Is your school one that doubts the educational merits of Poptropica? The Twitter-ers among us may have already seen this, but Poptropica recently tweeted a few infographics showing off the scholastic side of their game world in response to all the tweets about schools blocking the site.
If you want Poptropica un-blocked at your school, try showing these to someone in charge, and they might just change their mind. Poptropica may be game, but it’s also a world of learning opportunities! 😀
Some of Poptropica’s best stories involve historical figures, real life locations, art history, and more – all with that unique Poptropica twist that makes it engaging, clever, and still accurate.
And with all the branded books and interactive dialogue waiting to be discovered, it’s clear Poptropica encourages reading as well. Still in doubt? Check out the PHB’s Poptropica Game Review!
With all that being said, Poptropica should fit right into any school environment, especially for the target audience of 6- to 15-year-olds – and kids will pick up all sorts of culturally and academically relevant information while being immersed in top-notch storytelling. And that means…
Hey Poptropicans – as a special treat for visiting this blog and helping us reach the milestone of 15 million hits, I created a little something for everyone: a Poptropica non-SUI music video, matching songs from pop culture to islands in Poptropica that don’t have their own soundtracks (yet)! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. 😀
Each music segment lasts 15 seconds, for our 15M hits. Now, you might pair these islands with different songs (feel free to share in the comments!), but if you like these tunes or just want to know why I picked them, read on – you can also click on the song titles below to hear them on YouTube.
Dark pits aside, Poptropica’s first island is a fun, bouncy adventure that gets the player a feel for the game – so why not a catchy tune? Plus, ‘lollipop’ has ‘pop’ in it, just like the island’s name.
The great Booga shark is terrorizing the locals, and what better accompaniment than the soundtrack to a shark movie? It’s got suspense, but not without a little jaunty sub-tune thrown in.
Despite being a fan-made My Little Pony mix, this is a fun song about villainy, which is rampant on Super Power – and it’s got deliciously evil laughter mixed in with cries of discord and anarchy.
This classic gives the feel of the sly walk of a spy – perfect for the action and adventure of Spy Island, where you can feel like a boss for sneaking past guard dogs and avoiding lasers.
Opening with cries in the Zulu language, this seems fitting for an island that takes place in Africa where we encounter jungles, animals, and other exciting life. (Even the Nabooti totem comes alive!)
In Big Nate’s world, we jump around in a cartoon realm chasing after comic strips, pulling pranks, and digging up a time capsule – and this goofy, recognizable melody embraces all sorts of shenanigans.
Ah, Star Wars. A galactic empire, a cyborg villain, a trapped princess – also elements of Astro-Knights! Darth Vader’s epic tune is a natural fit for our clashes with the robotic creatures of outer space.
A beautiful ballad that sings of paintings forever trapped in their gold frames, this slightly-creepy sound clicks with the canvas caper. There’s even a verse about public mausoleums, like the tunnels we visit.
You’re competing in a reality TV show with a host of colorful characters – why wouldn’t this be the best day of your life? It’s all fun and games – until you get voted off, that is.
Originally a silly song from VeggieTales, this pirate anthem might resonate with all the scallywags who feel like collecting enough doubloons for that Phoenix Warbird is just too much work. (It really is!)
Traipsing through an abandoned steampunk world gets a little lonely, especially with only mechanical parts for company. This track from the indie game Sword & Sworcery kind of embodies that feeling.
Great Pumpkin Island: Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi Trio
This upbeat piano composition made for Peanuts animated TV specials, including one that inspired this island, captures the childhood misadventures that follow Charlie Brown and his gang.
Cryptids Island: Scotland the Brave – cover by the Pipes & Drums of the Royal Tank Regiment
Bold and patriotic, this unofficial Scot anthem inspires brave souls to take on the world – in this case, the hunt for legendary beasts, including the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland.
