Mario Hoops 3 on 3 - Final Play

Games often take many approaches to maintain the interest of the player. They can capture the player’s attention with a compelling storyline, hook the player into collecting trinkets and unlocking secrets, and present the player with the satisfying challenge of mastery. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 forgoes the storyline, and pursues both of the other options.

Throughout my climb to the final stage in the Rainbow Cup I am rewarded with new skins for my basketball, new playable characters, and new stages to choose in exhibition mode. It isn’t explained exactly how any of the rewards are obtained, but I earn mine through completing each of the cups in easy and hard mode. I still have 3 stages and 13 basketball skins to unlock, and as frustrating as the final stage of the Rainbow Cup is, I am filled with anticipation of what reward will be unlocked next.

Fortunately Mario Hoops 3 on 3 saves my progress and whenever I start the game in tournament mode it prompts me to continue where I left off. Unfortunately, weeks of playing with the goal of winning the hard Rainbow Cup has resulted in very little progress. Ready to give up, desperate enough to cheat just to get it over with, I look online but to my dismay all that can be found are forums full of people asking for strategies and crying foul that the final match is impossible. I take solace in the fact that other people are suffering as well, and it is encouraging to know that others have managed to succeed. It isn’t impossible.

During my next few matches as I opt to quit after the first half if I’m losing, I notice an option labeled “help”. Obviously in need of exactly that, I click it, and surprisingly discover that there is an input method that lets you forgo the touchpad entirely and use the normal buttons. Trying it for a couple games, it works fairly well but it doesn’t magically help me win the match either.

Finally I decide to pursue an entirely different strategy. I focus on getting a lead and maintaining it by shutting down the other team, I even resort to playing hard to get and running down the clock. It isn’t a sure strategy but it pays off and victory is mine! It took me the better part of several weeks to finally do it, but I am proud to finally be able to say that I completed the tournament in hard mode.

Walking the fine line between difficult and frustrating is a delicate but essential task faced by games that try to challenge their players. Mario Hoops 3 on 3 is largely successful but unfortunately there seems to be a huge gap between the difficulty levels as it ramps up to a final insane finger cramping and blood pressure increasing level that could easily cause someone to throw their DS across the room cursing “cheap!” I think that gamers would be better served with a third difficulty level and a more graduated progression from easy to insane.

After finishing the tournament on hard mode I am rewarded with an unlocked insane difficulty mode for Exhibition Matches. Somehow that doesn’t interest me at the moment, I’m just so relieved to have made it past the last challenge.

Mario Hoops 3 on 3 understandably omits a plot and it relies on the collection of secrets and challenging gameplay to keep players interested. The secrets are rewarding and I still have only a tiny portion of the collectable basketball skins and extra courts. With regards to keeping the gameplay tough but rewarding, Mario Hoops 3 on 3 is largely successful but unfortunately the sudden shift to insane difficulty is jarring. The task of mastering this game may be beyond me, but the secrets left to unlock and the possibility of finding someone else with the cart to play 1 on 1 means that the court will see my team again.