Ranking All Poptropica Islands Because Quarantine
I, like many others, have spent quarantine regressing and going back to the things that made me feel happy in childhood. This includes scrolling through my old Tumblr, playing way too much Club Penguin, and of course Poptropica.
So here is the definitive rankings of all the islands, best to worst.*
*Poptropica has gotten rid of most of the islands while they are being converted out of Flash so I couldn’t replay a lot of them. But my memories are strong.
** No sponsored islands because they aren’t good anyway.
GOD TIER:
Mystery Train: The Chicago world’s fair! Real historical figures ! Fun detective who-dun-it with fun twists and turns! The villain is literally a FRENCH NATIONALIST scared of France’s decreasing position as the center of culture in the western world! It’s a perfect island, no competition.
Counterfeit: Incredible. Based on real aspects of art history (they steal The Scream which always gets stolen!). Fun memorable world with cool quests and puzzles. The super shady guy that isn’t shady! All the art! Traveling to another island to complete it! The only small downside is the final boss fight but other than that, magnificent.
Mythology: So good, and all the gods get such great and unique personalities. Just a very fun world to be in and a perfect level of difficulty.
Shrink Ray: So inventive! I really cared about the main character. Fun stuff with perspectives and it taught me Morse code! The best of the late addition islands by far.
Ghost Story: Such a cool story with great twists. Some of the cut scenes with ghosts stuff actually scared me, but in a good way! I still remember certain scenes. I love Fiona, she deserved better.
Time Tangled: Time tangled island just feels like home. Not very hard but so comforting. A great island to play when you get bored. Fun history, a fun time.
VERY GOOD QUALITY:
Spy Island: Just an all around classic. It never reached a level of iconic or had a big impact, but it’s so special and just a good time and cool world.
Nabooti: Pretty cool adventuring! Easy but also fun. I still remember the alien reveal. Kind of underrated island. Also good use of logic puzzles.
Lunar Colony: Super underrated island! The story may be eh but I found the moon world super fun to be around and it never got frustrating. Such a nice little island.
Game Show: Ok, the game shows slap and the hosts are fun. Also a super inventive and high concept world which is always fun. Downside is the beginning is pretty boring before the game shows and some parts are pretty glitchy and annoying.
Mocktropica: Great concept! Some fun writing in this one. Overall a good time and a good level of difficulty.
Steamworks: Such a creepy world just playing it had me on edge. I always thought something (or someone) would pop out. Great world but some of the puzzles were too hard.
Vampire’s Curse: A great environment that had a lot of fun with Dracula myths. Unfortunately, the castle is pretty confined. Still a good time, but it had so much potential.
Super Power: Obviously a classic but is less fun on replays. Memorable characters but lacks a fun story.
WOULD BE HIGHER BUT UNREASONABLY HARD/SCARY:
Astro Knights: Jesus christ. Probably the coolest world (sci-fi medieval fantasy? Hell yeah!) But….it’s just so hard. To the point where it’s not fun. Binary bard is a great villain though but the difficulty once you get to space is just too great.
Cryptids: That fucking jersey devil popping out scared me so much I couldn’t finish the island. I had a friend do it for me. I wish I could replay, it would probably be higher and the traveling is fun. But why were the cryptids so scary? I thought these were for children.
Red Dragon: Ninja world is cool but once you get there all the ninja stuff is way too repetitive and hard. A lot of potential but it sets itself back.
FINE:
Escape from Pelican Rock: I know a lot of people hate it and it is hard, but I still had a good time. The characters are good. Wish there was a better wrap up.
Survival: My favorite of the episodes. I liked the survival part and the most dangerous game twist. But the last chapter kind of bogs it down. It’s a little too long as well.
24 Carrot: Obviously a classic but you spend way too much of the game in vents. Comforting, but not as good as you remember.
Monster Carnival: Really fun world but also pretty forgettable. No good characters but pretty good story momentum. Just fine.
Arabian Nights: Kinda cool but also kinda boring? The trading idea was cool and I liked the old guy who dies to save you. But also the genie was lame.
Backlot: The golf cart is fun and I like the backlot environment. But the story and characters….forgettable.
Night Watch: Good vibes but also a very particular island. It was very clever at points but also frustrating at others. Overall fine though.
Super Villain: Cool idea but it really didn’t leave an impact. The twist was very high quality but I wish the rest of the island could match it.
Early Poptropica: Childhood classic but the early poptropicans are kinda creepy. It’s a fun mess of an island.
Poptropicon: Pretty good digs at Comic Con and a wild third episode twist. But the costume stuff is pretty hard and it’s a lot of back and forth.
Zomberry: It’s zombies! Not a bad island, just fine. Wish I had more to say.
BORING/FORGETTABLE:
SOS: It’s the titanic. That’s it. There’s an iceberg.
Reality TV: The mini-games are dumb. Not very fun. The beginning is fine though.
Shark Tooth: I know, childhood classic. But it’s just too easy and boring. Not fun.
Mission Atlantis: They had freaking Atlantis/alien/titanic mashup with a fake James Cameron named Cam Jameson and they made it boring! The lack of aliens is just lame. So much potential but it’s all wasted.
Reality TV: Wild safari: Same as reality TV but even worse because there are no characters or even a semblance of a story.
Poptropolis: Look, I just don’t think mini-game islands are fun. It’s boring. Poptropolis is boring.
UNREASONABLY HARD AND NOT FUN:
Skullduggery: I know some people love it and the world is cool but it’s just too hard and repetitive! Trading takes forever and I didn’t love it. It has its fans but I’ll never be one. Its biggest positive was it was the happiest I’ve ever been to get a medal.
Wild West: Hard and not even fun. Horse girls would get sick of the horse stuff. Boring plot too.
Virus Hunter: Look…I still can’t finish the brain boss. Ridiculously hard and makes me want to die.
JUST….BAD:
Twisted Thicket: What even was this island. It was fae but also environmentalism? Nothing here was fun or cool. It all sucked. Terrible gross horrible island.
*BONUS* NOT EVEN REAL ISLANDS:
Mystery of the Map: Dull
Monkey Wrench: Tutorial
SnaggleMast: Tutorial part 2
