Guest Posts, Pop 5

Pop 5: Most Missed Old Islands

Hey Poptropicans, this is aย guest postย by Silver Shell. Enjoy!

Hey Poptropicans! It’s been a while since myย last post,ย but anyway, this post is about the top 5ย 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 theย Pop Creators’ Blogย 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!

#5: Super Power Island (see walkthrough)

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 villainsย 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.

#4: Spy Island (see walkthrough)

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).

#3: Astro-Knights Island (see walkthrough)

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.

#2: Mystery Train Island (see walkthrough)

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,ย 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!

#1: Skullduggery Island (see walkthrough)

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 localsย because I want to win and gets loads of credits HAHAย 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 islandย 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!

Pop Nonstop,
Silver Shell ๐Ÿฅˆ๐Ÿš


Hope you enjoyed thisย guest postย by Silver Shell. If you did, you might also like her My Place in Poptropica story, or another Pop 5 list of classic islands missed, here on the PHB.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested inย writing for the PHB? Weโ€™d love to hear from you! ๐Ÿ“ฐโœจ

PHB Specials, YouTubers

Speedrunning Poptropica Islands ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿ’จ

How fast can you finish a Poptropica island?

Back before the days of side quests and short islands, Poptropica islands were often long, leisurely, exploratory experiences that could take hours to complete and maybe needed walkthroughs to figure out. But if you already know where youโ€™re going and what youโ€™re doing, the island medallion can come a lot sooner. Enter the art of speedrunning!

A speedrun is a play-through of a game (or a level within it) as quickly as possible, and can apply to pretty much any video game. Unlike playing through a game the usual way and taking in all the sights and sounds, speedrunning aims to do things differently, maybe even involving some clever tricks to get to the goal of a speedy finish. Poptropicans on YouTube have gotten in on the challenge, too!

(Note: All the islands featured below are old islands that can currently only be accessed through Flashpoint, not the official game.)

Earlier this month, popular speedrunner EazySpeezy zipped through Counterfeit Island, clocking in at just under 18 minutes and condensing the adventure into a 10-minute video that already has 725K+ views. His main strategy is to use the backspace key to teleport places. Check it:

Another speedrunner, Motorjam, manages to complete Super Power Island in about 5 minutes (for reference, the PHB’s video walkthrough, which already contains some sped-up parts, is 12 minutes long). His strategy is to use a glitch with the clapboard item that allows players to jump over and over again, essentially “flying” to be able to reach high places, which comes in especially handy for catching Crusher.

Even islands known for being short can be made shorter still. Snakey642 suavely masters Shark Tooth Island in under a minute, again making use of the clapboard, this time to fly right over the shark-infested waters to rescue the stranded and save the day.

You can find lots more of these challenges on YouTube, as well as browse through (or clock in your own) world records on Speedrun.com.

What’s the most impressive Poptropica speedrun you’ve ever seen? Are you in a hurry to try this challenge combining memory, gaming, and glitching? Run wild and (figuratively) break a leg!

~๐Ÿ 

Creators' Blog Guest Posts, Fan Art Features

Climb Aboard for a Costume Crusade ๐Ÿงฅ๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ

Ahoy, Poptropicans! It’s time to embark on another journey and uncover some Poptropica news. We’ll admire some amazing artwork, say “Bonjour!” to the Baron, and chronicle some creative costumes. Let’s go!

Here are some fan art features from Pop’s recent Instagram stories. Plenty of fan art per usual, but also some promo for the Baron’s Crusade!

