History VideoGame / HarryPotter

** Also, in the 7th game, the Barrow is attacked by Death Eaters and while you (as Harry) fight, Ron and Hermione hang back and do absolutely nothing except yell pointless advice at you.

** Also, in the 7th game, the Barrow is attacked by Death Eaters and while you (as Harry) fights, Ron and Hermione hang back and do absolutely nothing except yell pointless advice at you.

* AllMythsAreTrue[=/=]HistoricalInJoke: On the third game, the Chocolate Frog cards include a [[DavidAndGoliath an Israelite boy]] [[Literature/TheBible who killed a Giant]], [[JackTheGiantKiller another Giant who lived atop a beanstalk by the time of his death]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory a vampire who bathed on blood]]. All games also have [[KingArthur Merlin]].

* ManEatingPlant: Venomous Tentacul

* AllMythsAreTrue[=/=]HistoricalInJoke: On the third game, the Chocolate Frog cards include a [[DavidAndGoliath an Israelite boy]] [[TheBible who killed a Giant]], [[JackTheGiantKiller another Giant who lived atop a beanstalk by the time of his death]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory a vampire who bathed on blood]]. All games also have [[KingArthur Merlin]].

* AllMythsAreTrue / HistoricalInJoke: On the third game, the Chocolate Frog cards include a [[DavidAndGoliath an Israelite boy]] [[TheBible who killed a Giant]], [[JackTheGiantKiller another Giant who lived atop a beanstalk by the time of his death]], and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory a vampire who bathed on blood]]. All games also have [[KingArthur Merlin]].

* ArtificialStupidity: The Quidditch matches in the second PC game, where Gryffindor will almost always go 0-110 down... or even more, and rely on you to catch the snitch. (Averted in the PS2 game, where there will only be ten or twenty points separating either side before the snitch is caught.)
* BagOfSharing (''Prisoner of Azkaban'')

* CompositeCharacter (In most versions of the second game, Lucius Malfoy takes over Cornelius Fudge's brief role in the story, making Lucius both the one who sends Hagrid to Azkaban and suspends Dumbledore. Also, Flitwick takes Binns's lecture on the Chamber, much as [=McGonagall=] did in the film.)
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard (In the Dueling Club section of the second game, the spell "mimblewimble" works on ''you'', causing you to mess up the next spell you cast, but it doesn't seem to work that way on your computer-controlled opponent.)

* ForegoneVictory (In the fifth game's Dumbledore vs. Voldemort duel, Dumbledore is unaffected by any curses which hit him. The duel can only end with Voldemort's defeat. In the sixth game, Crabbe and Goyle attack Harry after he takes the Felix Felicis, and in the ensuing duel, they are unable to hit him. Also while under Felix Felicis, you brew a potion which is impossible to screw up.)

* GoshdangItToHeck: In the PC version of ''Chamber'', Harry's response to the Sorting Hat's "You would have done well in Slytherin" speech is "Oh my gosh!" Apparently the canon response of "You're wrong" was just too subtle.

* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose (After you fight off a bunch of Dementors, it turns to a cutscene where Harry is failing and has to be saved by his [[spoiler:future self]], just like in the book/film.)

* HesitationEqualsDishonesty (Many examples, especially when Harry-as-Goyle tells Malfoy he has to go the hospital wing in the second game.
* HopelessBossFight (When the Room of Requirement is discovered in the fifth game, Harry has to fight the entire Inquisitorial Squad. The fight is unwinnable -- you will lose and Harry will be brought to Dumbledore's Office as per the plot.)
* HurricaneOfPuns (Professor Sprout in the second [=PC=] game: "Let's dig right in, shall we?", "Harry Potter, would you like to plant your feet in front of class?", "We've planted a seed of greatness here today.")

* ItsUpToYou (Ron and Hermione like to essentially say "You handle this, Harry -- I'll do something inconsequential.")

* LostForever (''Philosopher's Stone'' is particularly brutal about this, especially in the PSX version.)
** (So is the PC version of ''Sorcerer's Stone'', unless you level cheat.)

* MalevolentArchitecture (Hogwarts already had a degree of this in the books, but it's taken much further in the games. Interestingly, everyone but Harry seems to be able to [[OffscreenTeleportation teleport]] over the obstacle courses ubiquitous in the earlier games.)

