This post is featured. Last updated: January 2023.
Are you wondering why the Poptropica map doesn’t have more islands than it does? If you’re an older player, you may recall a time when Poptropica had wayyy more islands on the mapโmore than 40, even! Where did they all go, and how can you play them again?
Quick background: Poptropica used to run on Flash, an old technology that was finally laid to rest in 2020. To keep Poptropica alive, the game moved a new platform called Haxe, which is how Poptropica currently exists today. However, in this Flash-to-Haxe transition, Poptropica has had to re-code what they had for a post-Flash era. While not specific on details, Poptropica has expressed plans to bring old islands back, though there seems to be a long way to go. But there are other ways!
Hey Poptropicans, this is aย guest postย by Dizzy Feather.ย Enjoy!
Longtime players may remember an old feature that allowed one to copy outfit parts from NPCs and other players: the Costumizer. Accessible with a green shirt button, it used to be on every island. But nowadays you can only use the Customizer on a single island, PoptropiCon.
The costumizer was removed because we were receiving many complaints about the feature. Older players had to spend the credits to purchase a costume or they may have had a discontinued outfit from the early days that is unavailable in the store. Meanwhile, a new player would be able to instantly copy and wear the same items from any older profile, sidestepping the other playerโs efforts.
As many players have pointed out already, the Costumizer was designed not only to allow costume pieces be copied, but also to prevent other, more exclusive pieces from being copied. All it would take to adjust a costume piece’s accessibility was a small change in the code.ย
Old store costumes from the Flash era
Besides, the lack of the Costumizer isn’t fair to new players, who have no access to what were once extremely common outfits. With the new store constantly rotating outfits that I’ve seen a thousand times before, there may seem like many options, but they’re all limited to that pool. Instead, to access more pieces, they would need to turn to unofficial glitching tools like the ASG, which still doesn’t have everything.
Not only are new players left out of old store outfits, but also outfits that were available when a player first entered Poptropica. For example, I loved the pink, gray-striped shirt, but I have no way of getting it anymore on a new account. I lost count of how many times I’ve seen someone else wearing it, but now I can’t use the Costumizer to copy it.
Removing the Costumizer isn’t fair to old players either. Those who enjoyed this amazing feature for years, all of a sudden, can no longer use it, now left as just a memory to reminisce on.
With the slow pace of porting the islands back, having the Costumizer around would have been a nice way for players to pass the time, playing around with outfits from NPCs and other players. You can only replay an island, decorate your clubhouse, and play arcade games so many times without getting bored.
Bring the Costumizer back, Poptropica, and give truth back to the old advertisement that stated the game offered endless customization. Without the Costumizer, the possibilities may be wide for those with a lot of outfits in their closet, but they’re not quite as endless as they could be with the Costumizer.
Hope you enjoyed thisย guest postย by Dizzy Feather. If you did, you might also enjoy other posts of hers, such as her party clubhouse tour.
The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? Weโd love to hear from you!
Happy Lunar New Year, Poptropicans! ๆฐๅนดๅฟซๆจ๏ผ(xฤซn niรกn kuร i lรจ)
Do you know your Chinese zodiac animal? Each creature symbolizes personality traits that correspond with the lunar calendar, and yours is determined by your year of birth, with one rotating every 12 years. We matched each one with a Poptropica character โ read on to find yours!
You can also figure out which Pop character matches your astrological zodiac sign, which is based on your birth month, here! โ๏ธ
๐ If you were born in 1996, 2008, or 2020, you’re a Rat. You’re resourceful like Ratman from Super Power Island, who embraced the sewers and its rats for his own powers!
๐ If you were born in 1997, 2009, or 2021, you’re an Ox. You’re strong like the half-bull Minotaur from Mythology Island!
RatmanMinotaur
๐ฏ If you were born in 1998, 2010, or 2022, you’re a Tiger. Like the Tigercopter on Astro-Knights Island, you can be a bit competitive!
