Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup

Last updated
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
Harry Potter - Quidditch World Cup Coverart.png
North American PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s) EA UK
Magic Pockets (Game Boy Advance)
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Composer(s)
Series Wizarding World
Platform(s)
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows, GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox
  • NA: 28 October 2003
  • EU: 7 November 2003
Game Boy Advance
  • NA: 28 October 2003
  • EU: 21 November 2003
Genre(s) Sports, action
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup is a 2003 sports game that features the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter franchise. The game was developed by two teams, EA UK and Magic Pockets, and was published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. The game bears no relation to the abandoned Nintendo 64 project. [1]

Contents

This game serves as the first entry of Harry Potter: Quidditch spin-off series. A second installment, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions , was released on September 3, 2024.

Characters/Teams

Hogwarts House team rosters are based on Harry's third year ( Prisoner of Azkaban ). Other House and national team members not named in the books are named in this game, and their names are also listed on Chocolate Frog cards in the Half-Blood Prince video game.

As in the first three books, Lee Jordan returns as play-by-play commentator for the House Quidditch Cup matches, but unique to this game, Harry and Ron's dorm-mate Seamus Finnegan joins as color commentator. Meanwhile, Ludo Bagman returns as play-by-play commentator for international matches, with a set of color commentators. Other characters make appearances in the stands and elsewhere, such as Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Rolanda Hooch and Albus Dumbledore.

Gameplay

Hogwarts

In this stage, the player competes for the Hogwarts Inter-House Quidditch Cup for one of the Hogwarts House teams – Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Each House team is represented by its Seeker, and each Seeker is a specific character from the books (Harry Potter for Gryffindor, Draco Malfoy for Slytherin, Cedric Diggory for Hufflepuff, and Cho Chang for Ravenclaw). When the player chooses a team, the Seeker of the chosen House flies off on a broomstick. If this is the player's first time playing a team, the character will give a short statement praising the player's selection, and then the House challenges appear. These challenges focus on specific areas of a full Quidditch game and are used to learn the game for new players or polish skills as a returning player.

There are six House challenges: Passing, Tackle and Shoot, Seeker, Beaters and Bludgers, Special Moves, and Combos. Each is led by a relevant player – for example, Harry leads the Gryffindor Seeker challenge, while Angelina Johnson leads the Gryffindor Passing challenge, and Oliver Wood leads the Gryffindor Combo challenge. Only the first three challenges - Passing, Tackle and Shoot, and Seeker - are initially available to the player, with Beaters and Bludgers and Special Moves unlocked after the first Quidditch match and Combos unlocked after the second match. Completing the first set of challenges unlocks the ability to play a full Quidditch match. Winning the first game chosen unlocks the next set of challenges, which must then be completed to unlock the next match. Winning the second game unlocks the final challenge. Completing that challenge unlocks the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup final match.

During a Quidditch match, the player controls the Chasers, who try to score goals with the Quaffle to earn 10 points per goal. The Chasers' abilities depend on which challenges have been completed (e.g., special moves and combo moves are unavailable in the first game). New abilities can also be unlocked by collecting certain Quidditch cards. These cards are earned by completing certain tasks, such as winning without conceding a goal or performing a certain number of steals in a game. Along the top of the screen, each team's score display also features a thin bar with one-half of the Golden Snitch. Actions performed in the game by the Chasers such as any successful pass increase the bar slightly, and performing a successful string of combo passes and shots can increase the bar by an amount proportional to the length of the combo string, up to seven actions. The player can continue to chain actions to the combo, but the counter will not go past 7. The bar will increase until both halves join.

The Chasers can also perform moves to drain the opposing team's bar such as successfully hitting the opposing Chasers with a Bludger, performing a successful Special Move tackle, or performing a Team Special Move. Every team in the game has a unique Team Special Move that triggers a short cinematic of spectacular teamwork between the team Chasers (and sometimes Beaters) and has a possibility of scoring multiple goals. For example, the Ravenclaw Team Special Move, the Burdish of Raven, scores three times for 30 points total – something no other Team Special Move, even those of the national teams, does. Although the original Quidditch rule disallows having more than 2 Chasers in the scoring area at the same time (known as Stooging, as stated in Quidditch Through the Ages ), doing such behaviour in this game will not result in a penalty.

