40 Fun Facts About Mario Hoops 3-on-3

Sunset Beach in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 unlocks by playing on Koopa Beach between which real-world hours?

4 to 6 PM is the window, read from the Nintendo DS's internal clock, so the court can only be earned in the late afternoon.

Which company, making its first Mario game since Super Mario RPG, developed Mario Hoops 3-on-3?

Square Enix pitched the basketball idea to Nintendo after experimenting with the DS touch screen, then added five of its own Final Fantasy characters.

After the Mushroom, Flower and Star Tourneys, which tourney comes last in Mario Hoops 3-on-3?

Rainbow is the last tourney, breaking from the Mario Kart cup names the first three borrow, and winning it rolls the credits.

Which starting character in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 hurls a smoking green basketball as a special shot?

Luigi's move is the Green Fire Shot, a nod to the green fireballs he throws in Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Which Final Fantasy spellcaster in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 scores by summoning a meteor shower?

Black Mage performs the Meteor Shot, and only joins the roster after a gold-rated win in the last tourney on normal difficulty.

Which enemies are delivered to the Wario Factory court in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for players to throw?

Bob-ombs arrive whenever the court, an elevator hung on chains, stops moving, and they blow up after a few seconds if nobody throws them.

On Daisy Garden in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, which boss serves as both baskets and lunges at dunkers?

Petey Piranha swallows shots as a living hoop, and bats away dunks unless he has dozed off or the dunker holds a Star.

Which defensive item in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 homes in on whoever has the ball and then explodes?

Spiny Shell works like the leader-hunting blue shell of Mario Kart, and defenders get one by running over the same panels that give attackers coins.

Which character releases the ball for the opening jump on every court in Mario Hoops 3-on-3?

Lakitu handles every tip-off, and on one clifftop court he also dangles the basket from his fishing line, showing up only when a team attacks.

Mario Sports Mix, the follow-up to Mario Hoops 3-on-3, was released for which console?

Nintendo Wii owners got the 2010 sequel, which kept basketball and the Final Fantasy guests but added volleyball, dodgeball and ice hockey.

Which Mario Hoops 3-on-3 starter swipes at the ball with a magic brush for the Graffiti Shot?

Bowser Jr. made his name with graffiti in Super Mario Sunshine, smearing Isle Delfino while disguised as Mario, and here he is one of two Speedy starters.

Which starter joins Wario as a slow but strong Powerful type in Mario Hoops 3-on-3?

Donkey Kong is the only other Powerful starter, because Bowser has to be unlocked by winning the Star Tourney, and DK's Konga Dunk has him pound the floor before leaping to the rim.

Whose unlockable costume in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 swaps basketball shorts for a pink skirt?

Peach earns the outfit with a silver finish in the first tourney, and it is chosen by holding a direction on the Control Pad after picking her.

Winning the opening Mushroom Tourney in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 unlocks which first extra character?

Paratroopa joins after any Mushroom Tourney win, then grabs the ball and soars to the hoop for a slam called the Wing Shot.

Which unlockable Mario Hoops 3-on-3 character catches the ball on a snout and fires it at the hoop?

Birdo's Egg Shot is tapped out as a triangle, and she only joins after the Mushroom Tourney is won again on hard mode.

Which Mario Hoops 3-on-3 unlockable summons a swarm of lookalikes to shroud the ball before spiking it in?

Boo calls the move the Thriller Dunk, and only joins the roster after the Flower Tourney is beaten on hard mode.

Which Mario Hoops 3-on-3 unlockable skewers the ball on a spear wrapped in lightning?

Fly Guy's move is the Thunder Shot, and like Yoshi it has unlockable colour swaps, in its case yellow, light blue and green.

Which Final Fantasy creature joins Mario Hoops 3-on-3 after players dribble on its buried head?

Cactuar hides in the sand of the Glare Desert court, the only character not unlocked through a tourney, and its special shot is 1000 Needles.

Which Final Fantasy mascot in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 dances with the ball before tossing it in?

Moogle's special shot is simply called the Moogle Dance, and the character is the prize for a silver finish in the Star Tourney.

Which Final Fantasy job supplies the Mario Hoops 3-on-3 guest whose special shot is called Leaf Veil?

