Bentley is such a well written character in the OG trilogy. You can literally see the growth he goes through and by the third game, he’s become so confident that his plans have become more devious and brash.
I wonder why youtube is asking me to rate this specific comment? Anyway, I checked all the checkmarks, it's uplifting, inspiring entertaining, and all that stuff. Anyway, back to drawing lewds.
Those and episode 1 are my favorite levels in the game, but there's something about episodes 4 and 5 that made them stand out the most, they still make me on the edge of my seat to this day
You know what stings about the ending where Bentley is permanently scarred? In the first game, provided you don't kill Clockwerk super fast like many would be compelled to do, has a chilling final line: "COOPER! You will never be rid of me! Clockwerk is superior!" Clockwerk was right in the end. Because of his hate chip, Clockwerk's body was never destroyed, allowing his body to be excavated, allowing the Klaww Gang to steal them, and by the end of the game, Bentley loses the ability to walk. From here on out, seeing Bentley in that wheelchair? Sly, and by extension us the player, will forever be reminded that Clockwerk (or at least his body) did that to Bentley. ...Granted, despite being confined to a wheelchair, Bentley certainly makes the most of it, arguably making him better in both gameplay and character, but I still like to think that Clockwerk's final words in the first game rung true in future installments. In any case, for me? Before Sly 4 was a thing, I had played Sly 1 and 3. It took me a while to play Sly 2 but I had fun with the game when I got to it. Heck, Bentley's fate at the end still shocked me even though I knew that Sly 3 had him in a wheelchair (but then again, Sly 3 didn't really go into HOW Bentley got injured, but I think that was a good idea since I was still surprised by Sly 2's ending... It's kinda like how Mega Man X2 doesn't go into HOW Zero died in X1) Still though, the Sly games hold a special place in my heart. Everyone has their Jak & Daxters and Ratchet & Clanks, but I had Sly and the gang.
Haven’t been watching the sly videos cause I wanna go into the series blind but I wanted to leave a comment saying I’m definitely coming back once I finish them!
I agree with you on Bentley, I also like to add that Bentley goes on to one of the most important characters who held the team together and even gaining respect from some of Sly's enemies such as Dr M And to add to your last paragraph I agree Sly Cooper is my favorite of the PS2 mascots
The ending is always a shock to me. Sly giving up and get arrested, his friends kind of leave the gabg. And Bently is bound to a wheelchair forever in a kids game. Really well ending.
The part where you mentioned about Bentley telling you how to sprint as soon as your mum and you looked it up reminds me of a funny moment years ago when I was playing Jak & Daxter. Mum was watching me play and when I picked up red eco, mum asked "what does Red Eco do?" And as soon as she asked that and before I had a chance to answer, Daxter said his line "Red Eco makes your attacks stronger!". It was just perfect timing and we had a good laugh 😂
Eh? You can't be serious when Jak 3's story has just many issues as NDs crunch hours. Hmm PN 1 and 2 have merit for sure but they lack the character development of sly's characters and plus they don't connect as well as a storyline compared to the sly trilogy. Now if it was just as each individual game sure PN2 as a standalone story would best several aspects of sly's individual stories but considering 1-3 is an entire storyline with each game being an arc I can't do that. PN does tackle more mature subject matter more head on than sly for sure though.
@@TerrorOfTalos Psychonauts 1, Rhombus of Ruin and Psychonauts 2 all flow into each other very well narratively and all take place right after the previous game. Jak 3's story has issues but the storytelling was the key wording I was going off of. How the stories are told and presented. Psychonauts with it's masterful environmental story telling and Jak with it's superb animation, cinematic feel, and great voice acting. Not to discredit the Sly series' Saturday morning cartoon/comic book presentation which is very stylish and stories are executed well. Tho I can't lie I'm not as big on 3 as the previous games personally. I'd mention Sly 4 which I do like well enough, but that would also mean bringing up J&D the Lost Frontier and the less said about that the better.
The fact that Sly 3 makes Bentley arguably the most fun character to use and most OP despite his clear disability is really just the final highlight of the series and of his character arc. It all begins here and to see you touch on that is welcome indeed. Looking forward to you capping this off sir, well done.
Not to mention the fact that the main antagonist of Sly 3 (Dr M) respected Bentley to the point that he tried to reason with him but obviously Bentley remained loyal to Sly
One thing that made the game especially accessible was the language options. Most games localized to European countries, including Sly 1, are just the typical 5 English, French, German, Italian and Spanish (Portuguese). But Sly 2 went above and beyond, making a fully voiced translation to Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish in addition to all the usual languages. This was absolutely mind blowing for my young self. I played games like Ratchet and Clank, Pokemon, Zelda, Runescape, Crash, etc. not even being aware of what people were saying, so it was a pure gameplay experience start to finish, not being able understand a single bit of dialogue. So being introduced to Sly 2 and 3, not only being my first time fully understanding the dialogue, but also being able to see the potential video games has for story telling blew my mind out of the water. This game will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.
Playing through Sly is like walking through an animation and art history lecture in a video game it combines all the fluidity of the Tex Avery old school animation with the dark backgrounds of the old school noir/deco/expressionist media and art and is truly a love letter to the medium in so many ways.
