doing this, and both involve a semi-circle which surrounds the ring. When in the ring, if you successfully shoot and get the ball in, you'll earn 20 points! (2 with no items) If you get it in while outside the ring, you'll earn a nice 30 points. (3 with no items)

Dunking:

No, not Oreo biscuits… Dunking, aka Slam Dunking as it is known among all the B-Ballers, is a fast way to get 20 points. (2 with no items) But, you can add to that score with 'Charge Dunking'. Stroke up twice, and start rubbing the screen as if you were trying to start a fire. The faster you rub, the more coins you'll score whilst 'charging up'. A quick note is to only charge when your opponents are far away, or on a low level difficulty. DON'T DO THIS IN HARD TOURNAMENTS!! You'll probably end up losing coins. Also, do not bother about charge dunking when playing with no items, as it has no value whatsoever.

Special Shots and Dunks:

No, not shooting Oreo biscuits with guns… Each character has a special move, as you'd expect from any Mario game. These are so powerful, that they cannot be stopped by the time you shoot or run to dunk the ball. The only drawback is that you have to get ready before performing the shot/dunk. This will take up to 6 seconds approximately; it all depends on your character. Also, you have to memorise a special touch command for each character, like a 'M". When you tap your screen in an 'M' shape twice, your character should start the move in 3 seconds, maybe more or less. When a 'shockwave' is made under your character, rest assured, no-body will be able to steal your basketball. But be careful when using this power, as it can end up horribly wrong and you may end up losing your valuable coins.

{B2}
The Cast of Characters:

There are many characters featured in Mario Hoops, some known, some not as well known, and each one has their own advantages, and weaknesses.

Mario – All-Around

The Red-Capped hero is at it again! He is a great player, and is a great choice for both beginners and masters alike!

Advantages: Balanced in all areas

Disadvantages: Has no 'strong' points

Luigi – All-Around

Like his brother, Luigi is also talented at basketball. Luigi is a tiny bit faster than Mario, and also a bit of a better shooter.

Advantages: Balanced in all areas

Disadvantages: Has no 'strong' points

Princess Peach – Technical

Technical isn't the word for this player. How's about, "3-pointacular"? Yep, this gal's all about shooting and stealing! But, her offence skills are lacking.

Advantages: An excellent shooter and stealer

Disadvantages: Is a bit bad at the offence side

Princess Daisy – Technical

I'm starting to think Nintendo may be lazy, as this is pretty much a recoloured Princess Peach. Oh well, she's a common character, so may as well put her in there for all the girls.

Advantages: An excellent shooter and stealer

Disadvantages: Is a bit bad at the offence side

Yoshi – All-Around

I honestly thought Yoshi would be a Speed player, but I was wrong. He's still fast, but his ball skills are lacking… control.

Advantages: Fast, meaning good for defence!

Disadvantages: He's not so skilled at getting past defenders. Passing is the best path!

Donkey Kong – Power

I honestly thought DK would be a weak player… Nah! Everyone would know this guy would go into this category. His blocking and stealing is great, shooting is average, but speed ain't the best. Still an excellent player if you control him correctly.

Advantages: Excellent defence skills

Disadvantages: Lacks some speed. Must've missed Gym classes often…

Diddy Kong – Speed

Donkey Kong in reverse. Speed is great, shooting is average, but blocking is okay too. He's a master of ball control, and has some great 'tricks' up his sleeves!

Advantages: Speed and tricks!

Disadvantages: His defence is a bit poor.

Wario – Power

This guy is in yet another Mario game. You'd think that he and Mario were cousins! Well, he's great at blocking, but his speed is completely garbage.

Advantages: Blocking is great!

Disadvantages: Why can't he at least have some decent speed?!?!

Waluigi – Technical

My Personal favourite of the Technicals, this guy makes shooting look simple, and if you want 3-pointers, this is the man to choose! Offence is also good too, just his running…

Advantages: 3-pointers on demand!

Disadvantages: Runs funny. I mean, how can you be good at this if you run like a headless chicken?! Oh, and bad at Offence

Bowser – Power

This guy would be the toughest of the pack. His stealing is excellent, but his speed ain't so great. Shooting is standard, like usual, but he's a good blocker because of his size.

Advantages: Hard to get past

Disadvantages: Speed, he needs some speed!

Bowser Jr. – Speed

I thought he'd be a power, but he's actually a swift type. Not only is he fast, but he has a great trick move, and some decent shooting. His only flaw is his blocking takes a fair bit to charge to the super steal.

Advantages: Speed and trickiness!

Disadvantages: His blocking takes too long

Unlockable Characters: (Note: This section is sort of like a spoiler, so for those out there, just type the code {C3} in the find option to move on the next section.

