Last updated: 07/09/2006 by Ryan Winterhalter

Mario’s latest adventure into the world of sports takes him to the basketball court, in Mario Hoops 3 on 3.

Mario Hoops has some interesting control mechanics. While character movement is handled with the D-pad, almost everything else is accomplished with various movements on the touch screen. Dribbling speed can be increased by tapping the screen: the faster the tapping, the faster the dribbling. Faster dribbling is required for certain special moves and activation of certain power-ups. Sliding the stylus towards another player will pass the ball, and an upward stroke towards the net will shoot it. Get close enough to the basket and your character will dunk the ball. On defense, you can move the stylus downward to try stealing the ball from an offensive player, and an upward stroke will initiate a blocking jump.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yoshi, Wario, Walugi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Bowser Jr. are all playable characters, with each character getting his own special move and unique stylus strokes for performing it. Mario, for example, starts his “fire shot” when an “M” is drawn on the screen.

Panels are scattered throughout the court. By dribbling on these panels, coins are collected. These coins are then added to the score when you take a successful shot. Panels can also contain traditional Mario power-ups like mushrooms, shells, etc.

Though this is a Mario game, the development has been farmed out to Square-Enix. While traditionally known for RPG’s, the company has branched out into other genres on several occasions. The game is scheduled for release on September 11, 2006.