So the Security Breach Files. You may or may not have heard of this book, but it a source of interesting contention in the fandom. The Freddy Files was its predecessor, a book which was revised into its current iteration known as the Ultimate Guide after intervention by Scott in the wake of some fan renders and other incorrect images appearing in its contents.
The progression of releases for this book went “The Freddy Files”, “The Freddy Files: Updated Edition” and then finally “The Ultimate Guide: Five Nights at Freddy’s”
I give this history just to set the scene that the SB Files was released into. Scott had already had a significant amount of hassle and time spent on the previous “guide” book and would have this experience at the back of his mind while working on the SB Files.
An Overview
So the Security Breach Files, what is this book like? It is very rich with art, in-game screenshots and concept work, with some images previously unseen in full, even in game. The book is designed with big double page spreads and bold colours.
The main thing that seems to throw people off is the text itself. The entire guide is written in an unusual tone of voice. Rather than formality and factual framing, the tone of the author is extremely informal and has a tone reminiscent of “radical” 90’s advertising inflection. The whole guide reminds me almost exactly of the kind of official guides that used to be available ten or twenty years ago. Being an extreme Final Fantasy 7, BradyGames Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide from 1997 springs to mind, it was written in a similarly offputtingly informal tone with a lot of unusual errors or angles on events in its text.
I think that very possibly these classic staples of gaming from my generation were at the forefront of the author and designer’s minds when creating the book itself. The book is structured by hour, splitting up Gregory’s night from 11:00PM till 6:00AM and covers all of the endings. It isn’t as substantial as the Ultimate Guide in length, coming in at 95 pages as opposed to 287.
The Fandom
As always, it’s impossible to talk about a piece of FNAF media without including at least a general overview of how said media was received by the fandom. Security Breach as a game had a less than fair treatment by the fandom at large due to some significant launch bugs, which meant that the general mood was fairly negative towards the game on release of this book. People reacted poorly towards the phrasing and framing of the book and seemed to dismiss it out of hand as “inaccurate” and written by anyone other than Scott without any oversight.
I think this attitude was unfair and I’ve not seen much, if anything by way of compelling evidence for any of these claims, so that’s my goal today, we can go through the book together and assess how many inaccuracies there are and if people were being unfair to it.
I unfortunately can’t ask Scott if he directly had a hand in the writing of this one, though I can confirm that all of the copyright text within the front page and on the book itself solely credits Scott, with other credits only for the use of stock images and the books graphic design.
I’m going to approach the book at neutrally as I’m able and look into it with some depth. I think there might well be puzzles or secrets within the pages and their odd phasing and erratic bolded and italicised text, but puzzles aren’t my forte, so that is something I’ll leave to other people.
Title Page
Normally I wouldn’t pay much heed to a contents page, but there are one or two interesting headings in the book that are worth mentioning here. “Are you ready?” is the first heading, this is interesting as it is used sometimes in the franchise as a “Are you ready for Freddy?” motto, but also is found in the original and very early trailer for Security Breach itself, said by what can only be assumed to be Afton himself (voiced by Matt Curtis in this iteration rather than PJ Heywood)
Lunaphobia is an interesting title as it seems to nod a little towards Somniphobia, one of the stories in the tales that prominently features moon. I’m aware that lunaphobia is a real thing, but this just feels a little too specific out of all the headings they could have used and is a contrast to the irreverent and simplistic tone of the others.
This section also gives us a numbering order for the endings and how many there are.
11:00pm
This first section starts as we mean to go on, with the tone bombastic and excitable. It describes Gregory as a “schoolkid” which is something we don’t know for sure even now for certain (though this also lines up with the GGY story and his theorised age). There’s nothing particularly out of line with the events of the game otherwise. We read about Freddy and the book describes Freddy’s energy limitations, that he can’t fit into small spaces and needs to be recharged regularly. The book also foreshadows the later upgrades.
“And, you know, they’re hardly what you would call “off-the-shelf” parts.”
Page 11
The next topic of discussion is Gregory himself, and there’s nothing much out of line here either, explaining how basic mechanics such as crouching and noise makers work and encouraging players to retrieve boxes and duffel bags.
We get a summary of the Faz watch which mentions the angry parent emails and staff memos and then information of the photo pass and how hiding spots work. The most unusual phrase on this page for me is “You’d like to think that Gregory gets used to everything he touches having consequences.”
The next section has the above text, which interestingly links Freddy’s malfunction to his being “aware” in some fashion.
Also, please note this phrasing in regards to the Chica encounter, if this book was – as some think – was written by a random individual with no ties to the franchise, then why are they aware of the lyrics to the scrapped Help Wanted showtime song? This isn’t a common turn of phrase.
12:00am
I’m not even sure what the title on this time period means, I’ve never heard the term “Hard rules in Hard Play” in my entire life, maybe someone else knows what it’s a reference to. This spread discusses the lobby, and there’s nothing out of place in what it has to say.
Interestingly the guide doesn’t actually tell us to go get the Mr Hippo magnet, it just vaguely insinuates that we have to do a “modest little work-around quest” to upgrade our pass.
