Game Evaluation
Jim Nardecchia
CIS 487
Basic Information
Mario Hoops 3 on 3
Developer

Developed by Square-Enix
– Best known for Final Fantasy series

Primarily features Nintendo characters
and settings
– Some Final Fantasy unlockables
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Published by Nintendo
Type of Game
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Basketball game
– Teams of 3
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Nintendo ‘twists’
– Baskets are worth 20, 30, and 40 points
– There are ‘?’ blocks on the court,
dribbling on them gives coins
– Coins are added to basket point totals
– ‘?’ blocks also give familiar Mario items
Price
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$29.99 to $34.99
– Most 1st party DS games are $29.99
– Most 3rd party DS games are $39.99
Hardware Requirements

Nintendo DS or Nintendo DS Lite

Retails for $129.99
Game Summary
Quick Overview
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3 on 3 Basketball game with Mario
characters, items, and settings.
Gameplay uses only the D-Pad and
touchscreen.
Extensive tutorial
Tournaments are main gameplay mode
2 Minigames
Quick Overview (cont.)
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21 Characters
– 11 are hidden
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5 are from Final Fantasy universe
16 unique courts
– 4 are hidden

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Single and Double cart multiplayer
Single and Multiplayer stat tracking
Players Role
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The player is in control of one
character at a time.
– On offense, whoever has the ball
– On defense, player can swap characters
Installation
User Interface

Game is played using the D-Pad and
Touch screen.
– It is possible to use the buttons instead, but
the game was designed for the touchpad
– Game plays better with the stylus than it
does with the thumbstrap

The menus in the game can only be
navigated through using the touchpad.
Gameplay
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Move character using D-Pad
Touchpad controls all other moves
– Offense
Tapping touchpad dribbles the ball
 Sliding touchpad up shoots the ball
 Sliding touchpad left or right passes ball

– Defense
Sliding touchpad up jumps
 Sliding touchpad down steals
 Pressing the ‘L’ button changes characters

Gameplay (cont.)
– Special shots – tap pattern on touchpad
Dunks are unbeatable
 Alley-oops can be blocked

– Advanced moves
Charge shot
 Charge dunk
 Blind pass
 Ground pound
 Charge steal
 Jump steal
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Scoring
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2 point shots = 20 points
3 point shots = 30 points
Special shots = 40 points
Then add any coins that were picked up
by the player.
Team can score a maximum of 140
points per basket.
Team with most points at the end of a
game wins
Graphics and Artwork
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The game looks beautiful
Arguably best 3D game available for DS
– Models look great
– Textures aren’t as blocky
– Framerate is consistent and smooth
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Visual style is impressive
– Mario with a twist

Menu’s are very colorful and animated
well
Sample Screenshots
Sound and Music

Backround music is good
– Title screen theme song especially
– Game music gets tuned out

Sound effects are great
– Each character has their trademark
voices, sayings, and/or noises
– Game sound effects are adequate
Special Features

Tournament Trophies
– Bronze for winning
– Silver for winning each game by 100
– Gold for winning each game by 200

11 Unlockable Characters
– 5 from Final Fantasy Universe
– Unlockable costumes

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4 Unlockable stages
Several unlockable balls
Game Manual
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Game Manual is adequate
– In game tutorial is better
– Manual doesn’t give enough detail
– Technical content is great
Bugs
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None that I’ve run across
Game Review
Good stuff
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The game is simply fun to play
Game mechanics are refreshing
Playing Basketball in a Mario setting is
a lot of fun
Plenty of unlockables
Final Fantasy characters add a special
extra touch to it
Multiplayer is great and a ton of fun
Bad stuff
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Computer AI needs work
– Teammates are practically worthless
– Opponents go from stupid to awesome too
quickly
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Touchpad controls get touchy at times
Tournaments are the main mode
– Game could really use a league feature
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Basketball sometimes plays 2nd fiddle to coin
collecting
Single-cart multiplayer options are limited
How does it compare
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Not meant to compare to basketball
games
Compares to other Mario sports titles
somewhat favorably
– Probably comes in last
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Definitely on the DS
Why is it better/worse
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Other games are more fleshed out
Other games focus more on their sport
Other games have one or more key
features that are missing here
Appropriate Audience
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Anybody (Rated E for Everyone)
Primarily
– Any fan of past Mario sports games
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Secondary
– Mario fans
– Basketball fans
– Final Fantasy fans
Design Mistakes

Could argue there is a fundamental
flaw with the basketball aspect, too
much focus on coin collecting.
Summary
Overall Strengths &
Weaknesses
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Pros
– Fun to play
– Controls are refreshing
– Mario setting is fun
– Final Fantasy extras are cool

Cons
– Not enough modes
– AI could be better
– Basketball plays 2nd fiddle
– Touchy touchpad controls (at times)
Worth Purchasing
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Like Mario sports games?
– Yes
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Like Basketball or Mario
– Perhaps
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Hate Mario Kart
– No
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Want something unique that takes full
advantage of the DS hardware?
– Definitely
How can it be Improved
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Fix AI
– Teammates need to defend
– Computer difficulty curve needs to be lighter
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Add a league mode
– 6 teams, 5-20 games, playoffs
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More Basketball, less coins
Tighten up controls a tad
More characters