Agent Bubbles

Time for spooky season, Poptropicans! 🎃 While there are several contenders for creepy Poptropica Islands (including Vampire’s Curse and Virus Hunter), I decided on one that, in my opinion, is the absolute peak of Pop’s storytelling. Many people know I love a good bittersweet tale, and this island is exactly that…

Ghost Story!!

Repent: Or they’ll lock you up and throw away the key.

While naturally family-friendly, Ghost Story takes on some deep topics compared to past islands, notably death, betrayal, and the difficulty to forgive and find peace, both from the actions of others and yourself.

I actually did cover this island before in the PHB’s Ramble Review series, and you can read it here!

Spooky Scenes: Could this be a scene for a new Poptropica Island?

Ghost Story also has some quite impressive art and background design, and also included the 3D sailing map seen in Skullduggery! This is used to go from island to island in this… island. In each area you learn about the different characters, and eventually how they are all connected, from the lighthouse to the prison.

Stringing Along: Play the music if the spirit moves you.

Ghost Story is also one of the first islands (pre-SUI, i.e. pre-Sound Updated Island) to include sound! Many Poptropicans remember the shock of hearing the voice of a character, Fiona — something that wasn’t done again until Survival Island and PoptropiCon. Along with that, there’s also the short but very sweet violin song you get to play.

Ghost Story also has some soundtracks made and released by Jeff Heim! They appear to be for whenever it would be updated to SUI or ported to Haxe, although this has yet to happen.

So let’s continue Fiona’s legacy! Ghost Story and other classic islands were rendered unplayable in the Flash-Haxe transition, but it should not go to waste. Let the Poptropica Creators know what you appreciate about the island to encourage them to preserve it!

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Fanfiction, PHB Series, The Villain Saga

“The Villain Saga” – Episode 2, Part 3

October 7, 2021August 10, 2022 Agent Bubbles

(Table of contents) (See previous)

INT. PRISON HALLWAY – AFTERNOON

DIRECTOR D. and MADEMOISELLE MOREAU are leaving their office, both looking rather pleased and excited.

MOREAU

I’d say after that, I deserve a relaxing break for today. A nice bath, and perhaps they have some decent food hidden away here…

DIRECTOR D.

Hey, you’re not the only–

DR. NYAH

(from down the hall)

Oh! Hi there! Could I bother you for a moment?

Continue reading →

Fanfiction, PHB Specials, The Villain Saga

The Villain Saga – Talk Like a Pirate Day Special 🏴‍☠️🦞

September 19, 2021June 15, 2022 Agent Bubbles

HELLO THERE EVERYONE. CAPTAIN CRAWFISH HERE. MY RABBIT… ACQUAINTANCE? I CAN’T QUITE CALL HIM A FRIEND. HE SAID THAT TODAY IS INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY, WHICH I FIND ABSOLUTELY ABSURD. YOU REALLY NEED DAYS FOR EVERYTHING?

ANYWAY. I WANTED TO CLEAR UP SOME THINGS, BECAUSE SOME OF YOU ARE TRULY BECOMING AN EMBARRASSMENT TO US VILLAINS.

FIRST. I BEG–NO, I NEVER BEG! I DEMAND THAT YOU STOP WITH THIS WHOLE “ARRR ME HEARTIES” STUFF! EVEN IF WE HAVE OUR WAY OF SPEAKIN’, WE DON’T HAVE MAGGOTS FOR BRAINS! MOST PIRATES COME FROM AROUND THE WORLD, MANY OF US FROM EUROPE OR ASIA. ME PERSONALLY, I’M FROM BRITAIN.

I CAN’T REMEMBER EVER SAYING “ARRRR” EITHER. THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING SOMEONE MADE UP IN FICTION TO MAKE US SEEM AS STRANGE AS THOSE ALIENS MORDRED TALKS ABOUT.

EITHER WAY, I JUST WANTED TO CLEAR THAT UP SO YOU KIDS COULD STOP MAKIN’ FOOLS OF US.

YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF ROOT BEER BECAUSE THERE’S NO GOOD STUFF HERE

– CAPTAIN CRAWFISH 🦞

The Big Sleep: A pirate just can’t get any rest around here.

Aye, so it appears Crawfish somehow bent the rules o’ time ‘n space t’ access me account. He also appears t’ nah understand wha’ the CAPS LOCK be. Me deepest apologies fer any confusion, but ahoy, nah me fault!

Honor t’ the beaver

Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Island Flash-backs

Island Flash-back: Super Villain 🌩

September 10, 2021September 11, 2021 Agent Bubbles

We have arrived at Poptropica’s birthday month, and what better way to celebrate than to honor an island that not only inspired many fans (like myself) but also celebrates many past islands and characters?

That’s right, everyone! We have finally come to the island I absolutely had to feature in a Flash-back…

Super Villain!!