Paratroopa – Tricky

What a great character. Trust me; this fellow is going to be useful in those harder matches. Why? He has great shooting, tricks, and blocking skills! What a wonderful player for your team. Or not…

Advantages: Great skills and control

Disadvantages: His dunking skills are poor.

Fly Guy – Tricky

Like Paratroopa, but this one's a bit harder. His tricks, shooting and blocking are almost superb, but he has a bit of a holdback in dunking, which is one the games main actions…

Advantages: Great skills and control

Disadvantages: His dunking skills are poor.

Boo – Tricky

"All these unlockable characters are Tricky", you may think to yourself. Well, there's one more coming, but I assure you, there's others… If you read the two above, expect the same from him.

Advantages: Great skills and control

Disadvantages: His dunking skills are poor.

Birdo – All-around

Like Yoshi, and Mario and Luigi, Birdo is pretty much made to satisfy her fans. I assume that this thing is a girl. I don't know, but expect the same.

Advantages: Balanced in all areas

Disadvantages: Has no 'strong' points

Dixie Kong – Speed

This is a version of Diddy Kong, except she was made for the girls, as per usual. Don't expect anything out of the odd from her though.

Advantages: Speed and tricks!

Disadvantages: Her defence is a bit poor.

White Mage – Technical

What?! A Final Fantasy character? In Mario? Yeah, it's because Square Enix and Nintendo paired up. Well, she's a Peach-type player, so she's like Daisy, a copy of the original character.

Advantages: An excellent shooter and stealer

Disadvantages: Is a bit bad at the offence side

Ninja – All-around

Yeah, this is what Mario would be in Final Fantasy. Just another Mario I think, but still, he was made for his fans, and his special dunk is different, and a lot better on the viewing side, so have fun!

Advantages: Balanced in all areas

Disadvantages: Has no 'strong' points

Black Mage – Tricky

And we get to the end of all the characters, and Black Mage is a nice addition. His dunking skills are slightly faster than Boo, Fly Guy and Paratroopa, which makes this guy more reliable in offence, as well as defence. A good player for any team if used him correctly.

Advantages: Great skills and control

Disadvantages: His dunking skills are slightly slow.

Cactuar – Speed

This guy is definitely the fastest in the game, so if you want a good defence player, you'll know who to choose. Pity the fact he's in a hard chain of events to unlock, but once you do, it'll be worth it. Plus, he dances funny on the character select screen!

Advantages: Fastest there is

Disadvantages: His tricks are limited

{C3}
The Courts:

There are 3 cups. In each cup, there are 3 default courses. Which means 3x3=9. Yes, there are nine courses available from the start, and there are 4 waiting to be unlocked, as well as another cup with 3 default courses, which means, that there is 16 courses in total, once all unlocked. There are special things that are required to be done in order to unlock some courses, which will be explained later, but now, this section will explain the look, obstacles (if any), and an other important things, so lets continue!

Options: I should first explain some game setups before continuing.

Time: Set a time for each period

Items: This will affect the scores. If items is chosen, than dunks will be worth 20 points. If no items, then dunks are only worth 2 points, as there are no coins.

Periods: Set the number of periods to 2 or 4. 2 is standard.

Difficulty: Set the AI's intelligence. 5 being hardest, but an even harder 6 option can be unlocked later in the game.

Mushroom Cup:

Mario Stadium: The first court. A simple, glossy wooden court for regular play, and practice! If you're looking for fun, go somewhere else. If you're looking for a real world basketball game, then turn the items off and have fun!

Koopa Beach: Another basic court, but on the beach! Explains the name… Well, apart from the normal stuff, sometimes nearby Pirates will fire at the island you're playing on! Yeah, not only do you have to get past defence with the ball, but you also have to avoid oncoming cannon balls!

Peach Falls: Some nice music, especially at the start. No hazards here, but if you run into a flying cheep cheep, you'll gain a coin! YAY!!!

(Unlockable)Sunset Beach: Take Koopa Beach, and add a Sunset Effect. Voila! To unlock this on, play Koopa Beach in exhibition mode between 3pm and 5pm. If you win, you'll unlock the court!

Flower Cup:

DK Cruiser: What's a Mario game without a little DK themed jungle? Well, this has some obstacles, such as banana peels being thrown on the court at random times, and barrels rolling across the court. The barrels only roll when you near a waterfall, so they can be predictable, but watch out for the bananas. Running into any two of these hazards will result in dropping the ball, and some coins!

