Category: PHB Quickie

Cryptids Island, PHB Quickie, Reviews

PHB Quickie: Cryptids Island

LJ

Cryptids Island Quickie

What’s up, Poptropicans? It’s Lucky Joker here with a PHB Quickie where I quickly review one of Poptropica’s many great adventures. Today I’ll be reviewing the riveting Cryptids Island. Let’s run through it!

(Be warned: Spoilers ahead!)

fake nessie

If you love urban legends and creatures, you’ll love this island. The task at hand is to find four of the most popular cryptids and prove their existence for the head of the Mews Corporation of scientific discovery, Harold Mews.

I really liked this premise. I find it as interesting and compelling as one could possibly be, in fact. It definitely makes for a thrilling and exciting journey. The creatures, of course, were just as cool. Who isn’t fascinated by mysterious beasts like Nessie or Bigfoot?

On the other hand, none of the Poptropican characters really stood out for me besides Mews — not even the island’s main antagonist, Gretchen Grimlock. There was an absence of any unique personality and everyone was just a bit lackluster, in my opinion. Again, Gretchen Grimlock could have been more heavily featured throughout the quest (like Black Widow, Mademoiselle Moreau, or Myron Van Buren on their islands).

mews excellent

As far as gameplay goes, a quibble I have, albeit slight, is that there’s a lot of back and forth from each location to the lab in Mews’s mansion. (By now, though, our Poptropicans must be used to that 😅) The tasks/mini-games, however, were great! At first the dart game was kind of hindering, but eventually you get the hang of it. And the climb up to the temple in the Himalayas was challenging, but not irritatingly so — so that’s a plus.

cr ness

Despite my complaints, Cryptids Island gets an impressive 4.5/5 yeti footprints rating from me! I have to admit that when I was younger, I never paid this island any attention, but upon replaying it I discovered a newfound love for it! The positives majorly outweigh the negatives in this case. If you’re a member and haven’t played through this island at least once, or even if you just want to revisit this classic, I totally recommend doing so — especially since it will be disappearing at the end of the year.

And that about wraps it up! What are your thoughts on this island? Sound off in the comments!

Also, don’t forget to participate in the Tribal Tournament currently happening on the PHC Discord server. You’ll definitely have a blast! Thank you for reading as always, and I’ll talk to you all soon.

– Lucky Joker 🍀

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PHB Quickie, Reviews, Twisted Thicket Island

PHB Quickie: Twisted Thicket Island

LJ

Velkomin, Poptropican folk! (That’s Old Norse for ‘welcome’ 🤓)

It’s Lucky Joker popping in today with a truncated review of one of Poptropica’s recently withdrawn classic capers, Twisted Thicket Island — an early favorite of mine from 2012. Let’s flutter into it, shall we? (note: spoilers ahead)

Your initial task arriving on the island is to aide the construction crew in clearing the forest by ridding the “hindering creatures” occupying it in order to make room for their new developments.

In the end of it all though, it’s revealed that the developer, Burt Diamond, and the rest of the lumberjerks are in fact the villainous ones — not the inhabiting forest creatures. You realize the action of forcefully ejecting innocent beings from their sacred home is reprehensible, and that the critters were only acting hostile in self-defense. (What a concept, right?) And so of course, like the heroic Samaritan we are, we eventually save the day and the forest’s magic is restored in all its glory.

As an environmentalist and someone who deeply cares about animal welfare, I really like that Poptropica shed some light on this important real-life issue (even more so with the surprising plot twist).

And including Scandinavian folklore along with the bewitching landscape makes the whole adventure more enticing while still fostering the same core idea. The game-like stages are diverting and the final intervention sure is climactic. I find it satisfying when we end up utilizing the very powers of the creatures in peril to drive the pesky bullies away. Oh sweet poetic justice!

So with all that said, I give Twisted Thicket Island a rating of 4/5 rune stones! It’s the decent storytelling, fun and challenging obstacles, and stunning scenery that grant the island perfect score potential. However, I do feel that the gameplay was just a tad rushed and blandly straightforward compared to other islands. I would’ve appreciated a bit more depth and length, so to me a B grade seems reasonable. 🙂

And that concludes my analysis of Twisted Thicket Island! It’s fairy unfortunate it’s no longer playable on the official game, but thankfully we can still access the island here (courtesy of our resident glitcher, idk). I’m not trolling!

What are your opinions on this mystical quest? Share below in the comments!

Also, don’t forget to participate in our readers’ survey if you haven’t already. (It closes on the 18th.) Thank you for reading, and I’ll talk to you all soon.

– Lucky Joker 🍀

Mission Atlantis Island, PHB Quickie, Reviews

PHB Quickie: Mission Atlantis (Episode 2) Overview

LJ

Hello, everyone!

Lucky Joker here with a shortened review of Mission Atlantis Ep. 2: Fortress of the Deep. For a full review of the entire island, check out our earlier Mission Atlantis Review!

Although this island came out a few years ago, it’s nice to remember that Poptropica has built up a big collection of islands we can re-play to our heart’s content, and this is just one of many. So let’s dive in!

As the second installment of the Mission Atlantis series, this episode has a lot to accomplish — primarily to top the previous episode as well as getting players hooked. While this alien-based story develops, players need to embrace this new atmosphere to appreciate the rest of the game. That said, did it achieve its goal, or did it sink far beyond return?

MissionAtlantis2overview

The episode starts off where the last one ended – you’ve discovered an other-worldly sunken ship, and your job is to investigate. One of the many things they nailed in this episode is the atmosphere. It differs drastically from the previous episode, implementing an eerie edge. This edge keeps you on guard, especially when you find the shark area. The scenery is truly captivating and works well with the mysterious tone.