The wording on this page is very, very weird to me. Please, read this and tell me that this isnt’ a really weird way to describe things. The way it says Gregory is made of steelier stuff than that is intensely suspect to me. But your mileage may vary.
The page with Chica has the full version of the “Don’t ask “why animatronics?”” poster from the Employee Cafeteria, showing its normally hidden lower text.
This page also mentions that after outwitting the Daycare attendant, the rest of the animatronics come into play in pursuit of Gregory. It points out that this point in the game is our first encounter with Vanny.
“The case is on, and to cap it all off, there’s the first sighting of a dancing rabbit lady…or at least Gregory sees this. It seems to pass Freddy clean on by.” – Page 23
It is still interesting and important that Freddy cannot see Vanny without improved eyes.
The next section deals with daycare and showcases the coloured cables on the generators (which were added in the mega patch to SB, implying these screenshots were either updated or taken after that point) there’s no real discrepancies here, it just doesn’t give many tips on finding the generators, nor does it mention their cables leading to them or that they are colour coded.
The details on sun and moon are fairly expected, though there is an interesting aside about the candy ads on the walls.
1:00am
This section introduces us to map bot and the Lil Music Man encounters in the vents on the way to either the Prize Counter or the Loading dock.
This page does however point out the absolute strangeness of the fact that Gregory blacks out when found by Vanessa.
Mysteriously, at some point during this encounter, Gregory is left unconcious. Maybe he was feeling tired..
Page 29
Choosing to go with the loading dock section is interesting as It encompasses all of the Fizzyfaz syrup vats while glancing on the laundry area. It mentions that completing this area guides Gregory into Vanessa’s hands. Logically the next section goes into the pizza bot that we use and the minigame attached to the virtual ordering system.
One of the interesting factors of this page is that we can see the original concept arts for the different labels for the pizza making machines beneath the screenshots. However the “not meat” appears to have looked different than the pink colour it has in the final game.
Also another absolute gem of the writing in this guide is below
But after Gregory has conquered this episode, having gratified the Glamrock glutton, he draws closer to being indestructible.
Page 33 what is going on here
The route through East Arcade (which is the route I always take out of no other reason than sheer habit) is detailed in the next section. This section mentions the Fizzyfaz upgrades too.
There’s more unusual phrasing in the text here, with Gregory described as a “sensible young human” which is.. odd to say the least.
The next page has a piece of concept art I don’t personally recall seeing in game so I’ll post it here out of curiosity. It might be one I overlooked but I recognise almost everything else so far.
The section talks about the event with Roxy and Monty where you need to use cameras to see what is happening and how “three minutes can feel like 300 hours” but does not give any easy tips or wins. It discusses the dome in prize counter in an informal way also, mentioning that it “allows Gregory to spy on Roxy without her knowing. She’s not smart enough to use such tactics herself” and states incredibly informally that this is “sooo helpful”
Either way, Vanessa hauls Gregory to lost and found.
2:00am
I’m not actually sure where the above Vanny render comes from, it’s not the same lighting or anything as the State of Play Oct 2021 trailer. Either way this section begins with a summary of Lost and Found.
It does highlight the oddness of Freddy having his contact interrupted by “something” jamming his comms.
The guide leads along to the encounter in the office with Freddy trying to gain access to help you and mentions that this situation is familiar to those who have played the earlier games. Again there’s some very weird phrasing and the guide points out that the fact the show is on a laserdisc is a little odd.
The part about him as an old dude in decades time is a bit out of nowhere.
The rest of the information about placing the sound disc and crossing the atrium lines up just fine with what we expect.
There’s a whole spread allocated to the scene where Freddy is dragged away by Moon.
3:00am
This section begins in the introduction to the endos and their area of the game. It gives mostly general tips without actually offering strategy for this part of the game which can be one of the most difficult. It mentions pushing the buttons but mostly just to be alert and use the hiding carts.
This leads into Parts and Service where the colour memory game is involved. There’s a section in this spread that mentions.
“Before going ahead with the procedure, a nearby console shows Gregory some of the other possibilities for Freddy, much further down the line … Gregory learns that Chica, Roxy and Monty have all benefitted from such upgrades. Would Freddy consider such things? It’s an ethical issue that Freddy finds hard to deal with.”
Page 53
The next location is Chica’s green room and a discussion of the party passes and how they are required for the various attractions in the pizzplex. The screwdriver from the earlier segment is what permits Gregory to get into the rooms he couldn’t access previously.
There’s a great comparison of the various green rooms, something that wouldn’t actually be possible in game as Freddy’s room is concealed by curtains most of the time and Monty’s green room is in darkness and trashed! This is a very nice look at them all in full.
Please note that Freddy doesn’t actually have a star shaped mirror any longer. Did he give it to Bonnie? We see Bonnie has one in RUIN.
Regarding moon in the next section the guide calls his effect on Gregory a “miasma”, and directs us to hide in a recharge station. We never find out why these areas are safe from Moon. You would think it might need to recharge sometimes itself, but it does not seem to be the case.