๐ฐ If you were born in 1999, 2011, or 2023, you’re a Rabbit. This is the year for ubiquitous Dr. Hare โ time for the elegant to shine.
TigercopterDr. Hare
๐ฒ If you were born in 2000, 2012, or 2024, you’re a Dragon. You’ve got confidence like the Cloud Dragon of Red Dragon Island, ready to defeat every evil thrown your way.
๐ If you were born in 2001, 2013, or 2025, you’re a Snake. Like Medusa from Mythology Island, you’re a clever one not to be messed with.
Cloud DragonMedusa
๐ด If you were born in 2002, 2014, or 2026, you’re a Horse. You’ve got energy like El Mustachio Grande, prancing about the plains of Wild West Island with his legion of horses!
๐ If you were born in 2003, 2015, or 2027, you’re a Goat. Like the half-goat, half-man Satyr from Mythology Island, you carry an aura of calm.
El Mustachio GrandeSatyr
๐ต If you were born in 2004, 2016, or 2028, you’re a Monkey. Like Ack on the Baron’s ship, you’re clever and curious, with your wits about you.
๐ If you were born in 2005, 2017, or 2029, you’re a Rooster. You’re observant and hardworking, like Ringmaster Raven, but hopefully towards better ends than revenge.
AckRingmaster Raven
๐ If you were born in 2006, 2018, or 2030, you’re a Dog. Like the three-headed Cerberus guarding Hades’ throne room on Mythology Island, you’re a loyal keeper.
๐ท If you were born in 2007, 2019, or 2031, you’re a Pig. Not only do you match the three little pigs from Fairytale Island in terms of species, you also think logically like they do.
CerberusLittle Pigs
There you go โ the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac represented by Poptropica characters! Which one are you? Do you think it suits you? Anyway, enjoy the Lunar New Year if you celebrate, or just have a good one! Happy Year of the Rabbit โ or whenever you’re reading this. ๐
This is a guest post from Azure sharing their My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about oneโs Poptropica journey. Enjoy!
Hey everyone! I’m Little Heart or Azure, I’m currently 19 years old, and this is My Place In Poptropica, from when I barely knew how to use a computer to current date.
2008โ2009 | The Bag of Rocks
I was about 5โ6 years old around this time and I saw my older sister playing a game on the family desktop. So I asked her, “What are you playing?” and that was when I learnt about Poptropica for the very first time. I vividly remember she was playing Time Tangled Island in that timeline where you had to collect the bag of salt rocks off that building.
As a confused 5-year-old, I quickly returned the game back to my sister. I also remember around this time, I physically hurt myself because I was struggling with Shark Tooth Island (of all islands…).
2011 | Grandmother’s House
Around summer 2011, I rediscovered Poptropica whilst at my grandmother’s house, and it was honestly some of the most fun I had ever had. I wouldn’t get frustrated with islands anymore, because these blogs would have walkthroughs for all islands.
On Friday and Saturday nights, I would stay up until 3 a.m. playing an island, to the obvious and understandable dismay of my parents. This was also the time I developed a habit of faking illness to go over to my grandmother’s to play Poptropica.
Home Sweet Home: Just a quiet house in the suburbs. Or is it? Yes, it is.
2012 | Creating My Accounts
Nearing the end of summer 2012, after another full summer of grinding Poptropica, I made my very first save account under the alias “Orange Hero.” Unfortunately, I have no screenshots of that character (you’ll find out why later on). From September to December 2012, I would have a different island completed every couple of days, and by Christmas that year, I had completed 29 islands.
However, during the last week of 2012, I made a mistake no one with an account in any video game should do: I dropped my password in an active Poptropica blog. Somehow, I was absolutely perplexed to find out, on the very last day of 2012, that my account got hacked. Luckily, back in October 2012, I had created Little Heart as a backup in case anything went wrong with my main account. Going into 2013, I immediately kicked it off with my new account, and was granted membership for the first time during that month.
Camping Is in Tents: That looks like a dangerous place to camp.