Once both halves of the Snitch join, the game moves into the Snitch Chase, regardless of score (it is possible, though unlikely, to engage in the Snitch Chase with the score at 0-0). During the Snitch Chase, the player now controls the Seeker and follows the Snitch, in a race against the opposing Seeker to catch it. The player can use a speed boost, which drains a boost bar directly proportional to the size of the Snitch bar accumulated during the Chaser portion of the game. Staying in the Snitch's slipstream helps refill the player's boost bar and will cause the bar to extend its size if the bar is full. Using the boost, the player will be able to grab the Snitch once it is close enough. Successfully catching the Snitch grants the player's team 150 points and the match ends. This typically wins the match but is not always the case, though catching the Snitch is also useful for catching up with the opposing team in points. The Cup is based on points, not wins, so high-scoring teams have a better chance at winning, and the team with the highest point total after all three games have been played wins the Cup. Winning the Cup with any team unlocks the Quidditch World Cup.

World Cup

The World Cup stage is similar to the Hogwarts stage in terms of gameplay, with the exception that there are no challenges available to the player and the teams are the national teams based on real countries instead of Hogwarts Houses. Several different team choices are available to the player, including England, the United States of America, Japan, Germany, France, Australia, the Nordic Team, Spain, and Bulgaria, the latter of which features the "star Seeker" from the book series, Viktor Krum. However, Bulgaria has to be unlocked first by collecting Quidditch cards.

Apart from team selection, the key difference between the World Cup and the Hogwarts Cup is that the player is required to choose which model of broom to use, which is essentially a Difficulty selection screen. The four models available are Comet 260 (Easy), Nimbus 2000 (Medium), Nimbus 2001 (Hard), and Firebolt (Very Hard). Only Comet 260 and Nimbus 2000 are available in the beginning; the others have to be unlocked by collecting Quidditch cards. Each broom offers different handling in-game, although this is hardly noticeable. The broom selection more directly affects how hard the AI will play.

The player will play against every team in the World Cup twice, once at the player team's home ground and once at the opposing teams. The Cup is awarded the same way as the Hogwarts Cup, so the team with the highest score total at the end of the season wins the World Cup. The player can play multiple separate World Cups with different teams simultaneously but can only run one World Cup with any given team. For example, the player can play a World Cup as England and a separate World Cup as France at the same time but cannot play two separate World Cups as France at the same time.

Exhibition

Exhibition allows the player to play a one-off match between the Hogwarts House teams at Hogwarts during summer or winter. The player can also choose to play an international match, controlling a national team. Only the venues of the England and US teams are available initially, but as the player wins against international teams in an "away" game in the international tournament, more venues are unlocked. This mode also offers the game's multiplayer option. The team that the second player can choose depends on the team pool that the first player selects. In either single or multiplayer, a Hogwarts team cannot play against a World Cup team or on any international field, and no World Cup team can play at Hogwarts.

Reception

The game received mixed to positive reviews. GameRankings gave the game a score of 70% for the GameCube version, [4] 71% for the PC version, [2] 70% for the PlayStation 2 version, [3] 69% for the Xbox version, [5] and 53% for the Game Boy Advance version. [6] Likewise, Metacritic gave it a score of 68 out of 100 each for the GameCube and PS2 versions, [9] [10] 69 out of 100 each for the PC and Xbox versions, [7] [8] and 53 out of 100 for the GBA version. [11]

GameSpot gave all versions of the game except the Game Boy Advance version a rating of 6.5/10, [19] citing sluggish controls and shallow gameplay, but praising the inclusion of easily recognizable characters from the books and films, and good graphics. IGN gave all console versions of the game except the Game Boy Advance version a 7.2/10 [25] and GameSpy gave the PC version a score of three stars out of five. [21] In Japan, Famitsu gave the GBA version a score of two sixes, one five, and one eight, for a total of 25 out of 40. [14]

The game's critics generally criticized the game's feel, as the controls were felt to be sluggish. IGN cited the game as being "fun, but not compelling." [25] Eurogamer cited the game commentary track as being "painful at times", but also described "Quidditch World Cup above [as] being an average, if well-implemented, fantasy sports game." [13]

Sequel

In April 2023, a spiritual successor, [32] Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions was announced and will be released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft Windows on September 3rd, 2024. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hogwarts</span> Fictional British school of magic from the Harry Potter universe

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a fictional boarding school of magic for young wizards. It is the primary setting for the first six novels in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, and also serves as a major setting in the Wizarding World media franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quidditch</span> Fictional sport from Harry Potter

Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J. K. Rowling for her fantasy book series Harry Potter. It first appeared in the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997). In the series, Quidditch is portrayed as a dangerous but popular sport played by witches and wizards riding flying broomsticks.

