Video Game / The Fazbear's Return

The TFR/TSSAA Archive banner. Featuring various antagonists from the saga.

"He will kill anyone for fun. S T O P H I M"

— The Sea Shift at Austin's 2

The Fazbear's Return series (and along with its other spinoff series, The Sea Shift at Austin's; and the alternate timeline of ELLIE'S) is a Five Nights at Freddy's fangame created by Scribby (AKA Scrubby the Lord). It has a total of 8 games (9 if you count the canceled TSSAA 3). It is also heavily based on The Return to Freddy's saga by BFPFilms424, in fact, BFP and Scribby used to be friends, BFP helped out on the first Fazbear's Return with some textures and sprites.

The Fazbear's Return 1 introduces a new horror attraction after the previous one burned down, bringing a couple of old acquaintances and someone new. Released on June 19th, 2015.

The Fazbear's Return 2 presents a new horror attraction (again...), bringing back Fazbear's band once again, along with new characters who would be the face of the series from then on. Released on August 16th, 2015.

The Fazbear's Return 3 moves away from the line that the other 2 games took of being a continuation of Five Nights at Freddy's 3. Instead, it goes back in time to show the background of the new TFR 3 characters, Joe and his friends, taking place in the 70s. Released on September 15th, 2015.

The Fazbear's Return 4 takes up the route of 1 and 2, being, guess what, another horror attraction, although this time it is not based on Fazbear but on Joe. It is the final installment within the TFR story, delving into the past actions of the man behind the Joe's incidents. Released on November 21st, 2015.

The Fazbear's Return 5, in contrast to 4, is the beginning of everything and the first game within the chronology, presenting the motives and origins of the Big Bad that has lurked throughout the series. Released on February 5, 2016.

The Sea Shift at Austin's 1 is an interquel between TFR 3 AND TFR 1, taking place in the 90s and introducing a new band of characters who, within the story, are not so new. It was a collaboration between Scribby and his friend Steven Mator. Released on April 26th, 2016.

The Sea Shift at Austin's 2 takes place a couple of years after the previous game. Being the first time we see Joe's band and Austin's band coexisting. September 17th, 2016.

ELLIE'S takes place in an alternate line where the restaurant instead of opening in the 60s, opens in the 80s. Here's a look at TFR 3's Joe's predecessor, Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries. Released on July 27, 2021.

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Tropes:

In General

• Greater-Scope Villain: The CIA works like this, being responsible for hiding Zak's actions (the Big Bad) and being his employer. They also deliberately covered up the murders of children at Joe's by being part of an experiment to create super-soldiers. It was also behind massive events, such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy along with Zak within the TFR universe.
• Evil, Inc.: The CIA can also function like this. It also applies to Joe Family Company, the company in charge of Joe's locations.
• Hostile Animatronics: You already know, typical of FNaF fangames.
• The Smurfette Principle: Fazbear's band with Chica. Joe's band with Baylor. Austin's band with Hally.
• Color Motif: There is a theme color for each game. Red for TFR 1, Green for TFR 2, Blue for TFR 3, Red (again) for TFR 4, Yellow for TFR 5 and Purple for the early concept of TFR 6.
• Living Shadow: There are tons of them throughout TFR. A shadow for the Joe, Toxic and Vasco animatronics in TFR 3. Shadow Spring Joe in TFR 5. A shadow for each animatronic in TSSAA 1. And, especially, The Hatman and Emma.
• Haunted Technology: Sometimes it is this.
• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Other times, that.

The Fazbear's Return 1

• Red Is Violent: Fazbear's Fright Reborn has a strong red hue.
• Haunted Technology: Although at first you may believe that the animatronics are simply malfunctioning, you have a 180° turn when we discover that Fritz Smith murdered 3 children there and, probably, they are controlling the animatronics.
• Hallucinations: Many of them, with rare screens of eyeless animatronics and haunted posters with threatening messages.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: We don't know what happened to Mike Schmidt, owner of Fazbear's Fright Reborn, after the attraction closed.
• The New '10s: It takes place in 2017, the same with FNaF 3 in the TFR universe.
• The Reveal: The place's janitor is none other than Fritz Smith, a guard at a pizzeria from 30 years ago. As if that were not enough, his actions are what are causing the attraction to have problems and the animatronics to be haunted.
• Crusty Caretaker: A little for Fritz Smith.