Two of the stories relate to the new Baron’s Crusade side quest. One is a poll asking users if they had played the quest, and the other is a Poptropica TikTok video that was posted on a Bones Day. We can safely say that this quest is Noodle-approved. ๐Ÿฆด

@poptropicacreator

Be careful what you wish for, the Baron heard yโ€™all wanted a Bones Day ๐Ÿ’€ New side quest is out NOW ft. ๐Ÿฆด๐Ÿฆด๐Ÿฆด #bonesday #bonesornobones #gamingtiktok

โ™ฌ original sound – Jonathan

The Creators’ Blog also published a walkthrough for the Baron’s Crusade side quest. The written walkthrough and accompanying video show players how to complete the quest and uncover the hidden Easter eggs. You have one week left to set off on this once in a lifetime adventure and to snatch some Halloween goodies, including the six winning designs from September’s costume contest. Good luck, adventurers!

Speaking of costumes, I’m excited to share that I wrote a guest post for the Creators’ Blog! Since the PHB Halloween costume contest is still open, I wrote Gentle Dolphin’s Declassified Costume Creation Guide (Points if you get the reference๐Ÿ˜‰)! This guide gives tips for making custom in-game looks and showcases some examples as seen below. I hope these tips help you create your ideal costume whether it be for trick-or-treating, island perusing, or contest submitting.

You may also notice a new Contests page on the Poptropica website menu. So far, this page only features the original announcement of monthly costume contests from June 2021. Maybe this is where the Creators will post updates about upcoming contests? There hasn’t been any word regarding a new costume contest in October, so I think we might get an announcement in early November. We’ll wait and see!

That’s all for now! Did you play the Baron’s Crusade side quest yet? What did you think of it, and did you discover every secret? Have you entered the PHB’s Halloween costume contest yet, or are you planning to enter this coming week? Let us know in the comments below!

Thank you for reading, and have a good day!

โ€”Gentle Dolphin ๐Ÿฌ

Guest Posts, Popspiracy Theories

Popspiracy: Poptropicans as futuristic hybrids of humans and aliens ๐Ÿ‘ถ๐Ÿ‘ฝ

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Silver Horse. Enjoy!

Hello, fellow Poptropicans! When you see a Poptropican, with their large head and noodly limbs, what do you think about its biology and anatomy? A bird, plant, maybe a robot? Well, I have a theory that makes a lot of sense as well, at least to me. Here it is…

Part 1: The anatomy of a Poptropican

Now, as my theory goes, Poptropica takes place in the 4200s, on a future earth. (For this to work, Astro-Knights would have to take place in an alternate dimension.) Yes, you heard that right. 4200s.

Back during the 2200s, a society of aliens from Astro-Knights on the moon accidentally opened a portal to our dimension, ending up on a tropical island in Hawaii, which is where the “tropican” in the “Poptropican” species name comes from.

When they first found Earth, the aliens didnโ€™t know English or any other human language, so they communicated with body language before they started learning ways of speaking and writing. After finding other intelligent life on Earth, the aliens ended up having kids with humankind, creating the first generations of Poptropicans. The aliens had three fingers per hand, so averaging out with the humansโ€™ five fingers, Poptropicans ended up having four fingers on each hand, and for some reason only had one oval toe on each foot.

A Poptropicanโ€™s average height would be around four-and-a-half feet tall, between a humanโ€™s six feet and an alienโ€™s three feet. Their head and eye shape was inherited from the aliens, able to breathe despite having no necks or noses, by having a really thin piece of skin in their faces that allowed air to trespass. The necks are anti-gravity, having a wormhole between the bottom of the head and the top of the body, with the vocal chords in the top front of the body. 

The authorities on Earth had not realized the aliens and their half-human children, dubbed โ€œPoptropicans,โ€ were a threat, but conflicts grew into a worldwide war between humans who sided with governments and humans who sided with the aliens and Poptropicans. By the time the war was over and the Poptropicans survived, the humans were very few, and had no choice but to reproduce with the aliens and Poptropicans. A few generations later, and humans went extinct.

Belt It Out: Someone get Kuiper on the line.

Part 2: A rough Poptropican timeline

Now, maybe youโ€™re wondering, โ€œBut Silver Horse, Poptropican technology looks just like present-day tech!โ€ Well, I have an explanation for that, and there are a few high-tech things.

