Most people Digimon but forget about the virtual creatures known as Neopets. The game was created in 1999 and was one of the first online games on the Internet. Today, the game is still active and completely free (unless you want to pay). Players can enjoy free games, including action-packed platformers, puzzles, and luck & chance. Gamers can also buy items in shops with their neopoints, partake in auctions, chat with other players, fight in the Battledome and much, much more. They can explore various lands with different themes, including pirates, prehistoric times, and a fantasy world filled with faeries.
What have we all forgotten about Neopets since it faded from our collective conscious? when Bruce Forsyth was a Neopet? The numerous paintbrushes that could change your pet from a fairy to a baby? When the site was bought for over $160 million? The horror of "getting iced"? We'll remind you of all that and more in 15 Things You Forgot About Neopets.
15. It Was Founded by Adam and Donna Powell
Neopets was founded by two British college students, Adam and Donna Powell (formerly Donna Williams). Adam Powell came up with the idea while he was at the University of Nottingham in 1997 and brought in Donna Williams to help him. They worked on the site and launched in 1999, with Adam working on programming and Donna on web design, creative development, and marketing.
The various asparagus-related items around the site are a nod to the fact that Adam enjoys the vegetable. Donna did the artwork on the site, helped work on the plots for the various stories in the games, and also worked as the head of the Neopets Magazine and its editorial section. The two got married in September of 2008 after knowing each other for 12 years. They eventually sold Neopets to Viacom but continued to work there for several years afterward.
The two of them founded Meteor games in 2007, which the company announced was a "cross the appeal of social networks, web-based casual games and traditional massively multiplayer online games." This included a Neopets related game, Neopets: Treasure Keepers.
14. Bruce Forsyth Was A Neopet
The various types of Neopets have changed appearances over the years. Some only had slight changes, such as the wolf Lupe and the bat Korbat. But the Bruce Neopet went through a major change. Originally, the creators used an actual image of Bruce Forsyth, an English television presenter and entertainer, as their Neopet "Bruce." Because of copyright issues after the site became mainstream, the founders changed Bruce to a cartoony image of a man. He later evolved into a the penguin with a bowtie.
Another Neopet who went through major changes was Kau. Originally called Macy Gray, this Neopet was a black woman with an afro surrounded by music notes and holding what appears to be a gun with an antennae. Her name change to Kau led to a new look as well, a blue cow. Kyrii used to be Fuzio, a fuzzball with red shoes, before becoming the weasel-like Neopet he is today.
You can see the evolution of all the Neopets tracked on the site.
13. So Many Different Paint Brushes… That Can Get Stolen
There are numerous paint brushes you can buy or find around Neopia to give your Neopet a new look. There are your basic colors, including red, yellow, blue, green, and purple. Then there are the dozens of themed brushes: Disco Fever (so your Neopets can feel the groove of the mid-1970s and the early 1980s), Scritchy Sketchy (so they can look like living sketches), Zombie (so they can look like they just dug their way our of their own grave), and Biscuit (so they look good enough to eat!). Their Petpets can also get a paint job with the proper brush.
One of the horror stories people share about Neopets involves getting their paint brush stolen by a Pant Devil. This creature enjoys stealing players items, which are only safe in their shop, safety deposit box, or when they're put up for auction. Apparently, it especially likes items with an estimated value of at least one million neopoints or items with a combined estimated value of five million or more. Examples include 9 Baby Paint Brushes, Tiki Armour, and the Air Faerie Crown.
12. Your Neopets Can Have Pets, Who Can Have Pets
Besides having a Neopet to take care of, you could give your Neopet a pet as well. These are called Petpets, and they can be assigned and taken care of by each of your Neopets. They can't speak, with a few exceptions, such as the Desert and Robot Petpets, who know a few phrases. Just like Neopets, they can be painted by brushes to change their appearance. They're also referenced in various games on the website, including Crisis Courier and Warf Rescue Team. It's theorized that many Petpet species come from Petaria, but some, like Baby Blu, look similar to Neopets. This suggests they evolved in similar environments as the Neopets who care for them.
A Petpet Protection League was an organization created to promote the longtime care of Petpets. The League awards Neopoints to a particular color and species of Petpet each week. You get more rewards the longer you've had the Petpet, encouraging you to not abandon it. There are a lot of benefits to owning a Petpet, including being able to participate in the Petpet Battledome - meaning not only can you force your virtual Neopet to fight, but also your virtual Petpet! We've learned a lot from Ash Ketchum.
11. They Had Some Really Good Digital Comics
The Neopian Times, "Neopia's fill-in-the-blank news source," is Neopet's very own newspaper. It has various sections, including articles written by s, an editorial section, short stories, series, and, arguably best of all, comics. These comic books take place in the world of Neopets and the events in those comics can drift over into events on the website and new games to play. Players of the game were able to partake in some of the plots by doing puzzles on the site.
