All about that PS1 Hagrid, baby!
Like I've mentioned with the previous two incarnations of the Sorcerer's Stone, this game's art design is quite a treat since it barely takes inspiration from the movies. And, unlike the previous games, this one is in 3-D, so it adds a whole new dimension. This one also took... quite a few liberties with plot. For instance, Draco kidnaps Hedgwig at the start of the game, at another time, Hagrid needs you to get Fire Seeds for him, whatever those are, and don't even let me get started on the potato-monsters that grow in size as they eat shrubs. And what about Malfoy's deadly WIZARD FIRECRACKERS? And when visiting Gringotts', midway through the game mind you since you need to buy ingredients for Hagrid, you get to slide all over Gringott's slippery floors. Trust me, this take on Harry Potter is bizarre, and it's all the better for it. It's not quite out there as the GBC version, but it's quite close! That said, weirdness aside, the game is not a decent alternative to the books or even the movies. What is a muggle? Why is Harry Potter called the boy who lived? What is a Voldemort and why can't he be named? It's never conveyed to players.
And it's not as if this game was an afterthought, as you can tell it had pretty high production values, the game is fully voice acted, and it's quite pretty to look at, at the cost of the framerate, but hey, most of the time it runs decently. Curiously enough, Harry Potter is almost a mute hero, he only talks when casting spells or saying the dorm password. While the game lasts about four hours, there are plenty of secrets to find, even if most of the rewards are rather ho-hum wizard trading cards.... but there's a Flipendo upgrade out there, as well as a Broomstick upgrade...which might, ironically enough, be more of a handicap since it makes you too fast.
The brunt of the game is platforming and exploration. Every spell you get is context sensitive, so if a wall is in your way, you'll automatically use Incendio when you press X, now, if you need to move something around, Harry will use Wingardium Leviosa when you press X. There's a very rudimentary combat system in place, you can target enemies and charge your Flipendo for a stronger attack, but that's about it. Honestly, in game like this, it gets the job done. The platforming is a bit janky, Harry jumps automatically, much like Link, but Harry's jumps are sometimes a bit too long which might make it a bit tough to aim towards the next platform, but I don't think it ever cost me a jump, it only felt as if it would.
The game tries to keep things fresh with various minigames, and most of them are about hitting the right buttons, either to a rhythm or as listed on screen. I can't say I was much of a fan, but it wasn't horrible... sans the Incendio minigame. I think it's because of the framerate, but the timing is off, so you are better off pressing the button before it gets to the marker and not when it touches it. I won't lie, Incendio could get a bit annoying. The vault's minigame was a also a bit unnecessary, and if you don't catch enough coins you have to attempt it again. I hope the next game does away with all the nonsense, but, thankfully, it's not too bad. Heck, even flying the broomstick is quite decent, even if not exactly fun. There's a short stealth section early on, and it's rather bad, but at least it's just one time... I still have nightmares from Sorcerer's Stone on the GBA.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on the Playstation 1 was a lot of fun. I'll admit, I was a bit nostalgic for it since my sister used to own the game and I remember playing it a few times, although not necessarily enjoying it... not as much as I did now, anyways! Regardless, it's a pretty good game, and a very interesting take on Harry Potter, although I could've done with less mini-games!
7.0
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