Freddi Fish

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Freddi Fish is a series of point-and-click children's games originally made by Humongous Entertainment, which was later bought by Atari. The series spans five Adventure Games and four Gaiden Games.

Freddi Fish is a yellow fish, who investigates problems with the help of her friend Luther, a small green fish. Problems that Freddi and Luther face usually involve a villain (often a Card-Carrying Villain) scaring the local fish through some sort of trick.

The Adventure Games, in order, are:

  • Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds (also known as Freddi Fish: Kelp Seed Mystery, and often referred to as Freddi Fish 1)
  • Freddi Fish 2: The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse (also known as Freddi Fish: Haunted Schoolhouse Mystery)
  • Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell (also known as Freddi Fish and the Stolen Shell)
  • Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch
  • Freddi Fish 5: The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove

The Gaiden Games, in order, are:

  • Freddi Fish and Luther's Water Worries
  • Freddi Fish and Luther's Maze Madness
  • Freddi Fish's One-Stop Fun Shop
  • Freddi Fish: ABCs Under the Sea (sometimes called Freddi Fish: ABC's Under the Sea or Freddi Fish: ABC Under the Sea)

The series also spawned multiple children's books (not all of which may have been published), including Freddi Fish and the Pirate's Treasure, Freddi Fish Notebook, Freddi Fish: A Whale of a Tale!, Freddi Fish: Boek is Zoek, Freddi Fish: Color and Activity Book, Freddi Fish: De Geheimzinnige Brief, Freddi Fish: Help! Een Draak!, Freddi Fish: Kleurenfestival, Freddi Fish: Leesplezier voor Beginnende Lezers, Freddi Fish: Meester Zeester in Nood, Freddi Fish: Superleuke Rekenoefeningen, Freddi Fish: Superleuke Schrijfoefeningen, Freddi Fish: The Big Froople Match, Freddi Fish: The Missing Letters Mystery, Freddi Fish: What's Different?, and Sing Along with Freddi Fish and her Friends (doubling as an Audio Adaptation). Additionally, the album Flabby Rode features the Dummied Out Cut Song "Fat Chants 2" from Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds.

A demo version of The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse can be downloaded [dead link] from Infogrames, and a clickpoint demonstration of The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove can be played [dead link] or downloaded [dead link] from Spektakle.

