Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (known as Sly Raccoon in PAL regions) is a 2002 stealth action video game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It is the first game in the Sly Cooper series. The game follows Sly Cooper and his friends, Bentley the Turtle and Murray the Hippo, as they work to recover lost pages of the "Thievius Raccoonus," a book that lists every thieving technique created by Sly's ancestors, from a rival group called the Fiendish Five.
The game was praised for its technical achievements, especially its use of a special shading technique to create a film noir style while maintaining the look of a hand-drawn animated film. It was also criticized for being too short. Three sequels followed: Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004), Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005), and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (2013). The first three games were remastered and released as The Sly Collection for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita on April 16, 2014. Sly Cooper was digitally re-released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on June 11, 2024.
Gameplay
Sly Cooper is a video game that combines platforming and stealth gameplay. A review from Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine describes the gameplay as mixing fast-paced action with sneaking, similar to the game Splinter Cell. Players control Sly Cooper as he explores different, uniquely themed lairs of the Fiendish Five and their sub-sections. Sly must avoid security systems and patrolling guards. He uses his cane, a family heirloom, to attack enemies. A single hit from an enemy can defeat Sly. Players are encouraged to use stealth moves and the environment to avoid or silently eliminate threats.
To help with stealth, the game includes special areas marked with blue sparkles called "Sly's thief senses." In these areas, players can perform specific actions, such as moving along narrow ledges, climbing poles or pipes, or using the cane to grapple onto objects. Players must avoid detection by security systems and enemies. If an alarm sounds, players must either destroy it quickly, avoid or defeat enemies alerted by the alarm, or hide until the alarm resets. The game’s music changes depending on the situation: it becomes louder and faster when Sly attacks or is detected, and calms down when the danger passes.
Each sub-section of a lair contains clue bottles. Collecting these allows Sly to access a safe that holds a page from the Thievius Raccoonus, a book that teaches new moves for movement, stealth, or combat, such as creating a decoy or using an explosive hat. Defeating bosses also grants new abilities, which are often needed to progress in later levels. Coins are scattered throughout levels and can also be earned by defeating enemies or destroying objects. For every 100 coins collected, Sly receives a blue lucky horseshoe. Collecting two horseshoes turns them gold, giving Sly extra hits or an extra life. If Sly loses a life, the current sub-level restarts or begins at a checkpoint called a "repeater." If all lives are lost, players must restart the boss’s lair from the beginning.
The game includes minigames, such as driving levels (based on the character Murray), shooting levels to protect Murray during climbs, and a cyber-tank game representing a hacking attempt by Bentley. One boss battle includes a rhythm-based sequence similar to Dance Dance Revolution.
Players can revisit levels to collect more coins or find special moves. After completing a level and collecting all clue bottles and the secret move, players can attempt a "Master Sprint," a timed race through the level to beat a set time. Completing all levels with Master Sprints unlocks additional artistic content. For each level with a completed Master Sprint, players can unlock a developer’s commentary about that level.
Plot
Sly Cooper is a raccoon who looks like a human and is the last member of the Cooper Clan, a family known for being expert thieves who steal from other criminals. On his 8th birthday, Sly was supposed to receive an old book called the Thievius Raccoonus, which holds secrets about his family and helps thieves become skilled. However, a group of criminals called the "Fiendish Five" attacked his home, killed his father, and took pages from the Thievius Raccoonus before fleeing to build their own criminal groups. Sly was sent to live in an orphanage, where he met two friends who became his lifelong partners: Bentley, a turtle who uses technology, and Murray, a hippopotamus who drives their escape vehicles. At age 16, the three left the orphanage to become criminals who fight injustice, calling themselves the "Cooper Gang." Sly promises to avenge his family by finding the Fiendish Five and recovering the stolen pages of the Thievius Raccoonus.
Two years later, the Cooper Gang breaks into Interpol headquarters in Paris, France, to steal a police file about the Fiendish Five. During the mission, they are attacked by Inspector Carmelita Fox, an Interpol officer who is determined to stop the Cooper Gang. The gang successfully steals the file and escapes in their getaway vehicle. Using the file, they track the Fiendish Five to their hiding places worldwide. The Fiendish Five includes Sir Raleigh, a frog pirate in Wales who uses a storm machine to sink ships and steal treasure; Muggshot, a bulldog gangster in Utah who controls a city for gambling; Mz. Ruby, an alligator mystic in Haiti who raises an army of undead creatures; and the Panda King, a panda in China who uses fireworks to threaten villages. Sly defeats each member, takes back their stolen pages, and leaves them for Carmelita to arrest. Each member tells Sly where to find the next one, leading him to their leader, a mysterious mechanical owl named Clockwerk.
The Cooper Gang enters Clockwerk's hidden base in a Russian volcano and finds Carmelita trapped. Sly saves her, and they temporarily team up to fight Clockwerk. During the battle, Clockwerk admits he is a former thief who became jealous of the Cooper Clan's skills. He turned himself into a machine to live forever and killed Sly's father to prove the Cooper Clan needed the Thievius Raccoonus to be strong. Sly argues that the book was created by skilled thieves, not the other way around.