2013โ2015 | The Golden Years
This was when I truly started taking Poptropica seriously. Back then, with a membership, you had early access to islands before they were released to everyone, so I would always try to be one of the first people worldwide to complete it. Still, only once was I a part of the first 100 to complete an island.
April 2013 was when I first discovered the Poptropica Help Blog, and I honestly wish I did sooner. From then till now, I can’t think of anything I don’t like about this blog. I must admit, however, around this time I had a massive ego and truly thought I was above everyone.
You could find me being cringe under old posts under the name HatersLoveMe4897. ๐
2014 and 2015 was more of the same, with me being obsessed with Poptropica, I did not mind the then-new Sound Updated Islands, also known as SUIs, as all of the old stuff was still there.
Archive Immediately: You don’t have to micro-fiche for compliments with us!
September 2015โpresent | Quitting?
When I began high school (which basically starts at 7th grade where I’m from), I knew I had to reduce my time playing drastically, to a point where I had almost completely forgotten about Poptropica.
Every year in July, the Poptropica Help Blog hosts a party to celebrate its anniversary. I promised myself to be present at all of them post-2015… and then completely forgot about it for the next 2 years. ๐ I did attend the annual party in 2018 and 2019, but the game felt completely different compared to 5 years ago, and not really because I was older.
Screenshot taken on July 26, 2019 (the PHB’s 11th anniversary)
The above image is the last screenshot I have of my account from Poptropica as I remembered it. I especially wish I was still able to check through those photos… and I still don’t know how over 5,000 of my friends got deleted lol.
More memories: Gentle Dolphin from the PHB’s Poptropica Help Chat on Discord drew this absolute masterpiece of my Poptropican, and honestly, I was obsessed with this image for a while.
In October 2020, I created this banger of a costume for the PHB’s Halloween contest, and that was pretty much the last time I logged on to the game.
Room with a View: This office looks like it has seen better days.
Current thoughts: I’ll never bring myself to say that a game that was the biggest part of my childhood is bad now. It’s definitely not a bad game, but everything just feels different. The disappearance of islands that I really enjoyed, like Skullduggery, Reality TV, Red Dragon, Mystery Train, etc, due to Flash’s end was upsetting, but I guess it needed to be done.
I hopped onto my account for the first time in ages earlier this year, and I was surprised to see the common room on Home Island being just as active as any common room was a decade ago.
My username is knucklehead5249, feel free to add me!
~Peace, love, Azure out โ๐ฝ๐
Hope you enjoyed this โMy Place in Poptropicaโ story! If you did, youโll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.
If you havenโt already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more!
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Dizzy Feather. Enjoy!
Moon Eyes: Have a howlin’ good time.
Hello everyone, Dizzy Feather here with the answers to round seven of โWhatโs Missing?โ, a Pop puzzle where I obscured items from in-game scenes for you to guess โwhatโs missing.โ If you missed it, play the game on the original post before scrolling down for spoilers!
Shout-out to Magic Poptropican and ewasmcsquared for getting the majority correct! Anyway, here are the answers:
Hope you enjoyed thisย guest postย by Dizzy Feather. If you did, you might also enjoy previous rounds of “What’s Missing?”: Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? Weโd love to hear from you!
Yoohoo Poptropicans, long time no speak. Yes, itโs true โ LJ hath returned! I feel like Iโve been gone so long that I donโt even know how to write anymore, but bear with me. โ ๏ธ
How many islands have been released in the last half year? None? Okay, so I havenโt missed anything. Speaking of islands, lately Iโve been reminiscing back to when they were actually good, ahem ahem. So today Iโd like yโall to accompany me in this ride of nostalgia as I rank the islands that first popped up on the map nearly 15 years ago โ the five islands of 2008. If you donโt know, this includes Time Tangled, 24 Carrot, Super Power, Spy, and Nabooti. Do you feel old yet?
Disclaimer: This is not a full review for each island, so each analysis will be kept brief.
