Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Silver Shell. Enjoy!
Hey Poptropicans! Recently, Purple Paw made a post about how to be Poptropica’s protagonist, which inspired me to write a Pop 5 post about being its antagonist — the enemy who actively opposes the hero.
You’re always saving Poptropica: doing good deeds, helping people, protecting the planet, et cetera. But what if you feel like doing something different for a change, being a villain just this once? If so, you’ll need traits that check off this list:
5: A Thirst for Revenge
Countless Poptropica villains had a sad background that fueled their anger and their need to take revenge. Take Ringmaster Raven. His village treated him terribly and later forced him out, and he chose to turn the entire village into monsters. If you’re a villain, you’re usually acting out because of anger and the need for revenge.
4: A Way With Technology
In plenty of islands, the villain messes around with technology to defeat you, like how Gretchen Grimlock pretended to be Harold Mews to get the location of Bigfoot, or how Director D used mini-robots to stop you from getting to his spaceship. Being a villain requires using technology a lot of the time, so learn to be tech-savvy!
3: A Unique Outfit
The protagonist of the island (you) usually wears whatever they want, wherever they want. But the villain should have a noticeable, awesome costume that makes them stand out from the crowd. Whether it’s pirate attire or a bunny costume, be sure to find a cool outfit to show you’re a villain.
2: An Awesome Villain Name
For some small, not-super-important villains, like Gretchen Grimlock, Dr. Silva, Ghost Story’s magistrate Henry Flatbottom and more, they use their own basic names. But the best of the best, like Binary Bard, Dr. Hare, the Black Widow, and Captain Crawfish, have a really cool villain alias that makes them iconic and infamous. Go for greatness.
1: Trickery
Tons and tons of villains have deceived you to get what they want. From Zeus stealing your sacred items to Binary Bard masquerading as the Princess of Arturus, it happens a lot. To be a successful antagonist, you must be willing to resort to trickery.
So, how many of these did you get? Have you got everything it takes to be a true villain? If you don’t think this is for you, you can always go back to being the good guy. Thanks for reading!
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!
Imagine you step into the shoes of your avatar and become a Poptropican hero, hopping from island to island and saving the day. And imagine that, to apply for this thrilling occupation, all you have to do is check 5 requirements off a list presented to you. Only 5. Sounds easy enough, right?
If you think you’re up for the job, grab a pen, gather your wits, and keep reading!
1: Courage, bravery, and a strong will
First and foremost, all the greatest heroes are brave and courageous, and refuse to shy away when danger strikes — as it often does in the world of Poptropica. If you’re looking to protect your home from all the odd terrors it’s riddled with, you must swallow your fear, stand your ground, and hold your head high no matter what you’re facing!
Swords Drawn: Adventuring is not for the faint-hearted.
2: Speed and agility
While courage is important, it’s not the only thing. Saving the day often requires physical strength as well! To navigate your way through Poptropica’s perilous adventures, you’ll need to be agile and speedy. Whether it’s dodging weapons, jumping high walls, or outrunning Myron Van Buren, tough obstacles arise at the unlikeliest of times. Whew!
Breaking In: Better be quick on your feet.
3: A bottomless bag, for your numerous possessions
We never did get an explanation for our mysterious bottomless bag (which has the capacity to hold a picture frame, a trident, and a model Statue of Liberty!) — so it’s good to have a spare just in case it doesn’t show up right away. Or if it becomes beyond repair during the events of Mocktropica. Where would you keep all your useful items then?
In the Bag: Well, not anymore.
4: Within your bag, a handy First-Aid kit
Fast as you may be, finishing an Island unscathed is a feat Poptropica’s protagonists have yet to complete. If you’re not drowning at the hands of Gretchen Grimlock, being kidnapped by the Black Widow, attacked by Director D’s and Binary Bard’s robots… etc, etc… you’re probably still falling into cacti or being knocked off your feet by rogue animals. Poptropicans may be tough, but a handy First-Aid kit is always a good idea.
Drink Up: Even the hero’s tired sometimes.
5: Knowledge!
