Sly Cooper is a series of stealth action-adventure video games made by Sucker Punch Productions and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The games tell the story of Sly Cooper, a raccoon who looks like a human and is a skilled thief, and his two friends, Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippopotamus. They are often chased by Inspector Carmelita Fox, who is Sly’s love interest. Sanzaru Games created the fourth game in the series and updated the first three games for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. These updated versions were released together in a collection called The Sly Collection.
Sly Cooper has become one of the most well-known characters in PlayStation games. He has also appeared in other Sony games, such as PlayStation Move Heroes (2011) and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2012). Plans for an animated movie and a television show based on the series have been made, but neither has been completed.
Common elements
The games are mostly shown from the perspective of others. The player controls Sly or one of his friends through many missions that have several levels. The player must rely mostly on stealth to avoid enemies and alarms while collecting treasures or other items. Sly is very agile and can use parts of the environment for stealth. These areas are shown to the player as a blue glow, which the game explains as a visible sign of Sly's "thief senses." For example, Sly can climb on sharp points, move along narrow ledges, walk across tightropes, use a zipline, or swing from hooks with his cane. Sly also uses his cane to fight enemies, but it makes noise that might draw attention. He prefers sneaking up on enemies when possible because he has limited stamina. Because of his family background, Sly learns special moves in the games that help him be stealthier, faster, or eliminate enemies silently. The player can also control Bentley, who uses gadgets, or Murray, who uses his strength, as well as other characters in the third game. Mini-games are also included in the gameplay.
Each game is divided into a series of heists. To complete a heist, Sly and his team must finish several missions. In the first game, each mission was on a level connected to a main hub. Later games used a non-linear, open world style, where missions were spread across a large level. Each heist usually ends with a boss fight to finish the mission.
The Sly Cooper series takes place in a fictional version of the real world filled with animals that look and act like humans. The setting includes film noir and comic book styles, as well as elements of advanced science and magic. The main character, Sly Cooper, is a young raccoon and the latest in a line of master thieves. His family, the Cooper Clan, is known for stealing only from other thieves and passing down their skills through a book called the "Thievius Raccoonus." While the Coopers have collected a lot of wealth, Sly values his friendships more. He grew up with Bentley, a turtle who plans the heists, and Murray, a hippo who provides strength and helps with escapes. Together, they form the Cooper Gang and perform complex heists worldwide, often targeting dangerous criminal groups. During their adventures, they are chased by Inspector Carmelita Fox of Interpol, who is Sly's love interest.
Development
Sly Cooper was created by Scott Steinberg, with art direction by Dev Madan. The original idea for Sly was to design a character who was a thief. Scott Steinberg made several different designs, such as a pillow or an alien, each with unique traits. The decision to make Sly a raccoon was made when the team thought it was funny for a raccoon to wear a thief’s mask. During the design process, different employees at Sony provided various suggestions, leading Scott Steinberg to create many designs that filled an entire folder. Sony of America wanted Sly to look "cool," Sony of Japan wanted him to look "cute," and Sony of Europe wanted him to look "dark" and "edgy." The original name for Sly was "J.T.," which stood for "Jewel Thief," but this name was changed because Sucker Punch realized it might be mistaken for Japan Tobacco.
Games
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, known as Sly Raccoon in PAL regions, was released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2. In this game, Sly and his friends search for missing pieces of the Thievius Raccoonus, a family book that holds the Cooper Clan's secret thief skills. They track the pieces to the Fiendish Five, a rival group led by a large mechanical owl named Clockwerk. Sly and his gang must recover the book while avoiding capture by Interpol's Inspector Carmelita Fox, who plans to arrest Sly for his crimes.
Sly 2: Band of Thieves was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2. After the events of the first game, parts of the destroyed Clockwerk are stolen by the Klaww Gang. These parts could be used to rebuild Clockwerk, but individually, they are used for different crimes by the gang members. Sly and his team are pursued by Carmelita and her new partner, Constable Neyla, as they search for the missing parts.
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2. On a remote island, Sly finds the Cooper Vault, a large treasure collected by his family. To enter, he must defeat Dr. M, a villain who controls the island and has tried to break into the vault. Sly regroups with old allies and recruits new members to defeat enemies and reclaim his family's history, all while avoiding Carmelita. This game includes levels that can be played in 3D mode, and the PlayStation 3 version, part of The Sly Collection (2010), allows the full game to be played in 3D.
