The Sly Trilogy Retrospective: Part 1 | Beyond Pictures

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A series discussing the excellent storytelling techniques used within the Sly trilogy. Part one focuses on the language created by the original title- Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus.
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:41 Getting the idea
03:49 The prologue
05:40 Playing as Sly
09:26 Sly's world
11:32 Characters and dialogue
20:22 creating the game's style
22:52 What doesn't work
28:27 The final chapter
34:58 The game's theme
37:38 End

[@lucianobradley5996]

"This game looks so OLD!" ... Perfection has no age.

[@basedbattledroid3507]

Compared to various other attempts at cel-shaded games; these graphics are magnificent. Probably the best cel-shaded game out there, in the graphical and gameplay sense, I mean borderlands isn't even cel-shaded so it doesn't count

[@EspurrRoba]

Dang, do I gotta be the one to say how that's a hella great use of Clockwerk's line? smh fake gamers

[@MatyFattyDaddy]

This feels even more appropriate given how old this comment is as I'm watching this video for the first time lol.

[@ygobe2]

@@basedbattledroid3507 I'd say windwaker looks better, but this is a close second. Especially for a company's second game

[@AndrewAce.]

Excellent!

[@bigchumbawumba2355]

My father brought this game home for me when I was around 13 or so. We had a $5 bin at the local grocery store filled with PS2 games. Often greatest hits ones with the red banner.. he use to get me one every time he got groceries.. sounds spoiled I know but he was a single father trying his best. I remember always hating them and only really playing them because I didn't want to hurt his feelings.. he picked out Sly Cooper for me one weekend and that game changed my life. I was well done with video games by the time Sly 4 was announced, and I actually bought a PS3 just to play it because of how much the first 3 meant to me.. (disappointing), but the Sly trilogy changed my life, it got me through some tough spots as a kid

[@azz869]

I feel u, my cousin brought this game to me when I was 6 years I’ve played all of them I want nr5 omg

[@serPomiz]

many games in that period where shunned because they weren't "gritty" as gta was working on being, which were what the teen(z) wanted, sly cooper is one of those of course, there where binfull of showelwhare and a lot of games that had good idea and lacking execution, but that's that

[@kaanyalim9086]

@jackthegamer i bought an original ps vita and you can emulate all of them and play everything for less than 100 dollars well worth it if you ask me

[@Subpar1224]

Yeah I bought the ps3 solely to play sly 4... Mistake. It wasn't a bad game but compared to the trilogy, a huge let down.

[@basedbattledroid3507]

Aww that's sweet. Glad to hear you liked it too.

[@TomboTime]

IMO, Sly Cooper is easily the most appealing playstation mascot. his design is genius. plays off of natural association, has a slick readable pose that's every bit as cool and charming as it needs to be. it's got a nice distinct color palette and isn't too overblown with details to take away from the whole. a nice signature weapon. his personality is articulated even further in his movement. Sucker Punch really knocked it out of the park when it came to making a nice, eye catching mascot.

[@TeamFurySuperGaming]

Idk maaaan. We got Ratchet and Clank, and Jak And Daxter too... Can't count them out.

[@maxh19991]

@@TeamFurySuperGaming *Ratchet

[@TeamFurySuperGaming]

@@maxh19991 oops didn't even realize i said that. Thanks!

[@maxh19991]

@@TeamFurySuperGaming No problem

[@MrEdit-ic7th]

@@TeamFurySuperGaming nothing against those two duos, but Sly wins hands down as a character IMO. So much of his appeal is tied heavily to his design, and it'd be hard to have the same mischievous thief if anything were altered. One look at him and you can tell who he is and what kind of game he inhabits. While the Ratchet and Jak games are great and they're solid characters, it's hard to immediately tell anything about them with just one look like with Sly.

[@PepsiMan666]

Crash, Spyro, Ratchet, Sly. All that's missing is Jak.

[@crispy8346]

Pepsi Man that statement was so true that i needed to subscribe to you

[@lovessniping]

Preach

[@austinreed7343]

Maybe Gex and PaRappa too...

[@agk4589]

@@austinreed7343 Let's not leave Croc out of that list

[@austinreed7343]

AGK What about Blasto? Knack?

[@Chad2Underscores]

"Perfection has no age" is a perfect summary of the sly trilogy.

[@alexaliss8233]

The Sly games are easily my favorites of all time. i'm glad they've been getting some attention lately, I really need some resolution. We can't just leave him in Egypt, guys >.>

[@Evandamaster]

Plz help me with this it may be our only hope

[@stephaniel3998]

Sad to say that the company is not thinking of releasing another game for the series. The community could buy the rights and develop a final game, but it’ll take a lot of effort

[@Rosa-he6xb]

Someone come get my boy Sly from Egypt! His family been looking for him for years now 😭

[@DragonspineInfiniteZero]

The 20th anaversery is coming up… there could be hope. I’m certainly preparing for it

[@SilverJakler]

I just realized that when Murray has a Lucky Horseshoe, it's upside down. Nice little detail to push the idea that he wants to be Sly, but just can't be.