Ninja vanishes in smoke and reappears higher to slam the ball home, and he leads the trio of guests who ambush the champions after the last tourney.

Dribbling on panels in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 can yield which pickup worth ten points on a basket?

Red Coin pickups count as ten ordinary coins, and a team can bank up to 100 coins' worth, all added to its next basket and then reset.

Reviewers of Mario Hoops 3-on-3 praised its graphics but widely faulted the lack of which feature?

Online multiplayer was missing even though the DS supported Wi-Fi play, and a full match needed two players who each owned a copy of the game.

Which icy court in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 shares its name with a Mario Kart 64 track?

Sherbet Land opens the final tourney on a frozen lake, where a thrown Freezie can lock an opponent in a pillar of ice for several seconds.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3 was renamed Mario Slam Basketball for its release in which part of the world?

Europe waited longest for the game, getting it in February 2007, more than six months after players in its home market.

Which player type in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 covers every character that flies or levitates?

Tricky players pair one big stat with weak ones and get special trick moves, and every one of them has to be unlocked.

On which Mario Hoops 3-on-3 court does Gooper Blooper swing his tentacles at players near the edge?

Pirate Ship is a rain-lashed deck where the backboards are shaped like a Dry Bones head and rolling cannonballs explode on touch.

What do three Final Fantasy guests steal from the winners of Mario Hoops 3-on-3's last tourney?

The trophy is snatched in a cutscene, forcing a secret fourth match against the thieves aboard an ornate airship.

Which Mario Hoops 3-on-3 court has a giant slot machine that can triple or erase a basket's score?

Jr. Street sits among downtown skyscrapers, and lining up three Mario faces on its slots triples the basket while other symbols add bonus points.

Which Final Fantasy monster breathes toxic gas behind each basket on one Mario Hoops 3-on-3 court?

Malboro uses its signature Bad Breath attack, and its court is a ruined twin of Daisy Garden that is unlocked by finding a blue seed.

Which Mario Hoops 3-on-3 mode drops basketball for item fights modelled on Mario Kart's battle mode?

Coin Hunter gives each player 50 coins to protect from thrown items, and knocked-out players can stay on court to pester whoever is left.

On defence in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, which stylus motion attempts a simple steal of the ball?

Stroking down swipes at the ball, but it only works if the stroke lands where the ball actually is, not just on the opponent.

Which composer, later famed for Final Fantasy XIV, made his lead debut scoring Mario Hoops 3-on-3?

Masayoshi Soken wrote the game's score years before his Final Fantasy XIV work, and returned to compose the follow-up, Mario Sports Mix.

Which top CPU level in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 exhibitions is unlocked by beating the last hard tourney?

Pro is level six of six, sitting one step above Brutal, while the default setting is level two, bluntly labelled Weak.

Which novelty ball in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 unlocks after five straight losses in wireless exhibitions?

Pumpkin is the consolation prize for a losing streak, whereas the Watermelon, Goomba and Yoshi Egg balls all demand gold finishes in tourneys.

Which item found only on Bloocheep Sea in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 chases and chomps the ball carrier?

Mimic items hunt down whoever has the ball, though they sometimes cough up coins too, on an underwater court that slows every player.

Which characters hold the options and ranking signs on the main menu of Mario Hoops 3-on-3?

Toads stand in the bottom corners of the menu: one holds a wrench sign for settings, and the other opens the player rankings.

A special shot begun outside the three-point line in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 only scores if what happens?

A teammate dunks it after the shooter lobs the ball in, so defenders can break the play up; from inside the arc the shot cannot be stopped.

Rubbing the touch screen during a dunk in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 does what before the ball drops in?

The move earns extra coins: in a charge-dunk the player keeps rubbing the screen mid-slam to pile them up, then swipes down to finish.

Which country got Mario Hoops 3-on-3 first, about seven weeks before its North American launch?

Japan saw the game on July 27, 2006, with North America following on September 11 and Australia in late October.

Holding the stylus down before shooting in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 charges the ball to improve what?

Accuracy rises with a charge shot, and a charging player can slide the stylus around to fake out defenders and dodge simple steals.