Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds

Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds is a 1994 video game and the first of five adventure games in the Freddi Fish series of games developed and published by Humongous Entertainment. In 2008, it was released on the Wii under the title Freddi Fish in Kelp Seed Mystery[6] as well as Windows and Macintosh,[7] and on Android with a shortened title Freddi Fish and the Missing Kelp Seeds. The Wii version's availability was limited by legal problems concerning its development.[8]

Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds
1998 Cover art
Developer(s)Humongous Entertainment
Atari (digiBlast)
Mistic Software (Wii)[1]
Publisher(s)Humongous Entertainment
Transposia (digiBlast)
Majesco Entertainment (Wii)[2]
Night Dive Studios (Steam)
Producer(s)Ron Gilbert
Designer(s)
  • Ron Gilbert
  • Larry Kay
  • Tami Caryl Borowick
Writer(s)Larry Kay
Composer(s)George Sanger
SeriesFreddi Fish 
EngineSCUMM
Platform(s)Macintosh, Windows, digiBlast, Wii, iOS, Android, Linux, Steam
ReleaseReleased:
  • 1994 (Mac, Win)
  • 2005 (digiBlast)[3]
  • August 29, 2008 (Wii)[2]
  • October 10, 2010 (iOS)
  • April 3, 2014 (Android)[4]
  • April 17, 2014 (Linux)
  • April 17, 2014 (Steam)[5]
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

The adventure begins in the Atlantic Ocean when Freddi Fish visits Grandma Grouper with a gift of flowers. Grandma Grouper is sad and when asked why, she informs Freddi that her treasure chest full of kelp seeds has been stolen. As a result, her garden began to wilt and left them with no food. Courageously, Freddi promises to find Grandma Grouper's stolen treasure chest. This puts a smile on Grandma Grouper's face and she gives Freddi her last peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich to take on her journey.

After going a short distance from Grandma Grouper's house, Freddi finds her friend Luther trying to swim loop-de-loops. She shows Luther how to do it and he tries again, hitting his head on some coral. A bottle is knocked loose and slowly lands on the ground. When Freddi and Luther investigate, they discover that a note has been lodged inside the bottle. After reading the note and finding a message telling them where the treasure is, Freddi and Luther begin their journey to find the missing kelp seeds.

However at the same time, it's revealed that two sharks named Spongehead and Boss were the ones that stole the treasure as part of their plan to help the Squidfather grow kelp. The bottles that Freddi and Luther found were directions that Spongehead created so he could find his way back to the treasure after he hid it. Boss is furious over not remembering where the treasure is or the bottles that lead the way to it so he takes him to the Squidfather as punishment, Of course, the Squidfather is enraged at this revelation, but after the Squidfather spews out ink, Spongehead now finally remembers where the treasure is, so the sharks go to get the treasure.

When the final clue reveals that the treasure is at the sunken ship, Freddi and Luther go there and retrieve the treasure, but the two are stopped by Spongehead and Boss who want the treasure. Freddi explains that the kelp treasure is for everyone to share, and the sharks plan on sharing. Freddi and Luther grab the treasure, spread it around to give to everyone, and plant it in Grandma Grouper's garden. The three all go inside her house, ending the game.

Gameplay

The game makes use of a simplified adventure system where a single click on a certain spot allows the player to pick up items, go to another location, talk to characters and find trivial but fun stuff in the screen. Clicking on an item in the right place allows Freddi to make use of it. Most puzzles require the player to make exchanges with characters and use items to get to inaccessible areas. The locations of the clues in bottles and the trails to follow for the treasure chest are randomised in every new game.

Reception

"Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds" received mixed reviews from various critics. GameRankings lists a 60% score for the Windows version based on 1 review,[9] Metacritic has an average score of 70 out 100,[10] Allgame gave a 4-star rating,[11] GameZone rated 7 out of 10,[12] Adventure Gamers gave a 3-star rating,[13] and Unikgamer gave a 7 out 10 score.[14] It also received over 20 awards.[15]

The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds won Electronic Entertainment's 1994 "Best Edutainment Title" award. The editors wrote that the game features "wonderful original characters, a strong storyline, appropriately challenging puzzles, and beautiful animation."[16]

The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds was a commercial success, with sales of 250,000 units by 1999.[17] During the year 2001 alone, Freddi Fish sold 54,447 retail units in North America, according to PC Data.[18]

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings60% (Windows - 1 review)[9]
Metacritic70[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Adventure Gamers[13]
AllGame[11]
GameZone7/10[12]
Unikgamer7/10[14]
Awards
PublicationAward
NewsweekEditor's Choice Award 1996[19]
Parenting MagazineSoftware Magic Award 1995[19]
National ParentingSeal of Approval 1995[19]
Computer Gaming WorldNo. 1 Family Software Title of 1995[19]
HomePCKids' Lab No. 1 Rated[19]
Family PCFamily Tested/Recommended[19]
PC MagazineTop 100 CD-ROMs of 1995[19]
Parent's ChoiceHonor Award 1995[19]
Gaming MagazineBest Children's Game[19]

References
  1. "Mistic Software Inc". Mistic Software Inc. 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  2. "Freddi Fish:Kelp Seed Mystery on Wii". Nintendo of America Inc. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  3. "Freddi Fish". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  4. "Freddi Fish and the Missing Kelp Seeds - Android Apps on Google Play". Google Play. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  5. "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds on Steam". Steam. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  6. "Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery". GameFAQs. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  7. "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds – Box Scan". GameFAQs. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  8. Cobbett, Richard (December 22, 2017). "How ScummVM is keeping adventure games alive, one old game at a time". PC Gamer. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  9. "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds for PC - GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  10. "Freddi Fish in Kelp Seed Mystery (Wii) reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  11. Brad Cook. "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds - Review - allgame". Allgame. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  12. jkdmedia. "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds - Wii - Review". GameZone. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  13. Joe Keeley (June 11, 2010). "Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds Information, Screenshots & Media". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  14. "Freddi Fish series on Unikgamer". Unikgamer. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  15. "Microsoft and Humongous Entertainment Pair EasyBall and Freddi Fish to Deliver Unbeatable Value for Families in Time for the Holidays". Microsoft. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  16. Staff (March 1995). "The Second Annual Electronic Entertainment Editors' Choice Awards". Electronic Entertainment (15): 45–51.
  17. Haring, Bruce (February 28, 1999). "The story of a Humongous project". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 6, 1999. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  18. Sluganski, Randy (March 2002). "State of Adventure Gaming - March 2002 - 2001 Sales Table". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on June 19, 2002. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  19. "Humongous Entertainment Handcrafts Another Junior Adventure(tm)". Farlex, Inc. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
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