Luigi's Mansion: This has a neat tune, and features a simple court, but beware of the ghosts! They cannot harm you, but if the ball collides with them, they'll float away with it. To get it back, simply jump up and grab it off them. So keep an eye out for ghosts when shooting! A ghosts only weakness is a strike of lightning, so when you get the item, the ghosts will be gone temporarily.

Daisy Garden: Just when you thought beating the AI was as simple as dunking repeatedly, you thought wrong! This court will have you shooting most of the time, so you'll have to be quicker to shoot without defence getting into your face. The 'hoops' will attack when you try to dunk, but when the hoops go for a little snooze, that's your chance to dunk the ball! Also, characters with special dunks shouldn't perform one special move once, as it will be a waste of time, and by the time you start your dunk when the 'hoop' has fallen asleep, it'll wake up before you get to dunk.

(Unlockable) Malboro Garden: I think this is a Final Fantasy course. It has the same music as Daisy Garden, but it's been slightly modified. Also, there are regular hoops, but there are still two giant monsters waiting to spit poison gas if you approach the hoop. If you go to dunk, you'll miss the gas, but your opponents will get it, so this small time is great to earn a few extra coins in a charge dunk! To unlock, you must dunk at least 3 times in Daisy Garden, THEN run over ? panels until a blue seed appears. When you see the seed, win the game and this court is yours!

Star Cup:

Wario Factory: Now we're getting somewhere. This course is straightforward, except for the fact there are Bob-Ombs walking around everywhere! Defence can pick these up any time they want, and they'll explode in a short time. Beware of the AI, as they will chase you with the Bob-Omb in their hand if you've got the basketball.

Jr. Street: A gambling court, where the only hazard is how lucky you are. When a spotlight goes over a ? panel, then it will turn purple. If you bounce the ball on a purple ? panel, you'll get a purple coin. If you get 1, then you'll have one row for the slots, if you get 2, you'll have 3 rows for the slots, and if you get 3, you'll have all rows and diagonals for the slots. When you get the ball in, and if you have some purple coins, the slots will spin. Depending on which icon it lines up, will affect your score you have already.

Slot icons:

Bowser Castle: Or, 'Obstacle City' as I call it, this court has fireballs, moving fireballs, the works. If you catch on fire, you can't pick up the ball or any items, and you'll move twice as fast. Sometimes, though, you can use this to your advantage, as you can still the steal the ball.

(Unlockable) Glare Desert: A really simple court. So simple, it doesn't have it's own music, it has Mario Courts instead. The only obstacle is the giant sand storm that will suck any one who comes into contact with it, so watch out. Also, when you first play on this court, you may see a green thing. Try bouncing your ball on top of it a couple of times!

(Unlockable) Rainbow Cup:

Note: Unlock this cup by getting a trophy in Mushroom, Flower and Star cups.

Sherbet Land: A difficult course. This is because of the fact your steal attempts may turn into belly slides across the court. They still get the ball off your opponent, just you'll be on the other side of the court, which can get frustrating at the worst of times, even for advanced players. To avoid this, don't press on the control pad when stroking down to steal.

Bloocheep Sea: Everything in this court is going to be half the speed. Why? You're under the sea, that's why. It sure does make everything that tiny bit harder, plus, this court has a special item only found here! It's called Mimic, and some may recognise this item from Super Mario RPG. It homes in on the ball, and if it hits a player, the player will get coins, or lose coins and fall over!

Pirate Ship: It'll be hard to control after getting out of something that slows the speed in half. You'll feel a l ot faster, and I think that this court has a faster speed. Well, this is exactly like Bowser Castle. Watch out for cannon balls, octopus tentacles, and even the boat tipping from side to side, which may affect your shooting! Be cautious!

(Unlockable) Rainbow Ship: I don't know if this is Mario or Final Fantasy, or even both, as the music sounds like FF, but the name sounds like Mario. Well, this is a simple court, with no hazards, but it can be hard to get coins from ? panels for the fact that they're moving constantly! Good luck! This court is unlocked automatically. When you win the Pirate Ship court in the Rainbow Cup, you will play this court and vs. a "extra" team.

{D4}
The items:

There are 4 types of items. Offence only, Defence only, Offence and Defence, and Court only items. The most common are offence and defence items, as you'll see these ones the most. Here, will be an explanation of each items affect on the game. There will be a code here. Offence only items will be in red, defence only items will be in blues, offence and defence items will be green, and for court only items, the court they only appear in will be written beside.

Coin: Adds 1 coin to your coin collection. You can hold 100 coins maximum.

Red Coin: Adds 10 coins to your coin collection.

Mushroom: You'll be faster for about 20 seconds.

Poison Mushroom: You'll be slower for about 20 seconds.

