Mario Hoops 3-on-3 - DS (US)
News from Lik Sang
Who would have suspected of all places, Square Enix would produce a Mario Basketball game this year. Originally developed without the midis touch of being a Mario title, they decided the style would be perfectly suited for it, and Nintendo agreed. The first of its kind on the DS, you've never played Basketball like this before. Almost all controls use the touch screen, for example you tap the stylus to move your character while he dribbles, then swipe a line in various directions when you want to pass or shoot. When you're without the ball jumping and stealing is pulled off using the touch screen, and pressing L lets you switch between your three team members. From both Mario and Final Fantasy universes there's 21 characters such as Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Black Mage, Moogle, Cactura, Birdo, Fly Guy and so many more, each with crazy slam dunks and special moves. The 9 courts also range from Mario’s Arena to Wario's Factory, Bowser's Castle, Luigi's Mansion and others, not to forget the Final Fantasy Field.
Items like Red Shells, Bob-ombs, well placed Banana Peels and more can turn the tide as you shoot and chase down coins. Coins affect the score, so grabbing them on your way to the hoop is an important step to winning. In addition to the Tournament and Exhibition matches, you can play Challenge Games to help you practice, perform special shots, or take part in a dribble race time attack. Two player local wireless games are also supported, and if you two only have one copy of the game you can still play Dibble Race and Coin Hunter by wirelessly sending the other console those mini games. The US edition landed this week in addition to the Japanese release, and since there's no region locking on the DS, either will run no matter where you bought your handheld from.