Yeehaw! An adventure with bucking broncos and moustachioed men awaits on the desert plains of Wild West Island, and it wouldn’t be complete without cowboys whistling in the name of freedom.
Wimpy Wonderland Island: Winter Wonderland – cover by August Burns Red
It’s a winter wonderland in the black-and-white world of Wimpy Wonderland, but with all the teen troubles hounding Greg Heffley, this calls for a rockier version of the classic Christmas carol.
This Magic Tree House tale takes place in Edo of ancient Japan, which in our modern day is Tokyo – and all the synthpop sounds seem to bring home the fact that we’re far from home.
This recognizable tune that starts out slow, then quickens its pace is perhaps the perfect accompaniment for a mystery case – or for pressuring people to work faster. Either way, it works.
It’s a swinging song about a changing world, a little like the robot revolution that has taken over this island – plus, we even visit Istanbul (not Constantinople) for one of the game shows!
Bittersweet but comforting, this melody from the Japanese animated film Spirited Away could represent the complicated union between Fiona and Valiant, even in life after death.
S.O.S Island: Let It Go (from Frozen) – cover by Pentatonix
Surely everyone has tired of hearing the original by now, so we’ll go Pentatonix’s impeccable cover. On S.O.S., we dive into frigid waters in a ship, so it’s safe to say “the cold never bothered me anyway”.
Vampire’s Curse Island: Finger Back by Vampire Weekend
Come on, the band has ‘vampire’ in its name. In any case, this fast-paced number intones tribulations that could be compared to roughing it up in the spooky spaces of Bram’s castle.
What does the fox say? This twisted thicket is just teeming with mystical wildlife, so it seems the strange proposed animal sounds in this viral song would not be amiss here.
Wimpy Boardwalk Island: A Little Vacation by Tiny Little Planets (from Dog Days)
From the soundtrack of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie Dog Days, which inspired this island, A Little Vacation brings us to the summer boardwalk with games, beaches, and of course, Greg’s problems.
Lunar Colony Island: The Adventure by Angels & Airwaves
Life’s waiting to begin in an alien realm, and tracking that down was an astronomical adventure in itself. Space-rock sounds and out-of-this-world lyrics suit this cosmic experience well.
Here we infiltrate the dreams of four of Poptropica’s worst villains to see what evil powers make them tick – the monsters inside that have ruled their ugly rage.
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Island: Oompa Loompa – cover by Primus & the Fungi Ensemble
Oompa Loompas always have a wise word to put in, don’t they? Listen to them and you may just avoid the pitfalls of all that could possibly go wrong when you’re in a room made of candy.
This is it, the zombie apocalypse is upon us – and as always, it’s up to us to save the day (well, night). Going through dark tunnels and seeing the city in ruins may leave our systems feeling ready to blow.
Night Watch Island: Let’s Go to the Mall by Robin Sparkles (from How I Met Your Mother)
Let’s go to the mall… today! Working the night shift comes with its own benefits: we get to play around in the mall when no one else is looking, and best of all, we get our own Segway. Time to jam.
Lights, camera, action! Movie characters are always larger than life because they’re fixed up for the big silver screen – but the truth is, there’s a lot more that goes into production than meets the eye.
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Anyway, that is all 29 classic islands without their own soundtrack, that now have music from pop(tropica) culture to back them up! What song choices would you give these islands? What about the SUIs (sound-updated islands)? Leave a comment and let us know!
Thank you for 15 million hits on the Poptropica Help Blog! ❤
If you’ve played 2048, you’ve probably gotten hooked to the simplicity of the tile-sliding and the desire to reach that elusive 2048 tile – but if you haven’t played, now’s the time to find out what all the hype is about: by playing the PHB-created 2048, Poptropica Edition! Just click the image below to start the addiction, or scroll down for instructions if you aren’t familiar with the game. 😛
To play 2048: Poptropica Edition, you’ll need to click here to visit this external website (link also in image). It’s a simple single-player online game where you slide tiles either up, down, left, or right by using your arrow keys. Every time two of the same tiles meet, they’ll merge to form a new tile of the next tier (example: in the original version, 2 + 2 = 4; in our version, you’ll get a new Poptropica picture for every new tier). Your goal is to get to the last tile, which is the 11th tier.
