finalark
SNORLAX
Link to original post: [drupal=1344]The Sly Trilogy Retrospect[/drupal]
Last generation had a lot of great trilogies. Ratchet and Clank, Jak, Prince of Persia, just to name a few. But one trilogy that I liked in particular was the Sly Trilogy, a stealth/platforming hybrid for PS2 made by Sucker Punch Productions.
The first game in the Sly trilogy was Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. While this little game about a thieving anthropomorphic Raccoon didn't set the world on fire or set off any big fireworks, it was fun for what it was: a 3D platformer with light stealth elements. But regardless of how fun it was, it had plenty of flaws. The only characters who were really characterized were Sly and Carmelita (and the final boss, Clockwerk was only semi-characterized). The stealth element was an after thought, and the game had far to many mandatory mini-game levels which kind of took away from the real levels. But regardless of these flaws, the game still was a barrel of monkeys in terms of fun. And although it was on the short side, it was really enjoyable while it lasted.
The sequel, Sly 2: Band of Thieves was my favorite in the trilogy. First, the game was notably longer than it's predecessor, the only mandatory mini-game was hacking (and a few others, but they weren't around too often) and Sly's buddies, Bentley and Murry were finally characterized. Another thing I liked about this installment in particular is that they really put a hell of a lot more emphasis on stealth as opposed to platforming. In the first Sly, if a guard saw you, that guard and that guard only would attack you. So in the first one stealth wasn't really an issue. However, in Sly 2 if a guard sees you then you better get the hell out of there because you can just about guarantee that everyone and their mother is going to be on your *** like an anime freak on the latest volume of Naruto. I also liked how they did a lot more with the mission hubs than the first Sly did. In Sly 1, the mission hubs had a few portals scattered about that would take you to different levels. But in Sly 2, you would see little icons that you would have to go to to start your mission. And all of the missions (barring a few occasions) would take play in the mission hub. But regardless of how awesome Sly 2 was, it still had it's flaws. One of the things that I liked about Sly 1 was that all of it's mission hubs were varied and original. One moment you were in a town in Utah, the next you were in a Swamp in Heidi. But they got a little less inventive with their hubs. Don't get me wrong, most of the hubs have a lot of verity and originality to them. But I had the problem with there being small story-arcs within the main story where one moment you'll be in a Gothic Victorian town, and the next you'd be in a Gothic Victorian castle. Oh, and the game had a really crappy ending. But even though the game suffered those flaws, I still consider it a shining example of both a great platformer and stealth game.
The last entry in the Sly trilogy, Sly 3, kind of took away some of the elements that I liked so much about Sly 2. My first problem is that they did a really stupid move by changing what triangle did. In Sly 2, triangle did an alternate attack in which Sly would toss his enemy into the air, and if square was pressed right after he would stealthily kill the bad guy that he knocked into the air. In Sly 3 they made him go into this really silly looking pose, then the player would have to press another one of the face buttons to make him do a special attack. Most of these were combat moves which brings me to the next thing I didn't like, the fact that the game switched gears from stealth to combat. While yes, the stealth was still there, Sucker Punch decided that Sly needed to crack some skulls rather than sneak up from behind to crack their skulls. I'm still confused on why they decided to buff up the combat. Wasn't Murry supposed to be the character you played as during combat-heavy missions? And here's another thing that showed it's face again: mandatory mini-games. And the last thing that I didn't like was the story. One of the things that I liked about Sly 1 and 2 was that you were a small group of thieves pulling off big heists. But in Sly 3, the story involves you going around the world in search of other thieves to join you so you can break into an island fortress to get into Sly's family vault. But regardless, the story still was overall enjoyable (one part that sticks out for me in particular was when you had to win an insult contest with a pirate) even though the ending kind of bugged me.
So to wrap up this brief little retrospect I'll say this: The Sly trilogy may have had it's flaws, but it was still an excellent series. If you own a PS2 and haven't given this series a shot, I recommend you try it. Unless, you know, furries fill you with intense indescribable rage. In that case, go pop in Brawl and beat up some space animals.
