Slanted Fish

Pop on in — we’ve got updates on the Pop app and Roblox game!

At long last, multiplayer functions are now available on the Poptropica mobile app with the latest update. But recall that earlier this year, a bunch of old islands were deleted from the Pop app. So if you do decide to update, be warned of what you’ll be missing. ⚠️

Anyway, if you do proceed with this app update, you’ll get all the multiplayer features from the desktop version of the game, including the arcade and island common rooms with Quippy stores, 1v1 arcade games, and private parties in player clubhouses. Plus, when the Baron visits, mobile players will get the same experience as desktop users! 📲

In other news, we have a launch date for the teased Zomberry Island-inspired Roblox game, and it’s this Friday, April 1! 🧟 The date might be sus but this is no April Fools’ joke, according to the Pop Creators’ Blog.

As you can see above, there’s a new sneak peek of an infected 3D Poptropican bitten by Zomberry blues looking as horrified as all of us when we learned of Poptropica’s first Roblox game, Unicorn Frenzy.

Anyway, let’s hope this one turns out better — according to previous peeks, it’s going to be survival-based, humans versus zombies. Now, what about other questions of survival: Poptropica vs Roblox? Desktop vs mobile? Share your thoughts in the comments!

UPDATE: Poptropica announced on their Instagram story that they’ll be hosting a launch party for the Roblox game, with more details to come. In the meantime, here are the latest fan art features from their stories:

Evil Genius Dr. Hare by @deadmatfairy (emoji edit by Pop to censor rude gesture)

~🐠

Advertisements, Fan Art Features, Roblox, Social Media

March of Outfits: Oscars to Fraggle Rock 🎎

March 29, 2022March 28, 2022 Slanted Fish

March on in, Poptropicans, before March is on its way out!

Entries for the monthly costume contest are in, and while a winner has not yet been selected, the showreel for March’s costume designs is now available below. We’ll find out which one gets made in-game when the Baron docks again in early April!

This past weekend also saw the 2022 Oscars hosted, and Poptropica’s pop-arazzi got in on the buzz with some red carpet looks on their Instagram. 🏆✨ Check out their recreations of big night outfits worn by celebrity singer Beyoncé, actor Simu Liu, actress Jessica Chastain, and actor Kodi Smit-McPhee (swipe to see them all):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Official Poptropica (@poptropicacreators)

Of course, if you’ve been on the internet lately, you might know that the stars of this year’s Oscars weren’t all the glitzy fashion, but the face slap moment that quickly became a meme. 💥 Poptropica’s Instagram might only show a pretty side, but Poptropica’s Twitter gets real with a retweet of one such meme from Coolmath Games, and even their own surprised tweet when the moment occurred. Seems like Pop’s social media might have split personalities across platforms… 🤔

Onto the game itself: on Home Island, there’s a new ad for Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (now streaming on Apple TV+)!

Head inside for an obstacle course mini-game to get Gobo’s backpack while avoiding hidden Gorgs and other dangers. After two minutes, if you make it, you’ll win a Doozer Follower and Be Red! outfit.

Still a better game than Unicorn Frenzy, perhaps? If we’re going to be playing lackadaisical mini-games, at least this one’s got Pop style.

Speaking of which, if you’ve been wondering what’s up with Poptropica’s Roblox game (or couldn’t get a game going), Poptropica recently released footage of the candy-colored collect-a-thon in action. 🦄

Rounding off this update are the latest fan art features from Pop’s Instagram stories! These characters are really rockin’ their pink. 💖

Keep on poppin’ on!

~🐠

Free Membership Giveaways

PHB Membership Giveaway: March 2022

March 27, 2022March 25, 2022 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, we’re approaching the end of the month, which means it’s time to announce another lucky Poptropican to win our monthly membership giveaway! 🎁

Congratulations, Magic Poptropican — your new membership status allows you access to some exclusive island adventures, including Arabian Nights, Ep. 2: Lair of Thieves and PoptropiCon, Ep. 2: Spoiler Alert! Plus, you’ll also get to enjoy the next month’s member gifts.

If you’re not a member, you still have the chance (or many chances, in fact): the PHB is hosting a giveaway every month, and it’s easy to enter! Just comment on the Free Poptropica Membership page and leave at least two other comments around the PHB within the month to be entered into that month’s giveaway.

We’ll announce a winner sometime in the final week of each month. If you don’t win, you can always try again for the next month! Full details »

Congrats again to Magic Poptropican! Keep on popping on! 🪄

Creators' Blog Guest Posts, Fan Art Features, Fanfiction, Social Media

YouTube Gaming remembers Poptropica

March 25, 2022June 15, 2022 Slanted Fish

History repeats itself — Poptropica’s once again trending on Twitter!

