Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Game Boy Advance video game)

Last updated

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
HarryPotterPhilosopherGBACover.png
Developer(s) Griptonite Games
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Director(s) Phil Trumbo
Producer(s) J.C. Connors
Designer(s)
  • Stephen C. Nguyen
  • Jim Verhaeghe
Artist(s) Randy Briley
Writer(s) Michael Humes
Composer(s)
  • Mark Yeend
  • Drew Cady
  • Ian Rodia
Series Harry Potter
Platform(s) Game Boy Advance
Release
  • NA: November 16, 2001
  • EU: November 23, 2001
Genre(s) Adventure, puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player

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 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.

Contents

The Game Boy Advance version was released simultaneously with the PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions and received mixed reviews from critics. While the visuals and faithfulness to the novel were praised, the gameplay was criticized as shallow and repetitive. In the United States, the game was among the highest-selling titles released for handheld consoles between 2000 and 2006.

Gameplay

An example of a puzzle segment in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone HarryPotterPhilosopherGBAGameplay.png
An example of a puzzle segment in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is an adventure game with puzzle elements in which the player controls Harry Potter, guiding him through a narrative reflecting that of the novel. [1] [2] The game is viewed from a top-down perspective, [2] and Harry can explore his environment and communicate with other characters. [3]

Throughout the game, Harry learns spells by engaging in a Simon Says-like exercise in which the player must match the movements of Harry's professor with the D-pad. This is followed by a segment in which Harry must use the newly learned spell to collect a number of certain items while fending off creatures and solving puzzles. [2] [4] Harry's health is represented by a series of lightning bolts. It can be restored by collecting Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and Harry's maximum health can be increased by collecting three "Pumpkin Pasties". [5] Points where the player can save their progress are represented by floating books. [6]

In some segments, Harry partakes in the game of Quidditch, in which he flies on a broomstick and must locate and catch a Golden Snitch fluttering about the arena. Upon approaching the Snitch's vicinity, the player must maneuvre Harry through a series of rings in order to catch it. [7]

Plot

The novel's first 100 pages — covering the giant Rubeus Hagrid leaving the orphaned infant Harry Potter with his maternal aunt's family, Harry's invitation to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and his sorting into the Gryffindor house — are summarized in a storybook-like introduction. [4] Harry befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and they partake in a competition between the houses of Hogwarts to win the House Cup upon the year's end, in which points are granted for satisfactory performance and detracted for infractions.

Harry is tricked by the arrogant Draco Malfoy into wandering the halls of Hogwarts post-curfew. During this time, he discovers a great three-headed dog, Fluffy, guarding a trapdoor. When a mountain troll infiltrates Hogwarts, Harry and Ron notice Professor Severus Snape behaving suspiciously before they go to rescue Hermione from the troll. Harry and Hermione learn from Hagrid that Fluffy can be soothed with music and that Nicolas Flamel is involved in what is being guarded. One night, while secretly obtaining ingredients for Snape's class, Harry happens upon the Mirror of Erised, in which he sees his parents. The headmaster Albus Dumbledore appears and explains that the mirror reflects a person's deepest desire. He says that the mirror will be moved to a new home the next day, but warns that Harry may soon see it again.

Hermione, after an arduous research period, learns that Nicolas Flamel's creation, the Philosopher's Stone, can produce an elixir that grants immortality. Harry determines that Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher's Stone and concludes that Snape must be after it. Harry joins Hagrid in an investigation of an attack on a unicorn in the adjacent forest and encounters a figure drinking a dead unicorn's blood. He is rescued by a centaur, who explains that unicorn's blood can maintain the life of someone close to death, and Harry realizes that the figure is his parents' killer, Lord Voldemort. Assuming that Snape is trying to obtain the Philosopher's Stone for Voldemort, Harry, Ron, and Hermione pass through the trapdoor and traverse obstacles put in place by the school's professors, but ultimately only Harry can proceed. To Harry's surprise, Professor Quirinus Quirrell stands in the final room trying to extract the Philosopher's Stone from the Mirror of Erised. Before engaging in a battle with Harry, Quirrell reveals Voldemort's face manifested upon the back of his skull.

Following Voldemort's defeat, Harry awakes in the school's infirmary, where Dumbledore discloses that the Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed, but shares Harry's concern that its loss will not prevent Voldemort's return. At the school's end-of-year banquet, Dumbledore announces that Harry's acts of nerve and courage have won Gryffindor enough points to win them the House Cup.