[@sharuk4927]

True also nice persona 4 profile picture

[@cptdoobs3691]

I always kind of felt like assassins creed pulled some ideas from these classics

[@Table53]

Every time I have to describe Sly 2 or 3 I tell people to imagine what Assassin's Creed would be like it it was fun

[@lounowell4171]

ITT: people who aren't aware that prince of persia existed

[@princesoulger999]

Plot twist: One of Sly's Ancestors was an assassin.

[@BlackLegion12621]

Like the ship combat.

[@PsychadelicoDuck]

The first Assassin's Creed honestly gave me a lot of the same vibes as the Sly series did. Very different experiences, but the first game made good use of the medium for storytelling, and really nailed the feeling of "being an assassin". It's a shame what happened after that. I almost got Black Flag, because it looked to be the expanded version of Sly 3's pirate ship gameplay I'd always wanted. But then I looked at some previews and saw it was still also AC, which... bleh. (Also, the second game has a music piece that I swear has a line exactly like one of the ones in the Dimitri swimming level.)

[@CloudCuckooCountry]

It's good to see some love thrown at the Ms. Ruby boss fight. I was kinda sad that she never got brought back after the series began reincorporating fan favourite characters in #3.

[@Abomdosnow]

She DID get a life sentence...

[@ayyydrian4182]

If you fight her on ps now its a bitch since they didnt fix her when they remastered sly the inputs lag/dont read at all it was irritating

[@mikejonez724]

@@ayyydrian4182 they lagged on the PS2 as well which is one of the big reason that boss fight sucks. The other big reason is that her character was terrible. She and Raleigh are easily the weakest bosses in the franchise (excluding anything from the 4th game).

[@kilerkane]

I find it ironic that the second I paused the video after the jab at Shammy I see you in the comments section, HMM.

[@Inferno144]

Most of the Fiendish Five got references in later games. Ex: Sir Raleigh's hat is a treasure you can get in Thieves in Time or the many Clockwerk appearances in the same game.

[@brightwolfz]

While I know people loath Cold Heart of Hate for being a minigame hell zone, I think it is one of the best episodes of the series. Ripping away the control of the pace and flow and thrusting you into a final gauntlet. We are no longer acting as just thieves when confronting clockwerk. We are going into a battlefield. He knows we are there. He is a watching us. He is trying to kill us. The game doesn't give you time to breath. The characters are constantly in danger of death and losing their balance/momentum. Then Sly is ripped out of his natural element when he has to fight Clockwerk. He is stuck flying in the sky using guns rather than the hand to hand he is more comfortable with dangerously placed above a pit of lava. It just all comes together in this perfect package that makes me love playing it every time I get there. Although, I am also the kind of person that doesn't mind the minigames. I like the change of pace otherwise you get the New Super Mario Bros problem of everything feeling the same. When all of like 5-10 levels is what the game boils down to as far as unique is concerned. These minigame missions help give us that little bit of pallet cleanser when moving from level to level. Obviously just my opinion though.

[@JMandJJ7797]

The fact that Murray's sexual orientation was written as "experimenting" makes that bit in Sly 4 with the Geisha outfit and Murray wanting to do that again seem a lot more funny in hindsight. I really hope that was intentional from Sanzuru Games. And ah Clockwerk, while I only know of the Sly series from an LP of the games I couldn't help but enjoy this villain a lot. It's too bad he never did truly return like he was hyped up to, and yes I know about what happens in Sly 2.

[@MysteriousTomJenkins]

I am very dissapointed that we got Clock-La instead of Clockwerk. Before I actually played through the whole game, as a kid I remember being at the last level, seeing Clockwerk flying around and was thinking "Ooo, he's back, how did he come back?" only to learn later as an adult that no, he isn't back, his body was stolen by a double...no, triple agent who comes up with the stupidest name, and both her and his body get destroyed for good. Such an awesome villain that they wasted for a twist ending.

[@DATskorge]

@@MysteriousTomJenkins she becomes subsumed by clockwerk in the end though does she not?

[@Shadow977]

@@DATskorge There's hints of that, but I wish they fleshed it out more. Maybe have Clockwerk take over during the boss fight. Phase 1 of the fight being with Neyla in control and when it looks like she's been defeated have her voice suddenly change into Clockwerk's voice(maybe even change the eye color) and then Phase 2 begins.

[@Rosa-he6xb]

I hope if we ever get a remake of the original trilogy, that they make at least a few story changes to have Clockwerk as the final boss again in Sly 2 or at least make his one and only in Sly 1 a bit better(like maybe him attacking you during the last part where you swing your cane at his head).

