Mario franchise strategy guide/Characters/FLUDD

FLUDD (Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device) is a fictional, speech-capable, and portable water pump worn by Mario like a backpack in the video game Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo GameCube. Created by Professor E. Gadd, FLUDD is Mario's primary tool for saving Isle Delfino from evil. Mario uses this FLUDD to battle enemies, wash away graffiti, and hover himself across gaps to safety.

FLUDD, equipped with the default Spray Nozzle

Nozzles

Mario using FLUDD's Hover Nozzle in Bianco Hills.

FLUDD has four different nozzles that can be used. The Squirt Nozzle is always available, but secondary Nozzles must be switched by finding the appropriate color of Nozzle box.

• The Squirt Nozzle is used to wash off graffiti or sludge, hurt enemies, and control certain levers. The squirt nozzle cannot be traded for any other nozzle.
• The Hover Nozzle lets Mario float across gaps and access seemingly unreachable areas and is found in blue boxes.
• The Rocket Nozzle is used to blast Mario high into the air to reach platforms inaccessible by normal jumps and is found in red boxes.
• The Turbo Nozzle allows Mario to shoot forward on either ground or water at an immense speed and can be used to break some barriers. The Turbo Nozzle can be used indefinitely when on water and is found in gray boxes.

Origins

Little is known about where FLUDD came from, except that it was created by Professor E. Gadd, a paranormal scientist whose technology aided Luigi in Luigi's Mansion. Evidence of this includes the fact that E. Gadd's logo is depicted on FLUDD's funnel. FLUDD also seems to be quite shocked after Bowser Jr. explains how he obtained his magic brush (also depicting the professor's logo, indicating he made the brush as well) from "a strange old man in a white coat," which fits E. Gadd's description. Why the Professor created a back-mounted water gun and a magic brushing staff is unknown. The Professor can be considered a rather odd individual. It is also unknown as to whether or not Mario's FLUDD and Bowser Jr's magic brush are one of a kind. Some accounts state that they are both custom made, but the matter remains a mystery.

Mario first met FLUDD after a harsh landing on the Isle Delfino air strip. As there seemed to be a mass amount of dangerous graffiti on the landing strip (compliments of Shadow Mario), Mario decided to go get help. Once he came across FLUDD at the airport's shopping center, they got rid of the graffiti. After Mario was let out of jail, Mario used FLUDD again and again to clean up Isle Delfino.

Some claim that FLUDD has some relation to the "Poltergust 3000", an earlier creation which the Professor loaned to Luigi in Luigi's Mansion to help him capture ghosts. Under some circumstances (that is, if the player obtains the Water Medal and proceeds to capture a Water Ghost), the Poltergust could expel water, not unlike FLUDD.

Spoilers end here.

Build

In keeping with the fantasy element of the Mario series, FLUDD is very advanced for a back-mounted water gun. Even though its primary function is to gather water in a tank and expel it for a number of uses, it also seems to have a built-in supercomputer as well. It can scan any one person to find out all sorts of information about them. During one part of the game it flashes back through some previous Mario games, showing him battling Bowser in Super Mario Bros., fighting Iggy Koopa in Super Mario World, and swinging Bowser by the tail from Super Mario 64. It is also capable of speech and independent thought, making it more of a character than just a tool used by one of the characters. It also appears to have a variety of built-in sensors, as it can be used to detect various toxic gasses before they affect Mario.

Use

Based on what is seen in Super Mario Sunshine, FLUDD apparently is used by strapping the belt around one's waist, and pushing down on the FLUDD's two "arms". This will cause the nozzle to expel water until the arms are returned to their default position, or the tank runs out of water. If Mario (or anyone else for that matter) does this while in a body of water, the water export will be limitless. The same function works for the three other nozzles.

Character

FLUDD's gender is unknown. As it is a machine, it may not even have one. Many see it as a female as it possesses a metallic feminine voice common among fictional machines. However, the game references it as a "he" at times. It constantly provides Mario with information about the Island, and tips about gameplay along the way. It seems to be very obedient and smart, typical for a robot, and seems much more interested in getting to the point and stopping Bowser than going around on unnecessary missions, which the more heroic Mario often finds himself in. In the end, they always end up with a Shine Sprite, which is necessary. During two missions, FLUDD gives public service announcements, stating "Remember to take good care of your teeth." and "Remember, always be kind to your pets" (the missions being to clean a Unagi's teeth and to cool off three Chain Chomp pups by 'taking' them to a spring, respectively).

FLUDD has appeared in Super Mario Sunshine and Mario Power Tennis. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, a reference to FLUDD can be seen when Professor E. Gadd invents the "Hydrogush 4000", sending a high-powered blast of water back through time to douse a raging volcano so Mario, Luigi, and their baby selves can enter. The Hydrogush 4000 is similar to FLUDD's head. A primitive FLUDD based device may have also appeared in Donkey Kong 3 (the modern version from Game and Watch Gallery 4), suggesting that FLUDD has gone through many various adjustments. Additionally, FLUDD like devices appear in WarioWare: Smooth Moves and a promotional for the upcoming game Mario Kart Arcade GP 2.

Spoilers end here.

Real FLUDD History

Nintendo is known for including in their games many historical references that may serve as extra treats for those who know a lot about history or mythology. The FLUDD is no different. A man named Robert Fludd (1574-1637), a Paracelsian physician, alchemist, astrologer, and hermetic philosopher who was known for his inventions and studies of perpetual motion machines, published a folio of his works in 1618. In this portfolio were models of many machine designs, practical and fanciful, including water pumps of various kinds.