Another Harry Potter trilogy comes to an end with the GBA version of Prisoner of Azkaban: the RPG trilogy. It, very unfortunately, goes out with a whimper, as despite many improvements, there are just too many stepbacks for this to be a satisfying sequel.
This game is much shorter than its two previous versions on the Gameboy Color, and while I am generally partial to shorter experiences compared to the more bloated ones present on other consoles, I think this isn't the game to apply that mindset to. The castle is smaller, there's less exploration, no secrets and very simplistic shortcuts. While spell challenges are still present, the entire castle is not mysterious or interesting. This is, most likely, the worst version of Hogwarts in any Harry Potter game.
This also comes down to very weak visuals. The art style of the GBC titles wasn't my favorite either, but there was a lot of unique flavor to it. You walked around the castle and get all these wacky statues of like a big old lady, or a musical classroom. There's just so little to differentiate between floors and rooms. Even outside of those, the tilework they went for makes for difficult to comprehend screens. The colors are very washed out and they mesh together so that it is often difficult to notice a screen's verticality, or even notice a wall.
This extends to the way the story is paced and presented, as well as the gameplay at large. This game, similar to its console and PC counterparts, introduces the "switching between the main trio" mechanic. This translates to both combat and the overworld exploration, as each character gets a certain collection of spells which allows them to interact with specific objects. It's all very simple, but honestly preferrable to the back-and-forth running gameplay loop of the GBC titles. It's just that outside of the story moments, you don't use these spells at all. There's just no secrets. All those mechanics are honestly wasted on the straightforward dungeons, when they could be utilized in the exploration of Hogwarts, which would add so much to the boring, samey-looking hallways.
The combat is alright, better than previously I'd say. Taking even less time to grind than I did in the previous game, I managed to quickly get overpowered to the point where I could entirely rely on level ups (which heal you back up fully) to get me through any area. Grinding wasn't a chore at all as the menus are laid out perfectly, with the free-to-cast Flipendo being the default choice. The other spells are also very easily accessible. The spell level-up systems are back too, meaning that while grinding out regular levels and gold, I could also acquire stronger versions of my attacks and buffs. Speaking of buffs, there was one cool idea for a battle where Buckbeak joins your party and the hippogriff is the only thing that can damage your opponent, meaning you have to buff him and debuff the enemy. While those things usually don't come in handy in the other games, here using them is actually necessary, which is a pretty good idea. The animations during the battle are also probably the best-looking things in the entire game. So, to give credit where credit is due, I do think this is the title finds the best balance out of the three HP RPGs.
Too bad some encounters are pretty nonsensical. During the first spell challenge, on the path that a transformed McGonnagal traveled through, the devs decided to insert a fight with Crabbe and Goyle for some reason. Similarly, the final boss is not the dementor horde chasing you on the Hogwarts tower. No, that honor falls to Malfoy, who is out at night in front of Sirius' cell. And who could forget the gigantic Troll who somehow fit under the Weeping Willow. Stuff like this is present in other games too, but to a much lesser degree, here it just feels like some models they had on hand were thrown in at random places.
Unfortunately, there is not enough to really save the HP RPG formula. There's always a lack of balance in one aspect of the design or another, and there's always either some tediousness or some disappointment. They're all very interesting experiments, but I can't say I found any of them particularly pleasant.
This game is much shorter than its two previous versions on the Gameboy Color, and while I am generally partial to shorter experiences compared to the more bloated ones present on other consoles, I think this isn't the game to apply that mindset to. The castle is smaller, there's less exploration, no secrets and very simplistic shortcuts. While spell challenges are still present, the entire castle is not mysterious or interesting. This is, most likely, the worst version of Hogwarts in any Harry Potter game.
This also comes down to very weak visuals. The art style of the GBC titles wasn't my favorite either, but there was a lot of unique flavor to it. You walked around the castle and get all these wacky statues of like a big old lady, or a musical classroom. There's just so little to differentiate between floors and rooms. Even outside of those, the tilework they went for makes for difficult to comprehend screens. The colors are very washed out and they mesh together so that it is often difficult to notice a screen's verticality, or even notice a wall.
This extends to the way the story is paced and presented, as well as the gameplay at large. This game, similar to its console and PC counterparts, introduces the "switching between the main trio" mechanic. This translates to both combat and the overworld exploration, as each character gets a certain collection of spells which allows them to interact with specific objects. It's all very simple, but honestly preferrable to the back-and-forth running gameplay loop of the GBC titles. It's just that outside of the story moments, you don't use these spells at all. There's just no secrets. All those mechanics are honestly wasted on the straightforward dungeons, when they could be utilized in the exploration of Hogwarts, which would add so much to the boring, samey-looking hallways.
The combat is alright, better than previously I'd say. Taking even less time to grind than I did in the previous game, I managed to quickly get overpowered to the point where I could entirely rely on level ups (which heal you back up fully) to get me through any area. Grinding wasn't a chore at all as the menus are laid out perfectly, with the free-to-cast Flipendo being the default choice. The other spells are also very easily accessible. The spell level-up systems are back too, meaning that while grinding out regular levels and gold, I could also acquire stronger versions of my attacks and buffs. Speaking of buffs, there was one cool idea for a battle where Buckbeak joins your party and the hippogriff is the only thing that can damage your opponent, meaning you have to buff him and debuff the enemy. While those things usually don't come in handy in the other games, here using them is actually necessary, which is a pretty good idea. The animations during the battle are also probably the best-looking things in the entire game. So, to give credit where credit is due, I do think this is the title finds the best balance out of the three HP RPGs.
Too bad some encounters are pretty nonsensical. During the first spell challenge, on the path that a transformed McGonnagal traveled through, the devs decided to insert a fight with Crabbe and Goyle for some reason. Similarly, the final boss is not the dementor horde chasing you on the Hogwarts tower. No, that honor falls to Malfoy, who is out at night in front of Sirius' cell. And who could forget the gigantic Troll who somehow fit under the Weeping Willow. Stuff like this is present in other games too, but to a much lesser degree, here it just feels like some models they had on hand were thrown in at random places.
Unfortunately, there is not enough to really save the HP RPG formula. There's always a lack of balance in one aspect of the design or another, and there's always either some tediousness or some disappointment. They're all very interesting experiments, but I can't say I found any of them particularly pleasant.