Remember Poptropica’s “PopTopics” book series? Where they tell you the cool (or strange) truths of the real world that helped inspire Poptropica’s islands? Soon to join the collection are two new books, both of which will be released February 20 and can currently be pre-ordered on Amazon!
Scary Monsters gives you the low down on the myths and legends behind the creatures you’ve encountered in your adventures on Cryptids Island, Vampire’s Curse Island, Zomberry Island, and more. All of these monsters have a basis in fact — and we’ll reveal them to you!
Wild West is all about the amazing true history of the American frontier. Find out what parts of Wild West Island are made up, and which are based on fact. You might be surprised to learn which is which!
More on Poptropica merch, Black Widow even posted a reminder about Poptropica’s personalized clothing shop, which includes sweatshirts for colder weather! Honestly, maybe she just wanted shamelessly advertise her “gorgeous face”. We’re onto you, Black Widow. 😉
Finally, here’s another reminder that we are looking to publish your Poptropica stories, island ideas, fan art, and more for the next issue of The Poptropican’s 911, coming out in March! Please email your entries to poptropican911(at)gmail.com (replace at with @), and refer to our Magazines page for more details. For inspiration, check out our most recent Pop magazine issue! 🙂
A while back, Poptropica and Ubisoft released a DS game called Poptropica Adventures. I have a feeling this was an experiment, and also a feeling that this is the first and last one. This was one of the first things that started to get Poptropica to what it is today in a drastic way. Not many online games can say, “Yeah, we have our own DS game.” I finally got to play it, and the results are in! Let’s get to it!
Design
The fact of the matter is, Poptropica didn’t make this game. Ubisoft did. And even if they are game designers, it doesn’t mean they are the Creators.
Character Design
My take on it is, it’s adorable, but it’s not quite right. The placement of the eyes are strange, and their creepy smile gets to me. But I think it’s adorable because I can’t believe Poptropica has come this far. I don’t know why, but these avatars sorta symbolize that.
Material Design
Nothing much to say about this except it’s the same as the islands. One thing that’s nice, though, is that the background isn’t pixelated like the actual characters. I’m not a big Nintendo fan, so I don’t know if this is normal, but it’s still pretty cool.
Story
One thing I can say about the story — it’s definitely Nintendo. Even I know enough about it to recognize it. It doesn’t feel like Poptropica, and the quests are very – not simplistic, but not as intense as the online game. Instead of finding the six magical items for Zeus, you deliver packages for Hermes. Instead of an epic battle between you and Zeus, you have a race with him. Then he’s all like, “Boo hoo, you’re faster than me.” I do see an effort made here, though, like they wanted the connect-the-dots sort of game play to be in there, but just to drown it with little quests…
If you’re wanting the stories for each island, here they are –
Museum Island – A museum is in crisis. You have to travel to three islands to find artifacts and things to put on display while the curator cleans up.
Super Power Island – Someone has stolen Ned’s comic books. You battle different villains, who each give you a comic book if you defeat them. But none of them are the ones who stole the comic books. You finally figure out who this thief is… Betty Jetty, after finding pieces of a picture of the thief that were torn up (but by who?).
Mythology Island – Hermes (Zeus’s son) has lost his flying hat. He is the postman of the mythology world, so you get sent to deliver packages to Hades, Poseidon, and lastly Artemis — but she can’t take the package until she can catch and give a deer back to its owner. When you catch it, you will obtain Hermes’s hat, which you bring back to Hermes. Then Zeus will show up, and you will race him, and that’s the end.
Astro-Knights Island – The king has been acting strange ever since a strange visitor from the sky visited. You are sent on a mission to find out why. He turns out to be a robot droid, and you have to rescue the real king from Binary Bard (who is totally cute in this version!). You defeat him by, you guessed it, racing him, then leave the king there, because he won’t go back… then you have to deal with the robot king that does a little dance when you talk to him… yup.
Controls
The controls are surprisingly similar to the online game. They are exactly like they should be for a Poptropica arcade game. They use the control pad (obviously), and the character bounces around perfectly!
