Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch
Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch | |
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Developer(s) | Humongous Entertainment |
Publisher(s) | Humongous Entertainment[a] |
Designer(s) |
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Artist(s) | John Michaud (animator) |
Writer(s) | Dave Grossman |
Composer(s) | Thomas McGurk |
Engine | SCUMM |
Platform(s) | Macintosh Windows Linux iOS |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Adventure, humorous |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch is a 1999 video game and the fourth of five adventure games in the Freddi Fish series of games. It was developed and published by Humongous Entertainment.
Plot
Freddi and Luther are on their way to Calico Ranch in Briny Gulch to meet Freddi's cousin, Calico Catfish, who agreed to teach them to raise hogfish. When they arrive, Cousin Calico tells them that her hogfish herd has been rustled and that she couldn't call the authorities as the town's local lawman, Sheriff Shrimp, supposedly went out of town. Freddi and Luther offer to help find the hogfish and catch the rustlers.
After entering Briny Gulch's town square, Freddi and Luther meet Saltwater Stella, the owner and operator of the local "sodaloon", who informs them that there were a couple of suspicious-looking fish who had entered the sodaloon the other day. While looking for clues, Luther finds a note dropped under the table where the two fish sat, which mentions a meeting at the Rusty Rustler, a local shipwreck, as well as a lock combination in order to enter.
Once, Freddi and Luther arrive at the shipwreck and enter the combination, they attempt to enter only to be stopped by a slim fish named Goby, who tells them that only rustlers are allowed in the hideout and that they need a colored hat, a kind of neckwear, and a belt buckle with a certain letter on it to qualify as rustlers. Using the magazine advertisement the rustler gave them, Freddi and Luther then set out to find materials for making a rustler disguise. Meanwhile, another fish named Moray struggles to take care of Calico's hogfish, who refuse to cooperate; he keeps threatening to call someone named "Mr. Big".
Once Freddi and Luther obtain the right kinds of clothing for their disguise, they head back to the Rusty Rustler to change into their outfit. Goby falls for the duo's disguise and allows them to enter, but after Luther sheds their disguise, he and Freddi are caught by Moray, who locks them in a prison cell and calls Mr. Big to decide what to do with them. Freddi and Luther soon realize that their jail cell is just above the hogfish's cell, where they meet one of the hogfish named Gruntle and discover a clue to Mr. Big's identity. By using the chain of an anchor, Freddi and Luther manage to break the cell's window bars, allowing the hogfish to escape.
Once Goby and Moray realize the hogfish have broken loose, they are caught by Sheriff Shrimp and the townsfolk, who are informed by Freddi and Gruntle of Mr. Big, with the former having deduced Big's identity due to the clue in the hogfish's cell, as well as their suspicious actions prior. Once Mr. Big is exposed, he explains his reason for planning the rustling and Goby and Moray apologetically admit that their only intention was to be real hogfish ranchers. Hearing this, Calico decides to hire Goby, Moray and Mr. Big, as assistant hogfish ranchers along with Freddi and Luther.
Gameplay
The game uses the same principles as its predecessors, but similar to the third game, it has multiple endings on who the main culprit is based on evidence Freddi and Luther find. There are four possible suspects: Eight Finger Phil, Nelson Torso, Sahara Slim and Gill Barker (returning from the previous game), and each one has a different reason for stealing the hogfish.
Reception
Publication | Score |
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GameBlitz | 85%[3] |
Gamer's Pulse | 93%[4] |
Review Corner | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metzomagic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Unikgamer | 6.5/10[7] |
Publication | Award |
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Review Corner | Award of Excellence[5] |
Canadian Toy Testing Council | Top-Rated Three Star Award[8] |
Family PC | Top Rated Award[8] |
Family Life | Critic's Choice Award[8] |
Choosing Children's Software | Best Picks for the Holidays Award[8] |
Parent's Guide to Children's Media | Click of a Mouse: Software Award[8] |
Children's Software Revue | All Star Software Award[8] |
Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch was generally well-received, getting scores of 85% from GameBlitz,[3] 93% from Gamer's Pulse,[4] 4.5 out of 5 stars from Review Corner,[5] 4.5 out of 5 stars from Metzomagic[6] and Unikgamer gave a 6.5 out 10 score.[7] Review Corner also gave this game the Award of Excellence.[5]
During the year 2001 alone, Freddi Fish 4 sold 65,106 retail units in North America, according to PC Data.[9]
References
- ^ . 2000-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20000519222456/http://www.humongous.com/. Archived from the original on 2000-05-19. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch on Steam". Steam. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
- ^ a b James Anthony (1998). "Freddi Fish 4 review on GameBlitz". Retrieved March 30, 2015.
An excellent effort to add to a really top-notch series.
- ^ a b Stephen (Scribbler) Zillwood (August 20, 2000). "Freddi Fish 4 - Gamer's Pulse". Archived from the original on October 30, 2001. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Freddi Fish 4 - Review Corner". 1999. Archived from the original on April 17, 2004. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Rosemary Young (1999). "Freddi Fish 4: The Case of the Hogfish Rustlers of Briny Gulch Review by metzomagic.com". metzomagic.com. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
Freddie fish has maintained her reputation in this adventure, she's just as lovable as ever.
- ^ a b "Freddi Fish series on Unikgamer". Unikgamer. Archived from the original on June 15, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Infogrames Awards - Freddi Fish 4". Archived from the original on June 24, 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ The Steam release was co-published by Tommo and Night Dive Studios.
The iOS release was published by Tommo.
External links
- 1999 video games
- Adventure games
- Children's educational video games
- Classic Mac OS games
- Detective video games
- Humongous Entertainment games
- Infogrames games
- IOS games
- Linux games
- Nintendo Switch games
- PlayStation 4 games
- Point-and-click adventure games
- SCUMM games
- ScummVM-supported games
- Single-player video games
- Tommo games
- Video games developed in the United States
- Video games featuring female protagonists
- Video games set underwater
- Western (genre) video games
- Windows games