Star: Makes you faster and invincible to attacks for about 15 seconds.

Lightning: When touched, everyone but you will be zapped, and fall over.

Fake ? Panel: When first thrown, it will be red, but will go to yellow in 3 seconds. The way to identify a Fake Panel when it's yellow is by looking at the direction of the ?.

Banana: Anyone who runs over it will slip and fall over.

Bomb: When thrown, it will explode in 4 seconds.

Green Shell: When thrown, it will slide in a straight direction, and bounce of walls. If it hits someone, they'll fall over.

Red Shell: When thrown, it will go after the ball holder.

Spiny Shell: More powerful than the red shell, this will chase the ball down anywhere, and explode on impact.

Purple Coin (Only in Jr. Street): Collect one, and shoot. If it goes in, then the slots will spin.

Mimic (Only in Bloocheep Sea): Like a Red shell, but can sometimes throw coins.

Freezy (Only in Sherbet Land): Like a Green Shell, but if it hits someone, they'll be frozen for 5 seconds.

{E5}
Hints and Tips:

Here are some strategies that I have found useful. Maybe you will too!

Quick Dunk: Put help buttons on, and when going for a dunk, but you're worried your opponent will steal the ball before you dunk, press 'X' as fast as possible. When you go to do a charge dunk, you won't get coins, but you'll slam it in fast. Works well for Mario, Luigi, and Paratroopa, and almost everyone else!

Blocking at the Jump: When at the start of a new period and you have to jump, sometimes it's useful to be prepared if you don't get the ball, so tap and hold, so that you're in the blocking position, and that can sort of increase your chances. Also, if your opponent does get it, and you have jumped, stroke down to do a ground pound, as you might just get them, so the ball is yours!

Jump up and shoot: As the start of a new period, if you want and you have a technical player on your side jumping, if you successfully get the ball, stroke up again while in mid-air for a quick shoot! There is a chance that you'll get the shot in, it's worked for me!

Why run: If you have a tricky player, you'll find if you just do tricks in the direction you're going, rather than tapping and moving to dash, you'll get to the hoop a lot faster than usual!

Confusion in AI: When charging, and the AI comes up to steal the ball, move the stylus away from the AI player until fully charged up. Stroke up, but don't let go. The AI will think you're shooting and jump to block your "shot". When the AI comes down to the ground from jumping, that's your time to shoot!

That's my item: For a quick coin, and to stop your opponent from getting a good item, just run over it and a coin is yours!

{F6}
Miscellaneous:

Here are some completely useless, non game-enhancing things that I have found out.

It's a tiny world: In the court Peach Fields, Koopa/Sunset Beach can be seen in the distance, and vice versa.

Birdos Shame: If you look closely at Birdo's Special Shot, you'll notice that the love hearts that were at the start break, as if she was "heartbroken".

Wario and Waluigi: When they are charged, they'll stand in a position similar to their symbol, so Wario is a 'W', and Waluigi is a reversed 'L'.

Ghost Memorabilia: The ghosts in the court Luigi's Mansion, are different coloured ghosts of the actual game, "Luigi's Mansion"

Tones: Mario's Fireball Shot has a lower pitch than Luigi's Fireball Shot.

Yoshi's Story: Yoshi has 5 alternate colours; Yellow, Red, Blue, and Green. Press left on the control pad for Yellow, up for Red, right for Blue, down for Red, and nothing for Green.

Fly Guy's Story: Fly Guy has 5 alternate colours as well; Blue, Yellow, Green, and Red. Press left on the control pad for Yellow, up for Green, right for Blue, down for Green, and nothing for Red.

Peach and Daisy: They have 1 alternate costume; if you press and hold down when dragging either into a hoop, instead of shorts, they'll be wearing a skirt.

Black Mage: He has 1 alternate costume also; the same as above, when holding down you'll get a Black Mage with Yellow Hat, and black clothes.

And so, this is the end of a guide which explained the courts, characters, items, and even shared some of my very own tips, and "secrets", or whatever you want to call them. Remember, this guide has been based on both my opinions and facts, so some parts may not be 100% correct, but it is close enough. Keeping that aside, I hope that you have either done one of the following 5:

  1. Learnt something
  2. Enjoyed reading it
  3. Disliked it
  4. Had a slight / massive laugh
  5. Gone to the DS Ultimate forums, which is pretty much the whole reason this guide was made. If interested, go to www.dsultimate.net/Board/upload to access the sites forums, and possibly join!

Credit to the following:-

Cheat-master30 and all the others at the DS Ultimate forums who know me in some way.

Author of guide, and person who took pictures was me, NintenDan.