<i>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets</i> (video game) 2002 video game

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is an action-adventure game. It is based on the 2002 film of the same name.

<i>Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</i> (video game) 2004 action-adventure video game

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 action-adventure game. The game is based on the 2004 film of the same name from the Harry Potter franchise. The game was developed by KnowWonder, Griptonite Games, and EA UK each for different consoles and was published by Electronic Arts under the EA Games label. The game was released as a trio, with separate versions for Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, and home consoles. The game received mixed reviews by critics.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> (PlayStation video game) 2001 action-adventure video game

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a 2001 video game developed by Argonaut Games and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation. Based on the 1997 novel of the same name, the player controls Harry Potter, who must navigate his first year in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and eventually confront the villainous Lord Voldemort. The game received mixed reviews, with critics saying that the game's license would be the only thing to draw in fans. The PlayStation version sold 8 million copies by May 2003, which would become Argonaut's best-selling game and one of the best-selling PlayStation video games of all time.

<i>Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire</i> (video game) 2005 video game

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 action-adventure game published by Electronic Arts. It is based on the 2005 film of the same name.

<i>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix</i> (video game) 2007 video game

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 action-adventure game. It is based on the 2007 film of the same name. The game was released for mobile devices, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, and Mac OS X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quidditch (real-life sport)</span> Sport based on the fictional game from Harry Potter

Quidditch, officially known as quadball since 2022, is a team sport that was created in 2005 at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont, United States, and was inspired by the fictional game of the same name in the Harry Potter books by the author J. K. Rowling. Two teams of seven players each, astride broomsticks and opposing each other on a rectangular pitch, compete with the primary objective of passing a ball through the defenders' hoops, while preventing their opponents from passing it through their own hoops. The real-world sport is sometimes referred to as "muggle quidditch" to distinguish it from the fictional game of the books, which involves magical elements such as flying broomsticks and enchanted balls—a muggle in the Harry Potter series being a person without magical abilities. The sport is played around the world.

<i>Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 action-adventure game. It is based on the film of the same name. The game was released on 30 June 2009 for mobile devices, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, and Mac OS X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Weasley</span> Fictional character of Harry Potter series

Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a first-year student on his way to the wizarding school Hogwarts. During the school year, Ron befriends Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Being the only member of the trio who was raised in wizarding society, he provides insight into wizarding customs and traditions. Along with Harry and Hermione, he is a member of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts and is present for most of the action throughout the series. Ron is portrayed by Rupert Grint in all eight Harry Potter films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ginny Weasley</span> Fictional character in J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series

Ginevra Molly "Ginny" Weasley is a fictional character in the Harry Potter series of novels by J.K. Rowling. She is introduced in the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as the youngest child and only daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley. She becomes romantically involved with Harry Potter and eventually marries him. Ginny is portrayed by Bonnie Wright in all eight Harry Potter films.

<i>A Very Potter Sequel</i> Harry Potter parody musical

A Very Potter Sequel is a musical with music and lyrics by Darren Criss and a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden. The story is a parody, based on several of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, as well as their film counterparts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford University Quidditch Club</span> Quidditch club in Oxford

Oxford Universities Quidditch Club (OUQC) is the quidditch club of both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. It is composed of two teams: a first team, the Radcliffe Chimeras, and a reserve second team, the Quidlings. Both teams are official QuidditchUK (QUK) teams. QUK is the UK quidditch governing body, and is a constituent part of the International Quidditch Association (IQA).

US Quadball, formerly known as US Quidditch, is a non-profit organization that governs the sport of quadball in the United States of America. Quadball is a sport that combines elements of basketball, dodgeball, and rugby. The sport is played at more than 100 colleges and 50 independent clubs in the United States.

