Henry Stickmin Wiki


Unique fails 5
Endings 1
Achievements 4 (Remastered only)
Release Date August 27th, 2008
Previous Episode Next Episode
Crossing the Pit (CtP)
Breaking into a bank is harder than you would've thought.
PuffballsUnited[src]

Breaking the Bank is the first game in the Henry Stickmin series, of which it serves as the pilot episode and prologue.

The remastered version featured in The Henry Stickmin Collection was completely redone, featuring updated graphics and voice acting.

Plot

The main protagonist, Henry Stickmin, attempts to break into a bank, built in the middle of a desert. He stands next to a wall and wonders how to break inside.

Legacy Version

The intro shows a large bank in the middle of the desert. It zooms into the left wall where Henry is standing. The game begins. The legacy version is the first version of breaking the bank.

Gameplay

Image 2023-08-19 220739256

The game consists of only one screen to choose your path. It consists of:

  • Tunnel (Fail) -
    • Henry grabs a shovel from his pocket and holds it up. Henry cocks the shovel like a gun and digs a tunnel underground. He falls down onto a train track and is fatally run over by a train just as he gets up.
  • Explosives (Fail) -
    • Henry tries to bust a hole in the wall with explosives. When the detonation fails, he goes over to inspect, and is obliterated in the ensuing blast.
  • Lazer Drill (Fail) -
    • Henry cuts a hole in the wall using a lazer drill. Though successful, the segment falls out and crushes him.
  • Wrecking Ball (Fail) -
    • Henry tries to break through the wall with a wrecking ball on a crane, but it misses, swings back around and smashes the cabin.
  • Teleporter (Fail) -
    • Henry uses the teleporter, which materializes himself within the wall's superstructure, and he is left stranded.
  • Disguise (Bad Ending) -
    • Henry ties himself in a yellow money sack and waits by the road. Policemen Ted McAdams and Winston Davis pass by in the armored truck and stop when they see him. They throw him in the back and drive to the bank. Henry is thrown in the vault and it is locked. When he stands up, he is caught by a security laser and sets off the alarm. The game ends with his arrest.

This final choice counts as the definitive ending, since after Henry's arrest the credits begin to roll. During the credits, a compilation of all the failures and their aftermath is shown, like a construction worker being surprised by the damage done by the wrecking ball. The credits end with a screenshot of Henry being put in West Mesa Penitentiary by police officer Dave Panpa.

Remastered Version

The intro shows a large bank in the middle of the desert. It zooms into the left wall where Henry is standing. He is thinking of how to break inside of the vault. The game begins.

Henry looking at a bank

Henry is looking at the bank.

Gameplay

The game consists of only one screen to choose your path. It consists of:

  • Shovel (Fail) -
    Shovel
    [1]
    • Henry digs down and ruptures a gas main. He takes out a lighter for illumination and is killed in the ensuing blast. (Fail Message: Never dig straight down.)
  • Explosives (Fail) -
    Planting Explosives
    • Henry puts a load of explosives near the wall. But when he tries to put a stick of dynamite on another explosive, a bomb rolls off and activates the detonator, causing him and the bank to blow up. (Fail Message: Handle with care.)
  • Teleporter (Fail) -
    Using Teleporter
    • Henry attempts to use the teleporter to teleport into the bank, but ends up stuck in the middle of a wall. (Fail Message: It's emergent technology. I'm sure it will get better!)
  • Laser (Fail) -
    Laser
    • Henry cuts a hole in the wall using the Laser Drill. The section of the wall he cut out collapses and falls on him. (Fail Message: Open Sesame.)
  • Wrecking Ball (Fail) -
    Wrecking Ball cop
    • Henry drives a wrecking ball to the side of the bank. When he is about to use it, the guard (Chad Hansen) whistles and shrugs angrily at him, forcing Henry to back off. (Fail Message: There's no construction scheduled for today.)
  • Disguise (Bad Ending) -
    Disguising Bag and lasers
    • Henry ties himself up in a yellow money sack and waits by the road. Truck driver Ted McAdams and Winston Davis pass by in the van and stop when they see him. After a short exchange where Ted wonders how they lost one and Winston decides they should take it just to be safe, they throw him in the back and drive to the bank where guards Chad Hansen and Philly Colin are talking and wondering about why there's a bank in the middle of the desert. Henry is thrown in the vault and it is locked. When he stands up, he is caught by a security laser and sets off the alarm. The guards of the bank surround him and they shoot their guns at him. The game ends with his arrest.

