I really like your opinions so i want to know: if Sly 5 was a continuation of the whole time travel and meeting ancestors, and we're continuing the pattern of five villains per game, then what kind of villains would you pair up with the ancestors per level? Like for example, Rouishi and El Jeffe, Bob and The Grizz, ect.
lifehack: get snap to answer your excellent prompt by outright telling him you like his opinions
Excellent prompt! Well, first thing’s first: what ancestors would there be? I can’t come up with counterparts if there aren’t, um, parts. So let’s scrape together a quick line-up. All things considered, Slytunkhamen is a shoe-in. Let’s throw in our girl Henriette, and Thaddeus too. And, uh… sorta running out here… round out to five with Otto von Cooper and good ol’ Slaigh.
That established - what makes a good villain? Long story short, an interesting contrast to the hero. So,
Slytunkhamen - (Consolidating the three different holders of this name into one person for simplicity’s sake)SOMEONE WHO PLAYS CHILDREN’S CARD GAMESOkay, sorry, had to get that out of my system. As I recall, Slytunkhamen - plural - stole from corrupt pharaohs, making him quite the little anarchist. I think it follows that his opponent would be authoritarian, somehow representing if not embodying the local state apparatus. If most villains are imported in, a la Le Paradox’s gang, then maybe this one, in contrast, is literally just the local governor. Heck, depending on the plot, that might even fit nicely. Having Sly and Slytunkhamen deal with a local fracas before the time-travel plot can get properly underway.
Henriette - Well. The unfortunate fact of the matter is that, as the only female Cooper with a monument in the Vault, Henriette is pretty much representing her entire gender. She is The Girl. So that will need to be considered in light of how she’s likely (definitely) going to be the only female ancestor.The obvious route is to have a General Tsao type, an obnoxious misogynist who we help Henriette pound into the surf. That said - as much as I like to destroy obnoxious misogynists - it might also be interesting to have her rival also be a woman. Not in a Designated Girl Fight way, more in a “We’re both women in a man’s world but I still goddamn despise her” way. I dunno.I wanna talk in terms of Henriette’s actual personality, but unfortunately we don’t have much to go on aside from the fact she was (presumably) pretty smart and tough as nails. Whoever’s going toe to toe with the lesbian queen of the high seas better be worthy of her respect. Savvy?...Well, she can smell gold, right? Maybe her opponent should wear a ton of jewelry. Maybe even have gold in their prosthetics. H: “Avast, Sly! Not a sound.”S: “What? What’s wrong?”H: [sniff, sniff] “...She’s here.”
Slaigh - Slaigh’s stated to the be strongest of the Coopers, and has the absurd body shape to back up that claim. That leaves us with two obvious choices. The first is the classic Brains vs Brawn setup. The villain is a spindly little mastermind who tries to outthink Slaigh. This villain, btw, is 100% from England. That’s just unavoidable.But that character concept sounds very reminiscent of Arpeggio, and “loud bruiser versus tiny nerd in bygone Britain” sounds very reminiscent of Galleth vs Penelope. So in the interest of variety, here’s a second idea: Possibly my favourite Irish legend myth is our origin story for the Giant’s Causeway. Basically, Fionn mac Cumhaill, our strongest champion (who was like eight foot something) got challenged to a fistfight to a giant from Scotland who was even stronger. So instead of Brains vs Brawn, it’s Brawn vs More Brawn. Slaigh’s the strongest Cooper, but how much does that really mean? Sly and the Gang has to help him against a physically tougher opponent - and the resulting blow to his pride that might bring.
Otto - Otto, by contrast, is one of the smartest Coopers. So take everything I just said about Slaigh and reverse the polarity. Either someone equally skilled in engineering and mechanics, or a great big brute he needs tech to compete with. I’d kinda lean towards brute. Too often villain is the tinkerer and the hero smashes their toys. It’d be nice to see the other way around.