Knowledge is key, and this is no exception. Doing research is an excellent way to prepare for what’s in store. While reading about mythological creatures and the best way to steer a rocket may seem like a waste of time, you’ll thank yourself for doing it once you’ve boarded your blimp. Besides, you won’t have much time to read while you’re undergoing your adventuring career; best to absorb all the information you can beforehand!
Book It: Reading is fundamental.
…and that’s it! How did you do? If you managed to check everything off the list, congratulations: you’re Poptropica’s newest adventurer! If not, I’m sure there’s something else out there for you. I personally had trouble getting my hands on that never-ending bag. 😜
Anyways! That’s all for today, and I’ll see you next time.
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Silver Shell. Enjoy!
Hey Poptropicans! It’s been a while since my last post, but anyway, this post is about the top 5 most missed classic islands.
Before I start, I want to make it clear that I can’t speak for everyone, so don’t feel bad if your own favorite islands don’t come up here. This list was made by looking at comments on the Pop Creators’ Blog and the PHB, and seeing which islands seem to be in the highest demand for return. So let’s dive in to the Pop 5 most petitioned islands!
Because you are given an awesome outfit and the ability to fly, this island is pretty popular throughout the fandom. While the ending is rather annoying in my opinion (why would they give the medallion to Hot Dog Boy??!!) I loved the plot and getting to defeat all these villains all in one island. When do you get multiple main villains on one island?! Coming in way before Super Villain Island, this was a first.
This island has so much to do and certainly keeps you busy, making you go back and forth a million times. It’s definitely in high demand.
This one was definitely one of my personal favorites, because it’s actually an island I’ve always dreamed of! It’s really cool when you receive all your top secret spy stuff. My friends and I certainly enjoyed camouflaging and flying around with our bowties like Spiderman.
I feel like what made this island really popular was earning your spy gear instead of it just being handed to you, plus getting to free each agent one at a time, slowly uncovering Director D’s secret. To be honest, when I played, it took me like five weeks from starting the island to figure out how everything came together (shhh… don’t tell anyone).
Do I even need to explain this one? I took one look at the name and it was already one of the greatest islands I’ve ever seen. The combination of medieval knights, astronomical science, and connections to the legend of Camelot made it really exciting to the majority of players. It was undeniably original and all the twists and turns made it truly interesting as well as intriguing.
Similar to Spy Island with the slow reveal of Director D’s true character, the disappearance of Mordred and the princess continuously came up throughout the first half of the island, leaving bits of information for you to piece together. Getting to design your own spaceship was cool, and trying to defend it from space sharks and evil aliens (unlike the hospitable ones of Pewter Moon) was rather thrilling. I enjoyed the mini-quests you had to conquer on the smaller islands like the Ice Planet, and how you kept getting tricked into thinking the princess would appear when you defeated one.
Overall, this island is just a great story. Hope it comes back soon.
On this island, you board a train and find out a crime has been committed. Most Poptropicans favor this island because of the stimulating problem that arises out of nowhere, getting to interrogate famous historical figures, and the emotional rollercoaster of how a person is suspicious one second, and the next they’re proved innocent.
I loved exploring rooms, snooping through people’s luggage, running on top of the train, and getting to stop it whenever the heck I wanted just by talking to the captain. Hehe.
The end was great in my opinion. Piecing together the identity of the culprit with President Grover Cleveland was enthralling and somehow made a lot of sense in the end. All in all, one heck of a good island!
Reputed to be the longest island ever to appear on Poptropica, there was always work to do on Skullduggery Island. When you first get on it, you can clearly see the place is in bad shape. Rather depressing, I guess, what with all the ruins and problems.
People say they enjoy this island because of how much trading you get to do throughout, from helping out the locals because I want to win and gets loads of credits HAHA out of the goodness of our hearts, to travelling from island to island, trading tediously to gain wealth so you could reclaim the rightful treasure of Fort Ridley.
Getting to purchase ships and hire a crew is fun, and it was pleasurable solving the mysteries of where the map pieces were. Fighting sea monsters, getting sunk every once in a while, and navigating from port to port made this island interesting and action-filled.