One of the best may be "The Lost Desert Plot," which is reminiscent of Aladdin if Jafar turned out to be a fairly decent guy who fell in love. The story is about Prince Jazan trying to force Princess Amira into marriage. Then there is "The Faerie's Ruin," in which the faeries were turned to stone. Several leaders went to Faerieland in order to help, including King Jazan from the "Lost Desert Plot." These stories are still available on the site to be enjoyed.
10. Great Games (And Reskinned Classics Too)
There are tons of games you can play for free on Neopets. Players can explore various categories of games, from action to card games to puzzles to strategy games. All of these related to Neopets in some way, whether it's finding Petpets or playing an adventure as a Neopet. Some of the best games star "Hannah the Brave", an adventurer who explores icy caverns in both "Hannah and the Pirate Caves" and "Hannah and the Ice Caves." Even better, by playing these games you can send in your score to get Neopoints-- though you can only send your score in three times a day per game.
Neopets also reskinned several classic games with their own Neopian touch. They have Snake in the form of Meerca Chase, solitaire in the form of Sakhmet Solitaire, and Bubble Shooter in the form of Faerie Bubbles. These games, as well as the more original ones, can range from easy Neopoints to challenging missions. Do well enough and you may just get a trophy tailored to that game and a place on the high score board.
9. You Can Pay For A Plan
While you can play Neopets for free, you have a few options to pay for it. If you become a Neopets member you can get a variety of benefits. It takes a monthly or yearly subscription fee; the fee is $7.95 per month, which works out to $95.40 for twelve months. With the , you get no ments, a toolbar, access to -only Neoboards (their word forums), and more.
One major benefit is access to the Super Shop Wizard (SSW). It's similar to the regular shop wizard, but instead of searching a few shops in Neopia at a time, it will search every shop.
Another thing you can pay for on Neopets is Neocash. By buying Neocash, you can purchase items at the NC Mall. This includes wearables for your Neopet that are only available in the NC Mall and cannot be bought by regular Neopoints. You can also buy backgrounds to surround your Neopet. However, there are backgrounds and clothing that do not require Neocash. So really, there is no reason to purchase anything in order to enjoy Neopets.
8. Your First Banking Experience (And More)
Neopets can be the source of a lot of firsts, including your first banking experience. In the world of Neopia, there is the National Neopian Bank. It is owned by a Skeith banker who loves money. Benefits to using the bank include a safe storage place for your Neopoints as well as interest you can collect everyday. You can also qualify for different plans depending on how much money you have deposited, starting as a Junior Saver ($0) to Ultimate Riches (10,000,000 NP).
Kids can also experience the stock market for the very first (and maybe only) time in their lives. With some help from Nigel the Commodity Broker Chia, players can learn about the Neopian Stock Market. Buy a particular volume of stock in various Neopian companies, including Alien Aisha Vending Ltd., Breaster Bakeries, and EEEEEURGH!!! Ltd., and ake money or lose it (most likely the latter).
And if you become one of the Ultimate Riches, maybe with some help from the Neopian Stock Market, you can donate some of your riches or luxury items to the Money Tree for other players to try to snag.
7. There Were Tie-In Plushies, Video Games, A Card Game, And More
There were a lot of tie-in products created for Neopets. Besides the stickers and cereal, a line of real-life plushies came out so kids could cuddle with Aishas, Kacheeks, and other lovable Neopets. Then there was the Neopets Trading Card Game - not the collectible card you can collect in the game but real-life cards that can be played between two people. The card game pits Neopets against each other in arenas of Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Magic. If a player wins a fight, they can bank or draw a card; if they bank enough cards, they win. They stopped releasing cards in 2006 when the card game was discontinued.
Then there were the tie-in video games. There were the series of handheld electronic games that recreated areas in the world of Neopets and let you play some games. Then Sony Computer Entertainment published the Playstation 2 game Neopets: The Darkest Faerie, an action-adventure game set in the world of Neopets. You play as one of two young heroes, Tormund the Knight and Roberta the Sorceress, in order to save the world from the Darkest Faerie's evil plans.
Meteor Games, the company created by Neopets founders Adam and Donna Powell, created a game in conjunction with Neopets. It was called Neopets: Treasure Keepers and featured quests on a board game-esque map. The game was shut down after the company lost money, the number of s declined and 90% of Meteor Games' staff were laid off.
6. You Could Create Your Own House
Beside raising your own pet, you can also own your very own house in Neopets. You can pick a location anywhere around the world in Neopets, from the Lost Desert to Mystery Island, to settle in. Construct your floors and walls. Buy your own furniture and place it wherever you want to give your home that personal touch. Players can use Neocash to buy some unique furnishings and structures. Their Neopet can be placed inside or outside their house.
Other features include the player's ability to share a picture of their Neohome, as well as view and rank each other's homes. Gamers can even tend their own gardens and add beautiful flower arrangements. You can also get various extensions for your NeoHome. This includes levels of security that starts with clanking cans and end with satellite security. Then there are various heating levels, from basic heating to a neo heating system. Then there's insurance, which ranges from basic insurance to Peophin Platinum. So anyone can learn the importance of keeping themselves warm and covering their backs with insurance.