Howdy Poptropicans! It’s LJ here reporting on the final weekly store update of April.
A good selection of outfits were added in Adventure Outfitters, including the look of Rumplestiltskin from Fairytale Island (check out our guide and review!). We even got a couple of knights appropriately for sale too. Neato! The total number of stock is 24 (which is more than the usual 18) and only 8 are for members. Prices range from 75 to 350 credits.
We got a few new fairytale themed items in the side sections as well. You’ll notice an adorable cat-i-corn topper when you first walk in (I’m totally picking this up!), and if you go to the right you’ll see a legendary sword and a big (or should I say little?) bad wolf follower. So cool!
The clubhouse furniture store items have also been rotated. As far as I’m aware, the “new” items include a lantern (first pic), a wooden vanity (second pic), and a turquoise soda machine (last pic). I put “new” in quotations because although the items weren’t featured in the store last time, they’ve been available in Adventure Outfitters for weeks now. So yeah, nothing technically new, just thought it was worth pointing out. 😛
Also, a belated happy Earth Day to all! Although April 22 was a big day on Poptropica for the release of Fairytale Island, the creators also took the opportunity to celebrate our planet with an Instagram post. The caption includes encouragements for greener living and a Wendell Berry quote: “The Earth is what we all have in common.”
That’s all the updates for now, but before I close off this post, you know what update is lacking? Hmm… where are the results of the recent fanart contest? We were told the winners would be announced on the 23rd yet here we are three days later, and nothing — with no word on what the holdup is. Come on, creators.
Empty promises from Poptropica? Yuck.
On the topic of art, be sure to participate in this month’s Community Creations; the theme is bugs. Who knows? Maybe an idea will crawl its way into your head. Anyway, it’s time to sign off now. Pop on!
Gather round, Poptropicans, and let’s recall the tale of Fairytale Island…
Once upon a time (or actually, twice), the overlords at Poptropica held a Design Your Dream Island Contest. One of the winning ideas was Fairytale Island by Perfect Crab, and as promised for the prize, the island would be made into the game. Now, in April 2021, it’s here!
It’s been a hot minute year or so since the last real island (and even longer if you’re not counting the decided disappointment of Reality TV: Wild Safari), so when we heard about this one, we were pretty excited. Fairytale is the first of the 2020 Dream Island winners and the first original island on Haxe. Does it live up to the hype?
Now that we’ve had a chance to play it (and if you haven’t yet, play it before reading this!), we’re here to share our impressions. Turn the page with us, and let’s get into it! Be warned: This review contains spoilers.
Storyline & Characters
The tale goes like this: you arrive on the island to find out the fairytales have had their happy endings stolen, and it’s up to you to recover them. Fairytale Island takes three classic stories—Cinderella, Snow White, and Little Red Riding Hood—and brings some delightful twists to each one through both plot and characters.
One of the most iconic characters from the island has to be Cinderella. While taking inspiration from the original story, Poptropica also makes this character their own in her surprising switch from dainty damsel in distress to flaming punk rock Cinder, the star of the ball (and what a fitting nickname!). And, in a win for more minority representation, Poptropica has also taken a character traditionally depicted as white and created her Black and beautiful.
Cinder’s stunning transformation
Another character who enchantingly subverts expectations in this island is Snow White. We’re tasked with finding her a true love’s kiss to wake her up—so far, classic fairytale concept—but it turns out her heart’s with animals, not Prince Charming! After a goat’s kiss rouses her, she goes off to pursue her dream career of becoming a veterinarian. We can even see her in vet scrubs at the island’s happily ever after.
Snow finds true love in a career, not a prince.
Fairytale Island plays host to various other interesting characters that we also have to mention here. We love Red Riding Hood for its fun twist on a girl in a red cap who doesn’t look traditionally feminine and works a thankless job in modern-style food delivery, the adorable little dwarves in a trench coat who just want to be taken seriously, and the snarky talking pig who mocks your Poptropican’s call to save the day.
But other characters are a little more strange. Perhaps the most cursed of them is the huntsman, who tried to lure the wolf into eating the grandma, all in a bid to, apparently, meet girls. (??!!!) But even he found a willing date in the end with Cinder. Sweet, or a total red flag?
Amelia from Home Island is also fairly involved in the story, which is interesting. But what in the world is she thinking, patting us on the back when there’s a creepy magic dude on the loose?? The dialogue seems to set the stage for future episodes in Fairytale Island, but nothing we’ve seen officially confirms this. If this is The End, it’s not very satisfying!
Which brings us to a major issue in this storyline: it ends on an odd cliffhanger. We’re not quite sure what Rumplestiltskin is up to, and then there’s the crying prince, who’s left without a happy ending.
Gameplay
The gameplay, unfortunately, is where this island shines least. Fairytale Island is basically comprised of a disjointed series of three mini-quests that didn’t really weave into each other. (They were literally labeled side-quests, despite each being required to fulfill the main storyline.)
There wasn’t much of a challenge offered throughout the island—it was fairly easy to click around for the right kiss for Snow White, and even the obstacle mountain we climbed with Cinderella on our backs didn’t have the same struggle of previous plays of Poptropica parkour, though at least it was fun. The most challenging aspect was the dark forest maze, and this at least provided a decent degree of difficulty—many players reported taking a while to find the real cabin! That sort of complexity could have been applied to the rest of the island, too.
