Alexia Unplugged

Did you ever sneak to the family computer to feed your Neopets? Are you among the generation that gathered around their friend’s dad’s PC to watch them play JumpStart games? If so, you might miss some of the simple melancholy that stems from the knowledge that most of your childhood games may be lost forever. I certainly used to feel that way whenever I thought of my childhood game of choice, Zoombinis. (I found it on Steam once I remembered its name).

Many Flash games of the early 2000s reached their untimely and tragic demises with the Adobe Flash Apocalypse of 2017, although some of them, like Pixie Hollow and Toontown, were discontinued even before then when Disney decided to shut down its game studio, Disney Interactive. However, fans can be relentless, and now you can play most of your favorite childhood games with just a simple download! The legality of these games is technically quite precarious, but generally they cite exemptions for game preservation in the DMCA in hopes that it will protect them from copyright law.

1. Neopets

I think most 90’s and early 2000’s kids have fond memories of creating cute little creatures on Neopets, placing their bets in the Food Club, and playing minigames. In Neopets, you can adopt and care for unique creatures. It’s basically web-based tamagotchi! Neopets features rich lore, thousands of items, and a fully functional stock market. It’s also one of the few nostalgic games that are still run by a Real Company and not a fan-made restoration.

Neopets was recently acquired by Dominic Law, who was the director of markets and NetDragon (Neopets’ former owner). Since his purchase, Neopets has been attempting to claw its way back towards popularity after its wildly unpopular (but relatively brief) foray into the metaverse. The Neopets team recently integrated Ruffle into the site, so you can even play all the old Flash games (although you can’t send your score for neopoints yet). They got John Legend to collaborate with them on social media too! I hope that Neopets will continue to improve their site (and maybe stop focusing so much on apps that do nothing for their users). As of now, it’s still playable and very nostalgic and fun, so go adopt a Neopet and immerse yourself in the world of Neopia!

2. New Club Penguin

I have been a Club Penguin fan since I was probably around 10 years old. I loved playing the minigames (Cart Surfer was my favorite) and talking to other penguins! My favorite part of Club Penguin was always the impromptu synchronized dance parties. Since Disney shut Club Penguin down in 2017 (R.I.P.), there have been a few fan servers made. They keep getting shut down, but Penguins are persistent, and there’s a new one out now called New Club Penguin!

It’s quite popular so far, they’ve added some new minigames and features, and in February they even reached 2 million users! In addition to its dedicated user base, New Club Penguin also has events and is actively supported by the developers. Some of the games can be a little laggy, but I’ve just spent several hours playing it.

My favorite mini-game in Club Penguin is the ice fishing game, which has such a strong nostalgic pull for me that I even designed an embroidery pattern with the cute yellow ice fish. I’ve also adopted three precious little puffles, which I’m very excited about since I never had the membership growing up!

3. Toontown Rewritten

I first played Toontown with one of my best friends just this year. I had never played this game growing up, but I know I would have loved it as a kid because I had so much fun with it. In Toontown, you play as a Toon whose goal is to defeat Cogs. It’s a really cute concept because the Cogs all work “soulless” jobs (accountants, lawyers, etc) and you are trying to prevent them from taking over Toontown and turning it bleak and gray. The graphics and simple gameplay will give any 90’s or early 2000’s kid nostalgia. I love how socializing and making friends is so easy in games like Club Penguin and Toontown!

4. Flight Rising

Flight Rising is similar to Neopets in that it is a browser game where you raise and breed your own pet dragons. In Flight Rising, you must gather resources to feed your dragons, incubate eggs in your dragon lair, and battle them in the coliseum! If your dragons are happy and successful, your clan will get stronger. You can also play lots of minigames at the Fairgrounds to get gold, just like in Neopets. Flight Rising has a good amount of lore to discover, and it’s a lot of fun to decorate your favorite dragons with cosmetic items, trade them to other players, and give them beautiful “familiars,” which are basically like petpets. The beginning portion of the game feels a bit like a text adventure too, which contributes to the calm, early 2000’s web browser game experience. If you enjoy Neopets but want to make a whole family of your own special creatures, I’d definitely suggest Flight Rising.

5. Poptropica

I grew up playing this edutainment game at my school library almost every day. Poptropica still alive and, well, trying. After the Flash apocalypse, Poptropica pretty much died. Like Neopets, this nostalgic game is trying very hard to become relevant again. The Poptropica team has been able to restore a few of the old islands, notably Mythology Island and Reality TV Island. I am not a big fan of the new islands, but if you can play Poptropica without being sad about losing your favorite classic islands (my favorite was Astro-Knights Island), then I’m sure they can be a great experience for you!

6. Webkinz

Ah, Webkinz. I begged my parents for those overpriced stuffed animals, just so I could get the code to play with them in my computer. I had the unicorn and the yorkie, and I wish I’d kept them around. They probably got lost in some move or another. but no worries! Webkinz now allows you to create an account and choose from 8 free starter pets! It’s available as the “classic” version and as a newer 3D version. Of course, I still prefer the classic version. Webkinz is trying its best to adapt to a new generation and wider audience, and it’s even available on an app now! Unfortunately, there are still lots of things that require a subscription, like playing the minigames available in the Magic Forest or shopping at the Style Boutique (not to be confused with the Style Outlet). You can still find gems at Arte’s Curio Shop, play Cash Cow, and hang out with your pet. Webkinz has added a few new activities and map areas, but they’ve also stayed faithful to the original game!

7. We The Pixies (Pixie Hollow Online)

Pixie Hollow Online was one of those games that I played obsessively for months, and then forgot about, only to remember pixies are cool a month later and log on again. It was, of course, shut down by Disney along with their game studio, but it is currently being redeveloped by the We The Pixies team. They’re a small, volunteer group of die hard Pixie Hollow fans, and it really shows in their social medias. They are active on Tumblr, Instagram, and Youtube, and they have an active community on Discord. We the Pixies has done an amazing job at fostering a friendly atmosphere with their immersive updates and cute social media posts. If you ever played Pixie Hollow Online, I strongly suggest that you try out We the Pixies. Make some friends, collect some flowers and dewdrops, decorate your house, and participate in events!

Extras: Hedgehog Creek and Frog Paradise

While these are all remakes or continuations of the old, nostalgic games, Hedgehog Creek and Frog Paradise are new games based on the Club Penguin MMORPG model. I’m really excited for both of them; It’ll be fantastic to have a well-supported game that has the same vibes as Club Penguin, without having to worry about it being shut down suddenly because of a legal issue.

Hedgehog creek is a web-based MMORPG similar to Club Penguin. It’s being built by solo indie dev, ScreenCactus. There’s currently not much to see yet, but there are occasional meetups and an active Discord group. Currently, Hedgehog Creek has one very entertaining minigame in the cafe, and a few sections of the map that I’m excited to get fleshed out

In a similar vein, Frog Paradise also hopes to bring back the nostalgic chat-room feel of Club Penguin and other early 2000’s MMORPGs. They are a bit further in the development process than Hedgehog Creek, and are now available to play for free in your browser! They’re in their second Alpha phase. So far, you can explore the map, collect items, and make new friends! I think there is also good potential for lore on Frog Island too, which could be very fun to discover.

The preservation of these early 2000’s games and gameplay models is important. How many kids grew up heavily influenced by these games? The camaraderie that can be found in social MMOs like Club Penguin or Toontown certainly influenced how I approach others and play multiplayer games even today. I am grateful for the dedicated fans who take the time to rebuild games that would otherwise be nothing more than lost cultural artifacts. What games do you miss from your childhood? Are they still around?