Last generation had a lot of great trilogies. Ratchet and Clank, Jak, Prince of Persia, just to name a few. But one trilogy that I liked in particular was the Sly Trilogy, a stealth/platforming hybrid for PS2 made by Sucker Punch Productions.
The first game in the Sly trilogy was Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. While this little game about a thieving anthropomorphic Raccoon didn't set the world on fire or set off any big fireworks, it was fun for what it was: a 3D platformer with light stealth elements. But regardless of how fun it was, it had plenty of flaws. The only characters who were really characterized were Sly and Carmelita (and the final boss, Clockwerk was only semi-characterized). The stealth element was an after thought, and the game had far to many mandatory mini-game levels which kind of took away from the real levels. But regardless of these flaws, the game still was a barrel of monkeys in terms of fun. And although it was on the short side, it was really enjoyable while it lasted.
The sequel, Sly 2: Band of Thieves was my favorite in the trilogy. First, the game was notably longer than it's predecessor, the only mandatory mini-game was hacking (and a few others, but they weren't around too often) and Sly's buddies, Bentley and Murry were finally characterized. Another thing I liked about this installment in particular is that they really put a hell of a lot more emphasis on stealth as opposed to platforming. In the first Sly, if a guard saw you, that guard and that guard only would attack you. So in the first one stealth wasn't really an issue. However, in Sly 2 if a guard sees you then you better get the hell out of there because you can just about guarantee that everyone and their mother is going to be on your *** like an anime freak on the latest volume of Naruto. I also liked how they did a lot more with the mission hubs than the first Sly did. In Sly 1, the mission hubs had a few portals scattered about that would take you to different levels. But in Sly 2, you would see little icons that you would have to go to to start your mission. And all of the missions (barring a few occasions) would take play in the mission hub. But regardless of how awesome Sly 2 was, it still had it's flaws. One of the things that I liked about Sly 1 was that all of it's mission hubs were varied and original. One moment you were in a town in Utah, the next you were in a Swamp in Heidi. But they got a little less inventive with their hubs. Don't get me wrong, most of the hubs have a lot of verity and originality to them. But I had the problem with there being small story-arcs within the main story where one moment you'll be in a Gothic Victorian town, and the next you'd be in a Gothic Victorian castle. Oh, and the game had a really crappy ending. But even though the game suffered those flaws, I still consider it a shining example of both a great platformer and stealth game.
The last entry in the Sly trilogy, Sly 3, kind of took away some of the elements that I liked so much about Sly 2. My first problem is that they did a really stupid move by changing what triangle did. In Sly 2, triangle did an alternate attack in which Sly would toss his enemy into the air, and if square was pressed right after he would stealthily kill the bad guy that he knocked into the air. In Sly 3 they made him go into this really silly looking pose, then the player would have to press another one of the face buttons to make him do a special attack. Most of these were combat moves which brings me to the next thing I didn't like, the fact that the game switched gears from stealth to combat. While yes, the stealth was still there, Sucker Punch decided that Sly needed to crack some skulls rather than sneak up from behind to crack their skulls. I'm still confused on why they decided to buff up the combat. Wasn't Murry supposed to be the character you played as during combat-heavy missions? And here's another thing that showed it's face again: mandatory mini-games. And the last thing that I didn't like was the story. One of the things that I liked about Sly 1 and 2 was that you were a small group of thieves pulling off big heists. But in Sly 3, the story involves you going around the world in search of other thieves to join you so you can break into an island fortress to get into Sly's family vault. But regardless, the story still was overall enjoyable (one part that sticks out for me in particular was when you had to win an insult contest with a pirate) even though the ending kind of bugged me.
So to wrap up this brief little retrospect I'll say this: The Sly trilogy may have had it's flaws, but it was still an excellent series. If you own a PS2 and haven't given this series a shot, I recommend you try it. Unless, you know, furries fill you with intense indescribable rage. In that case, go pop in Brawl and beat up some space animals.