The Sly Collection (called The Sly Trilogy in PAL regions) is a remastered version of the first three games, released in November 2010 for the PlayStation 3 on a single Blu-ray disc as a Classics HD title. The games were remade by Sanzaru Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment America. On November 29, 2011, the collection was available as a digital download on the PlayStation Store, with each game sold separately. The collection also includes minigames. On May 27, 2014, the collection was released for the PlayStation Vita. Sly 1 and 2 are on the game card, while Sly 3 is accessed through a download voucher.
For the remaster, all three games received updated graphics to support modern 720p resolution. In 3D mode, the games run at 30fps, while in normal mode, they run at 60fps. Each game includes trophies, with one platinum trophy each. The collection supports PlayStation Move mini-games, 3D mode, and trophies. Completing all games unlocks a teaser trailer for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time ("Sly 4").
These features are not available in the downloadable version.
Sanzaru Games impressed Sony with a demo of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, a game that had not yet been announced. Because of this, Sanzaru was asked to remaster the PlayStation 2 versions of the Sly games for the PlayStation 3. At the time, the original developers, Sucker Punch Productions, were working on the inFamous series. The Sly Collection was announced in June 2010 and released on November 9, 2010. It became available on the PlayStation Store on November 29, 2011. On April 20, 2013, the PlayStation Vita version of the collection was revealed after receiving an ESRB rating. It was officially announced on February 10, 2014, with a release date of May 27, 2014.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time was announced during Sony's 2011 E3 Keynote and released on February 5, 2013. In this game, Sly and his team return for a new adventure on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The pages of the Thievius Raccoonus are disappearing, and Bentley, who now protects the book, must gather the gang to save the Cooper Clan's legacy. Using Bentley's new time machine, the gang and Carmelita travel back in time to stop the henchmen of the villain Cyrille Le Paradox, who wants to become the world's greatest thief. Along the way, the gang meets Sly's ancestors and deals with the consequences of Carmelita discovering that Sly had faked his amnesia from the previous game. The game was developed by Sanzaru Games, not Sucker Punch Productions, which focused on the inFamous series. If players complete the game's secret ending, a clip hints at a future game, but Sanzaru Games stated in 2014 that they would not develop another Sly game.
Bentley's Hackpack is a collection of hacking mini-games from Thieves in Time, with added levels, challenges, and rewards. It was developed by Sanzaru Games and released alongside Thieves in Time for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. The game is part of Sony's cross-buy initiative, allowing buyers of the PlayStation 3 version to get a free copy for the PlayStation Vita through the PlayStation Network. It was released in 2013 for both platforms. A version for iOS and Android was released in 2014.
The game received a 7/10 rating from Destructoid.
Related media
A children's book titled Sly Cooper: To Catch a Thief was published by Scholastic Corporation on January 31, 2007. The book was written by Michael Anthony Steele, and its story happens between the events of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus and Sly 2: Band of Thieves.
Plans for a Sly Cooper movie were first discovered in 2012 when a user on NeoGAF found information about Sony Interactive Entertainment video game franchises in a film financing database. The project was officially announced by producer Brad Foxhoven of Blockade Entertainment on January 28, 2014. Sly Cooper is Blockade Entertainment's third adaptation of a Sony video game series, following Heavenly Sword and Ratchet & Clank. At the time of the announcement, a teaser trailer was shared, and it was revealed that Kevin Munroe, the director of Ratchet & Clank, and animation studio Rainmaker Entertainment would lead the film's production. The movie was planned for release in 2016. The film is funded by Film Financial Services, with major support from Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation in China and Rainmaker Entertainment. International distribution is handled by Cinema Management Group. Asad Qizilbash, a senior director at Sony, said, "We are excited to bring the story of Sly Cooper to the big screen for the first time. We are working closely with Rainmaker and Blockade Entertainment to ensure the movie honors the characters and world of the game." Sucker Punch Productions, the creators of the Sly Cooper series, are involved in the film.
David Wohl, vice president of development at Blockade Entertainment and producer of the movie, said the film will not focus on how Sly Cooper and his team first came together. He explained, "Sly and the gang are already together, though they are far from being so great at what they do." The story will follow Sly, Bentley, and Murray, and will also include Carmelita and Clockwerk.
Unlike earlier versions of the Sly Cooper games, which used a style called "cel-shading," the movie will use a modern computer-generated (CG) animation style. Foxhoven said, "The global film market often prefers fully CG animated films. While we love the look of the games, we believe it may not work as well on the big screen. Working with the creators of Sly Cooper will help keep the movie's style true to the original games."
