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, Metacritic has an average score of 70 out 100, Allgame gave a 4-star rating, GameZone rated 7 out of 10, Adventure Gamers gave a 3-star rating, and Unikgamer gave a 7 out 10 score. It also received over 20 awards. The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds won Electronic Entertainments 1994 "Best Edutainment Title" award. The editors wrote that the game features "wonderful original characters, a strong storyline, appropriately challenging puzzles, and beautiful animation." The Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds was a commercial success, with sales of 250,000 units by 1999. During the year 2001 alone, Freddi Fish sold 54,447 retail units in North America, according to PC Data.