* NoFourthWall / HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Characters, especially the teachers in the earlier games, are always telling Harry which keys to press and so forth. You can't help but think of how completely nonsensical that would be in-universe.
* NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The games based on the second, third and fourth movies had good reviews (while the first had a mixed response, and the ones from the fifth onward [[TheProblemWithLicensedGames were not well received]]).

* RecurringBoss (Peeves, oddly enough. I mean, really, where ''was'' he in the films?!?) Also a gargoyle boss makes various appearances in the Chamber of Secrets console game.
* RewardingVandalism

* SavePoint (the "save game" books)
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack (played straight for the first three games, but averted starting with the fourth game)
* SeriesContinuityError (Whoever wrote the {{Cutscene}}s for the second game seemed to think that "non-magical folk" is synonymous with "Muggle-borns".)

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial (One of the things Percy says if you bump into him in the second game: "I don't wanna hear any more rubbish about me having a secret girlfriend!")
* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity (Before the showdown with Quirrell in the first game and Tom Riddle in the second. Also, before the climax of the sixth game begins, Dumbledore directs you to make an uber health potion for yourself and he won't take you to the Horcrux cave until you have it.)

* TakeYourTime (Ron, Hermione, and various other characters are always telling you to hurry or you'll be late for the next class. Of course, you can take forever and you'll still arrive just on time. Inverted in the first [=PC=] game at one point: no matter how quickly you go to Potions, Snape always decides you're late.)

* AcceptableBreaksFromCanon - ''Quidditch World Cup'' focuses on playing as the Chasers, with Beaters (and their Bludgers) becoming powerups, and the sighting of the GoldenSnitch signalling the endgame. [[JustifiedTrope But really, is there any other way they could have done it?]]
** In the games, you have to hit an opponent with "stupefy" several times to deplete their LifeMeter before they'll be defeated. In the books, "stupefy" knocks an opponent unconscious with one cast, but that would make for some pretty boring {{Boss Battle}}s, wouldn't it?
** There's also the fact that hardcore Death Eaters like Bellatrix only ever use curses like "Stupefy" or "Expelliarmus". But, you know, they have to be beatable, and in a video game, you can't get by on the bad guys [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy happening to miss]] whenever they use the Unforgivable Curses.
*** The final boss from the first game on the PC does throw green bolts of energy that are clearly supposed to be the killing curse... and take away as much health as bumping into a gnome.

Unlike with the movies, fans and game critics are mostly united in their assessment of the series. Among both, the general consensus is that the best game was the one based on ''ChamberOfSecrets'', perhaps because its one-set-piece-after-another storyline is very conducive to a game. Conversely, the worst game is widely seen as the one based on ''Deathly Hallows Part 1'', which turned a not-so-action-oriented chapter of the ''Potter'' saga into, as mentioned above, a third-person shooter.

There are also two {{LEGO}} games, ''Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4'' and ''Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7''. This page, however, is dedicated strictly to the [=EA-produced=] ''Harry Potter'' games. The Lego ''Harry Potter'' game is covered under the LegoAdaptationGame article. And there's the unofficial parody game, ''VideoGame/{{Warthogs}}''.

*** Sure you can. Having a boss slinging around [[OneHitKill Avada]] [[InstantDeathBullet Kedavra]] around would [[NintendoHard surely put a strain on the player]], but Avada Kedavra's dodgeable, so it's not like it would be an impossible challenge.
*** Actually, the final boss from the first game on the PC does throw green bolts of energy that are clearly supposed to be the killing curse... and take away as much health as bumping into a gnome.

* HundredPercentCompletion (You can take time to collect all the "wizard cards" and other goodies or not).
** [[{{Lost Forever}} But you ''really'' want to take your time]] in ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' and the PC version of ''Sorcerer's Stone.''

There is also a {{LEGO}} game, ''Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4'', which covers the first four installments of the series. This page, however, is dedicated strictly to the [=EA-produced=] ''Harry Potter'' games. The Lego ''Harry Potter'' game is covered under the LegoAdaptationGame article. And there's the unofficial parody game, ''VideoGame/{{Warthogs}}''.

* NeverSayDie: In the earlier games, dying in-game is described as "fainting", e.g. "the game will restart from this point if you faint." So if Harry falls into a bottomless chasm, that only caused him to "faint". At the same time, however, the words "die" and "kill" are used in-story.

