Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell
A 1998 point-and-click adventure with randomized puzzles and suspects.
Freddi Fish 3: The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell is a 1998 point-and-click adventure, the third game in the Freddi Fish series, made by Humongous Entertainment. A sequel, Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch, came out the following year. An iOS version, shortened to Freddi Fish & the Stolen Shell, was also released, along with a "Lite" demo that included subtitles and text boxes. Atari considered it one of its major projects, making it available on its website and the App Store. A Nintendo Switch version, bundled with Putt-Putt Travels Through Time, arrived in January 2022, followed by a PlayStation 4 version on the PlayStation Store that November.
During summer vacation, Pelican Sam takes Freddi and Luther to a Founder's Day Festival in the Hawaiian sea, where Luther's Uncle Blenny is supposed to start the celebration by blowing a conch shell. When they arrive, they find Blenny in jail, wrongly accused of stealing the shell. He tells them six festival attendees were nearby when it happened, and that if they find three golden pipes that fell out of the shell, his dogfish, Old Soggy, might be able to track the thief by scent. After collecting all three pipes, Freddi and Luther give them to Old Soggy, who leads them to an Aztec temple. Inside, Freddi spots the thief sneaking away, and Old Soggy chases after them. Meanwhile, Luther grabs a jewel, triggering a booby trap that locks the temple gate and traps him in a cage. Freddi insists Old Soggy keep pursuing the thief while she searches the temple for the cage key. Once she frees Luther and he puts the jewel back, they find a dropped bag. Peeking inside, they return to the festival, where an angry mob has gathered to confront Blenny. Freddi reveals an item from the bag that exposes the real thief, who confesses after Old Soggy bites them from behind. Blenny is freed, reinstated as "Grand Exalted Keeper of the Conch," and blows the signal to start the festival, while the thief receives a comical punishment.
Gameplay is identical to earlier Freddi Fish games. Each playthrough randomly changes puzzles, items, character encounters, locations, minigames, and click spots, determining which of six suspects—Gill Barker, Claw, Nadine, Rosie Pearl, Pierre, or Horst Fedders—stole the shell.
Development began around April 1996.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Freddi Fish 3: / The Case of the Stolen Conch Shell
- Developer
- Humongous Entertainment
- Designer
- Edward Pun · Tami Caryl Borowick
- Writer
- Fred Kron
- Artist
- John Michaud (animator)
- Composer
- Thomas McGurk
- Engine
- SCUMM
- Series
- Freddi Fish
- Platforms
- Macintosh, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
- Genre
- Adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game's plot begins on summer vacation, when Pelican Sam takes Freddi and Luther to the Founder's Day Festival in the Hawaiian sea. There, Luther's Uncle Blenny, keeper of the Conch Shell that commences the celebration, is wrongly jailed after the shell is stolen. Freddi and Luther learn that six festival attendees were nearby when the crime occurred, and they must find three scattered golden pipes so that Blenny's dogfish, Old Soggy, can pick up the thief's scent. After finding the pipes, Old Soggy leads them to an Aztec temple, where Freddi spots the thief sneaking out. Luther triggers a booby trap by grabbing a jewel, imprisoning himself in a cage. Freddi searches the temple for the cage's key, frees Luther, and they discover a dropped bag. Returning to the festival, they reveal the real thief, who confesses after Old Soggy bites them. Uncle Blenny is reinstated as 'Grand Exalted Keeper of the Conch' and blows the signal to start the festival.
Reader's Guide
Freddi Fish 3 uses exactly the same mechanics as its predecessors, with randomized puzzles, collectible and usable items, character encounters, locations, minigames, and trivial click spots that change each playthrough to determine which of six suspects stole the Conch Shell. The six possible suspects are Gill Barker, Claw, Nadine, Rosie Pearl, Pierre, and Horst Fedders. Development began around April 1996, with puzzles drafted on notebooks and minigames sketched. Programmers used pseudo-code to track their work. Characters were designed from basic descriptions, with 10 to 30 sketches drawn until a final sketch was approved; the longest animation process was adding bubble trails. Storyboarding required 15 to 30 sketches per scene. Backgrounds were penciled, inked, and hand painted, some inspired by scenery photographs. Dozens of actors auditioned for voice roles. The game was generally well-received, scoring 85% from GameBlitz, a 4-star rating from Allgame, an Excellent rating from About this Particular Macintosh, and a 5.5 out of 10 from Unikgamer.
Did You Know?
- The iOS version was released with a shortened title 'Freddi Fish & the Stolen Shell' and a 'Lite' demo version with subtitles and text boxes.
- The game was considered one of Atari's capital projects available on its website and on the App Store.
- A Nintendo Switch version, along with Putt-Putt Travels Through Time, was released in January 2022, followed by a PlayStation 4 version in November.
- Development began around April 1996, and programmers used pseudo-code to keep track of their work.
More in Video Games of the 1990s, Part 1 1-24
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