Tropes used in Freddi Fish include:
  • Alliteration: Water Worries, Maze Madness, and The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove.
  • Air Vent Passageway: This is how Freddi and Luther access the school's boiler room in The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse.
  • All Deserts Have Cacti: Freddi Fish 4.
  • Alliterative Name: Freddi Fish.
  • Alphabet Soup Cans
  • Ambidextrous Sprite: In Water Worries, Luther and Freddi always use the fin that's further from the player to hold their slingshots (and in Freddi's case, her net).
  • An Aesop: All the main games have one.
  • Angry Guard Dog:
    • The Junkyard Dogfish, in The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds and Maze Madness.
    • Marty's dogfish from The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove.
  • The Anime of the Game: Was to have been created by Lancit Media Entertainment.
  • Annoying Laugh: In Maze Madness, Spongehead the shark has a VERY grating laugh that gets annoying after hearing it for a while.
  • Anti-Frustration Features: If you fool around long enough, a character will randomly give you a hint.
  • Art Shift: This music video features 3D versions of Freddi and Luther.
  • As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Horst Fedders' native language is Foreign Sounding Gibberish.
  • Audio Adaptation: The Tie-in Novel Sing Along with Freddi Fish and her Friends came with a cassette tape of the same name.
  • Ax Crazy: Freddi in the "Eddie Eats Luther" easter egg clip.
  • Big Friendly Dog: The Junkyard Dogfish, in ABCs Under the Sea.
  • Blatant Lies: At the end of the first game, Luther tries to make himself look like he did all of the work and was being very brave.
  • Blind Without'Em: Casey and his Nerd Glasses.
  • Bloody Hilarious: In The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, Freddi's Dummied Out Indulgent Fantasy Segue has her feed Luther to Eddie the Eel.
  • Bow Ties Are Cool: Mr. Starfish from The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds and the Tie-in Novel Freddi Fish: Meester Zeester in Nood wears a bowtie, as well as a monocle.
  • Brats with Slingshots: The closest thing Freddi and Luther have to a Weapon of Choice, though they never directly aim them at anyone. The one in The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse is actually a very high-tech device, complete with an attached targeting computer. The ones in Water Worries are more basic slingshots.
  • Butt Monkey: Luther.
  • Canon Discontinuity: Freddi and Luther create the stories in One-Stop Fun Shop's storytime coloring book, so the five stories are most likely not canon.
  • Card-Carrying Villain: As noted above.
  • Coat Full of Contraband: Standard behavior for Ray, who's pretty much Honest John's Dealership without the dealership.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: In Water Worries, the bubbles with red outlines are the ones with bad things in or on them.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: The third game has one for each thief.
  • Cut Song: Some games' HE4 files contain Dummied Out music.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Water Worries is the only game to focus on Luther, with Freddi only being playable in two player mode.
  • Downloadable Content: Freddi Fish's One-Stop Fun Shop had additional art that could be downloaded from Humongous' website.
  • Dummied Out:
    • The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds:
      • Freddi, Luther, and Eddie the Eel have an unused cutscene that can be unlocked by adding "EddieEatsLuther=1" (after the first time, that and "BretIsTheOverlord=1") to the game's section in the INI file.
      • The handle of the sword stuck in the barrel on the sunken ship's deck has two unused animations that can be unlocked by adding "EnableFishBradSword=1" (after the first time, that and "PeteIsAlsoTheOverlord=1") to the game's section in the INI file.
      • The game's HE4 file contains unused music, including "Fat Chants 2" (an alternate version of one of the game's background themes), which would later be featured on the album Flabby Rode.
    • The Case of the Haunted Schoolhouse:
      • Freddi has an unused line that can be triggered by getting all five trap parts then checking the list (which can only be done by using the game's debug mode or ScummVM's debugger).
    • Water Worries:
      • An unused Level Editor exists, and it is fully-functioning. It can be accessed by typing "room 7" in ScummVM's debugger.
    • Maze Madness:
      • An unused early version of the Squoosh arcade mini-game from Putt-Putt Travels Through Time can be accessed by using ScummVM's debugger and typing "room 6." This version of the mini-game has four different pictures to reveal: the Seattle SuperSonics' '95-'01 logo, Luther pulling his fins out from the Junkyard Dogfish's mouth (a scene from Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds), Pep licking up Putt-Putt's vomit while Putt-Putt watches, next to Chuck Wagon (a Dummied Out scene from Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo), and 30 live-action people.
      • An unused Level Editor made for the developers exists, but it is unknown how to get it to test levels. It can be accessed either by adding RhettCool=1 to the game's section in the INI file and pressing "e" at any time during the gameplay, or by typing "room 5" in the debugger.
    • The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell:
      • The Conch thief's bag is an inventory item that can only be obtained by using the game's debug mode or ScummVM's debugger. It cannot be selected or used.
    • The Case of the Creature of Coral Cove:
      • For whatever reason, the very beginning of the game's HE4 file has the toy store theme from Putt-Putt Joins the Parade.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Spy Fox appears in one of the theater movies for Freddi Fish 2, who didn't debut until a year later.
  • Early Installment Weirdness: Freddi had a different design in the first game, mainly due to her upper fin being taller and less wide. It also is notably Darker and Edgier than the sequels.
  • Eenie Meenie Miny Moai: The background of Levels 41-50 in Water Worries.
  • Electric Jellyfish: Appear in Water Worries and The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": As with Spongehead, Boss is never referred to by his unknown real name; instead, he's always referred to as what Spongehead called him in the first game.
  • Expanded Universe: The Tie-In Novels and Audio Adaptation.
  • Expospeak: "Maybe I can move the pipe with TELEKINESIS: The raw power of my brain!"
    • Interestingly enough, although Luther couldn't get the pipe down with the TK, he did unknowingly lift a plane out of the ocean in the distance.
  • Expy: Jason from The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds is basically a fish version of Putt-Putt. He's even named after Putt-Putt's voice actor at the time.
  • Eyelid-Pull Taunt: In The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, Freddi does this towards the player at the end of her Dummied Out Indulgent Fantasy Segue.
  • Family-Unfriendly Death: In The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, Freddi's Dummied Out Indulgent Fantasy Segue has her feed Luther to Eddie the Eel.
  • Fictional Currency: Purple sea urchins. There are at least five variations, all of which are more valuable: red sea urchins (worth two purple ones), blue sea urchins (worth three purple ones), gold sea urchins (worth four purple ones), and orange sea urchins (worth more than four purple ones; exact value unknown).
  • Fifteen Puzzle: Freddi Fish 2 has a sliding puzzle, but it's completely optional to complete. The only time you actually need to use it is if the trident is being held by the statue below it, and even then, you still only need to clear one space.
  • Fourth Wall Mail Slot: "Frankly Freddi" on the old Humongous web site.
  • Funny Foreigner: Horst Fedders, mostly due to Freddi Fish 3's foreign language phrase book.
  • Gentle Giant: In Freddi Fish 5, the sea monster Xamfear Duncan Dogberry Valentine turns out to be one of these.
  • Geographic Flexibility: ABCs Under the Sea takes locations from the first, fourth, and fifth games and puts them in completely different places. Grandma Grouper's house from the fifth game even appears twice (well, either that or she got a duplicate house)!
  • Guilt Based Gaming: Luther will sometimes say this if you hit the "Stop" button at the end of the first game:

Luther: Freddi! I'm melting!

  • Hammerspace: To the point where it gets lampshaded in the fourth game, after Freddi manages to store an entire piece of wood.

Luther: How did you do that?
Freddi: That's my special secret.

  • Heel Face Revolving Door: The Junkyard Dogfish. In The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, he's hungry and growls at Freddi and Luther (biting Luther's tail fin if Freddi and Luther swim too close to him) after Luther accidentally wakes him up, but once Freddi gives him a bone he thanks her and leaves. In Maze Madness, he keeps chasing Freddi no matter how many times he takes a Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwich from her. In ABCs Under the Sea, he (supposedly) sorts the junkyard's trash, and is happy to let Freddi and Luther help him sort it.
  • Invisible Parents: Despite being mentioned on the old Humongous website, Freddi's parents never show up in-universe.
  • The Hero: Freddi.
  • Hidden Object Game: The Tie-in Novel Freddi Fish: What's Different?
  • High-Class Glass: Mr. Starfish from The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds and the Tie-in Novel Freddi Fish: Meester Zeester in Nood wears a monocle, as well as a bowtie.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Luther pulls a few of these, which are usually followed by Don't Explain the Joke.
  • Indulgent Fantasy Segue: In The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, Freddi has a Dummied Out one.

Luther: Whatcha thinking about, Freddi?
Freddi: Oh, nothing, Luther.

Marty: Those meddling kids are going to ruin my grand plan.

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