It’s far from a hot take to say that the PlayStation 2 is one of the greatest consoles of all time. The system debuted in 2000 and remained in production until 2013, selling over 155 million units and 1.5 billion games in that time. The PlayStation 3 launched in 2006 in the United States and, by 2013, had only sold 22.9 million units.
The early PlayStation consoles saw their fair share of “mascot platformer” games in a vain attempt to surpass the popularity of Nintendo’s Mario, which gave us classic titles like 1996’s Crash Bandicoot and 1998’s Spyro the Dragon. Though a new mascot rose to prominence while those two struggled to make the transition to the PS2: Sly Cooper.
The man himself: Sly Cooper
Sly Cooper immediately stood out in his inaugural outing, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, released in September of 2002 and developed by Sucker Punch, thanks to many factors. A colorful cast of voiced anthropomorphic characters, an interesting and occasionally dark plot, a striking cel-shaded art style, and the right mix of challenge and fun; just to name a few. However, the game’s initial release didn’t reflect this.
Two other mascot platformers were rising to prominence in the midst of Thievius Raccoonus‘ release; Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter – and the popularity of them overshadowed the game entirely. In fact, Sly was so adept at staying in the shadows that the game was nominated for GameSpot’s 2002 “Best Game No One Played on PlayStation 2” award. Fun fact: That award went to a game called Dynasty Tactics.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus has become a cult classic and spawned three sequels since, but does the debut of the rogue raccoon stand the test of time?
Story – Honor Thy Father
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is all about two things: Sly Cooper, and the Thievius Raccoonus. Sly is the newest leaf in the Cooper Family tree, a line of famous gentleman thieves going back centuries. A book is passed through every generation of Coopers, the Thievius Raccoonus, and it compiles all the adventures and new tactics each member of the bloodline contributed to.
However, an international group of criminals known as The Fiendish Five kill Sly’s family one night. They tear up the Thievius Raccoonus and share the pages between them. Once grown up, Sly and his newfound friends – Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippo – embark on a journey to reclaim the pages and avenge Sly’s family.
The Cooper Gang
The story is very straightforward from that point. Sly and the gang head to a different part of the world and take down a member of The Fiendish Five. The Fiendish Five consist of Sir Raleigh the Frog, Muggshot, Mz. Ruby, The Panda King, and Clockwerk (yes, with an e). Sly and his friends have to travel to the Welsh Triangle, Utah, Haiti, China, and Russia to stop them all and reclaim the stolen Thievius Raccoonus pieces. And all the while, they’re being tailed by renowned Interpol Agent Carmelita Fox.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus’ story may not be revolutionary or groundbreaking, but it didn’t have to be. The game is boosted by its main cast of characters and a roster of memorable villains and locations. The story’s purpose is to get you to those locations and those villains. It’s not a game that presents you with serious questions or deep themes. It’s not like The Last of Us Part II. It doesn’t lose itself and forget to be fun.
Gameplay – Nathan Drake Who?
This is what it’s all about. Sly Cooper is a thief first and foremost, so it’s only fitting he’s got some dexterity. Every generation of Cooper gets their own special cane, which acts as Sly’s main offense. Most enemies go down in one hit. Some enemies are especially dangerous, which means Sly has to sneak around them. This is where the special mix of stealth and parkour comes in. And somehow this game has better parkour mechanics than most games after it.
All you have to do when you want to jump onto a spire or ledge is jump and press the circle button. Sly’s thief powers will auto-lock him to the spot and ensure you land. And, every spot he can jump to has easily identifiable blue sparkles all around it. It’s not perfect, though. Sometimes he’ll lock on to something else nearby, even if it’s obviously not where you were trying to go. However, it’s especially helpful for people with depth perception issues.
Sly hiding from an enemy
On top of that, each mission will have 20-40 Clue Bottles hidden within. Collect them all, and Bentley will crack the code to that level’s safe. Inside are Thieivius Raccoonus pages that give Sly more abilities. But what’s making him put these skills to use?
The Keys to Success
Every area – save for the last one – all play the exact same. Each world has a hub area from which Sly enters missions to retrieve keys. Those keys are used to unlock further areas in the hub world, and eventually the boss. Most of the missions – or “Jobs” – are fairly straightfoward 3D platforming levels. However, some are races in the Cooper Van, escort missions, or vehicle missions. They do help to shake things up and prevent a feeling of monotany, but they’re often the weakest missions of each world.
Sly on the job
Once at the boss, a boss fight will ensue. The boss fights actually have a good amount of variety to them. Sir Raleigh has jumps Sly has to avoid that also sink the platforms. Mz. Ruby makes you play voodoo Dance Dance Revolution. And Sly has to use a jetpack to fight Clockwerk in a volcano. Better boss fights have been made since, but none of these have lost their fun. Well, except for Mz. Ruby’s. Hers is bugged in the PS3 remaster. They may be fun, but don’t underestimate their difficulty.
Always After Me Lucky Charms
As was the style at the time, Sly dies in one hit. However, just like how Crash Bandicoot gets masks, Sly Cooper gets charms. He gets a Lucky Charm for every 100 coins collected, allowing him to survive a hit. Unfortunately, they only stack to two, and don’t provide brief invincibility at any point.
This is the aspect of the game that aged the worst. Not everyone likes constantly having to break every object to collect coins. And on the other side, people are punished for doing it too much since they don’t stack higher than two. All of the bosses have a health bar, I don’t understand why the main character can’t have one too.
Sly collecting coins, a lucky charm on his back
This also makes the occasional lock-on mistake more annoying, as Sly could lose a charm to pure bad luck. Or even worse, die and have to start over. The game has some outdated mechanics that may scare away some modern gamers, but the core is too fun to ignore.
Graphics & Sound – S.C. Noir
Sucker Punch had the brilliant idea to use their limitations to their advantage and create a beautiful and unmistakable style. They use the blocky graphics of early PS2 era games and incorporate it into an art deco style – much like Irrational Games with BioShock – and add in cel-shaded flair to make it really stand out.
Every character has a unique and easily identifiable design, from the main characters to the enemies unique to each area. Each area has its own identity, from the snowy mountains of the Kunlun Mountains to the neon desert of Mesa City. Along with that, every world has a different soundtrack with a unique flavor.
The music doesn’t stand out in a major way that makes you want to look up the soundtrack on YouTube, but it perfectly compliments the game. It doesn’t subtract from moments or take away focus from the gameplay.
Sly exploring Mesa City
Not everything in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus aged well, but the game is still packed with old school fun with just enough challenge to keep you on your toes. If you recently played the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy or the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and want more platforming fun, you can’t go wrong here.