The lack of challenge wasn’t the only thing that made Fairytale feel different from the classic Poptropica experience. As with other recent islands like Reality TV: Wild Safari, at no point in the quest did we collect items to add to our inventory to use later in the story. Not even the teased lipstick from Rumplestiltskin was used anywhere!
Fairytale could have brought on more exploratory elements like with the old islands, such as having the player participate more through dialogue options and allowing the player to click around more of the scenes instead of being teleported out of them as soon as each part was done. Maybe, for example, we would’ve liked to mingle with the guests at Cinderella’s ball instead of being whisked away almost immediately! And what about a boss battle when we finally face Rumple?
Audio & Visuals
When it comes to the sounds and sights, Fairytale makes the mark. The audio we hear as we play through this island is nothing new, but it all helps set the mood, from the walking stomps to the mighty slapping of the mountain saplings to the spooky background music of the woods.
As we make our way through the island, we get to enjoy some fun animations and clickable interactive parts, which does feel like classic Poptropica. Highlights include the unicorn that barfs purple, the strumming of the lyre, and the pig throwing bricks.
And as with many Poptropica islands, the scenery is stunning. Check out these postcard-perfect shots from all over the Fairytale kingdom:
Verdict
Considering all of the above, from storyline and characters, to gameplay, to audio and visuals, out of five we’d give Fairytale…
…3 out of 5 goat kisses. While the island’s lack of challenge felt almost like hand-holding the player more than allowing us to explore, Fairytale redeems itself with interesting new takes on classic tales that give the story some depth — it’s just unfortunately unclear how this fable ends.
The island’s also got some gorgeous graphics, including some amusing animations and fascinating character designs that are sure to be the subject of future fan art. In fact, it’s already inspired some on the PHC!
Red by Purple Paw
Happily Never After (Rumplestiltskin) by Lucky Joker
Rumplestiltskin by BrittScarlet
Rumplestiltskin by Gear
Guess it’s a semi-happy ending for Fairytale Island. Will there be more to come? Time will tell. In the meantime, we look forward to the other Dream Island winners, Goofball and Secret of the Jade Scarab!
Thanks for reading our review of Fairytale Island! Do you agree with our verdict? Share your opinions in the comments below!
Howdy, Poptropicans! This weekend we held our Open House Party on the PHC. Despite some hiccups, we were still able to make the most of it with the great community members we have here with us, both old and new.
Even through all of the slow loading and disconnecting from the Poptropica common room server when switching tabs, we had a splendid time sharing art, showing off our fairytale fits (including Princess Beev), and playing Skribbl.io — in addition to the good ole common room games of course.
Here’s a look at the awesome art that was shared in all the fun as well as my costume that no one ever saw because I couldn’t login properly (click to enlarge the images!):
Thanks to all those who attended and here’s to the next party coming in June! 🌈
Once upon a time in December 2020, Fairytale Island was announced as the first winner of the Dream Island Contest. (Congratulations to Perfect Crab once again on their literal dream coming true!) 🧚♀️✨
After just four months of sneak peeks and waiting, the island is finally here for all players (not just members) and the tale is ready to be told!
If you’re eager to play and need help on the way, our Fairytale Island Guide will be updated very shortly, ready to assist you on your magical journey — so look out for that. UPDATE: The guide is complete!
So what do you think of this new release? Share your opinions in the comments, and look out for a review from the PHB too! Thanks for reading and we’ll meet again at the happily ever after.
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by White Fox. Enjoy!
Hi, guys! Today I want to talk about the ads in Poptropica.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that Poptropica isn’t making as much money as it used to, and advertisements bring in tons of cash, but things have been getting out of hand.
Remember Survival Island? The creators didn’t put a lot of ads there, because they wanted you to feel like you are stranded, and you don’t usually find advertisements for Rolex watches in the middle of the woods. Not having ads helped set the mood of the place.
Now, I find ads everywhere, and I don’t feel that stranded-in-the-forest vibe at all. Then there’s the matter of all the ads in your inventory.
I didn’t even watch the ad videos for these items! I just logged on one day, and I got a ton of stuff that I didn’t want. And it really fills up your inventory space! I wish Poptropica didn’t give you ad items without a choice, because it makes you scroll through a bunch of stuff just to get something you need for an island, and sometimes, you might not even like the stuff you get.
Even for people who do like the advertisement prizes, not keeping it separate from the items you need on an island is maddening. I can’t speak for everyone, but I really wish the creators would give you a choice, instead of stuffing random ad prizes into your inventory, where it takes up space and pushes your important items to the back.
Mega Fighting Bots took over on Mocktropica Island
As Slanted Fish noted in the 2019 PHB post “Is Poptropica turning into Mocktropica Island?,” the game has been falling into the traps of user-unfriendliness the island warned about in its cautionary tale. In Mocktropica, ads for Mega Fighting Bots popped up everywhere, and recently, when I was playing through 24 Carrot Island, Dr. Hare’s face was covered by an ad.
It’s upsetting that such an important part of the story — one of the most famous villains in Poptropica — was hidden because an advertisement for clothing had popped up. This could really make it hard to win islands, because I couldn’t see what he was saying. Even though I’d played the island before and knew what to do, it was still annoying.
At one point, Poptropica was wrapped in banner ads on all sides—promoting Poptropica!
Anyway, that just about wraps up this post! I hope the creators were reading this, because all this advertising stuff is really getting overwhelming. 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! 📰✨
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