Murasaki’s Hidden Gems: The Sly Cooper Collection

Hi and welcome to a special edition of Murasaki’s Hidden Gems! And this one is truly special. Well, I think so, anyways.

 

If you’ve own a PS2, you probably heard the name Sly Cooper before. You probably even played some of his games, too. I fall in the latter. I never played any of his games before — until now that is. 😊 I cannot believe it took me this long to play these games. I mean, I really wish someone had told me about this series. You know…  It’s actually funny how cool it is to discover something new — even though it is old. Or is that just me? 😅

Sucker Punch Productions developed the Sly Cooper back in the early 2000’s. They would end up making three Sly Cooper games. A fourth game would later be released — but they would have no involvement in that game. Dunno if that is either a good thing or a bad thing. I’ll let you know whenever I get the chance to play it. Hmm? Sucker Punch sounds familiar? Well, they should. They did develop the Infamous series and the upcoming Ghost of Tsushima game.

Remember when I said this one is special. It’s special because I played all three games (including the mini games). I had a blast playing each game. Well… It did irritate me at times. I will get to that a little later. But for now…

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

In the first game, you are introduced to Sly Cooper and his gang (Bentley and Murray), as they are out to recover the Thievius Raccoonus from the Fiendish Five. What is the Thievius Raccoonus? It’s a book which contains all the thieving moves that Sly’s ancestors have picked up over the centuries. How could Sly lose something like so important, you ask?

When Sly was just a child, the Fiendish Five barged into his home, killed his father and took the book. Sly witnessed all this from the closet. Must admit that this is pretty dark, considering the kind of game this is. He was sent to the orphanage — and that’s where he would meet Bentley and Murray. See… It’s not all bad. 😊

It isn’t about revenge for Sly. He wants to recover the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus from the Fiendish Five. It’s his family legacy, after all. He also wants to put an end to their evil deeds.

OH! I almost forgot another important character of the game. Well… I think she is. 😅

Say hello to Inspector Camilita Montoya Fox from Interpol. She’s honest. She’s driven. And she’s also after Ringtail, as she often refers to him. I think Camilita has been chasing the thief for a long time. She always show up whenever Sly is around. Of course, he flirts with her. And she denies him. But come on… We all know the truth. Camilita has feelings for him. I know I said she was honest. But she isn’t being honest with herself. She’s such a tsundere. 😂

Let’s talk about the gameplay. It’s a platformer. As the gentleman thief, you are going to spend most of the jumping, sliding and swinging from one obstacle to next. It is kind of a stealth game. You can sneak up on guards and take them out silently. And if you collect all the “clue bottles”, you will unlock vaults and take the contents inside.

As this being the first game in the series, it usually means that it comes with its share of problems. And this game was no exception. Its controls takes some getting use to. You will see for yourself when you play the driving and shooting levels. And the camera isn’t so good. But that’s nothing unusual when it comes to games. Still… It wasn’t enough to deter me from playing this. It has a good story. Interesting characters. And some pretty fun platforming, despite the bad camera.

So basically you play as Sly who is out to recover the Thievius Raccoonus from a band of villains. And you have an attractive Interpol agent after you. It’s a fun game. I enjoyed it a lot. I just wished I had played the game sooner.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves

2 years have passed since the events of the last game. Sly Cooper and gang have recovered the Thievius Raccoonus and defeated the Fiendish Five. Well, four of them are spending their days in jail — thanks in part to Camilita. Of course, our gentleman thief left them gift wrapped for her. 😂 Wait? I said four. What happened to the fifth member? Sly and Camilita defeated Clockwerk, leader of the Fiendish Five, and he fell into the lava of a volcano. But here’s the kicker. Clockwerk was nothing but machinery. His metal parts did not melt in the lava. They seem indestructible. Sly realizing this isn’t good. He sets out to recover all of Clockwerk’s parts and destroy them. Unfortunately, the parts have found themselves in the hands of the Klaww Gang. He learns this information from Inspector Fox’s new partner, Constable Neyla. Well, she dropped the gang’s name when he first encountered her and Camilita.

Now Sly and the gang must steal the parts from the Klaww Gang. Of course, while avoiding capture from Camilita — and Neyla? Whose side is she really on? 🤔

Once again, lets talk about the gameplay. It’s still a platformer. You will undoubtedly notice it has greatly improved since the first game. I felt the controls were easy to handle. And the camera is actually good. You don’t just play as Sly. You can now also play as Bentley and Murray. There are specific missions only those two can complete. And their missions aren’t too hard. Murray’s missions revolve around his strength. Bentley’s missions revolve around his computer hacking skills. It’s pretty cool idea that we can play as each member of the Cooper Gang.

After you complete enough missions in a chapter, Bentley will run down plan of “the heist”. I dunno why… But I was getting an Ocean’s 8 vibe from this. Did anyone else get that? Or am I the only one? 🤔

Considering this is the second game in the series, it should come to no surprise that this better than the first game. Sucker Punch did an incredible job with this one. In my opinion, Sly 2 is the best in the series. It has a good (and a bit of dark) story. Characters are still awesome. I mean… It’s bigger and better than the first game. It’s simple as that. 😁

Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves

Now we’re onto the third and final game of the collection. Well, the last Sly Cooper game that Sucker Punch would develop. And they went out with a bang with this one.

It begins with Sly infiltrating an island. Of course, this isn’t any ordinary island. On it resides the Cooper Vault. It is said this vault holds all the loot that the Cooper Clan have accumulated over the years. Sly’s legacy is also in there. So, of course, the gentleman thief wants inside. However… Dr. M, a mad genius, has bought the island. He turned it into a fortified stronghold to keep all trespassers out. Uh huh. He knows all about the vault. Dr. M has been trying to get in there for years — but has had no success.