So there it is! Five islands that are petitioned for the most! Put your favorites in the comments. If the Pop Creators are reading this, I hope this gives you an idea of which islands to start working on. Thank you!
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! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Barefoot Knuckle. Enjoy!
Okay, so I don’t know about you, but do you ever play a Poptropica island, and you’re like, “Huh, this reminds me of that movie I saw last week.” If not, then let me show you some of my favorite comparisons. These comparisons are probably just coincidental, and some of these islands were made before the movie, but that doesn’t make it any less fun to talk about!
Green Screen: Nothing like the magic of special effects.
1. Escape From Pelican Rock Island = Muppets Most Wanted (2014)
I mean, this movie is practically the island! You’ve got the evil doppelgänger who frames the hero for a crime they didn’t commit. Next thing they know, they’re in one of the most top guarded prisons in the entire world with a very committed warden with no hope of escape.
And while the hero tries to come up with a plan to break out, they make friends with the inmates. In the end they get to kick their evil twin to the curb on top of a tower and restore order. If you take away the musical numbers, the globe-trotting theme, Josh Groban, and the other guest star appearances from Muppets Most Wanted, you’ve got Escape From Pelican Rock Island.
2. Time Tangled Island = Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014)
I loved playing Time Tangled Island when I was younger (and before non-players weren’t allowed to play it). I also loved watching Mr. Peabody and Sherman with my parents as well. My dad watched the original Mr. Peabody and Sherman shorts when he was a kid, so this movie means a lot to the both of us.
In terms of similar plots, you have a time machine gone haywire, a journey through several time periods, and meeting famous people. Although we didn’t get to go to Egypt or the French Revolution, we did go to France to the Statue of Liberty. There may not have been a genius dog or a creepy wooden child (watch the trailer, you’ll see what I’m talking about) but the approach of a time-traveling adventure in both forms of media are very similar. In both, the characters got to try out Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machine so, yeah.
There’s also a Meet the Robinsons (2007) feel when you get to fix the future and meet your future self.
3. Night Watch Island = Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
I mean, it’s about a character who’s hired as a security guard being alone in a mall during a robbery that occurs at night. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t put in a Poptropican that looks like Kevin James on this island. Paul Blart: Mall Cop is rated PG, but there is a scene where, because Blart is diabetic, he starts getting a little crazy when he accidentally ingests alcohol. It was cool to have a hero who has a health condition though. Represent!
I do know for a fact that the movie was really funny and the segway scenes were boss. Unlike Night Watch, though, there was no snake. But there is a spray tanner scene and you get to see him just hanging out in the mall like you can do on Night Watch Island.
4. Cryptids Island = Missing Link (2019)
This is such a sweet film. And a very interesting island. Though they both have their differences, these two go hand in hand. Both involve the discovery of many different cryptids and they both investigate the Loch Ness Monster (the one in Missing Link is a lot meaner though), the Yeti (in both, the Yetis were a dead end), and of course, Bigfoot.
There is also the presence of a rich man spending his fortune on finding these creatures. And may I say, both forms of media do a brilliant job with their villains. Missing Link has two villains, but Poptropica’s Gretchen Grimlock makes up for being just one with her ability to pop up from nowhere. She was more like Missing Link’s hitman Stenk in the novelization of Cryptids Island in that she was always trying to attack the main character wherever she went. In the game, she’s closer to resembling the movie’s boss villain, Lord Piggot Duncey, because she appears at the beginning and the end to claim what is hers. Surprisingly in both, you get to watch the villains fall to their deaths thousands of feet in the air.
And talk about Poptropica globe trotting! You get to take a boat out on the loch in Scotland to find Nessie, you get to meet Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest, and you get to climb the Himalayas to look for the Yeti.
5. Astro-Knights Island = Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
Just look at these two pictures. To quote The Office, “They’re the same picture.” In the first Star Wars movie, unlikely heroes take to the stars to rescue a princess and save a galaxy. Along the way, they battle aliens and come face-to-face with a half-robot villain who has the princess held captive and harbors a dark secret about their identity. Sounds like whoever developed the storyline for Astro-Knights Island was a Star Wars fan.