Compared to many of Poptropica’s best islands, the story is fairly substandard. The feeling of loneliness didn’t quite work as well here as it did in Steamworks Island. Encountering some underwater civilians, or having a goal other than opening the circular door would have made the story a lot more interesting.

However, compared to Into the Deep (Episode 1), Episode 2 does leave you asking more questions like “What’s up with those glyphs?”, and “What’s inside the ship?” Unanswered questions are a good thing, in my opinion, especially in an episodic adventure. Near the end, Fortress of the Deep leaves quite the cliffhanger: your player is somehow sucked into the ship! Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe a little bit of both…

Overall, I’d give this episode 3.5/5 stars. The soundtrack was nice, the story was okay, and most importantly, it did its job — making us curious about what is going to happen next.

That about wraps up this quick review! What did you think of Fortress of the Deep? Let me know! Thanks for reading, I’ll talk to you soon.

-Lucky Joker

Home Island, PHB Quickie, Reviews

Thoughts on Hub Island, new features & more vents!

Slippery Raptor

Yellow! Slip here!

We’ll have a short review of the recent release of Tutorial / Hub / Home Island. 🙂

thoughtsontutorial

First of all, I’m really surprised with the update. The Creators never had any sneak peek or tweet about it and out of the blue, *poof* Hub/Tutorial/Home Island is now released online! 😛

Second, this island is really great for beginners. The last time I remember logging in to Poptropica for the first time, I was lost; not knowing what to do. But if you’re a new player, you get to learn the basic steps of Poptropica through the Tutorial Island. The pilot even asks you if you’re a first-timer or an old pro! More to that, you’ll get to learn more about Poptropica— Poptropica Realms, multiverses and more. As what old people would say, “The kids today are so lucky! Not like us back in the days.” And there starts a long, boring flashback story.

Also, I’m really sorry for the people who just bought the Colorizer item card, which is now useless thanks to the new update (although people have reported that the new Colorizer’s effects wear off, so perhaps not). On the bright side, you can collect your 150 credits by completing Tutorial, Hub, Home, or whatever the island’s name is! (The official name is Hub Island, according to a Creator, Chris Barney, when asked by HPuterpop. But it says Tutorial on the medallion and Home on the map!)

Last but not the least, my only concern is the Arcade and the Shop in which I understand since Poptropica would take some time to make it like the one in the Poptropica app. The Arcade would look like a real arcade if it doesn’t redirect to the Pathfinders’ tribe room and the Shop would be better like the one in the app instead of redirecting to the Poptropica Store.

Overall, it’s a really great update I never expected. Kudos to the Poptropica Creators!

  ——

Next update, you may have noticed some new features on SUIs while going from scene to scene. Poptropica has been changing the text on some of the pointers when you’re entering places, moving from scenes and riding the blimp. For example, instead of “go left” or “go right”, it says “exit”; instead of “travel”, it says “map”, and so on. (Thanks to R, The Black Bird for the tip and the picture!)

newfeat

  ——

Last but not the least, there has been a couple of Daily Pop Sneak Peeks with a common denominator and it’s a Poptropica cliche — vents. They seem to be for the Pelican Rock / Prison Island but we never know, maybe these sneak peeks are for Timmy Failure Island.

Venting: Just gotta get something off our shoulders.
Small Potatoes: The winds of change are coming.

By the way, we recently added two brand new pages here on the PHB — the Hub Island Guide and the Fortune Cookie Quotes page!

And that’s all of the updates! Have you received your Total Costume already?

Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!

-Slip :mrgreen:

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PHB Quickie, Reviews, Survival Island

PHB Quickie: Survival (Episode 4) Overview

HPuterpop

Hi Gs,

As the episode we’ve all been waiting for, will it fulfill our wildest dreams or come out tainted? Let’s find out! Do be warned, however– there will be spoilers! You can check out the past overviews here.

survival4Overview

This episode is basically the climax of the story, as we finally meet the main antagonist, find out his motives, and end with a chase scene waiting to happen. For the past three episodes the villain has been unnamed, but now we learn who he is. Myron Van Buren is one of the best villains ever to be on Poptropica in my opinion; as one of the most menacing, best designed, and geniusly scripted characters, he’s earned this rank with high flying colors.

Now, as an animal lover, this episode was just gold for me. I know, it may seem strange considering that most of the animals shown in the episode are dead and hanging on walls — but for me, it’s just awesome to see the giant variety of animals drawn in Poptropica form. I honestly love the Poptropica style, and I’ve always adored when Poptropica had animals.

The episodes just keep getting better, and this one is the best out of the four, no doubt. While most people had no trouble completing it, the writing was still very clever. The premise of sneaking around a game hunter’s house with guards around every corner really creates a suspenseful environment.

As for the singular soundtrack that accompanies the quest, its amazing. While it still holds lots of suspense, it also taps into a jungle like vibe. It all fits in perfectly together and does a wonderful job.

What’s really enjoyable about this episode is the buildup for the end. Van Buren keeps hinting that he is a human hunter, but it always is just passed off as a joke. First instance, when an alligator head budges on the wall, Van Buren says he should “have *his* head, haha!” (referring to his taxidermist). At the end of the episode, it’s revealed that he really is a human hunter. Is that too far for Poptropica?

The side characters — Winston and the chef — are both menacing and original. Perhaps it’s that we’ve been out in the wilderness so long that any other human is a great character? Possibly. :p

Overall, I rank this episode 5 out of 5 stars. It’s witty, clever, suspenseful, and satisfying. I don’t know what they can do in the next episode to top it. 😀 If you’re looking for walkthroughs (both written and video), you can find them here.

-HPuterpop