Development and release

At E3 2001, Electronic Arts announced its license to publish video game adaptations of the Harry Potter franchise, with titles for the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, and the PC scheduled for November 2001. [8] The Game Boy Advance version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was developed by Griptonite Games, [9] under the creative direction of Phil Trumbo and with J.C. Connors acting as producer. Stephen C. Nguyen and Jim Verhaeghe designed the game with Randy Briley as lead artist. [10] Michael Humes adapted the novel's story for the game. [10] Mark Yeend, Drew Cady, and Ian Rodia produced the audio using tools licensed from Factor 5. [10] [11]

The Game Boy Advance version, along with the Game Boy Color and PlayStation versions, was designed with input from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and the producers of the film adaptation to ensure that all three versions shared a consistent presentation. [4] The Game Boy Advance version was released with the other two versions in North America on November 16, 2001, and in Europe on November 23. [12] [13]

Reception

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic. [14] Michael Lafferty of GameZone said that the game lived up to his expectations as a fan of the book series and figured that it would be appealing to casual gamers as well, but warned that the initial puzzles would be too simple for veterans and that the enemies' artificial intelligence (AI) was predictable. [17] Nintendo Power was pleased by the variety of quests, and approved of the difficulty and level of detail. [18] Dan Amrich of GamePro and Gerald Villoria of GameSpot regarded the game as a run-of-the-mill adventure title, but considered it to be more challenging than expected, which Villoria attributed to the delay in Harry's Flipendo spell and the erratic enemy AI. Both were frustrated by the necessity of starting an entire segment over upon falling down a bottomless pit. [11] [16]

Chris Baker of Electronic Gaming Monthly cited the delay in Harry's spells as a mark of unresponsive controls, [15] and Skyler Miller of AllGame felt that it rendered combat "more of an annoyance than a sincere challenge". [1] Miller and IGN 's Craig Harris commended the game's faithfulness to the source material, [1] [2] though Harris and Electronic Gaming Monthly's Baker and Jeanne Kim were annoyed by the repetitive and abundant nature of the puzzle segments, which Harris compared to Golden Sun and The Legend of Zelda . [2] [15] Harris described the nighttime sequences as clever but faulted the characters' inconsistent line of sight, and noted a similarly faulty collision detection throughout the game. [2]

Miller respected the direction of creating an adventure game as opposed to a platformer as was common practice with handheld film tie-ins. However, he opined that the game's adherence to the source material's narrative deprived it of energy and a sense of adventure, explaining that the personal nature of the story's conflicts made for little action that could be easily translated into a video game. [1] Amrich and Harris lamented the scarce save points, with the former claiming that "you should expect to play for an hour or two each time you pick it up if you want to make real progress". [2] [16] On the Quidditch sequences, Harris and Villoria concluded that they lacked ambition and were not as exciting as they could have been. [2] [11] Baker criticized the broomstick's excessive speed, which made turning difficult, and Kim said that the Quidditch sequences were too infrequent to affect the game's feeling of repetitiveness. [15]

The visual presentation was cited as a strength, [18] with reviewers praising the smooth animation, [2] [11] lush and colourful backgrounds, [1] [11] [15] cutscene illustrations, [17] and stylised likenesses of the characters to their film counterparts. [1] [2] Harris remarked that "it's almost as if the artists actually digitized [Harry Potter actor] Alan Rickman in his deadpan stroll for his game representation". However, he faulted the overhead camera perspective in relation to the objects and sprites, which he said were drawn for a side-scrolling environment and made judging the position of some objects difficult. [2] Baker and Amrich complained that the nighttime sequences were rendered too dark by the Game Boy Advance's lack of a backlight. [15] [16]

Lafferty regarded the audio as solid but standard for the console. [17] Amrich opined that the "happy storybook music [...] is sometimes just plain incongruous with the onscreen action". [16] Villoria perceived a strong quality in the musical themes and sound effects, which he attributed to the licensed audio tools used by the development team. [11] Both Amrich and Harris remarked that the console's sound quality caused Harry's cry of "Flipendo" to resemble the word "Nintendo". [2] [16]

Sales

By August 2006, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sold 690,000 copies and earned $26 million in the United States, making it the 36th-highest-selling game for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable in that country. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Draco Malfoy</span> Fictional character of the Harry Potter series

Draco Lucius Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a student in Harry Potter's year belonging in the Slytherin house. He is frequently accompanied by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen. Draco is characterised as a cowardly bully who tricks and hurts people to get what he wants; he is also a cunning user of magic. He was played by Tom Felton in the Harry Potter film series.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> 1997 fantasy novel by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the Harry Potter series and Rowling's debut novel follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school. With the help of his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, he faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry's parents but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of the Phoenix (fictional organisation)</span> Fictional organisation in the Harry Potter universe

The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation in the Harry Potter series of fiction books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The original members of the Order of the Phoenix include Sirius Black, Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Edgar Bones, Lily Potter, James Potter, Sturgis Podmore, Caradoc Dearborn, Alice Longbottom, Frank Longbottom, Dorcas Meadowes, Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, Hestia Jones, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Aberforth Dumbledore, Dedalus Diggle, Minerva McGonagall and Marlene McKinnon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dumbledore's Army</span> Fictional student organisation in J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series

Dumbledore's Army is a fictional student organisation in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series that is founded by the main characters, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, to stand up against the regime of Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, as well as to learn practical Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was founded in the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

<i>Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone</i> (film) 2001 film by Chris Columbus

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and produced by David Heyman, from a screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the 1997 novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Its story follows Harry's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he discovers that he is a famous wizard and begins his formal wizarding education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Potter (character)</span> Protagonist of the Harry Potter literature series

Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the titular protagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of eponymous novels. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Harry, who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard. Thus, he attends Hogwarts to practise magic under the guidance of the kindly headmaster Albus Dumbledore and other school professors along with his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry also discovers that he is already famous throughout the novel's magical community, and that his fate is tied with that of Lord Voldemort – the internationally feared Dark Wizard and murderer of his parents, James and Lily Potter. The book and film series revolve around Harry's struggle to adapt to the wizarding world and defeat Voldemort.