[@soulextracter]

"Le Exit" had me almost spitting out my coffee x'D

[@brendanconnolly4271]

Jesus Kevin millers voice is like silk

[@johnbazy]

I know right, I think the games would have been way worse without his voice acting. Could you imagine Sly with some stereotypical videogame cool guy lead character voice? Would have been horrible.

[@Darkstar263]

He was cast perfectly as Sly.

[@ouchiegiverjr]

Brendan Connolly so weird he hasn’t gotten more work

[@fatimajaiteh9437]

The 1st 3 sly games anyway. He's great

[@nocaptainmatt3771]

Like the Geoege Clooney of video games

[@Wolfmansgeneralchannel]

5 years later and I’m still waiting for you to tear apart sly “4”. But also to thank ya for making me want to pick up the games again. I’ve always been a fan of Sly but it’s great to know how much love people realize was put into this trilogy.

[@Tytoalba777]

28:26 the best “until” ever uttered. You know _exactly_ what’s coming after

[@blazingwaters7469]

God, I am SO glad Sly Cooper has been getting much better attention on KZbin recently. Out of the PS2 Platformer Mascots, the Sly games were easily my favorite for being consistently good and jampacked of quality charm and characters. I played the R&C games and enjoed them, especially Going Commando, but Sly resonated with me more as a kid due to its more variety in gameplay and writing, -and I couldn’t stand the first Jak game long enough to not continue on to the sequels, let alone completing the first game.- I’m curious as to what your opinions are of the third game since that’s still a touchy subject. I personally think it’s the best in the series, and has a better gameplay structure than what Sly 1 and yes, even 2 had going for it. EDIT: Alright this is like, years after the fact, but I played through every Jak & Daxter games finally and yea, I'm a fan of the duo now after all this time. For a quick ranking, Jak 1 > Jak X > Jak 3 > Daxter > Jak 2 > The Lost Frontier

[@tipsyviewer1495]

BlazingWaters I’m not much of a gamer myself, but The Sly Trilogy And Thieves In Time are some of the only games I’ve ever completed and still the love series to this day. I’m still waiting for a fifth game or that movie/tv show we were promised. EDIT: Sly 3 is also my favorite in franchise, to.

[@strassboom2612]

I still can't believe Sly 3 came out only a year and 12 days after Sly 2!

[@RedKing12000]

Sly 3’s gameplay is a touch too scattershot for me to rank put it above Sly 2, though I should emphasize that I still had more fun than not in Honor Among Thieves. I also find 3’s narrative to be the most intriguing, though I don’t think that it quite maxed out its full potential.

[@blazingwaters7469]

CrimsonKing12000 I prefer 3's gameplay because while there were some problems with it, the biggest being how two of the new members were shoehorned in, I had way more fun with since it was still a heavily refined version of 2's gameplay style. It also helps that I don't think 3 has a single bad level in it, and even the supposed "worst" one, Dead Men Tell No Tales, was at least alright in the first half and the ending, unlike with 2 where not only does it dip *hard* in Chapters 4, 8, and ESPECIALLY 3, but 3, 5, and 7 could've easily been spliced into the chapters before them, but weren't because it was easier to pad the game out that way. I do think 3's narrative could've been handled better. 2's story problem only appeared in the final level having this whole "hate chip" bullshit (hence why I think it was probably the worst level in that game easily), and how 3 of the villains unnecessarily got an extra episode, everything else about it was great. 3 though, felt.... off. Dr. M only appeared at the beginning and end, so his big battle didn't feel as engaging and climactic like it was supposed to be, this whole subplot of how Sly is probably just using Bentley and Murrary for his own schemes, while I wouldn't say came out of nowhere, could've been built up more, and that flashback thing was pretty much dumb. I still think some parts of it have an overblown hate (how is it OK for there to be "Flame-Fu" and some guy who literally stays alive because of pure hate, but not OK when a whole villain is about spiritualism, especially since the games before kinda talked about it?), but I'd be lying if I said if it wasn't the most flawed story in the trilogy. I think 3 could've used an extra year in development, because I feel like it was rushed to meet a deadline. This is evident by not only the things I've mentioned, but also there being a few areas of slowdowns and some graphical oddities compared to the two previous games.

[@thevideogamer0mg99]

BlazingWaters Sly is like the best game series out there for real

[@ryanpennington8108]

I didn't even realize this series was linked to furries, I just remember loving the game because a raccoon who is a literal thief was hilarious and awesome to me.

[@Mixu.]

Yeah, it seems so obvious I never even considered anything else lol. My bigger question was about his mask!

[@drakep.5857]

Not that there's anything really wrong with that anyways, something being furry means no more than the fact it contains anthropomorphic characters, which are very creative and diverse and can achieve many more unique character designs and expressions than humans can

[@ouchiegiverjr]

Still one of the best and underrated retrospectives series of my childhood series EVER

[@soopakoopa6461]

As much as I understand the issues people have with Sly 4, I do love the fact that if you stand still for long enough in that game, you get to see a distinctly owl-shaped shadow pass over Sly.