Seeing as how the island have strong defenses, Sly realized he’s going to need more help if he wanted inside the vault. With Bentley’s help, the gentleman thief found and recruited those that could help him. Each member has a particular set of skills that will prove useful for the coming heist. With his new team assembled, it was time for Sly to claim his legacy. As I mentioned, the game begins with him infiltrating the island. It appears Sly was going to pull off the heist without a hitch. Well, that’s until Dr. M ambushed him. Bentley helps out Sly — but he ends up getting caught by Dr. M and his creature. Sly saves him. But he get caught himself. As the creature is squeezing the life out of him, Sly’s life would flash before his eyes. You will see how the gentleman thief would come to recruit each new member.

Time to talk about the gameplay. Of course, this is a platformer. It’s a Sly Cooper game, after all. 😅But the platforming in the game is insane. I seriously thought I was trying out for Ninja Warrior. 😂 It was fun. Although… It did get a bit frustrating at time. I think it’s because of the controls. I dunno. I felt the controls weren’t as easy as they were in the second game. It felt as though I was playing the first game again. Or was it just me? 🤔 Again, Sly is not the only character you can play as. Just like in the second game, there are specific missions that only Bentley and Murray can pull off. But they aren’t the only ones who you can play as in these missions. Some of their missions require the aid of the new members. I am not going to lie. Some of the members are not easy to control. It takes some getting use to. Still… Don’t let this stop you from playing the game. It has a great (and darker) story than the previous games. Cool characters, even though some are a pain to control. 😅 And just like in the second game, I found nothing wrong with the camera. Good thing, too. Like I said, “the platforming in the game is insane”. Need to see where you are jumping, swinging and sliding, right?

Keeping the Ocean 8’s vibe, Bentley will run down the plan of “the heist” after you’ve completed enough missions. I still think that’s cool. 😎

OH! I almost forgot to mention that Camilita is a playable character this time. You play as her in a few missions. She’s easy to control. And it’s mad fun shooting enemies with her “shock pistol”! 😈

Since this is the final Sly Cooper game that Sucker Punch developed, they really went all out on this one. I mean, you learn more about Sly’s ancestors. As I mentioned, the story is darker. Well, I think so, anyways. 😅 And Dr. M is a cool villain. He’s just as cool as Clockwerk was. Okay… I will admit the game didn’t click with me in the beginning. But as I kept playing — I found myself getting engrossed in the story.

Sly 3 almost came close to being my favorite Sly Cooper game. But it had one thing that I didn’t like. Remember when I said that the game irritated me? Well, this game has something call Master Thief Challenges. Each episode has challenges to complete. Some of them are easy. While there were those that are hard (or annoying). And I hated every one of them. 🤬 Completing them are optional. But if you want to complete the game at 100%, you must do them (among other things).

I wouldn’t say that the Sly Cooper Collection is hard to find. I snagged this for 20 bucks at Gamestop. Of course, it was pre-owned. Nothing wrong with that. I mean… If the game still works, right? 😊 Now I heard that if you have a PS Now subscription, you can stream this game on your PS4. And you should. It’s a fun series, despite those annoying Master Thief Challenges in Sly 3. Again, I wished I had played these games back in the day.

One more thing… I don’t think I mentioned what console the Sly Cooper Collection is on. It’s on both the PS2 and PS3. I played it on my old PS3. If you play this on the PS3, you will notice the Sly Mini Games. It’s four games. You play these with the Playstation Move controller. Remember those? 😅 Don’t worry. You can also play these with the DualShock 3 controller. They are rather easy. But if you purchased a digital copy of the game, you will not have to worry about this. Or so I heard.

I know I said the games gave me an Ocean 8’s vibe. But you know what. I think the anime, Lupin III, inspired Sucker Punch to make these games. I mean, it’s obvious that Sly Cooper is Lupin. I think this is another reason why I like these games.

Speaking of being inspired… If it wasn’t for these games, I don’t think Sucker Punch would’ve made Infamous. Better yet, I don’t think the Infamous series would’ve been great as they are if wasn’t for Sly Cooper. I only say this because they took everything that they learned from those games and used it to develop Infamous. I mean… Both series’ platforming are very similar. Guess we have the Sly Cooper to thank for the awesome Infamous series.

Well, this wraps up this special edition of Murasaki’s Hidden Gems. Thank you for reading!

See you next time!

Number of games I have completed while Judgment is on hiatus: 12

TIPS:

• Destroy everything to collect coins.
• In Sly 2 and 3, Sly will learn how to pick the enemies for coins and treasures.
• It’s very important to collect coins, as you are going to need them to buy “thieving moves”.
• In Sly 3, Murray and Bentley will also learn how to pickpocket.
• If you need help on locating all “clue bottles” in both Sly 1 and 2, you should check out the CooperCurse channel on YouTube. His videos are very helpful.
• You can also use that channel as a guide to help you clear the Master Thief Challenges in Sly 3.
• If you want to complete Sly 3 at 100%, you must do all the Master Thief Challenges and the Hazard Room’s tutorials.

Here’s a little fun fact. When the Sly Cooper game was first released, it was rumored that a CG film based on it would be made. I actually learned this from someone on Twitter. Of course, it was never mentioned again. So, I think the project has been scrapped. It’s a shame. I would’ve actually liked seeing this. And I think the film would’ve been awesome, especially now since CG animation has improved over the years. Who knows. Perhaps the project could come back to the life. Here’s hoping. 🤞