Henry Stickmin Series | |
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Unique fails | 347 |
Endings | 32 |
Release Date | 2008-2020 |
“ | A choose-your-own-path where failing is more fun than succeeding.
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„ |
― Information about the series |
Henry Stickmin is a series of action/comedy/parody point-and-click movie-games created by PuffballsUnited, and the main subject of this wiki project.
In each game, the player has to help the titular protagonist Henry Stickmin succeed in an assignment. To do so, they can choose between multiple tools for Henry to use or actions to perform. First starting off as a thief, Henry can later become an agent of the Government, the leader of the Toppat Clan criminal syndicate, or remain neutral as a thief. Other notable characters include government pilot Charles Calvin, red-haired criminal outlaw Ellie Rose, the Toppat Clan leader Reginald Copperbottom and his Right Hand Man, and The Wall warden Dmitri Johannes Petrov. The player can choose the events and endings, due to the games functioning via point-and-click format.
The games included in the series are Breaking the Bank, Escaping the Prison, Stealing the Diamond, Infiltrating the Airship, Fleeing the Complex, and Completing the Mission. The series has two versions available; the legacy series and The Henry Stickmin Collection, the latter featuring remastered versions of the original games and a new game, Completing the Mission, which is the final game in the series.
Summary
The series consists of six games; Breaking the Bank, Escaping the Prison, Stealing the Diamond, Infiltrating the Airship, Fleeing the Complex, and Completing the Mission. In each game in the series, the player has to help the titular protagonist Henry Stickmin succeed in an assignment. To do so, they can choose between multiple tools for Henry to use or actions to perform. First starting off as a thief, Henry can later become an agent of the Government partnered with a pilot named Charles Calvin, a bounty hunter, the leader of a notorious criminal syndicate known as the Toppat Clan, or remain neutral as a thief, either still a criminal or pardoned. Henry can also end up as an escaped prisoner of the Toppat Clan, or he could steal from them either by himself or with a partner named Ellie Rose. Lastly, Henry can also be dethroned from his position as leader of said criminal syndicate, either due to his fault or the previous leader's, if the latter is true, then Henry will seek revenge against him.
Legacy Series
- Main article for this page/section: Henry Stickmin legacy series
The Legacy Henry Stickmin series were the original versions of the first five games in the Henry Stickmin series, made in flash and released by PuffballsUnited on Newgrounds and Stickpage. Characters in the series are stick figures, which means they have minimal body design and black lines instead of clothes, but distinct facial design with long linear eyes and eyebrows above their heads that are unique to Puffballs' style.
The games included in the legacy series were Breaking the Bank, Escaping the Prison, Stealing the Diamond, Infiltrating the Airship, and Fleeing the Complex. While all the previous games were released on web ports beforehand, Completing the Mission was exclusively released as part of The Henry Stickmin Collection launched on Steam, a compilation of the series that also features remastered versions of the previous games with improved visuals, in addition to Breaking the Bank receiving a remake and being labelled as a prologue to the whole series. Since the retirement of the Flash Player Plugin on December 31st 2020, there were attempts to host the legacy games through flash player emulators from websites like Newgrounds.
The Henry Stickmin Collection
- Main article for this page/section: The Henry Stickmin Collection
The Henry Stickmin Collection is an anthology collection of remastered versions of the first five games in the Henry Stickmin series with improved visuals. A new game, Completing the Mission, was developed specifically for the collection, to serve as a final chapter to the story. All games (with the exception of Completing the Mission) were remastered through Adobe specifically for this collection, with the first game in the series, Breaking the Bank, receiving a remake and being labelled as a prologue to the whole series. It was made by PuffballsUnited and Innersloth, and released on Steam on August 7th 2020. The Henry Stickmin Collection consists of six games; Breaking the Bank, Escaping the Prison, Stealing the Diamond, Infiltrating the Airship, Fleeing the Complex, and Completing the Mission.
