TheHarry Potternovels are some of the most beloved books in recent memory. J.K. Rowling’s magical world has enchanted millions of people across the globe. Of course, it helps that the series spawned a successful film franchise. Fans generally respect these movies for their faithfulness to both the spirit and details of the original work. As is the case with any adaptation, though,several aspects from the books were lost in translation.
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Fret not. This series also spawned various video games throughout the 2000s. Some were simple cash-grabs with little substance, but some developers took a creative approach. They looked at certain aspects of the text and thought of innovative ways to integrate it into gameplay. As a result, some elements in theHarry Potterbooks were adapted exclusively for these titles. Players probably felt pretty special.
10Additional Spells
A well-trained witch or wizard has hundreds of spells at their disposal. Despite that, the movies are fairly conservative in their use of magic. Characters mostly whip out spells to service the story, which is essential for a two-hour movie to maintain focus.
The games have the luxury of expanding one’s magical arsenal. Players unlock dozens of spells as they progress through each title, using them to solve puzzles and dispatch enemies. It’s standard adventure game stuff, but it’s surprising how well Rowling’s repertoire fits that format.
9Other Famous Wizards…As Trading Cards
Plenty of famous wizards existed in this world before the Boy Who Lived. Many of them inspired novelty Wizard Cards that came with chocolate frogs. As soon as the first film introduces these cards, however, they are gone without comment.
Several games, on the other hand,include these cards as collectibles. Each one gives players some quirky insight into this world’s history, while providing an enticing challenge for completionists. In that sense, it kills two birds with one stone. Plus, fans might get a kick out of how these guys became famous. Who hasn’t always wondered about the first known victim of Dragon Pox?
8The Potions Puzzle
In pursuing the titular artifact inHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the heroes must overcome a series of obstacles in the depths of Hogwarts. These include a three-headed dog, hostile vines, and a deadly chess game. One additional challenge that moviegoers might not know about is a riddle involving a batch of potions. Considering how slavishly the first film sticks to the book, omitting this test is an odd choice.
When adapting the firstPotterplot for a game, developers made sure to include this puzzle. Even then, it’s only on certain versions. This was back in those days when a gamecould play differently depending on the system. It figures that the least showy of the Philosopher’s Stone challenges would see the chopping block.
7The Quidditch World Cup
Quidditch is football for witches and wizard. Students play it at schools, and numerous people look forward to the World Cup. Sadly, the films eventually abandoned the game. In the fourth entry, the championship sequences lasts a grand total of five minutes, earning the ire of fans anticipating the event.
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Those disgruntled folks can always turn toHarry Potter: Quidditch World Cup, a game designed entirely around the airborne sport. It captures the experience of not only a match, but of the entire league. Gamers switch betweenall types of players as they attempt to score. For the cherry on top, enjoy some play-by-play commentary by Ludo Bagman, the announcer from the books.
6How Harry Really Winds Up In Knockturn Alley
Floo Powder is a bit finnicky. If the user doesn’t annunciate their destination clearly, then it could teleport them somewhere else. Harry fails to do this in the book, but it’s not his fault. Some ash gets caught in his lungs, making him cough as he says, “Diagon Alley.” TheChamber of Secretsgame keeps this blunder intact.
The movie is a different story. Even after Mrs. Weasley explicitly tells him to speak well, Harry just trips over the words. Way to make a complete fool out of the story’s hero.
5Pigwidgeon, Ron’s Owl
Following the reveal of Ron’s rat’s secret identity as Peter Pettigrew, Harry’s ginger friend receives a new pet: Pigwidgeon the owl. He’s nothing special and often annoys his owner, but he’s a recurring presence in the books. There’s something to be said for animal companionship. Sadly, the films forgot that.
Oddly enough,LEGO Harry Potterpicks up the slack. Following thePrisoner of Azkabanchapter, puzzles once reserved for Scabbers could now be completed by Pigwidgeon. Even intheir open-world efforts, theLEGOgames have always boasted great attention to detail, so this is just par for the course.
4Peeves, The Poltergeist
The pesky phantom very nearly pestered the party in the firstHarry Potterfilm. They even got comedian Rik Mayall to play him. Unfortunately, his scene were cut from the final release, disappointing book loyalists everywhere.
Luckily, that didn’t stop some of the early games from throwing him in. Peeves routinely teases Harry and the other students, hurling insults and objects aplenty. He amounts to little more than a recurring annoyance, but that’s the point. He’sthe irritating and occasionally amusing cockroachthat Hogwarts can’t get rid of.
3Other Magical Creatures
As Filch says of the Dark Forest, “There’s more than werewolves in those trees, lad.” No shortage of magical creatures populate Rowling’s wizard world. As with the spells, though, the movies only showed these things if they were essential to the plot.
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Such exclusion is nowhere to be found in the games. In fact, most magical creatures make convenient enemies for players to fight. In many cases, their special weaknesses encourage players to expand your roster of spells. So, toss those gnomes out of the garden! Newt Scamander wouldn’t approve, buthis movies aren’t as good anyway.
2Grawp, The Talking Giant
Hagrid’s giant half-brother isn’t the smartest or most articulate guy around, but he is capable of some primitive speech. At least, that’s the case in the books. When theOrder of the Phoenixfilm introduces Grawp, he’s mysteriously mute.
The developers of the tie-in game must not have gotten that memo. During his meager screen time, the giant has a few lines in the vein of his book counterpart. Congratulations are in order. This title may be a boring slog with sluggish gameplay, ugly graphics, and repetitive mission structure, but it can chalk up one brownie point for this minor detail.
1The Narrator
Despite being a working actor for decades, Jim Dale is perhaps best known for narrating all sevenHarry Potteraudiobooks in America. The personality and wealth of voices he brings to the tales have earned him a couple of Grammys, ten Audie Awards, and a few Guinness World Records.
It shouldn’t be surprising that several games (and other products) bring Dale back. Lending his theatrically trained vocals to the adventure gives each game a storybook quality that’s downright infectious. Players feel like they’ve jumped into the pages of Rowling’s series. In some ways, this brings the games closer to the books than the movies ever got.
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