[@ROT695]

Soopakoopa64 Honesty one of the only things that annoys me about that game is when you get certain upgrades for sly that make him have doubles of him appear behind him as he moves. Something about it just annoys me 😅

[@stephaniel3998]

Hold up hold up, my brother got this game and sometimes we would let his idly play out, but I NEVER saw that detail. Gotta pull out the PlayStation now

[@majinya6199]

Not to mention you can see Clockwerk himself in each level some where in the background.

[@BLACKBEARD-117]

Sly is basically the only original PS mascot not to come to ps4. Waiting for Sanzaru or Sucker Punch to announce somethign about Sly 5 or maybe even Sly remasters.

[@johnbazy]

Sadly it seems that Sly as a franchise has been completely shelved for the near future. The movie was announced four years ago, was meant to come out two years ago and nothing's happened since. We can only hope that, if not Suckerpunch as a whole, at least some of the main developers like Nate Fox will come along some day and make a Star Wars -esque big revisit to the franchise and actually make some amazing content out of it again.

[@Max-zg6ld]

^The movie is being reconfigured into a TV show Oct 2019

[@abuck7909]

Sucker Punch is currently making Ghost of Tsushima so nothing Sly related from them.

[@ROT695]

Dickman Buttfuck I’m pretty sure they said they won’t go back to sly

[@ryanhowe6543]

The fanbase just refuses to accept it's not continuing and move on

[@bluerascal370]

28:08 Their collective disdain of that line is hilarious omg

[@ZauTa]

I remember writing sly cooper “episodes” and drawing title cards for them as a kid. Such great memories. I have the collection on PSVita, but I need to reacquire a ps2 and the games

[@TrelliRelli]

Loved these games as a kid. Great bit of nostalgia well done!

[@ANewPseudonym]

I adore the Sly games, especially 2, and this is wonderful tribute to them. Playing Sly 4 made me doubt if the original games were still any good, but I replayed bits of 2 and 3 last year and I think they hold up. This video is a nice affirmation of that, since this series isn’t discussed much anymore.

[@ryanhowe6543]

Thieves in time was outragously offensive

[@vendettagrudge9501]

Is that facts speaking or hate for Penelope’s betrayal

[@benjaminkellog7311]

Slowly nodding my head the entire time. One of my favorite games ever; finally beat it a little while back, greatly appreciate learning what went into it. Amazing it all hangs together so well. Also, "climb move" might be my new meme of the week.

[@SpiderandMosquito]

I am trying to find a full clip of that and have no idea where to start oh boy I want to see that that is clearly a behind-the-scenes documentary and I do love the dev's groan of "oh why oh why did we ever think that was a good idea"

[@rustyzipper19]

The sound of simultaneous cringe was perfect.

[@strassboom2612]

My heart fights its way out of my body whenever I hear "Bentley Comes Through".

[@crownedcrow7745]

"Paris, france, 4:20 am." Well, I'm in love.

[@JsReviews]

It does my heart good to see jabs at Sanzaru and Sly 4. In all seriousness, excellent analysis! This video really dove into areas that I have never thought of before like the strong art design/locations and how transfers into the experience. Sly 1 is a game I can always count on for a good time whether it be the good mechanics and great storytelling, graphics and soundtrack. It is true that this game’s gameplay doesn’t quite capture what the series could have been, and that is why Sly 2 is that much better. Although I prefer this game to Sly 3. It will be interesting to see what you think of the remaining chapters of the sly trilogy, I can only imagine how much longer those videos will be by comparison.

[@jarrettcox3557]

Wanna join my monster hunter lobby

[@BMask]

Thanks man! Very excited to get to the other games... it's going to be a while til Sly 4, but yeah, as you can probably imagine there's a lot to tackle once I get there. Most of it painful.

[@zacharydellangelo5617]

I like Sly 4 better than sly 2

[@ReporterRed]

Why?

[@dirtyfighters7751]

@@zacharydellangelo5617 What? HOW?!?

[@FarhanH1]

I actually got chills when you showed the cutscene for the final chapter. Damn that was good. Also. Those conversations with clockwerk during the final battle… so unsettling. Deliciously creepy. I remember loving the sly series as a kid but didn’t remember much about it so I came to your retrospective to relive it, in a sense.

[@GroovyWill]

"Guess what I must think of Sly 4?" *SHRIMP COCKTAIL*

[@HyperlordB]

I started with 2 and moved on to 3, but never got my hands on the 1st game until the HD collection came out and I pretty much agree with you that it feels rooted in old trends.

[@soren7550]

Okay. Did NOT expect to learn that Murray was canonically written to be experimenting with his sexuality, and leaning towards being gay.

[@Wizard_Lizard_]

At least he ended up just being with the team Van.

[@dededepression2628]

I'm upset that the voice actors first thought upon hearing this was "lets make him obnoxious"

[@iu.lia.na.]