Perchance to Dream: Settle in for a nice, long nap.

This is quite possibly the island with the most fanart, fanfiction, and theories sparking from it. While the ending left many questions (still) unanswered, it continued the arcs of several past characters and brought them all together in a surprising way!

Though not much has been publicly written on the development for the ideas and storyline of this island, there is quite a bit of interesting concept art to look through. The first pic above shows a an early idea for the Dream Machine room, where there were originally five (not four) guinea pigs for Jupiter’s experiment.

Next, the above robot-fusion of several characters further proves that El Mustachio Grande was originally meant to be one of them. I wonder what caused that to change? 🤔

Kingdom Come: There is a castle in the clouds.

This island also has some incredible background art, from the impressive design of the prison interior with the (foreshadowing) lightning motif, to Black Widow’s dream exploring different famous paintings and, of course, Binary Bard’s much-loved dreamscape. I remember restarting this island many times just so I could experience that scene again!

The scenery isn’t the only thing that made this island famous, though — it was also the new lore behind the characters. I redid this island and certain parts so many times, scouring for crumbs of new information. A particularly chilling moment was noticing the torn face of Mordred’s painting in his dream lair… sheesh.

This is probably the most graphic detail we’d ever get of that scene in a game aimed at kids.

Unfortunately, Super Villain will probably be of the later ones to return if we ever see the classic islands again, considering only two out of five of the islands leading up to it have been released on Haxe. That’s why I chose to cover Counterfeit, Astro-Knights, and Skullduggery leading up to this! Yes, I have revealed my evil ploy! This whole series was just for me to have another excuse to talk about Super Villain Island!

“The True Mastermind” by BlazingAngel123 on DeviantArt

So let’s continue the legacy of our villainous friends (unless you count The Villain Saga…ahem, self promotion)! Super Villain and other classic islands were rendered unplayable in the Flash-Haxe transition, but it should not go to waste. Let the Poptropica Creators know what you appreciate about the island to encourage them to preserve it!

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Member Gifts, Store

Birthday salutations and celebrations to come 🎉

September 8, 2021September 8, 2021 Agent Bubbles

Smart Bubbles here, with another Poptropica news and store update! As many of you know, this September marks Poptropica’s 14th birthday!

The Creators made this blog post marking the event. It’s odd to think so many players are younger than the game itself (though I can’t relate)!

Along with the expected hype, the Creators also announced that “players will have access to exclusive, FREE costumes…generous credit opportunities, and rereleased mini games from Pop’s past.”

It will be interesting to see how far back they go with the last one. I never really got a chance to play the previous Hoptropica. Or perhaps they might even bring back true classics like the Haunted House, just in time for Halloween!

The Creators also encouraged submission of fan creations to social media, of any form (as long as it’s age appropriate). Work sent through the submissions form or tagged to the Creators will also be submitted for a chance in the birthday exhibition! (And if you’re into video, fans are hosting Poptropica Month as well.)

Along with birthday announcements, we also have some store additions: Three new costumes have arrived at Amelia’s Adventure Outfitters: the Oversized Polo, Navy Cardi, and Cool Denim, all of which are currently members-only (and none of which beat the Acidic Dinosaur*). They also restocked some older costumes for non-members: Coolin, Biker, Natural Breeze, and Vibes.

*This is a statement made by Maryann/Smart Bubbles only and does not represent the views of all the PHB, despite being objective fact.

There is also a comeback of some furniture and accessories for the clubhouse, such as a trampoline, wall butterfly, skateboard, and a music speaker.

The September member gifts were also announced and added for premium players: the Scooter Rider, Squishy & Pink, and Karaoke Sparkles. Perhaps we’ll see more cute stress balls resembling other Pop Icons in the future? 🤔

The Creators also promoted membership at the end of the post, giving members a… familiar title.

If you’re interested in the members’ only perks, including monthly gifts, premier costumes, and exclusive access to upcoming releases, join in on the fun and become a Very Important Poptopican (VIP)!
Poptropica Creators’ Blog

The VIP (Very Important Poptropican) title has been used in the past, for a program created by former Pop social media manager Skinny Moon. It was intended to reward fans who were especially dedicated to the game through blogging or art or social media.

Sadly, beyond identifying some members and an exclusive beta preview of Poptropica Worlds (now defunct), the program never really took off (though the PHB is proud to retain its VIP badge in our sidebar). Now, the VIP name seems to have taken on a whole different, capitalistic meaning.

Do any of you Poptropicans plan on submitting creations to the birthday exhibition? And what minigames would you like to see be re-released?

Until next time!

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles

Author: Agent Bubbles

Island Flash-back: Ghost Story 🎻

“The Villain Saga” – Episode 2, Part 3

The Villain Saga – Talk Like a Pirate Day Special 🏴‍☠️🦞

Island Flash-back: Super Villain 🌩

Birthday salutations and celebrations to come 🎉