The Fazbear's Return 2

• A.I. Is a Crapshoot: This time the animatronics are not possessed, Yay! Instead, they were modified by the blue guy, Zak, to be aggressive.
• Green and Mean: The coloring of the attraction is greenish, and also applies to one of the new antagonists, Joe. Same with Springtrap in the Remastered version.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: As in the previous game, the owner of Fazbear's Horror Diner, Jake Kendrick, disappears without a trace. This also applies to the animatronics, since they do not appear again in later installments, although it is most likely that they were dismantled after so many incidents.
• Real-Place Background: Fazbear's Horror Diner is located on the second floor of St. Ignatius Hospital, an abandoned real hospital in Colfax, Washington, United States.
• Adaptational Timespan Change: It had been established that TFR 2 took place 30 years after the closure of Fazbear's Fright Reborn, that is, in 2047. However, this would be changed in the Remastered Collection and in the official chronology, now taking place in 2025.
• Brain Food: Joe applies the typical one to a child at the end of the game and kills him, causing the attraction to be closed.
• Don't Look At Me: The way you avoid being attacked by any of the animatronics.
• Sanity Slippage: Even though you need to stare at the animatronics, staring at the door for too long will make your Insanity bar go up; if it fills up, you're dead.
• The New '20s: As mentioned before, the game takes place in 2025.

The Fazbear's Return 3

• The '70s: The game takes place in 1974.
• Unnaturally Blue Lighting: Joe's Pizzeria and Funhouse has this.
• Don't Look At Me: While some animatronics are avoided in this way.
• Can't Move While Being Watched: Others are avoided with this one.
• Multiple Endings: A bad one, where the murdered children do not haunt the animatronics, causing the place to remain open longer; and another good one, where they do and their paranormal actions make people suspicious and the place close down.
• And I Must Scream: The children are condemned to be trapped in these animatronics until they are dismantled or Zak, their killer, is murdered. This is also implied with the messages directed to the security guards through hallucinations where they try to tell them that the one behind all this is the CIA.
• Haunted Technology: By the 4 children murdered in 1971.
• Ascended Extra: The blue guy, with his now revealed name in this game, Zak, works like this. Although in TFR 2 he seemed to be a simple crazy man like Fritz and felt more like a plot device than a true antagonist, things change radically in TFR 3. Here he is not only the owner of Joe's, he is also a CIA worker who is behind the incidents of children missing there as part of a super-soldiers experiment. This at the same time makes more sense as to why his return so many decades later in TFR 2 is preventing the collective mind from taking an interest in Joe's again to prevent them from discovering what he did in the 70s.
• Put on a Bus: The Hatman only appears in this installment, he does not appear again. That is until TSSAA 2...
• Significant Name Shift: On the first night, the Phone Guy refers to the guard as Oliver, but the next night he refers to the guard as Karen. The official chronology mentions that in 1971, a reporter tried to discover the truth but was murdered. This strongly implies that said reporter was Oliver; and the first night takes place long before the events of Karen being a guard in 1974.
• Noodle Incident: The whole thing about Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries is this, TFR 3 puts a lot of emphasis on this location, implying that something important happened, but we only know that it's more kidnapped children. Who is Ellie? A character we never met? Joe's band used to be here? As if that were not enough, apparently the first sightings of The Hatman seem to be from here, but no further explanation is given.
• It Was There the Whole Time: Related to the previous trope. Phone Guy mentions that he has been trying to investigate the basement of Joe's to understand the whole Ellie's thing and find something useful, why is this important? The official chronology mentions that Ellie's had a basement and was where the experiments were carried out. As if that were not enough, Joe's layout and Ellie's layout (according to ELLIE'S) are similar. What does all this mean? That Joe's is just Ellie's but rebranded.