They both have a smart, strong, and independent princess who can defend themselves (Princess Leia using a blaster and Princess Elyana kicking Mordred to the curb), awesome spaceships, a cyborg villain, and at the end, the heroes receive medals in a fancy ceremony.
Any Star Wars fans in the Pop community will definitely enjoy the return of Astro-Knights Island now that they know the Jabba-weight it carries. In a way, I guess we always had a Star Wars Island. Too bad “Jedi Knight Island” would run into copyright issues.
Bonus: Fairytale Island (2021) = Happily N’Ever After and others
That’s a wrap for this Pop 5! Stay tuned for the next posts about Pop Culture Islands where instead of comparing Poptropica islands, I’ll be comparing Poptropica characters to their popular media counterparts. Be warned, the next post may get a little… villainous.
(Try to guess who her Poptropican counterpart is in the comments.)
Oh, and also let me know what Poptropican villains you want me to draw for my next post. By the way, here are my drawings of Poptropican princesses with their Disney princess counterparts. (Click to enlarge!)
P.S. Before I go, let’s just take a moment to thank the kind soul who decided to put Napoleon Dynamite in Poptropica.
If anything, he should have come in at the end of Mocktropica and somehow used his nunchucks to save the day. Or a bo staff. I hear he’s pretty good with those.
Now that was pure poetry.
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Barefoot Knuckle. If you did, you might also enjoy her other guest posts here, including her Pop Fan Artist Spotlight!
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! 📰✨
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Smart Icicle. Enjoy!
Hello again, Poptropicans! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Remember the poll I made last month about “Who is your favorite Poptropica creature?” Thanks to all the people who participated, including a few PHB staff, and especially to those who made whole lists!
Now I’m here to announce the top 5 creatures based on the poll. Note that #5, 4, and 3 were all tied with the same number of votes, so they are ordered randomly here. Anyway, let’s get into it, shall we?
#5: Narf (Mocktropica Island)
Ah, the hilarious and adorable creature, Narf. Narfs can be seen in Mocktropica Island if you toss them some cheese puffs. Their last known location: the bridge. Try not to feed this funny creature.
#4: Fluffy (Spy Island)
Adorable but vicious, Fluffy is one out of the three dogs the player has to pass on Spy Island. Fun fact: guard dogs have better hearing than humans.
#3: Whiskers (24 Carrot Island)
Next we have Whiskers from 24 Carrot Island! In 24 Carrot Island, the player encounters this pet and has to get it back to Charlie. Fun fact: Cats can detect vibrations and earthquakes.
We are almost there! Keep reading for the last two winners!
#2: Elmer (Wild West Island)
In second place, it’s Elmer from Wild West Island. This tamed horse helped the player travel from place to place on the mission to capture El Mustachio Grande. Fun fact: Horses can communicate their feelings by showing facial expressions.
Finally! We’ve made it to the big one. And the winner is…
#1 Merlin (Astro Knights Island)
In 1st place, it’s Merlin from Astro Knights Island! This adorable robotic creature was seen multiple times in Astro-Knights and helped the player defeat Binary Bard at the end. Fun fact: Owls are a sign of wisdom. And yes, robotic birds are real.
Congrats, Merlin! But there is one more creature spotlight award to give out. This was first started by PHB guest writer, Dangerous Dragon, so I’ve decided to make it a category for him. Time to announce…
This award is given out to the Minotaur, who is half Poptropican, half creature. In Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a half human, half bull hybrid. In the game, the player needs his nose ring to help Zeus. Many players might like the Minotaur because of his fun yet challenging labyrinth maze.
That’s all for this post! It’s been a blast doing these PHB polls and I’m glad readers enjoy them! If you haven’t already, please check out my otherguestposts on the PHB as well as my new blog about Poptropica and other things I enjoy.
Also, feel free to suggest what you thought of the results, and what other topic I should do a poll on. Bye everyone!
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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