 Items That Capture The Essence Of Neopets
by darkobsession
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Neopets has entered another year, known as Y24, and during all of this time we’ve had thousands of items released, some of which truly capture the essence and soul of the site we all love and cherish. What is that essence, you say? Well, Neopets was first created by university students, for university students. Many aspects of the site had an underlying genius humour or mischievous playfulness to them. When the site started to grow and gain popularity, it expanded to attract a wider audience and appeal to all age groups, especially youngsters, while still maintaining its original purpose: cater entertainment to all tastes.
Examples of such items include:
1. Negg
Neggs are one of the first items that appeared in Neopia, but still, no one knows what they are exactly. They could be fruits since they have a stem & leaves and are edible but can be used as powerful weapons too. They’re considered a delicacy, yet no one ever talked about what they taste like. Are they sweet, sour or savoury? They have their own Faerie, Kari, who is as mysterious as they are. We can easily say they capture the essence of Neopets since they are original, unique and exclusive to the site.
2. Angelpuss
The Angelpuss is a sweet, adorable, little, kitty-looking petpet for your Neopet to look after. They are obviously angelic looking but can be quite mischievous. They capture the essence of Neopets by being one of the cute, first wave of petpets that were released to appeal to the younger Neopets audience, which also includes the Warf and the Snorkle. Before that, most petpets were in fish bowls or spooky/scary ones that came from the Haunted Woods.
3. Fuzzle
The Fuzzles are cute little toys in plushie form. No one knows who first had the idea to create them, as the Cybunny who runs the Plushie Palace claims they just “magically appeared on my shelves one day and they’re here to stay.” They capture the essence of Neopets by being one of the first items to be inspired by familiar icons of nostalgia. There are evil Fuzzles too, but I’d rather not talk about those.
4. Mote
Motes are tiny magical specks that help you in the Battledome. They’re living, breathing creatures that are sold in the Brightvale Motery, but their efficacy in battle is questionable. Most of them are very cheap as well, the most expensive being the Chainmail Mote. They capture the essence of Neopets by being Elemental items that mimic other Neopian elements such as Gold, Fire, Ice, Ash, Dung, etc.
5. Gross Food
The Alien Aishas come up with the weirdest and grossest food combinations. Or so TNT claim. Gross, questionable food makes up for a lot of what kids and teenagers eat in their daily lives, from school cafeterias to food that’s gone bad in the dorm room, but you have no choice except to eat it, and cheap diners with weird recipes nearby campuses, and thus is a perfect example of how it captures the essence of Neopets.
6. Codestones
If you asked me to identify any kind of life-stone, I would fail miserably. I don’t know quartz from marble from limestone. However, one quick glance at a Mystery Island Codestone and I can identify it immediately. There are 10 basic, and 6 red Codestones that were shaped by the lava of Techo Mountain ages ago, and we use thousands of them daily as payment to train our Pets at the Ninja School. No one knows what the Techo Master and his apprentice do with all those stones, and we are never allowed to ask. That’s why they capture the essence of Neopets perfectly.
7. Secret Laboratory Map
The Secret Laboratory Map was one of the first “puzzles” created for the site. Collect all 9 pieces so you can assemble them to gain access to the Secret Laboratory run by the Mad Scorchio Scientist where you can zap your pet on a daily basis. They capture the essence of Neopets by having a confusing part, which is that none of the pieces are numbered, so you have to look for them individually on the Shop Wizard or the Trading Post, and it’s not an easy task, considering you may end up buying doubles, if you’re not well acquainted with them. The good news is that the map got a re-haul which makes the pieces a lot easier to tell apart. It also gives you the chance to traumatize your Neopet by zapping them into all kinds of species and colours. Such fun. Some years later, TNT released the Petpet Laboratory Map to accompany the original one.
8. TNT Staff Smasher Board Game
It seems the original TNT enjoyed being victims, and were such a glutton for punishment. From the Sacrificers, to Ski Lodge Mystery, and finally TNT Staff Smasher Game. They even went as far as making a toy for your Neopet to take home and enjoy smashing their “favourite staff members over the noggin.” Nothing says glutton for punishment and represents TNT like this item.
9. Krawks and Draiks
Krawk: So you just created a Neopets account, and are browsing the site, looking at random userlookups, when you suddenly come across a cute-but-in-a-creepy-way Crocodile-Lizard creature called “Krawk.” You run to the “Create A Neopet” page, but it’s nowhere to be found. That’s because it’s not your usual every day Neopet. Krawks are originally Petpets! And they can only become full grown pets when they eat magical fungus at the Fungus Caves. They are Super Rare (R99) too, making them very expensive, with a price range of about 8 Million NPs. They capture the essence of Neopets by making players put extra hard work and thinking in order to obtain one.
Draik: Oooh! A Dragon! Once, Draiks were the Ultimate Neopet. Extremely rare and sought after, owning one put you high on the social hierarchy scale that is called the SuAP Lending Neoboards. Just like the Krawks above, they are not available on the “Create A Neopet” page. You have to hatch a Draik Egg in the Draik Nest in Meridell. The weird part is that Draik Eggs are actually considered food. The general population uses them to earn Gourmet Club points. Granted, you won’t find them every day as they are also R99 and range in price between 100k - 2Million NP, but the mere idea of consuming a live Neopet captures the essence of Neopets, albeit in a more twisted manner.
10. Impossible Items
Some items are so old and rare that they practically don’t exist anymore, and if they did, they would cost hundreds of Millions of NP’s. Some of them are retired Hidden Tower items & Smugglers’ Cove super weapons; others were given through special events and/or contests, and very few were created through a glitch that got fixed since. From the Aisha Myriad, to retired stamps and books, to those one-time Lenny Conundrum and plot prizes, to Spoppy III (of which only one exists in the whole of Neopia), these items are just there to tease the rest of us, capturing the essence of Neopets in a sense of “you have to play the site as much as you can and try to collect as many items as possible, because you never know when you’ll get lucky with a super rare once-in-a-lifetime item that’ll make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.”
11. The Haunted Woods
Neopets “came to life” in 1999. That was the heyday of Goth. Naturally, there had to be a land for college students who enjoyed the spooky and dark aspects of things. Thus the Haunted Woods and the Deserted Fairground, aka “Halloween-Land” existed, capturing the essence of Neopets at the time. As the years passed; Vampires, Werewolves and other magical creatures gained audience in mainstream media with young and old people alike, opening the door to The Haunted Woods to become the first land to win the Altador Cup back in 2006, due to its immense popularity. So much that it branched into another, Victorian-inspired land, Neovia.
Let’s make the new year memorable with more essential items, Neopia.
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