The Fazbear's Return 4

• Red Filter of Doom: Unlike TFR 1, this red environment is much more threatening, both because of the only animatronic present and because this is truly the end of the story.
• Adaptation Species Change: Nightmare Joe goes from SpringJoe-07 to Joe GEN3 (the one from Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries) in the Remastered Collection.
• Adapted Out: Golden Spring Joe and Golden Spring Toxic do not appear in the Remastered version, although this is more for canonical reasons, as in TFR 5 it would be made clear that the victims of Joe and Toxic's Diner were already resting in peace, so the suits would have no reason to remain haunted.
• Hallucinations: Many of them, you can even make a list.
  • Golden Spring Joe.
  • Golden Spring Toxic.
  • A bucket with a brain in it.
  • A shadow version of Plush Joe with his skull head
  • Shadow Plush Joe
  • Plush Joe on a red stand.
  • Plush Toxic on a red stand.
  • A hanged man.
  • An axe.
  • A red skull.
  • A beating heart.
  • A small skull with a brain next to it.
  • A chunk of flesh on a red stand.
• Gorn: With the list above, you'll notice that there is quite a bit of this.
• Haunted Technology: Nightmare Joe is likely possessed by the child inside it, one of the victims in Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries..
• Where It All Began: We're at Joe and Toxic's Diner, the original, not the second TFR 5 diner.
• Adaptational Timespan Change: The original version took place in 2057, the Remastered changed this to 2034.
• Bittersweet Ending: Zak has already been killed, The Hatman doesn't seem to be here anymore, and there are apparently no animatronics here anymore. Everything seems to be in conditions of a happy or perfect ending, until you realize... Nightmare Joe, it is still here and seems to still be possessed, and the end of the game does not seem to give any indication that the place was destroyed, which even the official chronology seems to imply, as the government decided NOT to demolish the attraction by deeming Nightmare Joe "sentient". All of this seems to indicate that it will be a long time before the child who is possessing Nightmare Joe can rest.
• Pet the Dog: Despite trying to kill the protagonist throughout the week, at the end of night 5 he congratulates him with a "Great Job!" and at the end of night 7 with a "Nice Job". This is probably because Nightmare Joe isn't inherently evil, things like the isolation, the confusion of the soul that is possessing him, and the unwillingness of the people to dismantle it to finally rest in peace are what are making it this way.

The Fazbear's Return 5

• The '50s: The game is set in 1956.
• Bright Is Not Good: Don't let the yellow/gold atmosphere fool you, this place is not safe.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: You have a springlock mask to avoid some of the animatronics, but if you leave it on for too long, the springlocks will come loose and cause massive damage to your head. This trope also applies to the 2 victims of Spring Vasco (manipulated by Zak) who were murdered and put in a meat grinder.
• Body Horror: After those 2 poor kids were made into mincemeat, their remains were hidden in the 2 old suits (Spring Joe-07 and Spring Toxic-07) from the original Joe and Toxic's Diner.
• Haunted Technology: All the Golden Springs seem to be, the Springs-07 are also because of the 2 children thrown into the meat grinder.
• Expy:
  • Golden Spring Joe, Golden Spring Toxic and Golden Spring Vasco are obviously based on Golden Freddy and the springlocks suits.
  • SpringJoe-07 and SpringToxic-07 have the same aesthetics and formula as Springtrap, although unlike the latter, they have the remains of children and not adults inside.
• Children Are Special: Despite the horrors described above, there are still nice moments regarding the children in TFR 5.
  • During a minigame, Golden Spring Toxic will give a gift to one of the murdered children as a way to give him peace, which the child will respond with:
  Are you my friend?
  I think you're my friend.
  • This implies that children not only possess animatronics because they are attached to the physical world, but also because they see them as close friends in whom they can trust and feel safe.
  • In another minigame, Golden Spring Joe will approach a boy who says some pretty sad phrases:
  I wanna stop. I wanna die.
  Why did I do this to me?
  I can't live like this.
  I wanna feel normal.
  • Upon reaching him, the minigame will end, implying that Golden Spring Joe and the boy's soul went through the same process as Golden Spring Toxic from the previous example.
  • In the end-of-night minigames, Golden Spring Joe will be roaming around giving gifts to the other souls of children who were unable to possess an animatronic. All of these kids are crying uncontrollably until Golden Spring Joe helps them, ending each minigame.
  • This is sweeter when you start to think that Golden Spring Joe is already possessed by that point, so it's not just the animatronic helping them, but the friend possessing said animatronic is the one helping them find peace.
• Badass Adorable: In a minigame, Golden Spring Vasco (possibly already controlled by one of the children) will say to Zak:
  You'll regret that Zak. It's over for you now.