Characters

The Story Begins

Legacy Version

Achievements

Main article for this page/section: Breaking the Bank achievements

Unlike the original release, the remastered version of Breaking the Bank has 4 achievements.

Bios

Main article for this page/section: Breaking the Bank bios

There are 5 bios in the game.

Video Walkthroughs

Gallery

Trivia

  • In the original version, characters are drawn in a much simpler manner than in later games, lacking any shoes or fingers. PuffballsUnited later redesigned the characters to the current design for the remaster.
  • In the original version, when the choice fails, the player would simply be prompted to choose another. In the Remastered version, there is a proper fail screen with a message like the other games in the series.
  • These events occurred on August 27th, 2008, 1:52 PM according to Escaping the Prison & Infiltrating the Airship.
  • On August 27th, 2018, the remastered version was announced on Newgrounds.
  • Instead of aftermath images at the end of the game, this game shows a black screen opting players to return to the menu, to go to the next episode, and every other option on the GUI.
  • Some of the fails in the old version have been changed in the remastered version:
    • The Tunnel fail is changed. In the old version, Henry would be killed by a train, while in the remastered version, he is killed by a gas tank explosion.
    • The Wrecking Ball fail is also changed. In the old version, Henry would hit himself with the ball, but in the remastered, he doesn't even get to operate the ball, as Chad Hansen commands him to back off.
    • The Explosives fail is also changed. In the old version, Henry detonates TNT and takes cover behind a brick wall, but it doesn't go off, forcing him to see what's wrong with the explosives from up close, only for the explosion to occur, killing him; in the remastered version, when Henry is busy placing the explosives next to the wall off the bank, a bomb rolls off the pile and falls onto the detonator, triggering the explosion that kills him.
  • The remaster removes Dave Panpa and the Construction Worker who appeared in the removed end credits, and named the previously unnamed bank guard characters.
    • PuffballsUnited stated that he didn't want the first game having credits due to being so short (All other path's credits are also short).
  • After the events of the game, both Ted McAdams and Winston Davis make reappearances: Winston as a witness in the Lawyered Up ending of Escaping the Prison, Ted as a guard at the National Museum of History and Culture in Stealing the Diamond, and Winston again as a member of the Toppat Clan in Infiltrating the Airship.
  • The fanfare from the Shovel option was originally from the Zelda games. However, in this version it has been changed due to copyright reasons. This sound is also heard in the achievement "Biggol Sword" from Infiltrating the Airship.
  • This game and Escaping the Prison are the only games in The Henry Stickmin series where, no matter which ending has been selected, Henry does not end up killing anyone. (This is because Breaking the Bank has only one ending).
  • This is the only game in Henry Stickmin series that has one ending, since the other options are all fails.
  • This game and Stealing the Diamond are the only two Henry Stickmin games (not counting Completing the Mission and its various endings) where Henry is not the first character seen. In this case, the first characters that can be seen are Chad Hansen and Philly Colin, although you can hardly see them.
  • This is the only game in The Henry Stickmin series that does not have a soundtrack. The only piece of music unique to the game is the theme that plays in the remastered version's episode selection menu.

References

  • The Legend of Zelda

Henry holds the Shovel in a similar manner to how Link does with items, and in the legacy version, the song "Get Item" from Wind Waker is used, though this was changed to an original but similar track composed by Puffballs for the remastered version to avoid copyright.

  • Minecraft

The Shovel's fail message, "Never dig straight down", is a reference to the fanmade #1 rule for the game.

  • The Simpsons

In the legacy version, Henry hits himself with the Wrecking Ball, which references a gag from the Simpsons Movie. This is why Puffballs changed the fail in the remastered version, presumably to avoid copyright.[citation needed — hover for more info]

Notes

  1. During the explosion, a black car will sound. Clicking on it will lead to "*chirp chirp*" medal.
The Henry Stickmin Collection
Breaking the Bank Escaping the Prison Stealing the Diamond
Breaking the Bank Escaping the Prison Stealing the Diamond
Infiltrating the Airship Fleeing the Complex Completing the Mission
Infiltrating the Airship Fleeing the Complex Completing the Mission