Funny, intelligent, with a smooth voice. How do you not have more subscribers?

[@somniloguy12]

This guy is literally the best. Don't get it either.

[@phelan8385]

Cause not a whole lotta people like sly videos maybe.

[@I_am_a_cat_]

You call this a smooth voice? Lmao. Just sounds like a normal 20 something year old dude

[@kylebrown4978]

@@I_am_a_cat_ true. I bet he has to take retakes from voice creaks.

[@p-nut2642]

@@I_am_a_cat_ I think they're ass kissing to get attention. I do like the quality of the video but he isn't "the best".

[@Negative_NBG]

Finally someone gives my boy the respek he deserves

[@RAGErkgk]

B-Mask my boy, you've made me a very happy lad for acknowledging my childhood favorite game series. Sly deserves more love and so do you!

[@AndrewAce.]

My first experience playing this game was having a friend lend it to me for a week, and getting chastised for failing to even beat the first stage within that time. I thought I would just give up because it seemed too challenging - until I saw it for rent at the local library and felt compelled to take another shot at it. Hearing the Sly's words of the opening cutscene: _"I knew I was about to face the toughest test of my life. On this mission, I would either become a master thief like my ancestors before me, or fail and allow my family name bite the dust"_ - was to me, who had failed before, like a call-out, and a personal challenge that would test my progression as a gamer, and it really set the stakes for Sly, on a character level. These are the words I would remember anytime I wanted to quit. Beating the game within the allotted two weeks where I had previously failed to even pass a single stage of it in one, gave me a sense of accomplishment no other game had up until then. I've heard people critique things like the ticking clocks and health system, but to me it's perfect in how well it plays with the nature of thieving. You wouldn't expect a thief to be fine after being hit with a giant mallet, or blown away by firearms, unless they had a good bit of luck, hence the horseshoes, which you're able to earn through exploration and collecting, as a thief would. If you could run through the enemies like Ratchet, there would be no sense of caution or threat, and only having so many chances to get it right really adds to the sense of risk and pressure. More than that, it made other games afterwords seem like child's play in how forgiving they were of failure, and I had gained a new sense of mastery for video thereafter. Playing this game, I felt constantly immersed in the action, which was aided by the visual appeal and challange of the level design. And the difficulty of the levels and well-depicted characters made each new set of dialogue or cutscene well earned, and something to anticipate. The villains especially kept me engaged with their charisma, and relationship to Sly. I would brace myself for each new encounter, feeling the intimidation of someone who killed the parents of our protagonist, and who is currently the barrier to the next phase of our mission and ultimate success, especially when I had prepared failed to even make it past the first level. There was never a doubt that these guys were a threat. Clockwerk is to this day, the most daunting game Villain of my childhood and no cutscene building up to and including him ever makes me fail to tense up. The main trio and Carmelita were also great for what they were and would become, with Sly in particular being easily one of my favorite videogame protagonists of all time, especially as someone quite partial to fictional pirates and thieves. Best game trilogy I've ever played, and watching this makes me ready for another go...

[@JackmoveJohnny901]

The amount of hate this series gets in comparison to other PS platformers is insane. Also unjustified

[@zten9092]

JackmoveJohnny People hate Sly Cooper? Why?

[@zten9092]

DetectiveRJ Which is truly a shame. Played the entire trilogy on PS2 and they really are solid games

[@Unpar_Guki]

I broke a controller or two with the first two games as a kid :D

[@betterfuelhuell3758]

Since when did people hate Sly Cooper?

[@MrJohnlennon007]

DetectiveRJ yet they love Spyro and Crash which had animal characters

[@DominoPivot]

You're making me fall in love with the series all over again. Thanks for bringing up so many little development details and references I never got.

[@Therworldtube]

When you already played all 4 sly cooper trilogy and this video pops in my recommendation Bentley: Sometimes, your humor escapes me

[@InaudibleSlinky]

Played all 4 in a trilogy?

[@Therworldtube]

@@InaudibleSlinky I skipped sly 4 after the story was bad. And some things doesn't even make sense. Why is Penelope evil and suddenly wanting to take over the world when before, in Sly 3, was a mechanic who was even more interested in Sly than Bentley? Why couldn't they get a item (few years old) to stop Le Paradox? And why does he, Le Paradox, bypass this absurd theory? Why is Sly being all of a sudden being rude to one of his ancestor (During a chat on the Medieval bridge with carmalita) when he literally spends the first game to preserve the legacy, the second to prevent the repeat and the third to see his family vault. And speaking of which, when the flashback ends, Sly really wanted to be with Carmalita (Even said set aside their profession) , so it made no sense why the 'itch' comes back after an unexplained period of months. For me, this feels like fan fiction mashed together in a weird mess. It seems that any game that goes Time-travelling-in-the-past is basically a near-guaranteed suicide of a series.

