Professeur K. Tastroff : l'inventeur fou de Mario

Professor E. Gadd: Mario's Mad Inventor

1344 words | Reading time : 6 minute(s)

CharacterLuigi's MansionF.L.U.D.D.

His French name says it all: K. Tastroff, as in catastrophe. Professor E. Gadd in English, this scientist in a white lab coat shows up in Luigi's Mansion in 2001. This profile digs into his most famous invention, the Poltergust, but also the F.L.U.D.D. he straps onto Mario in Sunshine, his time machine and his pronounced taste for risky experiments.

A small elderly man in a white lab coat, round glasses clamped onto his nose and a single tooth in his smile, the Professor E. Gadd (Professor E. Gadd in the French version) is the most endearing scientist in the Mario universe. A researcher obsessed with ghosts and the founder of Gadd Science, he turns every one of his appearances into a showcase of improbable but brilliant gadgets.

Ever since his debut in Luigi's Mansion in 2001, he has become a recurring technical ally, able to hand Luigi his ghost-hunting vacuum just as easily as he fits Mario with a talking water cannon. A look back at this eccentric mentor, his cult inventions and where his name comes from.

Contents

A scientist born in the haunted mansion

Professor E. Gadd makes his grand debut in 2001 in Luigi's Mansion, a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube. Living a stone's throw from a mansion infested with ghosts, this eccentric researcher has spent his whole life studying and capturing spirits. When he pulls Luigi out of a ghost's clutches, he immediately becomes his guide through the house.

Founder and owner of Gadd Science, Incorporated, E. Gadd is a tireless inventor. His laboratory overflows with cobbled-together machines, and he never hesitates to send the Mario brothers out to field-test his latest creations. His voice, made of giggling gurgles, has been provided by composer Kazumi Totaka since his very first appearance.

A hallway in the haunted mansion, lit by a glowing ghost
He arrived with the very first haunted mansion, and has never left it since.

The Poltergust, his legendary invention

The object inseparable from E. Gadd is his ghost vacuum. Known as the Poltergust 3000 in English (Ectoblast 3000 in French), this device sucks up spirits once the flashlight has dazzled them. It is the central tool of the Luigi's Mansion series, upgraded over the episodes into improved versions (Poltergust 5000, then Poltergust G-00 in Luigi's Mansion 3).

To round out the kit, the professor also hands Luigi the Game Boy Horror, a gadget-console shaped like a Game Boy that works as a map, a Boo radar and a way for the two men to talk to each other. In the following episodes, he adds the Dark-Light Device to reveal invisible objects.

The professor's laboratory, cluttered with devices
This is the workshop the Poltergust and most of his inventions come out of.

F.L.U.D.D.: when E. Gadd equips Mario himself

Though he is tied first and foremost to Luigi, the professor also left his mark on Mario's adventure. He is the one who invented F.L.U.D.D. (J.E.T. in French), the famous back-mounted water cannon from Super Mario Sunshine. This tank-backpack, fitted with an artificial intelligence, lets Mario scrub the graffiti off Isle Delfino, hover in the air and dash off at top speed.

The English name F.L.U.D.D. stands for Flash Liquidizer Ultra Dousing Device. In French, J.E.T. stands for "Jerrycan Expérimental Transformable", while Japan soberly calls it "Pump". One more proof that the professor's gadgets travel from one Mario adventure to the next.

A time machine and other marvels

E. Gadd's genius does not stop at ghosts and water jets. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005), he unveils to the Mushroom Kingdom his time machine, set up in Peach's Castle and powered by the Cobalt Star. It is this invention that kicks off the whole plot, when the princess sets out to explore the past and runs straight into the Shroob invasion.

Earlier, in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (2013), the professor perfects the Pixelator, a teleportation system that turns its user into pixels to move them from one point to another. By reusing the biological data captured by that machine, he will go on to create Gooigi , Luigi's gelatinous double.

A name that spells catastrophe

The character's name is a delicious pun in every language. In English, "E. Gadd" sounds like the exclamation egad(s), an old-fashioned cry of surprise. The French version went with Professor E. Gadd, to be read as "catastrophe": a perfect nod to inventions as brilliant as they are unpredictable. In Japan, he goes by Oyamā-hakase, built on an exclamation of astonishment.

A cross-series character, the professor turns up both in the Luigi's Mansion series and in several entries of Mario Party and Mario & Luigi, starting with Superstar Saga (2003). Always off in his corner, hunched over a smoking machine, he embodies the archetype of the wacky Nintendo inventor, a discreet but indispensable mentor to the mustachioed brothers.

Quick facts

First appearance Luigi's Mansion (2001, GameCube)
French name Professeur Professor E. Gadd (pun on "catastrophe")
English / Japanese name Professor E. Gadd / Oyamā-hakase
Type Scientist and inventor, ally of Mario and Luigi
Company Gadd Science, Incorporated
Notable inventions Poltergust, Game Boy Horror, F.L.U.D.D., Pixelator
Notable games Luigi's Mansion 1-3, Super Mario Sunshine, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

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FAQ

  • Who is Professor E. Gadd?
    He is an elderly, eccentric scientist from the Mario universe, a ghost specialist and the founder of Gadd Science. He supplies Luigi and Mario with his inventions and serves as their technical mentor. His French name is Professeur K. Tastroff.
  • Which game does he first appear in?
    He debuts in Luigi's Mansion, released in 2001 on the Nintendo GameCube. There he saves Luigi from a ghost, then guides him through the haunted mansion thanks to his Poltergust vacuum.
  • Did he invent the water gun in Super Mario Sunshine?
    Yes. F.L.U.D.D. (J.E.T. in French), the talking water pack Mario wears on his back in Super Mario Sunshine, is one of his creations. It is used to clean up graffiti, hover and move around fast.
  • Why is he called K. Tastroff in French?
    It is a pun: "Professor E. Gadd" reads as "catastrophe", echoing his inventions, brilliant but often unpredictable. In English, "E. Gadd" evokes the surprised exclamation egad.
  • Which other games can you find him in?
    Besides the Luigi's Mansion series, he appears in several Mario Party games, in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Partners in Time, where he unveils his time machine.
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