25 Reasons We're Still Here, 25 Years Later

     1. Re-living the nostalgia - Neopets hasn’t changed! The core site, the art work, the cast of characters, the world map of Neopia and all its lands are still intact, just as you remembered in the days of yore. Neopets has been preserved as a treasured time travel capsule to your old beloved digital toybox.

     2. Escaping the real world. Most users are adults now, which means real life responsibilities. And sometimes, we could use a break from those real life obligations by dropping in to visit our pixelated pet world.

     3. Your pets are starving so you’re back to feed them. Though, you know better now than to feed them omelettes - after all, those need to be saved for the annual Faerie Festival Recycling. Instead, to the Neolodge they go!

     4. Achieving dream pets is possible now! Speaking of the Faerie Festival, the once ever elusive Rainbow Fountain Faerie now makes regular appearances during this annual event to grant the dream pet colour of your choosing. What's more, Quest Log has also swooped into the scene. Re-releasing those rare paint brushes and morphing potions help close the gap in making those dreamies come true!

     5. Customising pets. You’re an adult and you have the money to buy NC (or more accurately, the decision-making powers to do so). Complete your dream pets by dressing them up. Mix and match, exchange fun ideas, create different fitting combinations, spend hours on the NC trading boards to find a white Radiant Glow, and bask in the satisfaction of nailing the finishing look!

     6. UC pets are back!!! Let’s remember back to when the sitewide switch turned on to enable customisations. Perhaps you accidentally converted your pet and have long regretted that decision ever since that innocent click of a button. Maybe you never had the chance to paint your pet’s dream colour before that point. Well, TNT has now made it possible to right the past by reviving those Nostalgic Styles to reinfuse pets with a sense of personality and character.

     7. Pet trading. We talked about dream pets, but let's not also forget the importance of a very well-named pet! The pet trading community is an active, friendly, and creative bunch. Once you start trading, you'll be on a quest to collect a whole family of well-named pets!

     8. Chatting on the Neoboards with cleverly constructed posts to avoid the angry Meerca of silly filters. Chatting on the Neoboards brings back such fond memories of skirting the bizarre Neoboard filters and the angry Meerca. Only in Neopia are you not allowed to talk about such seemingly benign items!

     9. Reconnecting with old guildmates and Neofriends (as well as making new Neofriends). As young adolescents, many of us befriended strangers on the Neoboards and in guilds, chatting about avatars and pets and flash games for hours on end. Flash forward to today, when you hop online to do your dailies, you see a familiar avatar and username pop up on your online Neofriends list: your old Neofriend has suddenly reappeared after a decade! With a smile, you quickly run to your Neomail, and shoot them a little “Hello!”, picking up where you left off a decade ago…

     10. Training your pets and reaching new Battledome goals. If you've been away from the Battledome for a long time, you'll be surprised to return to an updated Battledome. Codestone and other prize drops give a path towards levelling up and unlocking Secret Ninja School with top battledome stats. Equipped with the right weapons, you're closer to defeating the most powerful opponents that once seemed impossible to conquer!

     11. Addictively gambling all the Nerkmids you hoarded from beating Jetsam Ace. Nowadays, it's less about holding your breath to see a rare paint brush dispensed from the Alien Aisha Vending Machine. Throw your weight in Nerkmids to rack up a monthly high score and vie for trophy bragging rights.

     12. Making ALL the NP from betting on pirate eating contests. Coming back to a ripe old account age pays off when it comes to Food Club betting - who knew this once niche site feature would become a cornerstone for income generation? Neo-billionaire status is just 5000 Gooblah wins away.

     13. Restocking for the thrill of it. There's nothing quite like the rush of adrenaline in spotting an ultra rare item for a fantastic price. The race to be the first in securing that item comes with a sense of victory for successful buys and/or eager anticipation for the next deal hunt.

     14. Unlocking avatars that you couldn't figure out before. Community members have collaborated to share pets, lend items, and provide game tips on how to unlock secret avatars for everyone to enjoy! And with new avatars being released more frequently now, the journey to top avatar collector ranks continues!

     15. Stacking up that trophy cabinet. There's a sense of pride and accomplishment in seeing a wall of gleaming gold trophies for display on your User Lookup. Each trophy offers a new goal to work towards the collection.

     16. Collecting STAMPS! STAMPS! ALL THE STAMPS! Those shiny, beautiful stamp album avatars are finally attainable, thanks to previously super rare retired stamps being rereleased via Quest Logs and various event/plot prizes! TNT, thank you for making our stamp dreams finally come true!

     17. Working on galleries. That collection you never quite finished because you didn't have enough Neopoints back in the day? Well, those other items you had stashed away in your Safety Deposit Box are now worth a pretty Neopoint, which means you now have more funds to spend building up your gallery!

     18. Flash games are back, baby!! Those games you once played for hours on end? You never lost those instincts. Only now, you have better skills with more experience under your belt to crush all your old scores.

     19. You really really love Yooyuball. Whether it's Yooyuball, Make Some Noise, Shootout Showdown, Slushie Slinger, or all of the above, you're an all-encompassing fan of the Altador Cup, and your team loyalty has never wavered! You must continue your all-star streak, now 19 years strong.

     20. You’re forever trying to be Sakhmet Solitaire champion. Solitaire should not be this difficult. Yet when it comes to the version on Neopets, it is frustratingly impossible to win. In 25 years, you have not won 2 consecutive games in a row for that elusive gold trophy - is it finally your time, after 25 years of trying?

     21. Neo is your creative outlet. Creative contests welcome anyone willing to try, from the amateur to the hobbyist to the professional. Whether art or writing, or even user lookup coding, there are plenty of opportunities for you to exercise your creative brain. All these contests allow your work to be shared and recognised (and a chance to win some nifty rewards on site!)

     22. Following the plot!! Story, mystery, intrigue with interactive games and puzzles - what's not to love? Oh, and prizes too! Plots enrich Neopets lore, world building, and character development, building upon beloved figures we've known over the years.

     23. You need to figure out if Jelly World actually exists… But does it? Or is it your imagination within this world of imagination? You swear that you hear the echoes of the Jelly Keeper exclaiming that you had already taken from the Giant Jelly today…

     24. Kad feeding = lyfe. You’re a proud overfeeder, and your life runs on 28 + 7 minute blocks. Kad feeding is an essential part of your identity, and your timekeeping skills are also crucial for the newbie Kad feeders out there.

     25. At the end of the day you enjoy being a part of the awesome Neopets community :)

     Whether you’re here for the community, here to fulfil those childhood dreams, or here to just dote on pets that literally cannot be unalived despite the lack of food over the decades (just give them a bite of those omelettes, for old time’s sake!), Neopets has been our virtual home for a large part of our lives. So let’s all gather together to celebrate with a cup of Borovan in hand, and raise our glasses to cheer: Happy 25th Birthday, Neopets!