LEGO Harry Potter : Years 1 - 4 LEGO Harry Potter : Years 1 - 4 is a LEGO video game based on the first four installments of the series in LEGO form . The game was released on June 29 , 2010 , in the United States . It was released in the UK on June 25 , 2010 , and was developed by Traveler ' s Tales ( TT Games ) , the company that is responsible for most of the more recent LEGO video games . The hubs for this game are Diagon Alley and Hogwarts . The UK PSP game was delayed until August 13 , 2010 . It is the prequel to . The Mac OS X version of the game was released on February 22 , 2011 by Feral Interactive Production . Revealed to the public . The game was admitted to be in the works by Traveller ' s Tales in 2009 , when a Trailer was released at Nintendo ' s E3 conference . This trailer was one of the only sources of information about the game until a second trailer was released , which involved gameplay and more characters , including old characters like Professor McGonagall and Professor Quirrell " revived " with flesh skin . This was called a Year 1 vignette . At present there are four vignettes , including Year 1 , Year 2 , Year 3 , and Year 4 . Before the Year 3 vignette , the first 2 minutes of cutscenes which involved Harry arriving at number 4 Privet Drive and him getting his letters to Hogwarts was released . Tie in with the sets . For the most part , the game features the minifigures from the Harry Potter sets . However , there are some minifigs that are essential to the storyline that have not been released in actual LEGO form , such as Petunia Dursley , Dudley Dursley , Percy Weasley , etc . Also , some characters like Professor Flitwick , Oliver Wood , and Argus Filch were released in sets after the video game , and the minifigures drew inspiration from their animated counterparts . Before the game , sets of Harry Potter were released for the first four movies and one set came out to accompany the fifth movie . Since this game will feature the first four movies , all the sets already created could be implemented into the game . Revival of the franchise . No sets were released for the theme since 2007 , and only one set was released for the Order of the Phoenix . No sets had been created for the most recent movie , the Half - Blood Prince . This caused many people to believe the LEGO Harry Potter franchise was over . This video game is considered a revival of the Harry Potter franchise and more new sets have been released since . Development and distribution . The game is being developed by the well - known LEGO game developers , Traveller ' s Tales and TT Fusion for the hand - held versions . Traveller ' s Tales was responsible for the development of all four LEGO Star Wars games , two LEGO Indiana Jones games , and the LEGO Batman game . The game is being published and distributed by Warner Bros . Interactive Entertainment . Warner Bros . Interactive Entertainment , which now owns Traveller ' s Tales , will be partly responsible for the distribution and publishing . They have already published many LEGO games , including , LEGO Battles , and LEGO Rock Band . Gameplay . The gameplay is similar to LEGO Indiana Jones . In the first level , The Leaky Cauldron , Harry can ' t use magic yet because he doesn ' t have a wand but Hagrid can since he is an experienced wizard . All Harry is able to do is smash objects by rolling into them until he learns his first spell at Hogwarts . The game uses the new split - screen introduced in and is a co - op game , similar to all other Traveller ' s Tales LEGO video games . The new split - screen is a moving division on the screen in relation to where the characters are in the level . This makes finding your partner much easier than a stationary horizontal or vertical dividing line . The Hogwarts castle from the game is notably the biggest LEGO video game environment ever created . There are many areas to explore , including the Great Hall , the covered bridge , Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms , the courtyard , the quidditch field , Hagrid ' s hut , and more . Players can go to classes to learn new spells to advance to new areas in Hogwarts . An example would be if an area is covered by Mandrakes , the player might not be able to get to that place in Year 1 , but after the player has covered that Herbology lesson , the player can get through there because they have learned how to get past them . Potion - making is another vital gameplay feature . If there is a cauldron nearby the player must collect the right ingredients to put in it . If the player collects the right ones , they will get a reward or advance in the level . If they get it wrong they could likely be turned into a frog . As with all schools , there are other students at Hogwarts who they can practice their defensive spells on . For instance , in the Gryffindor common room the player might find a student sleeping on a couch . Zap the couch and the child is eaten up and then belched out . But they can ' t do this with just anyone . Zap Professor Snape and the player might be turned into a frog again . The moving pictures on the walls can usually be zapped to help the player , and many other things in Hogwarts can be enlisted to help the player as well , usually quite comically . The plot of this level is that Lord Voldemort and a Death Eater Versions . Price . The game has been released in nine different versions with eight different set numbers : List of characters . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > indicates the character is playable Character Abilities . Note that " spell wheel " contains both spells and abilities for characters . Some , like Filch , can not use magic but have a spell wheel with only the special ability slot . Note that " character list " refers to the way the characters appear on the character selection menu ( right to left and top to bottom ) Magic . All wizards can use their wand to preform spells found in their spell wheel Dark Magic . This adapts the Wingardium Leviosa spell into Crucio and adds Avada Kedavra as a spell in the green slot on the spell wheel . Crucio allows characters to preform magic on black objects with red sparks Spell Wheel Abilities . These abilities appear in the green slot on the spell wheel ( 1 o ' clock position ) and can be activated by highlighting that circle and pressing the same button to cast a spell . Invisibility Cloak . Harry receives the Invisibility Cloak mysteriously after " A Jinxed Broom " . It was his father ' s cloak , and will turn Harry invisible . Pets . A character ' s pet can go into pipes to solve a puzzle . Animagus . A character with this ability can turn into an animal . Crossbow . Hagrid can use his crossbow during certain story events ( mostly Forbidden Forest levels ) Passive Abilities . These are abilities that can only be activated when required . Student Access . All Hogwarts students can access their respective houses including some professors Dig . Some characters can dig on brown mounds with blue pawprints above it . Strength . Characters with this ability can pull orange levers Goblin Key . Griphook can access locks like the one in Gringott ' s Bank in " The Magic Begins " Rune Book . Characters with blue books on their sides can open cabinets with rune markings on them . This can be done by standing in front of them and pressing the Circle , Z , or X and then repeating the pattern . Broomstick Riding . Most characters are average at riding . Out of the trio , Harry is best . Mandrake Handling . Characters can handle Mandrakes after going to a cupboard with a lit circle in front and putting on earmuffs . Mandrakes can break glass and then be potted . Parseltongue . Ability to talk to snakes . Can open smokey doors from which a snake pops out . Time Turner . Characters can turn back time to a previous version of the room they are in . Age Lines . Almost all adults can cross age lines ( blue circles in floor )