Hey Poptropicans, it’s another new day of events here on Animal Crossing Paradise Island! (In case you missed it, catch up on the first two days of Poptropica’s latest endeavour in yesterday’s post to make sense of this one.)
Day three’s festivities: a party on a new character’s paradisiacal island. It’s like your Paradise Island, but with more stuff. Remember that message you got from the blonde girl who can’t wait to visit you on your island? She shows up, and before you can even respond, you’re whisked away to her island party. At this point, no names of characters have been introduced—not yours, not hers, nor anyone else you meet. How strange?
Anyway, the girl says you’re just in time for the surfing contest, but there’s not much contest about it: you surf alone on the waves of a familiar game from the recent ad American Girl: Joss’s Island. And not only do you still not know who all the other randos on the party host’s island are—well, except for DJ Saturday Nite from Zomberry Island—you can’t even talk to them!
Moving on, here’s your chance at 1000 credits. After the waves, the host will introduce you to the next activity, a starfish scavenger hunt. There are five to find, and it’s not a big island, so it won’t take long. However, there’s one that’s a little trickier to grab—the one on the sand near the surf shop. To get that one, jump into the water from one of the island’s edges and swim over to pick it up!
That’s it for day three, but let’s check out what else is on this alternate Paradise Island. Some of these fancy things—like the glowing dance floor and the pen of horses—definitely aren’t in the Ko-Kea catalog. Nor are the renovations to the beach house exterior! But perhaps we’ll get these features in the future?
At any rate, it looks like the ability to visit other players’ customized islands might be on the horizon. Now that would be a party!
Looking ahead in a message received, day four looks like it’ll bring a beach party. Wait, wasn’t this already a beach party? Guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens next. (To join the fun, see our initial post on Paradise Island.)
👉 Why “Paradise Island” doesn’t land with many Poptropica players
Since sharing about Paradise Island here on the PHB, Poptropicans everywhere have been popping in with their takes on this latest development. Here are a few thoughts from players on the PHC, our Discord server (and my own addendums):
“Poptropica is supposed to be a game of storytelling, and what the creators have been making these days just doesn’t cut it. We older players know early Pop well, and know that it was nothing like this. I say this with heart, but Poptropica is simply not Poptropica anymore, what with all these new updates that only take away from the game we know and love. The creators have been focusing more and more on worthless updates instead of continuing the educational yet fun format they had before, and right now, what I want more than anything is to see Old Poptropica, in all its glory, show up on my computer screen.”
Purple Paw
Absolutely. Just as has been written about elsewhere on the PHB, Poptropica was created as a unique digital platform for modern storytelling for the next generation. It was never meant to become Mocktropica Island.
“Mmmmkay… so it’s our third (fourth?) redo of Home Island, and once again they’re chasing current trends… that’s it. I don’t want to come off as overly negative, but the only thing that can save Pop at this point is an entire new team of Creators, or a fan remake/spin-off. It’s like they’re intentionally doing everything except what people actually want, in an attempt to cater to a nonexistent audience!”
MaryannTheConqueror
A few things come to mind about Poptropica’s chasing of trends: there’s Realms, a sandbox creation that mimics Minecraft; the recent-ish emphasis on new clothes, pets, and home decor that feels like Club Penguin; and now, the personal islands with daily tasks that copies Animal Crossing.
Instead of making inferior versions of things that already exist, Poptropica might do well to go back to the unique product they used to be so good at creating: immersive island worlds filled with meaningful storytelling.
“The whole reason Poptropica is my favorite game is because of the storytelling. It’s the only thing I’m good at, and the reason I much prefer it to other amazing games that are mostly gameplay, like Super Mario Bros. So it’s been really disappointing nowadays. I haven’t played the new makeover yet, but from what I’ve heard it sounds pretty nice. Except for the daily tasks. Those games are always so boring. They lull you with a false sense of progress, and completely destroy all enjoyability in very little time. Like Sims. I’d like to have something simple and quiet, that I can come to on my own time for a wholesome storytelling experience, like long ago.”
Incredible Fire
The daily, mandated, straightforward tasks are a bit reminiscent of Poptropica: Forgotten Islands, an old iOS and Nintendo 3DS game that probably lives up to its name by being so uninspiring as to have been generally forgotten by the fandom. It was basically a sequence of nonsensical fetch quests, and you can read all about it in our Forgotten Islands Guide. Let’s hope Paradise Island doesn’t become like it.
Do you have a hot take on Paradise Island? Talk about it with other Poptropicans on the PHC Discord or share it in the comments!
🎉 Want a good Poptropica party? Come join us at the closing ceremony of the PHB Tribal Tournament, which takes place this Saturday, Aug 29 at 8 p.m. Eastern! (If you live elsewhere, check a time converter for the time in your zone.)
We’ll be announcing the winners of the Games and having a good time on the PHC and in Poptropica common rooms. See you there!
~Slanted Fish 🐠
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