Slanted Fish

Returning to Poptropica After 6 Years ⏳

January 31, 2025 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Silver Shadow/Red Tomato. Enjoy!

Benched: Maybe sit out the next couple of plays.

Hello everyone ^_^ You can call me Silver Shadow!

I used to go by Red Tomato all the way back in 2017-2019. I was an active PHB reader and commenter, and also authored a few guest posts, like two Pop 5 lists. I had a few blogs of my own, although only one of them (“Red Tomato’s Poptropica Blog”) is still up, and I would rather not publish the direct link because of how cringeworthy my posts were 💀… I also was a former author on the Poptropica Fun Blog, which has been inactive since 2020. I hope the owner is doing ok, wherever she is!

Anyway, this post will basically be about me discovering all that went down in the past six years. First of all: why did I disappear from the Poptropica community? Basically I had just lost interest and felt I had gotten too old for it (I was a preteen at the time… I’m now college age! time goes by fast) so I just up and left.

Wonderland: You can’t have more fun under one roof.

About a month ago, my friend was randomly like,”hey do you remember that game you played when you were like 11?” I was like, “Oh yeah Poptropica… good times!”

Then I remembered the PHB, and I wondered if it was still up. I was surprised that it was! This is when I learned about the fate of Poptropica that’s happened in the past few years. While I was busy being a nerd about anime, musical theater, and gacha games, my childhood game was slowly dying.

Fastball: Watch out, because this bot is coming at you.

I looked through some PHB posts that got me up to date on what happened with Pop, like almost all the islands being gone, the company closing, the move to Coolmath Games, etc. My initial reaction to all of this was: “wow Mocktropica (peak island btw) really didn’t age well 💀” One positive thing I learned was that at least a few more new islands got released!…. before the company died and the game became stuck in an unfinished limbo state on Coolmath Games dot com (btw: have you seen Coolmath Games’ Instagram page?? Peak content. I’m not joking).

Anyway, I wanted to revisit the game, so I downloaded the archived version on Flashpoint. I made a new character (Squeezy Shadow — I clicked for like 5 minutes until I got a name ending in Shadow, because I’m currently hyperfixating on a certain edgy hedgehog from a certain game franchise…) and was excited to relive some childhood memories!

My love for bright blue hair hasn’t changed…

Unfortunately, my reliving of childhood memories didn’t go as planned… I first attempted to play through two of my personal favorites, Virus Hunter (which has aged really well 🦠) and Mocktropica. I got halfway through both islands but was unable to progress further due to glitches (on Mocktropica, the crate of soda wouldn’t show up on the island editor, and on Virus Hunter, the first encounter with the white blood cells froze the game!).

The next day I decided to try again with another favorite of mine, Monster Carnival. I also got a glitch that made me unable to progress — this time the game froze when I rescued the couple from the Ferris wheel.

Finally, I decided to go to an AS2 island, Back Lot. MY CHARACTER WAS BALD AND MISSING HALF OF HER CLOTHES!!!!!!!!

After that horrifying incident, I just decided to play on the Coolmath version instead, which as I mentioned earlier is a husk of its former self.

My character this time was named Silver Wing, which as a fan of Honkai Impact 3rd, I appreciate very much (one of Bronya’s battlesuits is called Silver Wing 😉).

(If you didn’t notice already, the name I chose to go by for this post is a combination of Silver Wing and Squeezy Shadow. 😉)

I played through and beat PoptropiCon (another personal favorite) and was happy to have FINALLY beat a Poptropica island with no game-breaking glitches! Yippee!!

In conclusion, Poptropica’s current state makes me really sad… seeing what was once a thriving childhood wonderland reduced to a shell of its former self, with most islands only available through the very glitchy Flashpoint, not to mention the fact that the spinoff (Poptropica Worlds) is now lost media since nobody archived it.

It makes me sad to know that modern kids aren’t growing up with Poptropica and all of the other virtual worlds that made people’s childhoods. At least there’s Roblox? 😅 (Which by the way, why did Poptropica make a rainbow unicorn Roblox game… what????)

Doors of Perception: They don’t make these buildings like they used to.

Anyway, revisiting this niche lil corner of the internet was fun! I’m not sticking around or anything, just wanted to drop by and say hi! I may come by again sometime for nostalgia. Before I go, I have one confession I must share with you all: Black Widow was my lesbian awakening.

-Silver Shadow
(aka Red Tomato 🍅/Squeezy Shadow 🦔/Silver Wing 🪽)

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Silver Shadow. If you did, you might also enjoy other guest posts of hers, including her My Place in Poptropica story.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you!