You can see what all the Poptropica Edition tiles look like in the image above – the last 8 are pics of the PHB authors’ Poptropicans! Here’s all of them: 1) Poptropica Problems Meme character, 2) Link of Legend of Zelda from our Costumes page, 3) Captain Crawfish, 4) Brave Tomato, 5) Shaggy Tornado, 6) Blake, 7) Fuzzy-B, 8) Angry Wing, 9) Samwow5, 10) HPuterpop, 11) Slanted Fish.
(Note: This game is completely fan-made and is not a product of the Poptropica Creators. However, feel free to share this around! We hope you enjoy it!)
So, have you made it to the elusive Slanted Fish tile yet? What’s the furthest tile you’ve gotten to, and what’s your high score? Let us know in the comments if you’ve ever raged over 2048! 😀
If you’ve been on Counterfeit Island, you’ve probably noticed the Museum Fantastique — the huge, beige-colored building on Main Street with the statues and angel gargoyles. And you would probably recognize The Scream, seeing as it’s the star of the show. But there’s more to this museum than the painting you’re framed for stealing!
In this guided tour, we’ll delve into a bit of art history as we uncover the names of all those unlabeled paintings within those whitish walls…
Inside the main hall of the museum, once you step left past the uniformed guard, you’ll find a lovely garden scene by impressionist Claude Monet, called Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies. To your right, not far from the first painting, is Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (expressionism).
If you climb up the stairs with me and walk just a little, you’ll find Edvard Munch’s The Scream (also expressionism) right up top in the center. And stop trying to climb the hanging lamp, that’s dangerous!
Now let’s head back downstairs to the bottom left wing, which houses the museum’s realism paintings. As the name of the style suggests, realism tries to depict scenes accurately. Here the walls are blue and the paintings are (from left to right) Artists Sketching in the White Mountains by Winslow Homer, Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet by Gustave Courbet & The Salmon Fisher by Eilif Peterssen.
Alright, follow me upstairs now, we’re going to see the cubism paintings in the top left wing! Okay, I know these look a little funny, but that’s the point – cubism tries to show a subject from multiple viewpoints, so it looks broken up into geometric shapes and abstracted. Check it out (left to right): Portrait of Picasso by Juan Gris, Cassie Thinking About Cubism by Philip Absolon, & Still Life with Fruit Dish and Mandolin by Juan Gris.
Now run all the way across the hall with me – we’re going to see the impressionism wing in the top right next! With impressionism, it’s all about color and capturing the exact moment through light and atmosphere. From left to right we’ve got Girl with a Hoop by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Cliffs at Etretat by Claude Monet, & Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet – impressive, aren’t they?
Ok, we’re heading down to the bottom right wing now. Don’t forget to say hello to the museum curators along the way! This section is where they display the expressionism paintings, which seek to express emotional intensity. Take a look at Sokea soittoniekka (Blind Musician) by Alvar Cawen, Fighting Forms by Franz Marc, & The Fiddler by Marc Chagall – what do you think they’re trying to express?
Oh, you thought we were done, did you? Well, for those who’ve finished Counterfeit Island, there’s a red button surreptitiously hidden behind the far wall of the expressionism wing (bottom right). If you click on that, the walls will turn a fancy red and the displays in the museum’s wings will change! Unlike with the regular exhibit, clicking on these paintings will actually give you the name, artist, and year, which is great. But… they don’t change the era (style) labels, so that becomes misleading. 😛
Still, let’s take a look! Right here in the bottom right wing we’ve got The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci (1503), Landscape with an Obelisk by Rembrandt (1650) & A Lady and Gentleman in Black by Rembrandt (1633). Unlike the version in Leo’s workshop on Time Tangled Island, this Mona Lisa isn’t covered by a Poptropican head.