Firstly, going back to when the humans went extinct, the Poptropican officials vowed to start over from the year 0 and follow in humans’ footsteps. To keep the new order of the universe, they formed the secret organization “โ€˜Tropicans in Black,” which are the spies from Spy Island.

During World War P, as I like to call it, a combination of climate change and bombs and the like caused most continents* to split apart, forming Poptropicaโ€™s current islands. Mythical creatures and beings also revealed their existence, which explains islands like Fairytale, Mythology, and Realms. (*An exception is Africa, which stayed intact, as canonically seen in Nabooti Island.)

By the time of current Poptropica in the 4200s, time travel and alternate universe travel had been invented, as seen in the likes of Time Tangled Island. The โ€˜Tropicans in Black were compelled to take more extreme measures and invent the PoptropiLens, an equipped device that allows Poptropicans to see all humans and animals in the past as Poptropicans and Poptropican-like animals, without altering anything else, and without explaining what this technology was for.

Whattya Buyin: Got some good things on sale, stranger.

There were some mess-ups, though, such as a few statues in Time Tangled being humanoid, and handprints in Mystery Train and Back Lot having five fingers and not four. Other high-tech devices include the Colorizer, a permanent, automatic skin and hair dyer; CJโ€™s shrink ray; and the aforementioned time and dimension travel.

Print It: The marks of a legend.

There was also the introduction of sapient animal-like Poptropicans, which are either half-Poptropican hybrids (Silver Horse is one of these, albeit ยผ Poptropican) or through a Frankenstein-like surgical process, enlarging an animalโ€™s head, transplanting a Poptropicanโ€™s brain into it, removing the Poptropicanโ€™s head, and sewing the animalโ€™s head to the Poptropican, similar to deities of Egyptian mythology.

Other than these, the tech and life of Poptropicans is almost exactly like ours as humans, except for things accommodating their four fingers, like musical instruments for example. 

Finally, Poptropica’s Amelia was the actual, human Amelia Earhart. During her disappearance, she accidentally flew into a portal that turned her into a Poptropican, crashing on Home Island, leading to the events of Monkey Wrench Island.

Your Poptropican is a secret agent working with the โ€˜Tropicans in Black to save islands, and is actually a 20-something adult. Since your older self in Time Tangled (50 years into the future) looks at least 70, this seems to check out. Plus, correct me if I’m wrong, but the only times your Poptropican gets called a kid appear to be in the sponsored islands, which mostly take place in alternate universes where you would seem the size of a child, because the average height in those universes is taller than in the Poptropican universe.

With that, my theory is done! Let me know your possible explanations for why Poptropicans look the way they do, and how that might relate to future Poptropica. See you next time!


Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Silver Horse. If you did, you might also like another post of his: a Clubhouse Tour with animals galore!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? Weโ€™d love to hear from you! ๐Ÿ“ฐโœจ

Baron's Airship, Mini Quests

Treasures laid for the Baron’s Crusade ๐Ÿ—บโ˜ ๏ธ

Ahoy, Poptropicans! The Baron’s side quest is here as promised, and it’s available to all players. Read on for a spoiler-full walkthrough!

To get started, meet the Baron in her quarters, a new room you’ll find aboard her big airship. Head inside the Cabin of Curiosities and open the hatch below the Baron’s throne. Under the shop, you’ll find the Baron poring over maps. She’ll ask you to join her in digging up treasure on a secret island that’s not on your map. Accept, and off we go!

You’ll land on the shore of a quiet island that feels kinda like the final scene of Skullduggery Island, where OG Poptropicans would have beaten Captain Crawfish to a hidden treasure. Curiously, the Baron later mentions that the treasure we’re now looking for belonged to the captain! (Is he still alive…?) Anyway, head up the hill and enter the cave.