Similar to when this happened last May, mentions of Poptropica picked up steam from an image post that asked people to pick their favorite out of a list of nostalgic kids’ virtual world games from the 2000s. This time, the tweet came from YouTube Gaming, a subsidiary of YouTube.

Pick one. The rest have to go. pic.twitter.com/bPduEZ7egN
— YouTube Gaming (@YouTubeGaming) March 24, 2022

Plenty of Poptropicans weighed in, including a torn Thinknoodles, Poptropica itself watching the scene unfold with a tea-sipping Amelia, and sister site Coolmath Games, whose support garnered extra bestie points from YouTube Gaming, the original poster.

Safe to say Poptropica is everyone's bestie 💙
— YouTube Gaming (@YouTubeGaming) March 24, 2022

Meanwhile, Poptropica is putting their best foot forward on their Twitter profile with another one of their odd memes — walking slouched is now “Poptropica posture syndrome.” Watch your back!

if you or someone you know is suffering from poptropica posture syndrome, just know that you are not alone 💙 pic.twitter.com/mHbXYS1my1
— Official Poptropica (@Poptropica) March 23, 2022

Over on the Pop Creators’ Blog, guest writer Golden Horse shared part one of a fanfiction story set after the events of Fairytale Island, before Rumpel’s side quest happened. The fanfic weaves together heroic unicorns, old and new characters inspired by other legends, and a quest to gather items to defeat a great Evil. Read it here!

Rounding off this post, here are the latest fan art features from Pop’s Instagram stories this week. Enjoy! (Protip: The PHB always links to each original IG post, so you can click on the artists’ names to view their work in detail, Poptropica’s comments, and bonus pics if any!)

Pop AU: somewhat reformed villains by @oneofthosenightbees

Keep on poppin’ on!

~🐠

Roblox

Forget Zomberries, it’s a Unicorn Frenzy on Poptropica’s Roblox 🦄

March 19, 2022March 20, 2022 Slanted Fish

Hey ~~Poptropicans~~ Robloxians!

Remember how Poptropica teased an upcoming Roblox game inspired by Zomberry Island? So, Poptropica’s first Roblox game has arrived, but no Zomberries. Instead, it’s Amelia’s wildest fantasy: Unicorn Frenzy!

In Unicorn Frenzy, “You’ll have 2 minutes to dash, jump, and scramble around the arena to collect as many unicorns as you can! Race against other players and be on the lookout for purple lightning bolts. You’ll earn speed power-ups that can mean the difference between winning and losing!” Plus, don’t miss the baby unicorns in the clouds!

Now, you do need 5 players to start a game, and unfortunately nobody else came along while I was waiting. However, you can see some screenshots above, some from the lobby waiting area and some on the inside from the Pop Creators. Pretty sparkly, huh? Play it here!

So that St. Patrick’s Day pic with Amelia turned out to be a sneak peek for this game, but this whole development still leaves a lot of questions for us players. First, what happened to all the hype about a Roblox game inspired by Zomberry Island? Is Pop working on multiple Roblox games?

Sneak peek for a Roblox game said to be inspired by Zomberry Island

Second, what does Unicorn Frenzy have to do with Poptropica? Sure, the Pop Creators can spin a story about Amelia’s love for unicorns as we discovered in her mini quest, but it’s a bit of a stretch considering Amelia isn’t even in this Roblox game. In fact, other than a couple of posters with nameless Poptropicans and a support chat with “Dr. Beev,” there isn’t much connection to Pop to be found here. Seems pretty off-brand.

It’s worrying that the new Roblox game(s) don’t really build on the world of Pop. Not only is it on another platform, the content feels unrelated to Pop’s visuals and stories, and also doesn’t tell any new stories through its endless games, contradicting the Pop spirit we love.

Third, why is Poptropica building games on Roblox anyway? It certainly isn’t anything the fandom ever asked for, and seems to take resources away from building on their own game in the world of actual Poptropica. Sure, we might speculate that this could tap into Roblox’s bigger player base, and allows for wider multiplayer functionality than what is available on Pop. But it’s still too early to tell if that’s happening, and so far waiting for players to join and start a game has been pretty slow.

UPDATE: After sharing this post, former Pop Creator Mitch Krpata responded on Twitter with a meme saying, “Hahahaha… this sucks, man.” And the evidence that even a former Creator doesn’t recognize any value in this may be enough to show just how far Pop has gone.