Poptropica recently announced the Islands of the Month for November: Shrink Ray and Poptropolis Games! As with previous IotMs, the chosen islands will give 500 credits for finishing it the first time and 300 credits for repeat finishers.
Not only will extra credits be given away in honor of these islands, but also new walkthrough videos from Captain Crawfish, exclusive costumes returning in the Poptropica Store and never-before-seen behind the scenes of the islands!
Right now, Shrink Ray’s exclusive members-only costumes, the Milk Box and Bottle Cap Costumes, are back in the Store for a limited time.
Poptropica has also released some behind-the-scenes concept art from Shrink Ray Island! Most of these were ideas that never made it into the island. They involve plastic bag parachutes, a ruler-and-crayon lever, and some dust bunnies! Click on the pictures in the gallery below to view them up-close.
We can’t wait to see more concept art and scrapped ideas from the next IOTMs! It’s really cool to see how the Creators put all their ideas together just to make an island. Poptropica used to post some on Twitter – hopefully they bring that back.
That’s all of the updates we have today! Have you entered the #MyPoptropicaCostume Contest? I’ve been seeing amazing works from the community! Great job, everyone! Keep them coming!
If you’re looking for a book to read, one of the Poptropica chapter books, Lunar Colony (which, as you might guess, is similar to the plotline of Lunar Colony Island), is now available for free in its entirety over on Funbrain! You can click here to flip through the 135-page, illustrated book online. Enjoy!
(Thanks to Shaky Skunk for the tip!)
If you prefer a hard copy of the book, you can buy one online or in a bookstore.
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Over on the Creators’ Blog, Skinny Moon has reposted an old video tutorial from Pop Creator Jon Pitcher about How to Draw a Poptropican Head. You can view it below:
Notably in her post, she gave a shout-out to the PHB’sHow to Draw a Poptropican guide, now updated with more art examples! It’s been one of the few times the PHB has been mentioned on the Creators’ Blog. Thanks Skinny Moon!
Once you master drawing your Poptropican’s head, the body should be a piece of cake — but if you want a little guidance check out the Poptropica Help Blog’s tutorial. They give some nice tips for drawing clothes and accessories.
She also hints at something to come…
Is there a reason we’re helping you brush up on your Poptropican drawing skills? Hmmmm? You’ll just have to wait and see… 😉
Wink, wink. ;;))) All we can say is, something’s up and you’ll want to be ready to get your creative juices flowing! Also, if you like Poptropica fan art, be sure to also check out our We-Love-Poptropica group on DeviantArt and the #art channel on the PHC. New stuff comes up frequently! 😀
Lucky Joker here bringing you a Poptropica app update, as well as new Islands of the Month!
If you haven’t logged on to Poptropica in a while, allow me to enlighten you. 😛 Poptropica has finally added conventional pets to the store with the Cat Pack and Dog Pack! And now, these guys (as well as the plethora of other new fall goodies) are also available on the app.
And guess what? Unlike the online version, everything’s available for purchase for 0 credits. That’s right, they’re FREE! Even the pets! If you haven’t already, get yours today!
The Cat Pack includes three different variations: a grumpy black one, a fuzzy gray one and, my personal favorite, a calico cutie.
The Dog Pack also includes three different kinds: A brown one, A loyal labrador and happy mutt.
Cute, right? For a closer look at all these fall goodies, see this PHB post.
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Also, an NPC on Home Island could possibly be hinting at future Thanksgiving-themed costumes. (Thanks to idk for the tip.) Check it out!
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In addition to all of this it’s now November, and that means new Islands of the Month! This month’s featured islands are…
Poptropolis Games Island 🏅
Ah, Poptropolis Games – the island where you compete in various games to prove tribal supremacy. (PHB Tribal Tournament, anyone?)
The video walkthrough has been uploaded by Captain Crawfish, if you’re interested:
Boo! Slip here. I am your host for today, your… ghost host!
The witching hour is almost here – so what will we do? Last year, we did an omnibus of Poptropica’s scariest moments. Well, scary islands and characters are good Halloween clichés: why not review one of Poptropica’s best and creepiest islands? How about Ghost Story Island? Sure!
This review contains spoilers, so if you haven’t played the island yet, close your eyes and hum throughout the review! However, since you’re still reading this, let’s go!
Announced back in November 2011 (wow, it’s been five years!), Ghost Story Island was peculiarly released after Halloween, despite its spooky themes. In December, a pre-island quest called Spook Central was released and involved hunting ghosts throughout different Poptropica islands and eventually earning the exclusive Ghost Hunter suit!
Are you ready for the review? Oh yeah, we’ll be omitting the Soundtrack section since this is a non-SUI island. We’ll begin shortly—if you dare. No turning back!
Storyline & Characters
Hemlock Harbor is a town with a secret. Restless spirits are said to haunt its shores, but no one knows who they are, what they want — or how to get rid of them. Can you hunt the ghosts of Hemlock Harbor and uncover the mystery that will set them free?
