Boo, Poptropicans! 👻 Coming at you with a little Rumpel, another Halloween store update, and hints of something to come. Let’s pop in!
Poptropica just dropped a video walkthrough for Rumpel’s Challenge, the members-only sequel to Fairytale Island released last month. In the vid, Pop Creator Silent Frog mentions “other Halloween surprises coming later this month” — what could they be? Read on for a guess…
And if you’re interested in an even quicker way to solve Rumpel’s riddle in the treasury, check out our Rumpel’s Challenge Side Quest Guide!
Red October still reigns on Home Island and Amelia-the-unicorn’s got some creepy stuff in store to rival the Baron! Head on over and find new Headless Man and Egyptian Mummy costumes — it’s their first appearance on Haxe, though they were born from the Flash days, like the repurposed clubhouse décor here to haunt your house.
Back to the question of upcoming Halloween treats — Poptropica’s latest Instagram story may offer a clue for what might be brewing. Pop posted a pop quiz asking, “What antidote cures the Zomberries?” and if you know your stuff, the answer is pineapple slime. 🍍
The IG story is referring to Zomberry Hero, a special event from last year’s Halloween, based on the classic Zomberry Island. This mini-game involved sneaking around town to turn Zomberries back into people and previously promised more to come. Could we be coming face-to-face with zombie alligators in a sequel? Only slime will tell!
That’s a wrap for this update. Have you decked out your clubhouse (or your costume) for spooky times? What are your guesses for Poptropica’s Halloween surprises? Trick or treat yo’self, Poptropicans! 🎃✨
Hey there, everyone! At long last, it’s time to continue the abruptly ended story of Fairytale Island with the new “side quest” Rumpel’s Challenge… which was once locked behind a paywall, but is now available for all who have completed the main island quest!
Video Walkthrough
For a written walkthrough with pictures, scroll down on this page.
Written Walkthrough
To begin, find Rumpelstiltskin himself waiting on Home Island. If you don’t see him here, you can also look for the magic man on Fairytale Island after you’ve earned your medallion.
Thanks to HeartOfEnder for the pic!
You’re (naturally) startled at the sight of a known villain hanging around as though he owns this place, and immediately call for Amelia to tie him up with a rope. But Rumpel doesn’t have time for your threats. He tells you that he knows where the real Fairy Tale king is imprisoned, and gives you a riddle, all for his amusement.
Accepting the side quest will cause Rumpel to vanish in a puff of purple smoke. Now, time to find the king…
The instructions on the riddle point to Mythology Island; specifically, the Museum of Olympus with its statues of gods. Once inside the museum, you’ll find a second riddle hovering in front of Zeus’s statue; whose head has now been replaced by Rumpel’s.
Terrifying.
Pick up the second riddle. “Vikings”… “time”… this riddle clearly references Time TangledIsland!
If you’ve already completed Time Tangled, you should have a time travel device ready and waiting in the lower-left corner of your screen once on the island. If you don’t see the device, follow the first part of our Time Tangled Island walkthrough to acquire it.
Now click on the image of the Viking at 2 o’clock on the time device. You’ll be transported back to the year 831 AD. Climb up the rocks as high as you can go, past the cave. A third and final riddle will be waiting for you beneath another horrible stone bust of Rumpel.
“Weep and cry”…who else fits this description but the disheartened Fairy Tale prince himself! Follow the riddle to Fairy Tale Island and enter the castle area, where you’ll find the prince sitting on the flight of steps, continuing to lament the loss of his real father.
He’ll perk up when you share the clue with him. He knows what “golden troves” is referring to: the castle’s treasury! And luckily, he’s got a key.
Left: the treasury in Rumpel’s Challenge. Right: the last place Rumpel was seen in Fairy Tale Island. Look familiar?
Inside the treasury, jump up onto a platform at the far right, where a gate hides a small trove. Pulling the lever on the wall beside it will raise the gate and reveal a gold mermaid with — you guessed it — Rumpel’s head in place of the original.
Moving on from this cursed image… jump down from the platform on the opposite side, and descend the stairs onto a lower level. Pull the lever set into the side of the stairs, which will raise a gate up ahead. Go through it and jump all the way down. Here, you’ll find your path blocked by another gate; pull another lever on the wall just behind you to open it.
You know what they say: never tickle a sleeping dragon.
There’s a new challenge beyond this gate: a giant, snoozing dragon, guarding its treasure. To avoid waking it and activating its fire-breathing abilities, jump over the heaps of gold until you reach the opposite side of the scene. Whew — you’ve made it pretty far!
Finally, you’ve reached what you came for. As you’ll see, there are six troves behind gates: three on a bottom floor, and three on a top floor. Each trove has a pink panel beneath it. And trapped behind the bottom middle gate is the king!