Soundtrack
This was the first time that Poptropica ever had sound affiliated with it, not counting trailers! I think it may have sparked some ideas leading up to present day, but what about the soundtrack itself? The word that describes it best is “lonely”. I don’t know why, but it just feels lonely. They are good soundtracks, but 1) they get annoying after a while, and 2) there are not many. They are awkward, but they seem to fit in a sad way… but let’s just say that Jeff Heim does a better job.
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So there you have it! Is it worth getting? It depends on who you are. If you are a die-hard Poptropica fan, then yeah, you’ll enjoy it. If you are not… I advise getting something else. I finished it in two days. Did I enjoy it? Slightly. What do you think?
Two big things are happening on the map right now: 1) Poptropolis Games 2013 is now available for everyone to play, and 2) Mocktropica is now shown as coming soon!
Poptropolis players, if you need a helping hand, our Poptropolis Games Island Guide will give you tips for finishing first! Our written walkthrough includes pictures and is updated with this year’s two new events (skiing & volleyball), so check it out!
As for Mocktropica, the first members-only item is now available in the Store, and it’s a Glitch Power! Activate it to fill the screen with big blocks of pixels. Don’t worry, nothing’s wrong with the game – it’s just the special effects! The other members’ items to be released are the Unfinished Costume and Narf Follower. Anyway, here’s the glitchy goodness in action:
From now until Monday, December 9, Poptropica is offering another 30% off sale at the Poptropica Shop where you can get customized clothing! Just enter the promo code HOLIDAY30 at checkout.
The Galactic Hot Dogs stands found on Main Streets now offer new prizes: an Ice Blaster Pistol and a costume (Humphree for boys, Queen Dagger for girls).
Also on Main Streets, you might find a video ad for the Percy Jackson movie Sea of Monsters. Watch the trailer to get the Hippocampus Power!
Happy Thanksgiving! Whether you’re celebrating with turkey or not, this still applies: Poptropica’s first ever iOS game, Forgotten Islands, is now on sale in the App Store for $2.99 (a saving of two dollars)! This discount ends on (Black) Friday, so get it quick!
Along with hours of gameplay, a promise of no in-app purchases, and the recently added Halloween costume pack, it now comes with a new Thanksgiving costume pack, too! If you’re not convinced, check out the PHB’s complete Forgotten Islands Walkthrough, with pictures and the whole storyline to show you what the game is like.
Anyway, happy Thanksgiving from the PHB! We’re grateful for all you readers for your support just by visiting our website and eating all the crawfish from our fridge. (Wait, what?)
Also, Poptropolis Games Island 2013 will be available to everyone next Thursday, December 5, so be ready to represent your tribe well in high-spirited competition!
Hey guys, BT here. (I KNOW IT’S BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU READ MY TEXT. >:) )
Now, we know about Poptropolis’s return, right? Well, the Creators have created a little special event (over on Poptropolis Games Island on the Map) where we are challenged to navigate the ocean depths so many times and hit the bottom as many times as you can, without getting eaten by a shark that is.
And whichever Tribe collects the most dirt will have something special on the Main Street once the island resurfaces… I’ve yet to understand what that is, yet .-. .
Well well, this’ll be interesting… wonder which tribe is gonna win? Please, help me pull this off, my fellow Black Flags…
Even this guy knows that everything is on the blogs…
Anyways, in other news, there is a sale in the Poptropica Shop! If you want a shirt with a Poptropican on it, you can get a 30% off discount when you enter the code FALL30 as a promotional code, until November 5th!
Tired of digging underwater? Well, if you haven’t already, here’s a friendly reminder to enter your spooky Halloween costume in the PHB’s 5th annual Halloween Competition! Check it out!
Finally, here’s another reminder that we are looking to publish your Poptropica stories, island ideas, fan art, and more for the next issue of The Poptropican’s 911, coming out in March! Please email your entries to poptropican911(at)gmail.com (replace at with @), and refer to our Magazines page for more details. For inspiration, check out our most recent Pop magazine issue! 🙂
Two big things are happening on the map right now: 1) Poptropolis Games 2013 is now available for everyone to play, and 2) Mocktropica is now shown as coming soon!
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