Summary
Hogwarts Legacyhad a tremendously difficult line to toe: it chose to feature a protagonist who would be intimately paramount in its overarching plot and therefore it needed to balance them as both an omnipotent Ancient Magic-wielder and a mild-mannered student enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Being at the iconic school was more of an undercover role for the protagonist ofHogwarts Legacy, but it was still integral to creating a personalized action-RPG where players were immersed in either the Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff house.
Still,comparisons can be drawn betweenHogwarts Legacy’s protagonist and Harry Potterbecause of their role in their respective stories and how they are fated to deal with the narrative’s ongoing events and antagonists. The protagonist is surely not a random student plucked from a crowd, and neither is Harry with his stunted upbringing and unusual abilities. One of these abilities allows Harry to communicate with snakes—a trait that could easily be overlooked as a magical power any witch or wizard might possess before learning why he has this power in particular, and aHogwarts Legacy 2could exploit a similar revelation.
Hogwarts Legacy 2 Could Make Its Protagonist a Serpent-Commanding Parselmouth
It’d be difficult to introduce a basilisk beyond the premise of one being born in the castle and housed in the Chamber of Secrets for nefarious purposes. Obviously, though, one of the most thrilling ways aHogwarts Legacy 2could reveal its protagonist is a Parselmouthis by gradually having them realize that voices they think are in their head the whole time are actually coming from the school’s pipes as they hear a basilisk speaking.
Harry already knew he could talk to snakes even if he didn’t know how rare of a trait that was or that he was speaking a separate language when he was doing so, and it’s that realization that allows him to understand a basilisk is in the walls inThe Chamber of Secrets.
This would harp onHarry Potter’s own twists and reveals and maybe to a fault sinceHogwarts Legacywould be rehashing what madeThe Chamber of Secretsintriguing rather than come up with an authentic way for itself to represent something similar. The most bombastic and epic way being a Parselmouth could come into play in aHogwarts Legacysequel and be unique is if players themselves can command snakes, much less a hulking basilisk with the power to kill anyone who makes eye contact with it or petrify anyone who makes eye contact with it through a reflection.
Hogwarts Legacy Wouldn’t Need to Explain Why Its Protagonist is a Parselmouth
LikeHogwarts Legacy’s Ancient Magicand how the protagonist’s lineage didn’t seem to have any importance or relevance to it, neither would the protagonist’s lineage inHogwarts Legacy 2need to,even if being a Parselmouth is usually hereditary. Harry being a Parselmouth was a huge reveal since it linked him more intimately to Tom Riddle, butHogwarts Legacy 2’s protagonist wouldn’t need such a drastic familial reveal.
Instead, knowing Parseltongue and being able to communicate with serpents could simply open interesting gameplay avenues. Otherwise, because a vast majority ofParselmouths are apparently mostly descendants of Hogwarts’ Salazar Slytherin, it would be doubly meaningful if players only possessed this trait if they chose Slytherin as their house.
Of course, the biggest downside to such a profound gameplay feature being exclusive to a house would be that all houses would need their own exclusive gameplay quirk. If a sequel could achieve that with a distinct feature for each, though, it would be an unmistakable improvement over the ephemeral and poorly balancedside quests exclusive to Hogwarts houses inHogwarts Legacy.