4:00AM
The book moves onto Monty Golf next though does clarify you could choose this route or Fazer Blast. It also mentions you can return to do either though and must for a particular ending. It leads on into Mazercise without any real incorrect details to be found, the key to Mazercise needs to be retrieved from the daycare theatre, of course. It (cruelly) doesn’t give any walkthrough for Mazercise though.
After the Monty boss fight, the guide moves on to cover Fazer Blast.
This page is interesting as it links our Gregory to GGY via a comment about the fact that his shooting skills come from playing video games.
Next up is Bonnie Bowl, though the guide does touch upon Vanny’s lair being above Fazer Blast before moving on. It says to grab the Monty Mystery Mix too.
I never actually noticed the VIP Fazerblaster was on a purple and gold starry stand.
The next area is where Chica gets crushed in the kitchen and then down into the sewers. It intentionally highlights the Afton family table in the staff head silo in the screenshots but does not actually mention it in the text.
Freddy’s repair in parts and service is as expected, clarifying that things are harder now.
5:00am
Roxy raceway is the next area that the files deals with and the first interaction is with the driver bot that needs to be repaired. However in order to do this, the player must go to west arcade to get this repaired, and then onto the DJ music man encounter.
Another crazy quote from this section is.
Whichever predicament Gregory now finds himself in, he has nobody to blame but himself.
page 79
The next section is versus Roxy where it blames Roxy for getting hit by the car as if Gregory didn’t swerve the thing and hit her in the face with it.
Freddy gets the eye upgrade and moon comes after Gregory and the end of 5AM indicates one optional ending.
6:00am
The next section of the guide is dedicated to post-6AM and the different options there are for endings. It goes into some detail on each on a level that the game doesn’t.
The first ending is summed up as Gregory getting out of the Pizzaplex and leaving only to end up living on the street and being found by Vanny.
These pages also feature the original comics at a good resolution which is nice.
The second ending is where Gregory also just opts to leave once he has level 7 security clearance. In this ending he leaves in the van with Freddy.
The third ending is dubbed “Vanny, Volume 1” by the files and details the criteria to reach the confronting Vanny ending. This is the ending where Freddy fucking dies.
The fourth ending is dubbed “Vanny, Volume 2” by the guide but is more commonly known as the princess quest ending in the fandom. The files tell us that the cabinets exist and the rough locations of where they are.
“Now, it could be that Gregory is a newbie when it comes to 1980s arcade-style video games. In which case, completing Princess Quest could be harder than it looks.”
The phrasing gets really odd here again with the summary of this ending concluding with an over conversational. “The ending isn’t in Freddy’s absolute best interests. But it is definitely better than the basic ending. Although, nothing could be much worse than that. Only here to state the facts.”
Its true that Freddy dies, but the way it is phrased here is just…odd.
Ending five is “Become a VIP” and informs us that in order to leave this way you need to have all of the golden plushies, including the moon one which is in daycare attendant’s room. I didn’t even realise this as I think on every playthrough I’ve done I’ve simply had these when I went to check this ending, so I can’t confirm if this is actually a limitation or if its time gated or something else.
This part quite cheekily sums up the Vanny being Vanessa and yet Vanessa still being on the roof without giving any insight into what we are seeing. Again the strange phrasing closes this part out. This guide genuinely makes me feel like I’m losing my mind a little bit.
Revelations that follow are LEGENDARY.
page 92 – regarding Vanessa being a clone or a ghost or a ??????
Please also just read this and tell me this is a normal thing to say.
The final ending is my favourite of course and is called “Burn it all down” in this guide. It tells you how to reach it and then sums up in uncompromising terms that the Pizzeria in the underground is the remnants of the location from Pizza Simulator.
It also describes The Blob as “a grotesque combination of cables and pieces of other animatronics”
And then, finally it describes Burntrap without any ambiguity as
A Withered Spring Bonnie animatronic merged with the body of Five Nights at Freddy’s antagonist William Afton.
page 94
It instructs the player to “Defeat Afton and this ending is yours”
And this is all there is.
In Conclusion
So, in stark and absolute contrast to everything I’d heard the fandom say about this book, I found almost ZERO discrepancies between this guide and the game itself. It is certainly oddly phrased but pretty much every other detail is spot on, even highlighting things that might well have been missed by the casual player (I’ve been playing this game since release almost nonstop and I never noticed that the screwdriver was used as a key item twice)
The way it is styled is strange, and the lack of direct hints and tips (which the ultimate guide provided in spades) is unusual but the material facts of this guide are hard to fault frankly.
I’m glad I did this in depth readthrough because previously I was inclined to not give much weight to the assertion of the Burntrap ending. However after seeing how much love, care and effort had to have gone into this book, including the concept art gathering and screenshots, I’m inclined to give it far more weight than I did before.
It doesn’t deserve the dismissive attitude it receives, and the strange quotes gave me a good laugh.
It’s worth a read, if you haven’t.