Over in the bottom left wing are three more fancy framed artworks on crimson walls: The Duchess of Devonshire by Thomas Gainsborough, Chez Tortoni by Edouard Manet (1878-1880), & The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt van Rijn (1633).
Jump up to the top left wing and you’ll see two more paintings: Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1812) & The Concert by Johannes Vermeer (1664). If you run along to the right you’ll see The Scream again in the top center spot.
Finally, in the top right wing, there’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder by Leonardo da Vinci (1501) & T Jefferson by Charles Willson Peale (1791). (and I included The Scream again just to keep up the pattern of 3 circles, heheh…)
Well, that about concludes our tour of Counterfeit Island’s Museum Fantastique! Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoyed it and maybe even learned a thing or two.
Side note: you can go back and click on the images above to enlarge them for a better view. Which painting do you like best?
I’m going to initialize the official name of the updated/sound improved islands. I’m sick and tired of not knowing what to call them whenever I need to… so without further ado, the name shall be “S-U-I”, for sound updated islands. I’m counting on you viewers to pass it on. 😉
So, onto the main subject of this post: why you should like SUIs. I know most of you don’t. I certainly didn’t at first either. Virus Hunter really did it for most people. It was such a bomb that you guys are scarred for life. But I hope I can explain to you why I am now rooting for these new islands. And it’s NOT just because they have soundtracks. 😛
We all know that SUIs are different from the old islands. Most of you don’t really like any change, and I’m with you. It takes some time to get used to. But you really have to open your eyes and try something new to get anywhere. Poptropica is an experiment, and one that is working. And, I acknowledge that the experiment is very popular, and that in most cases the creators don’t really listen to us (the player).
But we also have to acknowledge that the whole game, to most of you guys, is free. Of course, you can buy extra stuff, but most don’t spend money on this game. For the most part, Poptropica is a free game. There are 35 islands to explore and enjoy for free. You get a whopping 75 credits when you sign up, and you don’t have a barrier if you don’t. It’s popular because it’s genius, and you can’t deny that.
At first, I was sort of shocked about the new player. It seemed as if they had made a better game 6 years ago than they did now. They’re really getting the hang of it, though. I mentioned in another post that the new islands are becoming stabilized. It’s starting to feel like Poptropica again.
Pros
The new screen really helps. The islands are supposed to be stories where you are the main character, and thus theatrical, and one way to do that is a bigger screen. They fixed the “fuzziness” of it in 24 Carrot, and it really lets you appreciate the art more.
The gameplay is smooth, and getting more and more life-like. One major switch with the format is that the islands are separated (the backgrounds and objects have separated layers and overlays now). This is fun to look at, but it also gives a smoother feel.
The soundtrack is amazing. A page will be up soon with the complete soundtracks of everything. Stay tuned for that. I don’t think I need to elaborate on this much, because I’ve expressed my enthusiasm in other posts– and many. 😉
The dialogue speed can be adjusted, which is a MAJOR pro.
Also, you can access the blimp at any time, which is very nice.
Cons
The inventory is not as fun as it used to be, and it’s also very glitchy. I like the old one better! Who’s with me?
The costumizer STILL isn’t working, and that’s super annoying. Hopefully they’ll get it up and running soon.
Also, the skip dialogue cheat doesn’t work anymore, which really is annoying.
And, SLANTING PLATFORMS. The feet don’t slant when the platform does! It doesn’t really affect the gameplay, but it is so annoying!
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Basically, I think we all need to chill. I think we all need to sit down, read this post, and forgive those horrid creators for giving us something new. 😆 But in all seriousness, I want the community to settle down. I DON’T want a war to be started, with two sides; one being for the new format, the other for the old. 😛
