Black Mage

Black Mage is a generic character from the Final Fantasy series of games, appearing in Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix, which were developed by Square Enix, who also created the Final Fantasy series of games. He is one of several characters from Final Fantasy, the others being Ninja, White Mage, Moogle, and Cactuar. He has a magical staff which he only takes out when using his Special Shot. He is classified as a Tricky player, meaning he makes very swift moves to dodge tackles.

In Mario Hoops 3-on-3, he is unlocked by winning a Gold Trophy in the Rainbow Tourney on the Normal difficulty. An alternate costume can also be unlocked by completing the Rainbow Tourney on the Hard difficulty. This alternate costume gives Black Mage a green and black color scheme.

The Black Mage, along with the other Final Fantasy characters return in the Wii follow-up, Mario Sports Mix. He is unlocked by clearing the Star Road 3 times, winning the Star Cup 4 times, or by clearing a specific mission on the Mushroom Cup. His best stat is technique, while his other stats are fairly low.

On a side note, Black Mage's stats in Mario Sports Mix are identical to those of Daisy and Waluigi.

Like in Mario Hoops 3-on-3, the player can also unlock an alternate outfit for the Black Mage. Here, it is unlocked by clearing a certain mission on the Star Cup, clearing the Star Road 6 times, or by using Black Mage 20 times. This alternate outfit depicts the Black Mage wearing a red outfit and hat, with a belt being added onto the hat, along with a yellow cape. The outfit details are also different.

Mario Hoops 3-on-3 information

 * Baller Name: Abracadabra Kid
 * Type: Tricky
 * Special Shot: Meteor Shot
 * Letter to Tap: ★

Mario Sports Mix information
Black Mage can use his special shot to briefly shrink his opponents. He then follows up by aiming the ball/puck at the goal, or at an opposing player.

In Basketball, Black Mage is a very slow dunker, but his layup move is unique in that he'll cast a spell, which makes the basketball almost always enter the basketball hoop.

In Volleyball, Black Mage's fully charged shots move quite fast, while also curving. However, these shots can easily go out of bounds, which would make Black Mage lose points. He can also summon a thunderbolt to block volleyball shots, but the range is limited. Instead of diving, Black Mage can cast a fire spell to catch a volleyball that's out of reach. Black Mage's fire spell can range up to 3 meters (gamewise).

In Dodgeball, Black Mage can repel dodgeball attacks by summoning a thunderbolt to block the dodgeball. However, this move is rendered useless if the dodgeball is equipped with an item. Instead of diving, Black Mage can cast a fire spell to bring the dodgeball to him. His full power throws are given an added curve, which can be used to throw off opponents.

In Hockey, Black Mage can take down his opponents by striking them with a thunderbolt in his powerful check. If the opponent is faraway, he will cast a fire spell instead. While charging the ball he uses his dark magic to make a powerful shot. Since he has good technique stats, he can score easily by faking the goalies or doing combos.

Trivia

 * The Black Mage may be related to the Dark Mage mentioned in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, as it also originates from Square.
 * The Black Mage's alternate outfit is a reference to another character class from the Final Fantasy series called the Red Mage.
 * In Mario Sports Mix, during the 3-on-3 Hockey introductions, the Black Mage's hockey stick is seen floating with him. This is likely an animation error, as he isn't supposed to have it.
 * In the coding of Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix, he is named "Kuroma". The same happens to his partner, White Mage, that in the in-game files of both games she is called "Shiroma".