Speedrunning Poptropica Islands 🏃💨

How fast can you finish a Poptropica island?

Back before the days of side quests and short islands, Poptropica islands were often long, leisurely, exploratory experiences that could take hours to complete and maybe needed walkthroughs to figure out. But if you already know where you’re going and what you’re doing, the island medallion can come a lot sooner. Enter the art of speedrunning!

A speedrun is a play-through of a game (or a level within it) as quickly as possible, and can apply to pretty much any video game. Unlike playing through a game the usual way and taking in all the sights and sounds, speedrunning aims to do things differently, maybe even involving some clever tricks to get to the goal of a speedy finish. Poptropicans on YouTube have gotten in on the challenge, too!

(Note: All the islands featured below are old islands that can currently only be accessed through Flashpoint, not the official game.)

Earlier this month, popular speedrunner EazySpeezy zipped through Counterfeit Island, clocking in at just under 18 minutes and condensing the adventure into a 10-minute video that already has 725K+ views. His main strategy is to use the backspace key to teleport places. Check it:

Another speedrunner, Motorjam, manages to complete Super Power Island in about 5 minutes (for reference, the PHB’s video walkthrough, which already contains some sped-up parts, is 12 minutes long). His strategy is to use a glitch with the clapboard item that allows players to jump over and over again, essentially “flying” to be able to reach high places, which comes in especially handy for catching Crusher.

Even islands known for being short can be made shorter still. Snakey642 suavely masters Shark Tooth Island in under a minute, again making use of the clapboard, this time to fly right over the shark-infested waters to rescue the stranded and save the day.

You can find lots more of these challenges on YouTube, as well as browse through (or clock in your own) world records on Speedrun.com.

What’s the most impressive Poptropica speedrun you’ve ever seen? Are you in a hurry to try this challenge combining memory, gaming, and glitching? Run wild and (figuratively) break a leg!

~🐠