After defeating Clockwerk, Carmelita tries to arrest Sly but lets him run for ten seconds. Instead of fleeing, Sly kisses her and escapes with his gang. Carmelita is surprised but then realizes Sly has locked her to a rail and vows to catch him. Sly, Bentley, and Murray return to their hideout and continue their missions with the complete Thievius Raccoonus. After the story ends, one of Clockwerk's eyes briefly opens.
Development and release
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was the second game made by Sucker Punch Productions. It came after Rocket: Robot on Wheels, which was released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64. The idea for Sly Cooper was formed shortly after Rocket was finished, and it took three years to develop.
Sucker Punch used a program called Autodesk Maya to create the game’s art. Brian Flemming from Sucker Punch described the art style as “toon-shading,” which means the detailed backgrounds looked like those in animated films, while the characters used a simpler, cel-shading style. The team wanted Sly and his world to appear like illustrations, almost like flat drawings. To keep the game running smoothly, the team had one engineer focused only on performance throughout the development. The art team gathered hundreds of photos and drawings of places that matched the game’s world to create the backgrounds. The characters went through six to eight major changes before their final designs were decided.
The music for the game was created by Ashif Hakik. The music was influenced by the game’s artwork. Hakik said the style came from choices in instruments and musical themes inspired by the game’s settings and works by composers like Yoko Kanno (from Cowboy Bebop), Henry Mancini, and Carl Stalling. He explained that the interactive music system required the team to think about how each level’s gameplay would shape the music.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was released in North America on September 24, 2002. It was later released in Australia and Europe as Sly Raccoon on January 16, 2003, and January 17, 2003, respectively.
The game was remastered with its first two sequels and released as The Sly Collection for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita on April 16, 2014. The original PlayStation 2 version was digitally re-released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on June 11, 2024. This version included features like trophies, save states, and rendering options.
Reception
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus received "generally favorable" reviews, according to Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. Most reviewers praised the game's unique visual style. GameSpot noted that "The game has a fantastic sense of style to its design that is reflected in everything from the animation to the unique use of the peaking fad, cel-shaded polygons." Many reviews also mentioned that the controls and gameplay were easy to learn. IGN stated that "Sly is incredibly responsive, and though his size seems a little large at times due to his long arms and legs and the cane he carries, skillfully jumping and hitting enemies with precision is a quick study." Several reviewers appreciated how smoothly the game transitioned between gameplay, cutscenes, and other features. The game was also praised for being enjoyable for both adults and children.
A common criticism of the game was its short length. GameSpot's review said, "The main problem is that just as you're getting into a groove and really enjoying the variety seen throughout the different levels, the game ends." The developers at Sucker Punch Productions explained that additional content could be unlocked, including "bonus commentary from the designers, artists, and programmers here at Sucker Punch." However, 1Up.com liked the game's length and wrote, "The extra stuff really helps stretch things out, though, and if you're anything like me, you'll happily sit for another 10 hours to do so." Some reviewers also said the game was too easy. GameSpot stated, "The game's relative ease combined with a very short length prevents Sly Cooper from becoming the next big platformer. But it's great while it lasts." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine noted that the difficulty had a "pleasant old-school feel," with enemies that were "merciless but a bit stupid," and challenges that "come on strong and ramp up steadily in difficulty as the levels go by." Reviewers also mentioned some framerate slowdowns in later levels and camera control issues.
For their "Best and Worst of 2002" awards, GameSpot nominated the game for "Best Game No One Played on PlayStation 2" and "Best Platformer." For IGN's Best of 2002, Sly Cooper was the runner-up for "Best Platformer" and nominated for "Special Achievements for Graphics." In 2003, GameSpy ranked it 22 in their "25 Most Underrated Games of All Time." In 2008, IGN ranked the game 21 in its "Top 25 PS2 Games." During the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) awarded Sly Cooper with "Outstanding Achievement in Animation" and "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction," along with a nomination for "Console Platform Action/Adventure Game of the Year."
The game sold over 400,000 copies within a year of its release and was re-released as part of Sony Computer Entertainment's Greatest Hits collection in 2003. By July 2006, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus had sold 800,000 copies and earned $21 million in the United States. Next Generation ranked it as the 78th highest-selling game launched for the sixth generation of video game consoles.
Sequels and other appearances
The game led to the creation of three follow-up games: Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004), Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (2005), and Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (2013). Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus received the award for "Best New Character" and was nominated for "Excellence in Visual Arts" at the 2003 Game Developers Conference (GDC) for 2002. The character of Sly Cooper has become a mascot for the PlayStation systems, joining Ratchet & Clank and Jak and Daxter. This has resulted in teamwork between the development teams for all three series: Sucker Punch Productions, Insomniac Games, and Naughty Dog.