Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (Nintendo DS, 2006)

Mario games never get old to me and this is one of my favorite ones! I personally own just about every Mario Game ever made and love playing them. I really recommend that you buy this one because it is a really good one!

Desperate for a new game and sucked in by the amazingly persuading marketing via television commercials, my daughter and I set out to our local mega-retailer to purchase a copy of Mario Hoops 3 on 3 for the Nintendo DS. It was a no-brainer for us. We both loved Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Baseball, and Mario Strikers for the Nintendo Gamecube. They were all hours of fun, and we knew 3 on 3 would be no different. To add to my excitement, I noticed a pricetag of only $29.99. As a parent looking into that glass case at that one game your child truly desires surrounded by ones priced at $34.99 and higher, this was a dream come true. After our purchase we didn't even make it to the car before my little one had opened the package and pulled out the game card. Her pink DS was equipped with our newly purchased joy and powered up before my key was in the ignition. For hours that day she sat behind the two screens intently playing the newest addition to the Mario Sports family. I was quite intrigued. "What a great game that must be," I thought to myself. As evening approached, she had traded in her handheld for a pillow and reruns of Full House. I decided to give it a whirl. After an extremely long and confusing tutorial I asked my child what she thought of the game. She kind of shrugged her shoulders and went back to her show. I proceeded to play the game and after only a few moments decided that I had just wasted $30. The over-use of the touch screen simply kills the game. This is the one thing I truly feared when the DS came out, and hadn't really noticed it until this very release. The buttons are hardly used at all. When they are, you're hands will be positioned so uncomfortably you won't want to play anymore. While I appreciate Nintendo's attempt at innovation, this was the wrong way to go about it. Mario Hoops has the cool cartoony graphics we're accustomed to in the Mario Sports series, but the way the game is designed to play is just to difficult for enjoyment. I figured, maybe there was a way to swith the controller scheme to not rely so heavily on the touch screen, but alas there is not. If you are considering purchasing this game, and you don't have 3 hands, look deeper into that glass case and possibly consider shelling out an extra five bucks. Needless to say, this game card began collecting dust and ultimately became a sale on my eBay store.

Mario Quality never lets me down


Unlike all the playstation crap.F*ck You Sony



Two thumbs up to Nintendo

It's fun, you can play with several people rather than just one person. I decided to purchase it for my children.

Never received the game. Was a Christmas present for my nephew and the seller never sent the game. I paid for it and they guaranteed it before Christmas. Was a big joke.

read whole review (a lot got cut off) @ http://gnadegames.blogspot.com

Mario Hoops is hard to review. Nintendo and Square-Enix put so much production and money into the game, that it is very distracting when trying to review the game on its own merits. This game screams big-budget! It's the equivalent of a summer blockbuster movie...only it's a video game on Nintendo DS. When I first picked up Mario Hoops, played through the tutorial, and started playing I was blown away by the graphics, presentation and even the unique gameplay. It is very impressive in the first couple hours, but as I went on to the second tournament and then the third, I realized that this was the most ridiculously easy game I had ever played. I just lost my first match yesterday and am now being challenged in the Hard Mode Star cup...so the 7th tournament. It has made the game a little more interesting and a little more annoying. The controls, which I had no problems with in the early easy part of the game when I was just dunking nonstop on my competitors, have become problematic. I have tried passing several times to a player on a fast break and have instead jumped up for a mid-court jump-shot...very frustrating. At the same time, I like the increased defense of the computer controlled players. It should be noted that this is not a basketball game...well not really. Though you shoot, slamdunk and dribble, the game is basically a scramble to ? blocks to rack up coins before you attempt to score and put these coins in your bank. It doesn't feel like a basketball game because the strategy is not about protecting the hoop, since letting a character dunk on you only nets 20 pts., but instead about chasing aroudn ? blocks for items and to prevent the offensive player from collecting coins to add to his potential basket (20 pt. dunk + 100 coins = 120 pts!). It's different, and while I was playing the super easy tournaments I was yearning for the ability to have my brother and friends join in for some multiplayer, which I am sure would be a ton of fun. No Nintendo wifi connection! It's a glaring issue and I can't believe that the developers didn't offer this feature. They poor salts in our wounds too, since you don't have any hoops download play only lame mini-games. They really should've delayed the game to include wifi online play like they did for Metroid Prime Hunters...it would have added a lot of value and fun to the game. That pretty much sums up the game...while fun and amazingly well produced, Mario Hoops lack the extra shine and features that would've made it really great and would've forgiven it for its control and other small gameplay issues. With only local multiplayer and a limited 1player experience, this game's flaws become less forgivable and more frustrating.
Gameplay: 7/10
Pros: Unique take on basketball, the control and placement of dribbling the ball is really cool, multiplayer would be a blast
Cons: The control for passing/shooting can be frustrating, the first 5 tournaments are ludicrously easy
Graphics: 10/10
Pros: Best 3D graphics on DS hands down
Cons: ?
Sound: 9/10