Guest Posts, Realms

Winter Realm Tour with Invisible Ring ❄️

January 25, 2025 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!

For years, Master Creators have showcased the best pieces of their Poptropica Realms here. But some of these creators don’t just decorate one or two sections of their Realms, but many, or even all the scenes, like me! So what now?

Well, when I shared my seven Clubhouse Tours here on the PHB, it reminded me of Realms the whole way through. So I thought, why not make Realms tours, too? I have seven Realms I think everyone will really enjoy… so let’s do it! It’s my great honor to introduce the PHB’s very first full-on Realms Tour, starting with my newborn winter Realm, Erjenoop.

Look out the window! It’s SNOWING!! And listen to the radio! It says the schools are closed today! You know what THAT means…

Continue reading →

Blast from the Past, YouTubers

Poptropica Lore with Lulaloopsey 🎥💙

January 14, 2025January 14, 2025 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! We know the game’s gone through a lot over the years… so why not take a pop down memory lane?

Young adult nostalgia YouTuber Lulaloopsey just dropped a video essay delving into Poptropica’s 17-year history, already amassing 20K+ views within the first day of posting. Check it out (mild language warning):

While a lot of the content she covers is documented here on the PHB (thanks for the shout-out 🩵), Lulaloopsey also brings her own perspective and experiences of playing the game as a kid in her deep dive into Poptropica’s lore, which makes this all the more engaging.

Some of the throwback topics she covers include the Mystery of Monster Carnival Island, Mystery of Shark Boy, and how Nickelodeon’s virtual world shaped Pop’s identity. And for more year-by-year explorations, we recommend checking out our Poptropica Yearbook pages.

Thanks for the nostalgia trip, Lulaloopsey!

Keep on poppin’ on,

~🐠

PHB Specials, Uncategorized

Poptropica Tattoo Spotlights, Part 2 🦀✨

January 6, 2025January 6, 2025 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! With more of the fandom coming of age while holding fond memories of this beloved game, we’ve seen a rise in Poptropica tattoos, some of which we’ve featured here. Now, we’re back with more!

Former PHB staff Andrew (HPuterpop) and Spencer (Cobalt) met up in New York City and commemorated their longstanding friendship with tattoos of their Poptropican characters, illustrated by Andrew and inked by clowns.ink and nylatattoo. 💙🔥🙌

Garrett got matching tattoos with his sister of a fun creature you may recall: the small crab from Time Tangled Island’s Main Street, which would explode after a few clicks. 🦀💥

And Bryant from Virtue Tattoo in Houston inked Shark Boy (later known as Shark Guy) from Shark Tooth Island, showcasing the process from start to finish with a nice reel you can watch here. 🦈✨

That’s a wrap, at least for now! Are you considering a Poptropica tattoo of your own, or know of any more out there? We’d love for you to share with us on our Discord server, the PHC.

Keep on poppin’ on! ✨

~🐠

Guest Posts

The Christmas Story with Invisible Ring

December 22, 2024December 20, 2024 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!

Prologue

Whenever I think of Christmas, I think of Christmas carolers, decorations, and Christmas trees with presents underneath. I love all this and more about this holiday season, but I sometimes feel sad in spite of all this, just like Charlie Brown.

Unlike some holidays, there seems to be more to Christmas than this; even more than family reunions and festivals! But it’s hard to remember what it is, and what all those other activities have to do with it.

But when Charlie Brown asked what Christmas is really all about, Linus gave him his answer with the story of the First Christmas, and it really helped him feel better. He passed this story onto his whole neighborhood, and now I wish to pass it to all of you.

The First Christmas
Luke 2: 1-16 (KJV)
Illustrations by Invisible Ring

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.”

And they came with haste, and found Mary, Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Epilogue

Whenever I read this story, I think back to the Christmas trees with stars on top, and think of the star of Bethlehem that guided those shepherds to the Christ child, Jesus. I also think of the carolers, singing together like the multitude of angels that came down to earth that night.

The First Christmas story is often depicted in nativity scenes, alongside the Three Kings who gave gifts to baby Jesus, kind of like how we give gifts to each other nowadays. May we not forget the true meaning of Christmas — the best way to make sense of this whole holiday season!

Hope this yuletide message of good tidings lifts your holiday spirits as it did mine. Have a joyous and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Invisible Ring. If you did, you might also enjoy another Poptropica rendition of the Christmas story from the PHB here.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you!