Hello hello! I’m excited for this project and to see your new different take on the Sly Cooper story! :D This kind of fanmade transformative work is so fun, and everything you’ve shared looks so well-done!
It’s possible you’ve shared this on other sites, but I’m curious—- what draws you to the Sly Cooper characters/world specifically?
I would love to know more about your opinions on the original games! The biggest things you liked about them, the biggest things you didn’t like or want to change, your favorite characters, your favorite episodes, and the things that you’re most excited to explore in your own work.
That’s uhhhhhhhh, a lot of questions at once haha. but I guess I’m just so curious what things about the games grabbed you enough to spend so much effort on a giant transformative fan project like this! It tends to be so different for each person who loves the games, I’ve noticed.
I really love this question, so I wanted to take my time answer it to give a candid response. Thank you for asking! I’ll do my best to explain succinctly.
Similar to Sonic, I always knew about the existence of Sly Cooper. I would see TV commercials, ads in magazines, promotions I would frequent (Webkinz, Disney, Cartoon Network/Toonami, the works). I was instantly hooked on the idea of the protag being a thief. Not a hero, not a villain, but had a clear motive. That was metal asf to me. At a time where games were very politically driven post 9/11 and moving away from platformer games, Sly Cooper stood out to me artistically and thematically. However, unlike Sonic, I didn't get a chance to play the games when I was LITTLE little..But around '09 ish, I started off playing the third game, then played it backwards, but opted for watching gameplays on YouTube and learning about any sort of Sly-scraps I could find on the web at the time.
So my introduction to the franchise was different, therefore, my perspectives on the franchise as a whole, are different. To start off seeing how Sly, Bentley, and Murray expand their team throughout the course of the game including Penelope, Panda King, The Guru, Dimitri, among other allies, their camaraderie felt sincere..Playing 2 then 1 respectively solidified that for me.
What always reigned true was that the Cooper gang was a family first and thieves second, something that the Cooper Clan also had. Their thieving days were legendary (pun entirely intended hehe), but there was still love and kinship amongst all of them. Their signature memento, the Cane, is an heirloom, and that is something Sly carries with him; as evident from how much he values his teammates, his friends, his family! Those are the key themes I intend to adopt into RotLT, the emphasis of family and when push comes to shoves, knowing who shows up for you in your darkest moments.
Besides Sly, my favorite characters are Carmelita, Neyla, The Murray, Dimitri and Penelope (Sly 3). In that order. They're part of the reason why I'm so excited to work on RotLT. A lot of the mini arcs they went through were executed so well, or didn't have a chance to be fully developed. So I'm looking forward to expanding on those things, or at least remixing/adding some layers to the foundation of their character.
The grand operations at the end of 2 and 3's chapters, which really make you feel like you’re a part of the action. The best ones are the ones that made you feel like you were part of some major James Bond esque, Mission Impossible kind of adventure!
A Starry Eyed Encounter from Sly 2 is my favorite, you'll see a little nod to it in the animated intro--and Honor Among Thieves (Sly 3) was so fierce and the pay off post episode was just as good.
What I didn't like was the borderline to severe racial stereotypes and depiction of different nations. Carmelita Fox being portrayed as just the spicy, and sexy Latina who gets mad--there's more to her character in the game, of course. But it's overshadowed by how she's oversexualized. (Because why is she wearing a crop top on the job? Let's be fr.)
Especially with Mz. Ruby, it's actually why she ended up being cut from this Sly Cooper iteration. Instead, she has been replaced with Krystal, who is a psychic scam artist part of the KLAWW Society (more on that another day). It's why I have been more intentional about doing my research on different cultures. I have a pal who studied art history, and collaborated with somebody with an extensive background in studying Greek Mythology, Alchemy, etc. for FUN to help inform my series. Likewise, I do like to put time aside on the weekends to so my own research about crime history, mysteries and folklore. If not for RotLT, it's got my own personal interest. I do hope this novel of rambling answered your questions and gave you more insight into why this project means the world to me. Thank you so much for your question.
pixelskylines
kianamaiart
theartofmadeline
gummygunk
2087
yousharknotpass