This game is a different breed than traditional basketball games. Intuitively using the stylus in game play to make unstoppable dunks or execute shifty dribbles, but this complexity gives the game a new feel and approach to basketball in a cool crazy sort of way.

My 8 year old love playing it :) The game was in great condition and the price was just right. I would use this seller again.

We had already purchased this game, but it got lost when we moved from one house to another. My son loved this game so much that I had to get him another. He would sit and play this game for hours if we would let him. Its Mario what can I say?

My son just loves the game and the price was just right,
we are very happy with the item and the service of this
transaction. This is one of his favorite games that he
paid with his own allowance.

Very affordable game. It was something my son could afford with his birthday money. He loves the Mario games!

My 6 year old loves the game..We have been searching in all the stores and were not successfull with finding..I just happened to search half.com and it was there..this was truly a life saver. This is the a remarkable game and my son loves it..it was shipped in a timely manner.

the shipping and complete product was great but the only issue is that the game was not inspected correctly and has damaged interally. It takes a very long time to load and freezes a lot. Seller offered to give a refund of half of what i paid so good communication and quick response with seller. Just waiting for refund update but overall good transaction.

THE REASON WHY I BUY EVERYTHING ON HERE ITS ALL FOR MY CHILDREN, MY SON LOVES MARIO, HE HAD THE HOOPS 3 ON 3 GAME AND MISPLACE IT SO I SAW IT ON HERE CHEAP AND BOUGHT IT FOR HIM, WERE VERY SATISFIED WITH EVERYTHING WE PURCHASE ON HERE. EVERYONE THAT I HAD EVER PURCHASED FROM ARE REAL NICE, THERE STUFF IS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE, THE PACKAGING AND MAILING IS GREAT. YOU COULDN'T ASK FOR BETTER PEOPLE TO PURCHASE YOUR GOODIES FROM. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I WILL CONTINUE PURCHASING FROM THEM AGAIN.

Great seller. Pleasure to do business with. Honest and reliable. Item as expected. Great value for product. Fast delivery. Shipping cost reasonable. Will recommend to others on Ebay.

i like the game ecause we dont have to pay full price . good condition and fast shipping . my son like it because was like new. and we pay half of the price in the retail store

I have not received my item nor a response from the seller concerning my purchase. The money was taken out of my account through paypal, but I have not received my merchandise?!

Sgeor6506

received very fast and the game worked great. My son had purchaed 2 other games FROM ANOTHER SELLER>... and they did not work in his DSI... BE VERY CAREFUL when ordering from Hong Kong.... for this was the country we received them from...
Thanks,

product arrived on time and in good condition. game plays great with no problems. would purchase again from this seller.

DELIVERY WAS FAST. GAME IS STILL LIKE NEW MY BOY LOVES IT.DEFINETELY WILL BUY AGAIN FROM THIS SELLER

This game your kids will love to play over and over. What ever game Mario comes out with is an instance classic.

my son wanted it cause he's a collector of all that is Nintendo.
He says it is in mint condition and is enjoying playing it.

The nintendo Mario Hoops DS game was in great condition and we got it fast. It was at a great price and the one we have been looking for. I would recommend this seller to anyone.

thanks for the game the boys will love it i got it for there xmas stockings you had very good comuncation about the item up on me buying it thanks . also enjoyed the by now biding you had for it on buying it now