Tropes exclusive or at least especially prominent to the video games:

** ''Phoenix'': Voldemort (you play as Dumbledore, [[spoiler:and it is AWESOME]]!)

* ArtificialStupidity: The Quidditch matches in the second PC game, where Gryffindor will almost always go 0-110 down... or even more, and rely on you to catch the snitch. (Averted in the PS2 game, where there willll only be ten or twenty points separating either side before the snitch is caught.)

As the series went along, the graphics became more photorealistic until they reached the point where they started using digital scans of the actors. Hogwarts as well gradually evolved from not particularly looking anything like the castle of the films to being a seamless duplication of it. Some of the actors from the movies, mostly the cheaper ones, were eventually brought in to voice their characters for the games. Out of the central trio, RupertGrint has voiced his character for the games, but DanielRadcliffe and EmmaWatson have not. The format also changed into more of a WideOpenSandbox with various {{Mini Game}}s such as dueling other students, playing Quidditch, and brewing potions.

** There's also the fact that hardcore Death Eaters like Bellatrix only ever use curses like "stupefy" or "expelliarmus". But, you know, they have to be beatable, and in a video game, you can't get by on the bad guys [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy happening to miss]] whenever they use the Unforgivable Curses.

* ArtificialStupidity: The Quidditch matches in the second PC game, where Gryffindor will almost always go 0-110 down... or even more, and rely on you to catch the snitch. (Averted in the PS2 game, where there'll only be ten or twenty points separating either side before the snitch is caught.)

** ''Azkaban'': Not really one - closest are the dementors [[spoiler:(the GBA version uses Draco Malfoy).]]

* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose (After you fight off a bunch of dementors, it turns to a cutscene where Harry is failing and has to be saved by his [[spoiler:future self]], just like in the book/film.)

* MooksAteMyEquipment: In the earlier games, gnomes will steal your Bertie Botts Beans. In the first game, they are LostForever, but in the second game, you can get your beans back by defeating the gnomes which took them.

* TheOtherDarrin: The voice actors have changed a lot. For the first four games, Harry's voice actor changed with each game. Eventually, they settled on ''Series/GrangeHill''[='s=] Adam Sopp, who proved to be a very convincing soundalike for DanielRadcliffe. They could never seem to settle on a good voice actress for Hermione and so her voice changed constantly. In the case of Ron, Draco, and several other student characters, they eventually got the real actors (RupertGrint, TomFelton, etc.) to do the voices for the games. Interestingly, they managed to get Ralph Fiennes to do Voldemort's voice for the fourth and fifth games, but had to settle for Rupert Degas on the ''Hallows'' game. However, [=McGonagall=] is voiced through the whole game series by Ève Karpf, who manages to sound remarkably like Maggie Smith. Likewise, Allan Corduner did Filch's voice in all his game appearance. He also did a passable Snape in the early games, but for some reason got replaced by someone with a worse-sounding Snape voice. And it can't have been because Corduner wasn't available since he was still doing Filch's voice.

*** In the same game, you're sent up to Dumbledore's office, facing potential expulsion. What do you do while waiting for the headmaster to arrive? Why, raid his office for Bertie Botts Beans and wizard cards, of course! [[WhatAnIdiot What could possibly make him more inclined to keep you in school?]]

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: In the fifth and sixth games, you can ''wingardium leviosa'' benches and toss them around in the air, meaning you can also throw them at people. In an interview on ''LateNight with ConanOBrien'', EmmaWatson reported that her brother once vented his frustration with her by throwing benches at Hermione in the game (here's [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5076j_late-night-conan-o-brien-with-emma_webcam the clip]]).

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: In the fifth and sixth games, you can ''wingardium leviosa'' benches and toss them around in the air, meaning you can also throw them at people. In an interview on ''LateNight with [[{{ptitle4i13s514}} Conan O'Brien]]'', EmmaWatson reported that her brother once vented his frustration with her by throwing benches at Hermione in the game (here's [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5076j_late-night-conan-o-brien-with-emma_webcam the clip]]).

* {{Narm}}: Lots of it:
** Hermione's voice acting in the fifth game. Her voice actress who had played her for the past few games had been great, but for this game, she was quite wooden, and constantly stated the obvious.

There is also a LegoCrossoverGame, ''Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4'', which covers the first four installments of the series. This page, however, is dedicated strictly to the [=EA-produced=] ''Harry Potter'' games. The Lego ''Harry Potter'' game is covered under the LegoCrossoverGame article. And there's the unofficial parody game, ''VideoGame/{{Warthogs}}''.