#5: 24 Carrot Island ๐ฅ
At the unfortunate placement of 5th, we have 24 Carrot Island โ originally released on June 6, 2008. Not at all do I think this island is bad on its own, but I donโt think itโs up to par when compared to the other islands from this year. Being one of the first islands in the game, it is noticeably simpler than most. However, we must remember that simple does not necessarily mean low-quality.
Itโs no secret this island debuted the single most iconic character of the entire game, Dr. Hare, so we have that to thank it for. Another thing about 24 Carrot island I love is that it feels so quintessentially โPoptropicaโ (if that makes sense). Obviously itโs held up after all this time since itโs one of the only old islands thatโs still playable from the map.
#4: Time Tangled Island โฑ๏ธ
In 4th place, originally released on April 15, 2008, is the transtemporal quest Time Tangled Island! I like that this island is very educational in an organic way, which at its core is what Poptropica is all about. I enjoy not only traveling to different parts of the world, but in different time periods as well. It really serves to amp up the satisfaction factor.
Itโs not the most original concept, nor does it feature any memorable characters, but itโs definitely fun to play through. There is also something to be said for the amount of brain power needed to complete it which is something that todayโs islands seem to lack in my opinion.
#3: Nabooti Island ๐
Next is none other than Nabooti Island, which was released at the very end of the year on December 11. At one point, this was actually one of my all-time favorites, and for good reason. The adventurous nature of this island is exhilarating and the scenery is quite beautiful for this time in Poptropica (when most scenes were a bit bland in my view). Another fun tidbit about this island that Iโm not sure many newer players are aware of is the cool cell phone trick used to get various costume parts by dialing specific numbers. (refer to the trivia section in our island guide)
What this island is missing, though, is an array of interesting characters โ or even at least one or two for that matter. So for all of these reasons considered, Nabooti sits smack dab in the middle of this ranking at 3rd place.
#2: Super Power Island ๐ฅ
Where do I even begin with Super Power Island? I can almost say for certain that everybody likes this island to some capacity. What kid wouldnโt want to become a superhero and defeat bad guys for a day? This island, albeit uncomplicated, is a super entertaining classic. If you donโt agree, Iโll have to respect your incorrect opinion.
Super Power (released on July 24, 2008 โ just two days before the PHB was born!) manages to find a perfect balance of being tough to beat while still remaining enjoyable and not too stressful. (Iโm looking at you Virus Hunterโฆ)The amount of creativity spawned from this island (i.e. fanart) alone is a testament to how good it really was while it was around. Characters like Betty Jetty and Ned Noodlehead remain popular to this day and the rest of the villains get their fair share in the spotlight as well.
It was a super close call to determine which island deserved to be crowned my top island of 2008, but in the end the coronation goes toโฆ
#1: Spy Island ๐
Released on September 9, 2008 was Poptropicaโs 6th quest to grace the map, Spy Island. Like time travel and superheroism, espionage is another perfect theme for an island, and it was done very well! All of the gadgets were really fun to utilize (my favorite being the chameleon suit), and although the grappling bowtie could be a little frustrating, it was fun to just monkey around with whenever you needed a little break from the actual island.
Moments like sneaking around the dogs, memorizing the ingredients to become a chef, and the snatching of Director Dโs wig have lived in my head rent-free for the past decade and a half. And overall, the story and plot of this island was *chefโs kiss*. At the time of its release, Spy Island definitely had the most complex story and the most challenging tasks. This island was surely a pioneer for the many exciting islands yet to come and it certainly made its mark on the game. Thereโs even a printable sheet for the decoder kit used in the island, which is rare for any item in the game! How cool is that?
Ah, sweet sweet memories. 2008 was a pretty good year for island releases, and it was a pleasure to talk about them for a little bit. Most of them are gone, but they will never be forgotten.
Did you get a chance to play any of these islands? Which one was your favorite and least favorite? Leave your rankings and any other thoughts in the comments section below.
๐ Poptropica Help Blog ๐บ 
