Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone for the Game Boy Color is a turn-based RPG that closely follows the plot of the famous Harry Potter book. The Game Boy Color version of the game stands out among multiple cross-platform games with this title, as it is largely different from the others rather than being a mere port. As a child, I had played the Game Boy Advance Sorcerer’s Stone game, naively assuming that the game available for the newer machine would be better and more fun. However, twenty-two years later, I have the opportunity to compare the two, and I found the Game Boy Color game to be completely different and, by far, the better game, provided one is aware of a game-ending bug that can totally halt one’s progress.

What I appreciate about this game is how well the turn-based RPG formula works for a literary property like Harry Potter. Many licensed Harry Potter games of this time took a lot of liberties with the story material. However, as a child, I just wanted the "theme park ride book report" version of the story, not something weird and unique generated solely for the game. Griptonite games with the Game Boy Color version of Sorcerer's Stone really hit on what Harry Potter fans wanted from the game and did so impressively within the confines of the simple Game Boy Color.

The limited technology of the Game Boy Color is evident in this game, as there is a game-breaking bug where, in the potion quest, the player must retrieve the potion from Snape’s office before doing anything else on the quest, or else the player will need to restart the game due to never being able to retrieve the item. There are also some graphical issues in the game when casting certain spells, including minor color warping or sprite disappearance. Additionally, I found some of the graphics difficult to see, especially in the night-time sequences where everything has a dark palette that is almost impossible to see on even a Game Boy Advance SP (the hardware I played this game on in its entirety).

Despite these technological limitations, this game was really fun and long and full-featured for a Game Boy Color game. Once I started over after 4 hours due to the Potion quest bug, it took me about seven and a half hours to complete the whole story. The story accurately portrays every major plot point of the book, and Hogwarts is a place that you can really explore and learn the secrets of. In many ways, this game was a spiritual precursor to Hogwarts Legacy more than any other Harry Potter game prior, which is impressive for one of the last Game Boy Color games to come out for the system.

In conclusion, if you’re a Harry Potter fan looking for a fun, reasonably long handheld RPG that has a feel that you can’t get anywhere else, check out the Game Boy Color version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone

A Fun and Enjoyable Harry Potter Experience

This is a review for the GBA version:

I was lucky enough to play this on my Analogue Pocket. With its extra "save state" feature that made this game much more enjoyable.

The gameplay is fun, you learn quite a few spells that help you fight against enemies and solve puzzles. There are a few collectables in the game that you can find as well adding to the gameplay. Those collectables make exploring the castle between classes purposeful.

There's a quidditch mini game is fun, albeit a little difficult to control on the d-pad at times.

The controls for this game can be a little funky. I fell off the map several times when I don't think I should have, which sends you back to the beginning of the level. This is where save states came in handy and I was able to go back to where I'd last triggered one of those. This made the monotony of slipping up late in a level MUCH more enjoyable. If this hadn't been possible it would have knocked this down at least 1 star.

All in all, this game holds up fairly well. It's a fun, short game to play in some spare time. It doesn't require too much attention and can be picked up and put down fairly easily, especially when playing on something like a Pocket.

This game is defined by being a reassembly of the 6th-gen Chamber of Secrets assets. The experience is comically rushed, with the developers laying the tracks down in sight of where you are at any point.

The opening is promising. The tutorial is a full scale level and the game quickly ushers you into the first dungeon. In between, it has shunted you between 4 cutscenes and confusingly skips the streets of Diagon Alley, one of the source material's only visually unique locations, despite it appearing fully rendered at multiple points in the game. The first two spells feel dynamic and useful, though the game's action is doughy, forcing autolock and having no manual platforming. The rest of the first two hours has you playing the good flying level and exploring Hogwart's secret corridors freely.

Then, everything falls apart. You only explore two remaining environments, glowing brick corridors and a garden biome. Traversing and frequently researching the grounds saps several minutes at a time. T-Posing students wait around every bend and behind every door. Hogwarts has enough secret corridors to fill that first two hours, but you must re-search said corridors each time you unlock a spell. Of your last four spells, three are worse copies of your basic attack, only used to unlock closet doors. Solving the easy environmental puzzles for Wizard Cards is fun, but in my run the game bugged and gave me 9 copies of every card I'd already acquired.

It abandons it's fresh-enough take on the Zelda formula at the first opportunity and drags you on a sideshow of bizarre decisions, boredom, and bugs. I cut several more issues from that last paragraph. The game doesn't just earn its mediocrity, it insists upon it.

Nearly 20 years ago, I was lucky enough to have my parents buy me this game for my Game Boy Color. I loved seeing the pixelated characters and the streamlined version of the books (and movie) that I adored. The game felt then (and now) more like a gaming adaptation of the novel than the movie which would release the same year.

Borrowing from JRPGs, players can equip items to Harry that boosts his stats, fight monsters in turn-based combat with spells that use MP (magic points), level up by gaining experience points after battle, and more! It even comes with a little need to grind in order to become overpowered (you'll be glad you did).

While simplistic in nature, the game really does have a great gameplay loop. Every now and then a licensed game will copycat the right game mechanics and present it in a way that just feels fun!

During this playthrough, I played it on my Game Boy Advance SP and the presentation looks great! Just like playing retro consoles with a CRT, the original hardware (with a backlight) shows a more polished presentation than may be experienced elsewhere. In the past, I've emulated the game and the true pixels on larger screen formats don't quite nail the intended presentation.

For Harry Potter fans and turn-based combat fans looking for a breezy game, here you go! As a kid, I would read a chapter of the books before bed. While playing this game, I would do the same thing: enjoy a little easygoing entertainment just before closing my eyes to sleep.