The teaser trailer for The Henry Stickmin Collection was released on Puffballs' YouTube channel in July 2019 and its final release date was announced in May 2020. From then on, there were many other teaser videos, mostly about the visual improvements of the remakes. The Henry Stickmin Collection recieved "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews from steam users, with a 98% rating based on 24,000+ reviews. Reviewers praised the collection for its humour, animation, production value (specifically in Completing the Mission), & storylines, with some praising the sense of nostalgia they experienced while playing the game. A developer's commentary of the collection was later made by Puffballs, which began in December 2020 and ended in January 2021.
Games
- Breaking the Bank (2008): Henry tries to break into a bank in the middle of the desert to rob its vault.
- Escaping the Prison (2009): After having been caught while robbing the bank, Henry attempts to escape from jail in West Mesa Penitentiary.
- Stealing the Diamond (2011): Henry tries to steal the elusive Tunisian Diamond from the museum within its exhibition.
- Infiltrating the Airship (2013): Henry is recruited by the government to infiltrate the airship of a mighty criminal organization, the Toppat Clan.
- Fleeing the Complex (2015): Henry is taken to The Wall, a highly secured prison complex said to hold some of the most notorious criminals — and tries to escape from there, with or without an ally.
- Completing the Mission (2020): After escaping from The Wall, Henry is tasked with a new objective; to defeat or help (depends on his choices) the Toppat Clan and prevent or assist with their plan to launch a space station into orbit.
Characters
- Main article for this page/section: List of characters
Characters in the series are stick figures, which means they have minimal body design and black lines instead of clothes, but distinct facial designs with long linear eyes and eyebrows above their heads that are unique to Puffballs' style.
Plot
Breaking the Bank
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. Using a Disguising Bag, Henry ties himself up in a yellow money sack and waits by the road. Policemen/truck drivers 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. He is later arrested.
Escaping the Prison
Henry is now imprisoned inside West Mesa Penitentiary. Police officers Dave Panpa & Rupert Price brought a package addressed for Henry to his cell, and delivers it to him. Rupert taunts Henry by claiming that the package contains no such object that would allow the prisoner to escape the building. He asks his friend, Dave, to confirm that the package has been checked. Dave presumably was to check the package, However, Dave begins to chuckle nervously, claiming that he did inspect the package for anything suspicious because he does not want to lose his job as an officer. The two then leave Henry to his own business with the package. Inside the package is a cake, with multiple tools hidden inside. Henry reaches in to grab an object out. He manages to escape by either escaping sneakily, busting out, or being found not guilty in court.
Stealing the Diamond
Some time after his escape from prison, Henry is now at home. He tunes to a news broadcast on TV, which shows Mayor Gene Fredrickson announcing the grand opening of the new Tunisian Archaeological Exhibit inside the National Museum of History and Culture. Within the new exhibit sits the priceless Tunisian Diamond, valued at a whopping $112 million dollars. Henry is ten days late on rent payments for his house. Seeing the diamond's price tag, he decides to take off for the museum in order to steal the giant gemstone. On the outskirts of the museum, Henry can choose how to breach into the facility. All three choices result in Henry successfully stealing the diamond.
Henry becomes somewhat of a well-known criminal after his successful theft of the Tunisian Diamond.
Infiltrating the Airship
After stealing the Tunisian Diamond from the museum, Henry has been kidnapped by the Government, waking up on board a helicopter. There to greet him is Captain Hubert Galeforce, who recognizes Henry's skills as a criminal, and gets him to put them to the test in a mission. The Government has trouble capturing a collective of criminals known as the Toppat Clan. They are unable to pin them to criminal charges, thus they can't take legal action against them. Henry's mission is to infiltrate the Toppat Airship in an effort to bring them to justice. Noting Henry's lengthy criminal record (attempted robbery, escaping prison, and grand theft), Galeforce informs him that all charges against him will be dropped, if he gets the mission completed. Charles Calvin, the helicopter pilot, takes Henry closer to the Airship and asks him where to disembark.