Upon seeing his father, the prince cries (at least this time it’s out of relief). His tears change the panel below him from pink to gray, and the adjacent gates surrounding the king’s cell will be lifted.
The key to freeing the king lies in the prince’s “fragile crybaby disposition,” to quote the king. In other words, you’re supposed to throw various insults at the prince to make him cry on the panels to activate the movement of the adjacent trove gates.
The Pop Creators knew what’s up when they wrote these sarcastic lines.
The key to opening the king’s cell is to get all of the gates open at once. This can be done a number of ways, although the simplest way may be this: bottom middle (done automatically), then top middle. (Thanks for the tip, Ammonite.)
Hurrah, you’ve freed the king! That’s all there is to this mystery, right?
…Right?
Aw geez.
That’s that for Rumpel’s Challenge, everyone. What did you think of this side quest? Personally, I’m finding it a bit odd how fragmented Fairytale Island is turning out to be (plus the frequent use of the term “side quest” — what is that, really?). I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see how this all wraps up in the end.
Hear ye, hear ye! We will soon be returning to the fantastical world of Fairytale Island in the upcoming side quest: Rumpel’s Challenge!
The Creators’ announcement goes on to explain that the quest will continue the island’s story and answer some of our burning questions. The promise of tying loose ends reminds us of the Fairytale Fanfic Contest, in which fans wrote their own endings to Fairytale Island. How closely will the official tale match fanfiction? We’ll have to wait and see.
However, this story has a dark twist: only members can take on Rumpel’s challenge. This news may remind some players of Poptropica’s members-only bonus quests, which were extra quests added to the endings of islands during the early 2010s. It’s disappointing that not everyone will be able to end Fairytale Island on a satisfying note. We can only wish that the Creators will eventually give every player the chance to finish the tale…
To tide us over until the release, the Creators graced us with some concept sketches for a new character! The image name is Queen Ideas_2, so it looks like we’ll be meeting the queen of Fairytale Island! Judging by the art shown below, she appears to be regal ruler who loves cats and knows how to use a sword. She also has a curly updo similar to Cinderella, so could they be related? Where was she during the main story? Theorize away, Poptropicans!
But wait! We have more news for you, though prepare to feel some déjà vu.
Some of you may have already played the ad game for My Little Pony: A New Generation. In a surprising development, there is now a second My Little Pony ad on Poptropica! It’s not often that Poptropica hosts two separate ads for the same product at the same time. There is no game in this particular ad, though. All you need to do is watch the trailer to win two new pony prizes: the Zipp Outfit and the Hitch Outfit.
Here’s a neat tidbit about these prizes: if you press the spacebar while equipping one of the prizes, that respective pony’s cutie mark will pop up on screen for a second. Stop by both ad spots and win all five prizes, one for each of Gen 5’s Mane 5. Gotta befriend em’ all! 💫🧶🛡️🎤⚡️
The official Poptropica Instagram account shared eight pieces of fan art in yesterday’s stories. Among them were spooky and silly entries for the now closed costume contest, and they all look like they could be great additions to the game. There is also art of original characters and airships, as well as some Rumpelstiltskin fan art just in time for the announcement of Rumpel’s challenge.
That’s all for now! Are you looking forward to the follow-up to Fairytale Island? How do you think the tale will end? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Hey Poptropicans, we’ve got name-matching and princess simping coming from the Creators today. Let’s pop into it!
Over on the official blog, the Pop Creators have posted a name chart challenging Poptropicans like you to discover your alternate Poptropica alias using the first letter of your name (whether made-up or IRL) along with your (or your Pop alter ego’s) favorite color. 🔠🖍
Nice to meet you, I’m… Outside Sock. Great. Think I’ll stick with my Poptropican’s real name, Friendly Fish! What about you?
In their blog post, the Creators also share about how all Poptropicans are united through our little origin story: every player starts out with the name Hamburger Hamburger before getting their own personalized nickname through the friends profile. (What they don’t mention is how it was voted the “Ickiest Poptropican Name” in the Poppies!) 🍔🍔
Speaking of name combos, you might also enjoy the PHB’s list of Poptropica Names which you can find under our Pop Plus collection in the site menu above. As they say, a good name is greater than gold.
In other news, Poptropica put out a smoldering new tweet, perhaps best explained by a meta-meme…
no one: ok, maybe a few simps: the Poptropica Creators:
We do have to admit Cinder is an absolute queen. But this may be the first time we’ve seen a whole shrine dedicated to this Fairytale Island rock star. Regardless, when it comes to lifting a lady, we’d do it for her. 🔥
Anyway, that concludes this post! Keep on popping on, Poptropicans. ✌️
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Barefoot Knuckle. Enjoy!
