Published in · 4 min read · Jul 1, 2021
--
The Nintendo 3DS (DS, 2DS, 3DS XL, etc…) was an incredible system with a robust library of games that spanned every genre from Visual Novel to First Person Shooter. If you wanted to play FIFA or Madden on the 3DS, you had compelling options. Madden NFL Football for the 3DS is low-key pretty amazing. Madden’s were released regularly on the 3DS. You know what wasn’t released on the 3DS? NBA 2K. NBA Live. NBA Jam. All those series had mobile ports and were going strong at varying points in the DS/3DS’ life but the 3DS barely had any basketball games on it. I just want to know why.
As far back as the Nintendo Game boy, basketball games were well represented. NBA Jam, NBA Jam TE, NBA All-Star Challenge 1 and 2 were all released on the Game boy. Even the Game Gear had a lot of basketball games with the NBA Action Series and NBA Jam. Game boy Color had the NBA In The Zone games and it’s own NBA Jam ports. Even current day Nintendo has quite a few basketball options on the Switch. The NBA Playgrounds series is represented, as well as some pretty mediocre ports of NBA 2K. I say all this to point out that there is a robust history of handheld basketball games so it’s shocking to see that the 3DS was so neglected in that area. Even the Atari Lynx had Basketbrawl, and Arch Rivals was on the Game Gear. You could get a Tiger Handheld of NBA Jam. I could only find a few basketball releases in the US for the DS/3DS
From my (limited) research the only basketball games I could find for the DS/3DS are Mario Hoops 3 on 3, Mario Sports Superstars, Top Trump NBA All-Stars, Mario and Sonic at the Olympics (basketball modes on 3DS)and DECA Sports Extreme. There were a couple other releases that stayed in Japan but I am focused on what was easily obtainable here in the states. If you’re keeping score, we have mostly 2 on 2 and 3 on 3 arcade games and ONE licensed NBA game on the 3DS and it’s a weird card game thing. 2K released full MLB games on the 3DS but not a basketball game. Insanity.
The only basketball game I could recommend on the system is Mario Hoops 3 on 3. The controls and scoring are a little odd but once you get the touchpad controls down, it’s kind of a masterpiece. The music is amazing, the graphics are beautiful. It’s truly a Mario basketball game that focuses on the Mario elements than the basketball. The Dunks are high flying and the personality of each character shines through. Big characters play different than smaller characters. You have multiple cups to play through and the courts are stunning to look at. It’s such a creative game. It’s actually a little too faithful to the sport to capture non-basketball fans the way NBA Jam did but Mario Hoops 3 on 3 rewards players for taking the time to learn it. Mario Superstars inclusion of basketball is actually disappointing because Mario Hoops is so creative and fun.
If you’re an NBA fan….grab a PSP or Top Trump NBA All-Stars. This game feels like a precursor to the Super Card mobile games. Your gameplay is basically hoping your team has better stats on their card than the other team and then animations play out showing who scored. It looks terrible. I have a sealed copy that I refuse to open because I can’t bring myself to play the game.
I keep Googling and scanning Reddit threads thinking that I must be missing some obvious line of DS basketball games but I got nothing. If you want to buy a cheap sealed 3DS game, Top Trump NBA All-Stars is all over EBay sealed for less than 20 dollars. I feel spoiled with the Switch and Evercade because they have so many more options for basketball games than the 3DS. Mobile Phones have tons of decent basketball options and even have better NBA card games. I am just in shock that the 3DS didn’t get more basketball games. The 2 screens could have been really cool for a Run n’ Gun Style arcade game with the “2K” camera angle. Feels like a missed opportunity. If you know of or had a favorite basketball game for the DS/3DS, let me know. Thanks for reading and if you have any insight on the reason for our lack of dual screen hoops, I would love to hear it!