[@ryanhowe6543]

Let's say it altogether: That game is not canon

[@kaisburg2450]

Those real life raccoon clips got me way too hard

[@stcrussman]

I already forgot about that owl dude. He was a SHAMM.

[@HithereJimHerald]

InsecureWifi SONICCCCCC OH SONIC

[@SherlockHyde]

Oh, trust me, you aren't the only one who likes Sly Cooper. I always liked those games more than the Ratchet and Jak series. I still play through the first one every year, right around my yearly Banjo-Kazooie playthrough. Just set aside a day and 100% speedrun the thing. More games need 100% completion bonuses like the Sly games. I really loved the level commentaries that you'd get for doing master thief sprints.

[@pelucheCR7]

SherlockHyde i think ratchet 1 and Jak 1 are the best games of the platformer trio. As much as í like Sly 1, i dont know how to feel about the other 2. They certainly created an identity for the series but they are also flawed.

[@gnbman]

28:34 That still gives me goosebumps...

[@shoogles_]

I remember writing an episode of DYKG on Sly a while back, and I searched everywhere for a source for Salma Hayek being an inspiration for Carmelita - if you could point me in the right direction I'd be very grateful. Excellent video as always. The bit about the characters and the backgrounds being rendered in the same way, and that being confusing, was incredibly precise, I'd never have been able to put that into words until you said it. Also Old Man Owl, always popular with the ladies

[@BMask]

…ah dang, Shay I think I just made a real bad mistake So this had completely slipped my mind until you mentioned it- sure enough it looks like what I got came from an offhand line on TV tropes. I’d checked on there to see if there were any leads, and then a week later found Dev Madans site with the Carmelita art on it. I thought it looked remarkably like Salma and was excited to get that point in the video…and then bloody forgot to go back and double check where i’d gotten that from in the first place! I assumed in my haste it was in one of the several interviews I’d been combing through and forgot to double check. I’ve emailed Dev for a response. I have no idea if he’ll get back to me, and if he doesn’t I might edit that part out of the video. Shame because I checked all the other info and really wanted to let people know Zenigata was a ref. Old man Owl led me astray.

[@shoogles_]

Ah shit - that honestly wasn't supposed to be a "gotcha!" I was genuinely curious! It seems like one of those things that's plausible but just tucked away in an old magazine article or something - if he gets back to you give's a shout, I'd love to have closure on that!

[@BMask]

No worries Shay- I was genuinely shocked that I forgot to properly vet that fact. I have great news though- I can now indeed confirm that one of the inspirations was Salma Hayek! Will send the email in a DM now (and will probably show that on the channel at some point soon too!)

[@tenbeat]

There's a GDC talk where Dev Madan goes through a lot of the creation of the first game, called "Visualizing Sly Cooper." I know he mentions the inspiration for Carmelita in here, though I think he says Jennifer Lopez, if I remember correctly. Here's a link to it: archive.org/details/GDC2004Smith2

[@BMask]

Thank you so much for that link! Listening to this right now and I definitely wish I'd had this a month ago. Brings together a tonne of points that I had difficulty connecting through the research. In the email Dev sent me, he confirms both Jennifer Lopez and Selma Hayek as inspirations, so it looks like both of these check out!

[@gnbman]

Fantastic. It's so nice to hear you talk about what makes my favorite games so great.

[@nanamz7257]

Well, that was absolutely amazing. And I've never even played Sly Cooper.

[@dannylovesred]

nana&mz PLAY IT, THE GAMES ARE AMAZING AND ARE IN HD FOR PS3!

[@josesosa3337]

I never played the 2nd game.

[@spenceduggs]

Third time watching these all the way through. Perfect comfort watching 💙

[@InvaderZom]

This is by far one of my most franchises, Sly Cooper has been there for me so much when I was little. The game was so amazing and fun, I don’t even need to watch a video of it to picture the memories I had playing it when I was little.

[@johnbazy]

An amazing thorough study with impeccable editing. Huge respect to you for making this, this game series is some true art that deserves such analysis.

[@-undecided-1663]

That Shammy joke

[@johyunbyung7676]

Solidarity brother! 😎✋

[@Subpar1224]

My third or fourth time watching these videos. They are just so amazing I can't stay away

[@heavenly2k]

Who's this funny KZbin haha person with the good editing talking about a franchise I adore? Subbed

[@ace_pro_gamer1]

Sly cooper was the first game I ever played I loved every single installment of the franchise

[@smoogieboogie1694]

Dude, I’ve been a fan of this series for almost my entire life, and I still didn’t know a lot of this background info, like Murray’s original characterization. I’m so ready for the next videos in this retrospective.

[@manlymagikarp8689]

Rewatching part 1 and 2. Can't wait for part 3! I love your content! Especially videos like this, I listen to these vids when I drive all over my state. Keep going my dude!