The following is a list of magical objects used in the fictional universe of Harry Potter in the original book series, as well as in the adapted film series.

The following is a list of Hogwarts staff in the Harry Potter books written by J. K. Rowling.

<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.

The fictional universe of British author J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world. In the novels, the Muggle world is the world inhabited by the non-magical majority, with which the wizarding world exists coextensively, albeit mostly remaining hidden from the non-magical humans. The plot of the series is set in 1990s Britain, but in a veiled and separate shadow society wherein magic is commonly used and practised, and those who can use it live in self-enforced seclusion, hiding their abilities from the rest of the world. The term "wizarding world" refers to the global wizard community that lives hidden in parallel with the Muggle world; the different terms refer to different communities within the same area rather than separate planets or worlds. Any new works taking place in this universe are released under the "J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World" brand.

Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels by J. K. Rowling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rubeus Hagrid</span> Fictional character from Harry Potter

Rubeus Hagrid is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. He is introduced in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as a half-giant and half-human who is the gamekeeper and Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, the primary setting for the first six novels. In the third novel Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hagrid is promoted to Care of Magical Creatures professor, and is later revealed to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix. A loyal, friendly, softhearted personality who is easily brought to tears, he is also known for his thick West Country accent.

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

Ronald Bilius Weasley is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy novel series. His first appearance was in the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as the best friend of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. He is a member of the Weasley family, a pure blood family that resides in "The Burrow" outside Ottery St. Catchpole. Being the only member of the three main characters raised in magical society, he also provides insight into the Wizarding World's magical customs and traditions. Along with Harry and Hermione, he is a member of Gryffindor house and is present for most of the action throughout the series. Ron was portrayed by Rupert Grint 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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minerva McGonagall</span> Fictional character in the Harry Potter series universe

Professor Minerva McGonagall is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Professor McGonagall is a professor at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, the head of Gryffindor House, the professor of Transfiguration, the Deputy Headmistress under Albus Dumbledore and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Following Lord Voldemort's defeat at the hands of her student Harry Potter and the deaths of Headmasters Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, McGonagall takes the position of Headmistress. McGonagall was originally portrayed in the film adaptations by actress Maggie Smith, and later by Fiona Glascott in the Fantastic Beasts prequel films The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore.

<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 Color video game) 2001 role-playing video game

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a 2001 role-playing video game developed by Griptonite Games and published by Electronic Arts for the Game Boy Color. 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 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

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Miller, Skyler. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (GBA) – Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Harris, Craig (20 November 2001). "Game Boy: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". IGN . Snowball.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. Electronic Arts 2001, p. 11.
  4. 1 2 3 Bettenhausen, Shane (December 2001). "Fantasy Star: Harry Potter on Game Boy Advance". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 149. Ziff Davis. p. 226.
  5. Electronic Arts 2001, p. 13.
  6. Electronic Arts 2001, p. 14.
  7. Bettenhausen, Shane (December 2001). "Fantasy Star: Quidditch: The Wizard's Sport". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 149. Ziff Davis. p. 228.
  8. Walton, Marsha (21 May 2001). "Video game makers conjure up first Potter title". CNN . AOL Time Warner. Archived from the original on 6 June 2001. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  9. "Griptonite Games: What We Do". Griptonite Games. Archived from the original on 16 December 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 Griptonite Games (16 November 2001). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Game Boy Advance). Electronic Arts. Level/area: Credits.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Villoria, Gerald (13 December 2001). "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Review for Game Boy Advance". GameSpot . CNET Networks. Archived from the original on 26 June 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  12. Ahmed, Shahed (13 November 2001). "Harry Potter games ship". GameSpot . CNET Networks. Archived from the original on 20 November 2001. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  13. "Bienvenue à Poudlard" [Welcome to Hogwarts]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). L'Odyssée Interactive. 2 November 2001. Archived from the original on 17 February 2004. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Critic Reviews for Game Boy Advance". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Baker, Chris; Kim, Jeanne; Bettenhausen, Shane (February 2002). "Review Crew: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 151. Ziff Davis. p. 172.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Amrich, Dan (20 November 2001). "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Review for Game Boy Advance". GamePro . Archived from the original on 18 January 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Lafferty, Michael (26 December 2001). "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (GBA)". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2 January 2002. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 "Now Playing: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Nintendo Power . Vol. 151. Nintendo of America. December 2001. p. 170.
  19. Keiser, Joe (2 August 2006). "The Century's Top 50 Handheld Games". Next Generation . Archived from the original on 10 October 2007.

Bibliography