This island, I think, has one of the best storylines. Why? First, it tackles on a tricky topic for kids like ghosts, apparitions, and other scary stuff. Just the trailer is creepy enough to make you want to hide under the bed.
As we explore Hemlock Harbor a bit more, we discover the secret behind all these apparitions — it’s one big connect-the-dots game and it’s up to us to weave the story together. Then comes the boldness of the storyline: a story of love, betrayal, and forgiveness — a type of story that goes beyond the typical fluff of kids’ tales.
What I really liked the most was the plot twist in the end, so I suggest that you try playing the island again to find out what it is! Kudos to Poptropica for doing such a great job in making the storyline of the island. I like this island so much that I think it’s worth revisiting once in a while.
Here on the PHB, we love Ghost Story so much that this island won the Best Storyline award in the 2015 Poppies. Awesome.
As for the characters, what amazes is that almost every character makes an appearance and no one gets left out of the story. There is great character development between the ghosts and as well as the magistrate, Henry Flatbottom, as key characters in the story.
My favorite character would be the superstitious guy in front of the bakery. I find it fascinating that some people still believe in superstitions in the modern era.
Gameplay
The island has a serious amount of gameplay, with lots of neat features, some of which are unique and can’t be found on other Poptropica islands!
One feature I really enjoyed were the cutscenes, like the scene inside the inn where the couple scares you. It’s one great tool to make the island better and interactive.
I also liked the mechanism used while maneuvering vehicles within Poptropica, similar to the ones in Wild West and Cryptids. The boat in the gif above is one of the examples of this.
Now for the distinct features of this island! One would be the first-person mazes found in the cemetery. It’s one of the best features of the island and I like how it adds to the eerie atmosphere.
Last but never the least, is the violin mini-game in the island. It’s actually amazing to hear music and sounds in classic Poptropica, and this island has become a good recipient of it. Check out our PHB Special about Fiona’s violin song!
Visuals
Ghost Story received a decent amount of animation — some of which are seen on the banners above. The best thing that I liked in this island was the fog effect seen throughout the Main Street and the cemetery. I also like the ghost glasses being sold by the vendor on Main Street! Poptropica really put in some cool details on this island!
Another thing to point out in this island was the numerous rooms—so many that I’ve already lost count. With all those rooms, Poptropica filled each one to the brim with detail. What’s more amazing is that while some of the rooms seem repetitive, they’re actually different, such as inside the prison.
Even the concept art made before the island came into being is amazing! It simply shows that Poptropica really gave their best making this island, because their art quality never disappoints!
Verdict
Judging on a scale from 1 to 10, Ghost Story Island gets a… 9.4/10!
Ghost Story Island is undoubtedly one of Poptropica’s best islands. Being released almost five years ago, it still stands out among classic Poptropica islands.
I see it as one of the underrated islands because it doesn’t get that much attention, and according to the map, it’s not that popular. If so, I hope this review enlightens and encourages you to play the island and explore it for once! You’d be missing out if you didn’t.
Well, that concludes this review! Hope you enjoyed this gif-filled post as much as I do!
Don’t forget, tomorrow is Halloween, and we’ll be announcing the winners of our 8th Annual Autumnal-Halloween Contest! Watch out for that, everyone! Stay awesome.
Halloween is coming up this Monday, and I’m ready to dress up for a hardcore night of… playing Poptropica, probably, since I might be a little too old for trick-or-treating (by most people’s standards).
Anyways, the Creators have certainly have been getting in the spirit this month, and even more news has poured in from the floodgates! First of all, we’ve got a lovely wallpaper, perfect for screens with a 4:3 ratio! Skinny Moon claims it’s from one island and us “longtime Poptropicans” would know, but I keep staring and can’t think of any island that features scarecrows, carrots, and spaceships.
I mean, I can think of threedifferentislands that have these traits, but not a single one. Maybe I’m just missing something, and I’m not as much of a veteran as I thought I was. I digress though. Wallpaper!
(Update: As a couple of commenters here have mentioned, this scene is from the optional video game you can play on Zomberry Island, Terror in the Garden.)
To keep up this spoopy mood, the Creators released some concept art and animations for one of the IOTM, Monster Carnival! We’ve got sketches of both the Poptropicans and monsters that made their way into the island, as well as a couple of animations.
It’s always pretty neat to see what designs creators go through before the final product. (Unless it’s my characters, in which case please don’t look into that my original designs are terrible and I want to burn them.) Be sure to check them all out!
Finally, we have Skinny Moon celebrating Black Cat Day (October 27th) with the new black cat follower. This cat can jump really high and seems far more friendly than my cats. (Mine just sleep all the way over in the corner and glance at me sometimes. I’m sure they love me though.)
If you’re a member, be sure to pick up the card from the store. If not, well … say hi to Whiskers from 24 Carrot Island I guess? Wait, Whiskers isn’t a black cat. Darn it!
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. May your Halloween be filled with lots of candy!
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