[@DriftToMe]

I’ve been obsessively watching retrospectives for the last couple of weeks as background noise while I do stuff and I just have to say that this video you made was incredible. All the positives and high points really made me appreciate Sly Cooper. Then when you went onto the negatives, I was blown away and had to subscribe. Well done!

[@koelekerel2004]

I cant wait for more of these

[@Alyx_Vance]

Can't wait to watch Parts 2 & 3!! Subbed.

[@brussell1995]

The reveal of Clockwork not only being the murderer of Sly's parents but the murderer of every single member of your family since the beginning of written Cooper history just floored me as a kid.

[@LivingGuy484]

Important PS2 Games from my childhood include these series: Jak & Daxter Ratchet & Clank Sly Cooper Kingdom Hearts Thank you for helping me relive my childhood

[@ceast5273]

I know this sounds odd, but I've always wanted to see a breakdown of the InFamous series, it's high points and low points, and whether it utilized morality properly or not.

[@tomasxfranco]

Chris *its

[@swardli5897]

Im so happy u covered this, these games were my childhood, makes me wanna start my ps3 and play the trilogy now

[@PacManPrince4]

I always love when analysis videos that focus on a certain piece/series/franchise are able to break them down into concepts that can be applied elsewhere. You did a great job on this one and I can't wait to see more :)

[@348joey]

15:14 "Somewhere along the line, someone realized that I am a real person." I'll save that for later.

[@Snauss]

"Sly looks like cheap furry bait" Me: I feel transgressed and violated!

[@amala1333]

My fav franchise of all time finally getting the recognition it deserves, i hope sly makes its way back to relevancy soon due to this vid

[@roonkolos]

My favorite part about the 10 Second Scene, both what we got and the Japanese dub unlockable, was that i think it perfectly shows how both Sly and Carmelita interact Carmelita despite having Sly where she wants him, she has her own honor and keeps that promise in full. Sly enjoys flirting with danger almost as much as he loves to flirt with Carmelita and instead of using it, he has one last slick move by not only using that time to throw her off (not just with the kiss alone) but shows a moment of he does care while still getting a real head start with the cuff thing he pulls Says he feels bad for leaving her there but he knows she's more than capable of getting out. Which obviously she does. For me, that small interaction shows so much about the two and their chemistry Its not THE cherry on top but it absolutely is one of a few on it all

[@crashcoptr]

I just watched the whole thing, and I can't wait for the next part! Fantastic work, B-Mask!

[@evanphillips2126]

Someone remind me why I ever got rid of my PS2, I missed out on so much stuff as a kid! Great video as always B; also I had no idea about the Welsh triangle and I live like ten minutes away; every day's a school day huh

[@BMask]

No way! Never would have even looked it up myself if it hadn't been for this game, such a great bit of obscure history for them to use.

[@thevideogamer0mg99]

Evan Phillips it's on ps3 too ;)

[@Kataliea]

Sly Cooper games were my childhood and are seriously good games

[@fraundakelmbrilpondaprost90]

These vids are genuinely excellent. Your understanding and articulation of this series is top-tier. It feels so good to see this timeless series get a worthy roundup like this one. Bravo.

[@funnyman540]

WOO I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR A SLY VIDEO ON KZbin SINCE FOREVER! THANK YOU!

[@TheCartoonGamer8000]

Wow... what a video. I'm in the camp of people who actually like Sly 4, but I'm very interested to to hear your say on it (hopefully), and the rest of the trilogy. Great work, man!

[@thatonebeaver]

TheCartoonGamer8000 I enjoyed Sly 4, is it the best? Not to me. It’s the worst, but that’s not saying much because it’s still “Great.” It’s a solid title!

[@Silver_Unseelie]

it was the game that introduced me to the series!

[@grantnewton4230]

I absolutely love hearing someone talk about this series! Thanks for such a great video!

[@GruviaWhiteMage]

I just want to say you have done this series justice and then some my friend. Thank you so much for taking a look at one of my favorite game series, it was very interesting to hear your own thoughts about it and the way you used commentary and interview dialogue was a very nice touch. It makes this series very rewatchable.

[@slr4092]

I love Sly Cooper!

[@Churrros]

I just want a sly 5, why is he in Egypt, save the boy :(

[@joevictor53]

It makes me sad that it's been the same amount of time since Sly 4 came out as the amount of years between Sly 3 and 4. And we still haven't heard anything about what is going on with that series

[@theace8502]

Yeah, I'm afraid we may never get another game in the series. While I'm glad that we're not to prevent further flanderizing the characters, I do wish we got a proper ending after sly 4. Of course, you could be like me and just think of sly 3 as the proper ending to the series. But I understand why people would want another game, considering just how much this game meant to a lot of us. Myself included. I'm glad b mask made this retrospective, because I could never quite put to words what this series meant to me like these videos.

[@deadragefan1441]

I grew up with these games, and I’m really happy that this series is getting some more love. You made a really good video on this game series.

