also known as Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
PlayStation 2
🇯🇵
Reviewed in 2003
88
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✪ Reviewed on December 6, 2023
82
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus opens the saga. Branching platforming, cel-shaded identity and comic-book writing. Shorter and more linear than the sequel, yet already charming.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player7+
Description
Japanese and Asian edition of Sly Cooper released in 2003 by Sucker Punch and SCEI, distributed as "Kaitou Sly Cooper." The first entry in the series, in which raccoon thief Sly breaks into the mansions of the Fiendish Five to recover the family book. Exemplary cel-shading and joyful stealth gameplay.
Kaitou Sly Cooper review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Cel-shading with bold outlines, nocturnal noir moods and cartoon animation: Sly's universe is a light, dark-toned cartoon. The crisp silhouettes and stylised settings compose an immediate playful elegance. This visual identity, lively and refined, has lost none of its mischievous charm.
Gameplay
"Masterful"
Slipping through the shadows, leaping from rooftop to rooftop and stealing unseen lays down a stealth platformer of remarkable agility and precision. Sly's snappy handling and the level design split into short missions sustain an ideal rhythm. The single-life challenge comes as a surprise, but the fluidity of the controls and the cartoon flair remain a treat today.
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Slipping through the shadows, stealing treasures and orchestrating heists with feline elegance: this platformer-burglary bets everything on style and stealth. The cartoon cel-shading and the characters' humour enchant from the first minutes. Clever, fluid and terribly endearing, a hushed adventure that weds discretion and flair with brilliance.
The Japanese and Asian version of Sucker Punch's first Sly Cooper, a cartoon-styled stealth-platformer where a burglar raccoon strings together heists and acrobatics, rarer than the Western editions. This native edition appeals to collectors of cross-region releases of an American mascot in Japan. Its desirability rests on this limited local run, noticeably harder to find.
Is Kaitou Sly Cooper still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2002 on PS2 as Sucker Punch's first entry, this project launches a stealth platforming series of rare charm. The burglar raccoon moves through compact stages where you avoid lights, neutralise guards and collect clues. The cel shaded art direction, in a cartoon style, keeps an intact freshness, and the jazzy soundtrack installs a heist movie mood. The gameplay stays simple and the run time short. Recommended for fans of stylised platforming and for anyone curious about the early days of Sucker Punch before its turn toward Infamous.