At Wondercon 2016, Kevin Munroe said the film had not yet started production and doubted it would be released that year. He added, "I'm just waiting for the phone call." On October 26, 2016, Munroe said on Twitter that he had not worked on Sly Cooper in over a year and a half.
In September 2016, Michael Hefferon, president and chief creative officer of Rainmaker Entertainment, said the company would need to rethink the timing, release plans, and budget for the Sly Cooper movie due to challenges with the Ratchet & Clank film. In 2017, Rainmaker Entertainment left the project.
On June 14, 2017, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced plans to create a Sly Cooper television series with Technicolor Animation Productions, with PGS Entertainment managing the brand. The series was planned to include 52 episodes, each 11 minutes long, with half of them scheduled to air in October 2019 and the rest in July 2020. However, the network that would broadcast the series was never confirmed.
On May 20, 2019, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the opening of a new film and television production studio called PlayStation Productions on the Sony Pictures Entertainment lot in Culver City, California. The studio will create and produce projects based on Sony's collection of over 100 video games. Sony Pictures will distribute these projects, while Sony Interactive Entertainment will oversee production. This announcement led many fans to believe that the Sly Cooper television series might be moved to the new studio, similar to how the Uncharted film was relocated there.
Reception
Sly 1 was nominated for an award by GameSpot in 2002 for "Best Game No One Played on PlayStation 2." By July 2006, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus had sold 800,000 units in the United States, with the entire Sly trilogy selling 2.2 million units. Next Generation ranked it as the 78th highest-selling game for the sixth generation of video game consoles in the United States between January 2000 and July 2006. In 2003, GameSpy listed Sly Cooper as the 5th most underrated game of all time.
Sly 2: Band of Thieves often appears on lists of top PlayStation 2 games. It ranked number 23 by GameSpy and SVG.com, number 24 by IGN, and was featured on unranked lists by Digital Trends and VG247. In 2022, Jesse Lab of The Escapist wrote that the series kept its original style by the second game, moving away from simple platforming tasks to open-world gameplay with multiple missions and tasks.
The Sly series is unique compared to other stealth and action-adventure games because of its humorous, lighthearted style and gameplay inspired by heist-themed stories. IGN’s PlayStation 2 rankings praised the series for combining family-friendly content with stealth gameplay and "genuinely funny" comedy. The game’s scenarios resemble those in heist films like Ocean’s 11 (1960) and The Italian Job (1969), which are common in realistic open-world crime games such as the Grand Theft Auto series (1997–present). USgamer’s Jeremy Parish noted that Sly is a rare heist game that successfully balanced required tasks with player freedom. Players must complete specific tasks to progress, but they had control over how to complete them.
In other media
PlayStation Move Heroes, announced at E3 2010, is a game that combines characters from the Sly Cooper series, Jak and Daxter, and Ratchet & Clank. The game allows players to control Sly and Bentley. It uses the PlayStation Move motion control system. The game was released on March 22, 2011, in North America.
Sly Cooper is a playable character in the fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. In the game’s arcade mode, Sly discovers that pages from the Thievius Racconus have been stolen and fights other characters to find them, including a battle against Nathan Drake. The version of Paris from Sly Cooper appears as one of the game’s stages. Bentley helps Sly with his Level 3 Super attack. Murray is an unlockable character and part of Sly’s Level 1 Super attack. Carmelita appears as a downloadable character and as a hazard in the "Alden’s Tower" stage.
Sly Cooper appears in Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart when players obtain the RYNO 8 gun. This weapon creates rifts that drop objects from above, which may include the Cooper Van, Sly Cooper, and Bentley. The game also includes an audio log, Entry III, which mentions that a creature looked like a lombax, a species Ratchet belongs to, but with smaller ears, a mask, and a cane. The log also notes that the creature may have been involved in a heist, a reference to Sly Cooper.
In Ghost of Tsushima, Sly Cooper’s outfit can be obtained by unlocking Gosaku’s Armor and trading 10 flowers for the Ocean’s Guardian dye. Players must then find the Crooked Kama Headband, which features Sly’s cane, at Jogaku Temple. Next, they must acquire the Sly Tanuki Sword Kit, which has a raccoon tail and Sly Cooper colors on the blade, located at the Pillar of Honor in the southeast corner of Kamiagata. Combining these items earns the Cooper Clan Cosplayer Trophy.