The Sea Shift at Austin's 1

• Ship Level: Austin's Pizza (1.0 and 2.0) are located on a ship.
• The '90s: The game takes place in 1993.
• Green and Mean: The ship's environment has this color.
• Ambiguous Situation: While a minigame hints that Zak modified the animatronics (or at least Austin) to be aggressive and therefore be an A.I. Is a Crapshoot type situation. Other minigames imply that it is the murdered children at Austin's who are possessing them, making the situation one of Haunted Technology. This would not be a contradictory situation since both things can coexist without problems.
• Expy:
  • Could Wyatt be considered this to Freddy Fazbear by being a polar bear?
  • The fifth murdered child has the same role as Charlotte Emily/The Puppet from the original Five Nights at Freddy's, bringing the children to life and guiding them to the animatronics so they can possess them. He/She even has a gray mask with blue tears.
• He Knows Too Much: This happens with Alex, a friend of the murdered children who has been trying to find the truth about their disappearances. Zak tries to warn him on more than one occasion not to bother, but he ignores him, causing Zak to have to shoot him. His body would be found on stage the next day and Austin's Pizza 2.0 would close because of it.
• Spirit Advisor: After being murdered, Alex becomes this by revealing to his friends and warning them who his murderer was, giving them strength to fight him and leaving Zak very badly injured.
• Playing Possum: Zak does this after the events of the game, when the 5 souls of the children attack him and leave him severely injured, the children believe that they have really killed him and retreat.
• Rage Breaking Point: This happens with the fifth soul, tired of this whole situation and having to deal with his friends, he simply leaves. The other souls also follow suit, making everyone rest in peace. The fifth soul even told them this:
  I'm sick of being your puppet!

The Sea Shift at Austin's 2

• Turn of the Millennium: Takes place in 2004.
• Unnaturally Blue Lighting: The office and several rooms at Austin and Joe’s Aquarium have this type of lighting.
• Exploding Fish Tanks: We are in an aquarium after all, and one of the mechanics is having to hide in a sink hole.
• Kill It with Fire: You have a lighter for the hallway and avoid some of the animatronics.
• The Bus Came Back: Hey Hatman! It's nice to see you again buddy!
• Ambiguous Situation: Similar to the previous game, some minigames show Zak modifying animatronics (specifically, Austin and Hally). While The Hatman directly possesses Joe (at the end of the game, he leaves said animatronic). But in this case, what happens to the rest of the robots? Are they controlled by Zak or possessed by The Hatman?
• Big Bad Duumvirate: The game treats Zak and The Hatman as being on the same level and that they both have bad intentions.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Despite the above, The Hatman refers to Zak as "The Unholy One", implying that they are not as companions as they seem, giving rise to this situation.
• Would Hurt a Child: If Hally is possessed by The Hatman, this trope applies to him, as at the end of the game Hally ends up killing a child, causing the Aquarium to be closed.

ELLIE'S

• Adaptational Timespan Change: Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries exists in The '80s instead of The '60s.
• The '80s: It occurs in 1984.
• Unnaturally Blue Lighting: Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries presents this once again.
• The Sacred Darkness: On more than one occasion you have to turn off the office lights to avoid the animatronics seeing you.
• Don't Look At Me: For Ellie herself, you must use the camera zoom to see her and return her to the stage.
• Battleaxe Nurse: Ellie is this.
• Pirate: Joe and Austin are this one.
• Farm Boy: Hunter is a bit of this.
• The Sheriff: Hally returns as this.
• Ascended Extra: Although The Hatman was not aggressive in the previous games, he is now, although it is more because of his new origin identity.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Hatman has them.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Emma has this type of eyes.
• Big Bad Ensemble: It's highly unlikely that The Hatman and Emma are working together, they are victimizer and victim after all, so it's more likely that they're each bewitching Ellie's on their own.
• Ambiguous Situation: Related to the previous topic, if both are working separately, how does possession of the animatronics work? Does each one have specific animatronics? Or do their own paranormal presences cause the animatronics to act that way without needing to actually be possessed?
• Cruel and Unusual Death: If you are caught by one of the animatronics, it will stuff you inside its own body.
• Uncertain Doom: The final call after night 7 implies this, Phone Guy mentions that they are not sure whether to continue with the business or not, since the paranormal activities have not stopped and they continue to lose customers. If it closes, the fate of the animatronics would be uncertain, the same with The Hatman and Emma. However, if we go by the central line of TFR, then the animatronics would simply be stored somewhere.
• Driven to Suicide: After Zak shoots 2 customers at Ellie's in 1983, he shoots himself.
• Sole Survivor: Even though Zak shoots 3 people (including himself), only 2 die, indicating that the third survived.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Although in the 1960 Ellie's it is mentioned that the co-founder was George W. Bush (yes, that George), it is not mentioned again what happened to him after Ellie's closed, he probably continued to have contact with Zak and help the CIA.
• Resolved Noodle Incident: Despite being an alternate line, ELLIE'S helps to understand what Ellie's Milkshakes and Fries was like from the original TFR line. It is revealed who the characters at Ellie's were and what they looked like, the role of The Hatman in haunting the place (despite not being the same The Hatman we knew), how the rumors began to spread, among other information.