Hey everybody! It’s Barefoot Knuckle here and today I will be talking about the many similarities Fairytale Island has to other works in pop culture. Most of these are probably just a coincidence, but I think it’s very interesting to discuss, plus fun and hilarious at the same time!
Okay, this island has SO MANY similarities to other stuff, it’s insane. Of course there are the obvious easter eggs like the Poptropican Fairy Godmother being modeled after Shrek 2’s Fairy Godmother.
Fairy Godmother (Poptropica)
Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2)
But Fairytale Island mostly reminds me of the Happily N’Ever Afterseries from Lionsgate. Now although I only ever watched the first one, the second movie’s trailer was also reminiscent of the whole “Rumpelstiltskin causing Snow White to fall asleep” scenario.
The first movie (2006) was a lot like Fairytale Island though. You had one fairytale villain who seized power over all the happily ever afters and started messing them up so no one could have a happy ending. Then Cinderella learns how to be a strong, independent woman and everyone has different happily ever afters in the end.
Snow White and dwarves in Happily N’Ever After
Fairytale characters (Poptropica)
Prince Humperdink in Happily N’Ever After
Of course, they defeated the villain in the movie, and in the second movie as well, which was different from what happened in Fairytale Island. But other than that, Cinderella’s pink dress, Snow White’s purple and blue outfits, the dwarves’ tough looking design and the Prince’s personality and design all resemble how the characters are shown in Happily N’Ever After.
Another resemblance is the trend of showing fairytale princesses as modern, independent women. We saw this in Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), where all the princesses gathered in lounge wear. And in Fairytale Island, the princesses are working girls. You can’t be lounging around the house when there are animals to cure, guitars to play, and pizzas to deliver.
Snow White in Happily N’Ever After
Snow White (Poptropica)
Princesses enjoying comfort in Ralph Breaks the Internet
(Also, comment if you want me to draw Poptropica’s princesses with Disney’s princesses and I will include it at the end of my next post!)
When Fairytale Island was first released, some fans noted that it was rare to see Cinderella as a Black woman, but it has been done before. In The Wonderful World of Disney (1997) Cinderella, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella was portrayed by Brandy (yes, that is her name). Although there isn’t much similarity in terms of dress design, her hair and crown does share a similar style to Poptropica’s Cinderella.
Combined with Happily N’Ever After’s Cinderella with her pink dress and story arc (though she never turned into a rock star), Poptropica’s new take on the classic princess had a lot of throwbacks to past concepts on the character. Also, is it just me, or does the pink hair and punk style remind anyone of the rock artist, Pink?
Cinderella (Poptropica)
Brandy as Cinderella in The Wonderful World of Disney (1997)
Ella in Happily N’ever After
Cinder (Poptropica)
Pink (singer)
Then there are the character designs in the “Red’s Food Delivery” side quest. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Red Riding Hood in a modern tomboy look, since the movie Hoodwinked (2005) (another movie I’ve only seen the trailer for) portrayed Red Riding Hood as a tough karate girl who wore jeans.
Fairytale characters (Poptropica)
Hoodwinked (2005)
Now Poptropica’s Red Riding Hood doesn’t seem like she’s specialized in any defenses, but she does have that tough girl look about her. And even though they don’t share the same personality, the grandma in Hoodwinked and the grandma in Fairytale Island share a very similar look. And from what I’ve seen in the trailer, the huntsman in Hoodwinked seems just as weird as the huntsman from Fairytale Island.
The whole island is kind of like a couple other middle grade book series about fairytales, like Whatever After by Sarah Mlynowski and TheLand of Stories by Chris Colfer. Red Riding Hood’s pet in Colfer’s series, Clawdius, is just about the equivalent of Fairytale Island’s Big Bad Wolf.
Concept art from Fairytale Island (Poptropica)
Clawdius (Land of Stories)
And what about that Gravity Falls similarity with these little guys, huh?
Dwarves in trench coat (Poptropica)
Gnomes (Gravity Falls)
The final easter egg I’ll bring up has to do with the island’s villain, Rumplestiltskin. You know that part where the player says his name three times and apparently he’s free? Well, the same thing happens in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988) when this ghost couple and this goth girl say a creepy ghost’s name three times and he’s free to help them get revenge or something. It was recently adapted into a Broadway show (with a song called “Say My Name” — and that’s all I know).
Rumpelstiltskin in Poptropica
Beetlejuice on Broadway
But what do you guys think? Is Fairytale Island just a mashup of pop culture references? Is Cinderella’s pink hairstyle a nod to rockstar Pink? Did the creators intentionally put a Beetlejuice reference in the script? And what kind of pop culture reference would you like to see in Poptropica?
For more trivia, check out the PHB’s Fairytale Island Guide. Keep an eye out for my next posts! I think you’ll like them!
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Barefoot Knuckle. If you did, you might also enjoy other guest posts here on the PHB!
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! 📰✨
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