<i>Harry Potter</i> video games Licensed video games based on the Harry Potter novels

The Harry Potter video games are a series of video games based on the Harry Potter novel series and film series originally created by J. K. Rowling. Many of the Harry Potter-inspired video games are tie-ins to the film adaptations of the same name. There are multiple distinct versions for individual games.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> (2003 video game) 2003 action-adventure video game

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is an action-adventure video game based on the 2001 film of the same name. Developed by Warthog Games and released in December 2003 for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, it is the second set of games to have this title following a release of the same name in 2001.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> (Game Boy Advance video game) 2001 video game

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a 2001 video game developed by Griptonite Games and published by Electronic Arts for the Game Boy Advance. Based on the 1997 novel of the same name, the player controls Harry Potter, who must navigate his first year in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and eventually confront the villainous Lord Voldemort.

<i>Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions</i> 2024 video game

Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is a sports video game developed by Unbroken Studios and published by Warner Bros. Games under its Portkey Games label. The game focuses on the Harry Potter-related sport Quidditch. The player controls a character that holds a specific position in Quidditch and engages in broomstick adventures and competitive multiplayer modes.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> (PC video game) 2001 video game

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 video game developed by KnowWonder and published by Electronic Arts for Windows. A version for Mac OS was developed by Westlake Interactive and published by Aspyr the following year. Based on the 1997 novel of the same name, the player controls Harry Potter, who must navigate his first year in the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and eventually confront the villainous Lord Voldemort.

References

  1. ↑ "Nintendo pitched for exclusive Harry Potter video game rights". MCV/Develop. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 December 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  3. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  4. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for GameCube". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  5. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for Xbox". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  6. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for Game Boy Advance". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2015-09-09. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  7. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 2014-11-28. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  8. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Critic Reviews for Xbox". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  9. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Critic Reviews for GameCube". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  10. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  11. 1 2 "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  12. ↑ EGM Staff (December 2003). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 175. p. 201. Archived from the original on 2003-12-13. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  13. 1 2 Fahey, Rob (2003-11-25). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Review (PC)". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  14. 1 2 "Famitsu scores for PGR2, Magatama". The MagicBox. 2003-11-06. Archived from the original on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  15. ↑ Mason, Lisa (November 2003). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (PS2)". Game Informer . No. 127. p. 142. Archived from the original on 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  16. ↑ Elektro, Dan (2003-10-28). "Harry: Quidditch World Cup Review for GameCube". GamePro . Archived from the original on 2005-02-09. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  17. ↑ "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GBA)". GamePro. December 2003.
  18. ↑ Dodson, Joe (December 2003). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on 2015-09-19. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  19. 1 2 Colayco, Bob (2013-11-12). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  20. ↑ Provo, Frank (2003-12-19). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup Review (GBA)". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  21. 1 2 Bennett, Dan (2003-11-28). "GameSpy: Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (PC)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  22. ↑ Villoria, Gerald (2003-12-10). "GameSpy: Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GBA)". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2006-02-07. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  23. ↑ Tha Wiz (2003-11-10). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  24. ↑ Ceradsky, Tim (2003-11-16). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  25. 1 2 3 Casamassina, Matt (2003-10-27). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup". IGN . Archived from the original on 2015-12-21. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  26. ↑ Harris, Craig (2003-11-03). "Quidditch World Cup (GBA)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2015-12-21. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  27. ↑ "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GC)". Nintendo Power . Vol. 175. January 2004. p. 159.
  28. ↑ "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (GBA)". Nintendo Power. Vol. 175. January 2004. p. 161.
  29. ↑ Rybicki, Joe (December 2003). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . Archived from the original on 2004-03-25. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  30. ↑ "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup". Official Xbox Magazine . December 2003. p. 92.
  31. ↑ Kuo, Li C. (February 2004). "Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup". PC Gamer : 88. Archived from the original on 2005-12-02. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  32. ↑ "A BRAND NEW 'HARRY POTTER' QUIDDITCH GAME IS COMING SOON". 18 May 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  33. ↑ "Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions - Reveal Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games". YouTube . 7 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.