Depending on the player's choices, Henry can either help the government and become either a bounty hunter or government supported private investigator, go rogue and steal the Romanian Ruby from the Toppats, or betray the government and become the new leader of the Toppats.
Fleeing the Complex
At The Wall, a heavily-secured incarceration complex located in Canada, the Warden, Dmitri Johannes Petrov, and his second-in-command Grigori Olyat, find a lengthy criminal record in their files belonging to Henry. Deeming him to be dangerous enough for incarceration at The Wall, the two decide to move in to kidnap Henry. Henry wakes up at the complex where he finds Dmitri "welcoming" Henry to his new home. Dmitri states that only the most notorious criminals are held there. Dmitri taunts Henry by informing him that he would remain at The Wall for a long time, before ordering Grigori to take him and send Henry to a transfer cell. In the transfer cell, a woman by the name of Ellie Rose is also awaiting a transfer to her cell. With Grigori turned toward the hallway, Henry can plan his means of escape. Depending on the player's choices, Henry can escape either solo or with Ellie, or with help from either Charles or the Toppats.
Completing the Mission
The missions in the game all involve The Toppat Clan making one final move. In most missions, they have a new Orbital Station, which they either are about to launch from the Toppat Launch Site in the Dogobogo Jungle (with the military trying to prevent the launch in The Toppat Raid) or have already launched and are now operating from Space. Some endings take place almost entirely on the Airship. Henry's motives in the game change drastically, also based on the combinations of endings that the player chooses. Henry will want to launch the rocket if he's sided with the Toppat Clan, stop it if he's working for the government, or break into it for the riches of the Toppats.
Unlike the previous five games, which had one main story with different possible endings, Completing the Mission contains multiple possible stories. Which story/mission the player gets depends on a choice made at the start of the game which endings from Infiltrating the Airship and Fleeing the Complex the player wishes to continue from.
Reception
Legacy Series
The Henry Stickmin series is one of the most popular on Newgrounds, and has come to be known as a classic. Every single installment has been listed on the site's front page shortly after their release, from Escaping the Prison onward, have consistently made #1 on the Weekly Users' Choice at the time of release. Escaping the Prison and Fleeing the Complex were named first on Daily Features on the day of release, while Stealing the Diamond and Infiltrating the Airship were named 2nd and 4th for Daily Features, respectively. Escaping the Prison is so far the most-played game in the series, with 3.2 million views on Newgrounds, while Fleeing the Complex is the second-highest rated game on the site. All instalments released on Newgrounds (minus Breaking the Bank) make the top twelve of the highest-rated games on the site.
The series gained a lot of attention after Markiplier and Jacksepticeye posted videos on the games. This wound up paying off during the release of Completing the Mission, with many other streamers playing it as a result and by extension, the other games as well due to it being part of The Henry Stickmin Collection. This resulted in the entire series' popularity exploding over the course of August 2020.
The Henry Stickmin Collection
The Henry Stickmin Collection received "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews from steam users, with a 98% rating based on 24,000+ reviews. Reviewers have praised the Collection for its humour, animation, production value (specifically in Completing the Mission), & storylines, with some praising the sense of nostalgia they experienced while playing the game. Markiplier gave a positive review of the collection, calling it an "incredible, hilarious game".
The release of Mission itself resulted in a bump for Among Us (another game by Puffballs & Innersloth), given its crewmembers serve as a group of collectibles and one of the FAILs reference it by name.
During mid-2021, this series caught the eye of many VTubers, especially those of hololive, and it saw a rise of interest in Japan as a result, even getting fan-made Japanese subtitles as a result.
The Henry Stickmin Collection | ||
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Breaking the Bank | Escaping the Prison | Stealing the Diamond |
Infiltrating the Airship | Fleeing the Complex | Completing the Mission |