[@chazysparks9862]

Honestly im so happy u did this. Every time me and my friends talk about our favorite childhood games and i bring up Sly, they have no idea what im talking about

[@rj5485]

Loooooove Sly Cooper. Funny enough, I never played until 2019 starting with the first Sly. It blew my socks off. The platforming adventure I so thoroughly enjoyed... very much. Tomb raider meets Disney = Sly Cooper IMO. Not to hard and not too easy. Just right!!

[@raresmacovei8382]

Started playing Sly Cooper in late 2021 and I also had a blast.

[@rj5485]

@@raresmacovei8382 such a fun series

[@tdc455]

If you are a boy and see a pretty girl let it go ding ding

[@kyleschraeder4011]

I've watched this trilogy of Sly Cooper videos so many times now, and I always find myself coming back. Some of the best KZbin commentary I've seen. Also helps that I have a lot of nostalgia for this franchise.

[@pedrohenriqueboscofi]

just waiting for the next episode! thanks for all that work, amazing video!

[@jackbiesty3729]

15:56 Oh you mean the one that kicked my ass when I was little because they had fucked with the music in the remake. >:(

[@jackbiesty3729]

Oh you just mentioned that fact never mind.

[@DR2432]

Godamn you can convince me to play/watch anything.

[@MarioMarioPlushGUY]

“‘Tis taser packs eh paralyzing punch!” 😂

[@neo_b]

i love how in-depth this is! cant wait to watch the rest!

[@LtHobo-uy9kn]

C l i m b m o v e

[@bluerascal370]

Lt. Hobo That had me laughing so hard!

[@TheRedGuy]

Nice review man! I love this series, but the first game isn't quite as good as the next 2 games. I much prefer 2's formula over 1, and it hasn't quite hit it's stride with the story and writing. I'm not a big fan of remakes, and I don't think it needs a remake, but It would be interesting to see this game redone with the same quality as Sly 2. I've always felt they didn't quite go far enough with a lot of the concepts, Clockwerk is a great villain but a bit of his motivation seemed a bit weird, like wanting to destroy the Coopers so he could be the only master thief left. That kinda conflicts with the giant death ray he built, does he want to be a thief or take over the world? Not to mention his design goes against the idea of wanting to be a master thief. Sly 1 is still a fantastic game though, I have no problem replaying it, but it has been outdone.

[@korphan9065]

Great job on the video, the editing was slick! Can't wait for part 2

[@Moonsout]

love the conclusive section of the video. very organized and well-delivered and concise thoughts that, replaying the game a couple months ago, i found myself figuring out on my own as well and completely agreeing with you on things that i didn’t think of, like reputation being a keystone theme in the game. good job on this video man!

[@shenyongo]

That reminds me, whatever happened to that animated Sly Cooper movie being developed by the same people as the Ratchet and Clank movie? Is that still happening (considering it had a trailer when it was announced 4 years ago), or did that fall apart when the Ratchet and Clank movie flopped?

[@PacManPrince4]

I think they're making a tv show now instead

[@crash1998100]

Shenyongo The Dragon Slayer It's now supposed to be a tv series. Might actually be more suiting considering how the games are cut into chapters. The budget went way down however :/

[@Avg_Andy]

why this is in my reccomended a year after it was released is beyond me. since i have all the games on ps2 and the trilogy and sly 4 and have watched countless videos on sly and the gameplay/story before.... Love it tho

[@heresyartcat]

Great video! Very well edited and researched. I loved the whole Sly series and I'm subscribing to see the next episode!

[@AntiChris84]

This is the best Sly video review/ retrospective series ever made. It’s almost impossible to put into words how good this analysis is. Nostalgia heartstrings are difficult to navigate especially when vaild criticism must be made but TLC that went into your script when writing this video is something to marvel at. Thank you for doing this game and series the justice it deserves.

[@brunomatassini9879]

"Won't be seeing him again."

[@MonityVanroe]

Every time I hear "Sly Raccoon" I cringe and have to remind myself that's its' foreign title lmao

[@nelzelpher2088]

The title is very uninspiring, feels bad for Europe.

[@krashface4870]

@@nelzelpher2088 I know... I'm from there.

[@WarlockofThorns]

The sneaking sounds from sneaking behind enemies and in barrels has been engrained in my soul.

[@leskatingleboy123]

This video-series is much needed content in my feed! Great work

[@hypstercharizard9579]

Forget giving elsa a girlfriend. I want a cannon boyfriend for murray damn it!

[@historian252]

No.

[@hypstercharizard9579]

Are y'all discovering this dudes video just now or did y'all really feel the need to make 1: a shit post, 2: a reason to say no or 3: a shit post and someone reacting to the shit post. Also, my dude, knuckles is garbage for Murray.

[@historian252]

@@hypstercharizard9579 None of the above.

[@hypstercharizard9579]

@@historian252 alrighty then