(Sighting secrets: In the water, thereโ€™s a purple alien orb reminiscent of Mission Atlantis, while in the distance, we can see the skull-shaped rock of the Pirate Outpost from Skullduggery. Thanks to Ammonite for the tips!)

Inside the cave, the Baron follows you. Head right, skipping over all the gaps until you reach some greenish stone. From here, head downwards, watching out for the poison darts that will knock you back. When you touch water, swim left until you come across a lever. Click on it to lower the water level, which allows you to swim right to the next lever by the barred hole. Click that and the water level goes down some more, allowing you to swim all the way left, where you’ll find the next puzzle.

You’ll come face-to-face with a giant stone wheel with mysterious markings on it (is that a % sign?). But don’t worry about that โ€” the Baron’s got it under control. While she’s the brains of this operation, you’re the brawn. With the Baron’s trusty wrench, you’re all set to whack any “guards” of the treasure… and here they come now!

A mini-game will start, and it’s basically whack-a-mole with skeletons popping up from any of the nine large holes under the treasure wheel. You’ll have to move your view back and forth as you can’t see all the holes at once. The skeletons don’t go away easily either: they have to climb out quite a bit first before smacking them has the desired effect, but you can’t wait too long, or you’ll have to start the mini-game over.

Once you successfully hold off the skeletons long enough, the Baron will unlock the wheel, revealing a treasure vault full of gold, gemstones, and Captain Crawfish’s hat and sword. For your part, she’ll share 500 credits and a pirate costume with you. Congrats and enjoy!

Back at the Baron’s, you can learn more about this daredevil sky pirate through conversation as well as exploring her home, just like in Amelia’s side quest. Speaking of Amelia, there’s tea to be uncovered…

Over in the top right corner of the Baron’s quarters, there’s an abandoned little box with a unicorn plushie and frame jutting out. Click on it and you’ll see an old news clipping behind smashed glass, with a photo of Amelia and the Baron together like best buds. The headline from the Poptropica Times reads, “Local Adventurers Save the Island.”

What fractured their friendship? For now, the Baron reveals only that she had a crew once, and that “trust is hard to come by.”

There’s more to discover around the Baron’s quarters. What surprises have you found? Read on for more trivia and theories!

Baby Ack plushie, golden Rumpelstiltskin, and more treasures await…

To the left of the Baron, you’ll find her fearsome portrait with first mate Ack the monkey, and a familiar green skull that activates the whack-a-mole mini-game from earlier (just for practice!). Playing the Baron’s Bucket of Bones earns you 50 credits per completion, much like “Clear the Skies,” the plane mini-game on the airship deck.

Head down to the lower floor and you’ll see a map on the wall that shows the Baron’s been looking for a “golden city.” Could this be a hint for the upcoming Secret of the Jade Scarab Island, which involves archeological digs for treasure? At any rate, the map bears some interesting port names (potential relations in parentheses): Yoller or Holler (a loud shout), Mustang (sports car), Rhe or Rye (grain), Sanders (Bernie or Colonel?), Omamora (close to omamori, Japanese luck amulets), Lagos (Nigeria’s largest city).

You can also scan through titles of books on her shelf: Lost Cities of Poptropica, Grappling with Grapple-Pap, Into the Maw of Glowbhax: In Search of the Island Devourer (perhaps a reference to Haxe, which did kind of devour many islands). The Baron sure likes her myths legends.

Also in this corner nook, you’ll find a framed photo of the Baron and Ack inside a bank, throwing money down to people on the street. Robbery with a Robin Hood twist? Anyway, there’s another pic of this adventuresome duo beside where Ack sleeps, and it’s adorbs.

Thanks for joining us in exploring the Baron’s Crusade and cabin! What did you think of this side quest of skullduggery? Do you have theories about the Baron’s history with Amelia, or any other aspects of her life? Share with us in the comments. Happy sailing!

๐ŸŒŸ For more Poptropica walkthroughs, visit our Island Help page. ๐ŸŒŸ