The way you've improved your skills over the years J have honestly had an impact on me because before these definitive retrospectives of the Ratchet & Clank series and these new Sly videos, I never really considered myself to be interested in those two series, but now that I have watched these videos I am actively interested in playing them for myself because of the thought and detail you put into your videos. Watching your videos over the past couple years has really helped expand my interests in new stuff and help me understand other points of view even if I heavily disagree with them sometimes. I hope someday soon I'll be able to pick up my own copies of the first 4 Ratchet games and the Sly Trilogy for myself to experience them for myself.
Sly 2 is such a good game, and it's not just because it's so nostalgic. It improved a lot of things from Sly Cooper while still changing things up in a good way.
You speak the truth J. A game doesn't have to excel in everything to one of your favorites. Sly 2 isn't a perfect game nor is considered one of the greatest games of all time, but for what it does well, it is an amazing game. And for you to talk about why it's so amazing for nearly an hour speaks volumes to how much you hold it dear. Keep content like this coming J, and I'll keep watching.
2 was my first exposure to the Sly series, I remember finding a copy at Sam’s Club electronic sections and I really enjoyed it. It oozes with style, charm and immersive gameplay I could never forget, unfortunately I never got past the water beetle mission and I don’t have the game anymore but it was still a great experience nonetheless.
The water beetle mission sucks honestly, but it's all about finding the water pools on the the way to the end. If any enemies pop up you can leave the beetle for as long as needed in the water. You missed out on so much though, my favourite levels were the dark prison one and the cathedral one. The snow/trail levels and the clockwerk levels are honestly great too though.
About the opening conversation with Bentley and Sly: in Finnish dub, Bentley refers to himself as 'Tiikeri' (Tiger) and Sly playfully rewords this name as 'Viineri' (Danish pastry) and 'Siideri.' (Cider) It was funny to realize the alcohol reference as a kid :D
Sly is my absolute childhood hero and 2 was my first introduction to the series. I replayed it over and over again because there is just something magical to it. My love for this game is really endless and it fulfilled me in a way no other game could ever do again. The soundtrack tho is still stuck in my head. I was probably 8 years old as I played it now Im 24 and the so many themes still randomly pop up in my head. It's so bittersweet to think about this game... I wish I could go back in time and relive this as if it was my first time being exposed to this beautiful piece of art..
Sly 2 still has one of my favourite endings in videogames and I didn't play trough these games when they launched. Playing trough Sly games in 2016 were one of favourite gaming memories from that year.
Sly 2 is officially the first Sly game I played back in 2005. I remember that I asked my mom if I could rent Sly 2 from Blockbusters. She warned me that I can only play this game for one day. I played it until the first heist in episode 1 on the part where I had to toss the hook to Sly. Two years later I owned a copy of Sly 2. I used to play this game with my ex frequently until it got scratched up. Throughout the next couple years, I frequently look up gameplay and skit videos about Sly 2. I never actually played this game again until The Sly Collection came out on the Vita. Now I own another PS2 copy that I can play on my PlayStation 2 Fat/PS3 Slim, PCSX2 now that I have a computer that’s fast enough and I now have a digital copy of the physical card for the vita.(pirated) Furthermore, I played the prototypes of all three games that released to the public and use a trainer made by Gou.
This game truly is a gem. 20 years later and I'm still cracking up at Bentley being terrified of trying to drive a stick shift car hahaha. Gotta love this series
Your feelings on Sly 2 are similar to my feelings on Ocarina of Time, my favorite game of all time. It wasn’t the first game I played, that was Wii Sports. But, it was the game that showed me that games could be more than kart racers or sports games. It, quite literally, made me the person I am today.
I remember playing this game so much I actually broke it and couldn't play specific levels cause it would crash I used to smack the bears and try to survive as long as I could
I actually got this game by complete accident. I asked a family member over the phone for "Ty 2", as in, the sequel to Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, for Christmas. Either they misheard, or just saw Sly 2 and thought "yeah that's probably what he meant", but I ended up getting Sly 2 instead. I remember being a little disappointed at first, since I had rented Sly 1 but got stuck early on, soiling my my memories of it, but fast forward to today, and Sly 2's one of my favs and I've still never played Ty 2, lol.
as a canadian, you not knowing what canada was when you were a kid is so hilarious to me. because back when i was young, i used to think the USA was only really just ... hollywood LOL amazing video btw! sly 2 was certainly the one out of them all thats stuck in my head for all this time. i miss sly cooper so much, definitely my favourite series of all time.
It's definitely one of my fav games of all time. And, it's ranked 23rd all time of the best PS2 games in history! Imo Sly 2 could've done more with the Neyla storyline and what not but, nevertheless a great game.
Probably because of the fact that said master criminal managed to build himself a robotic body and lived for thousands of years so yeah you bet you would make a lot of money
You did a great job with the review and how far you came. I agree Sly 2 is quite an impactful game and also in my Top 5 fav PS2 games as it is quite an awesome game overall. It is quite a crown jewel of the franchise/trilogy and we will never forget the great gameplay, shocking twists, great characters and villains and legendary music. ^^ Look forward to your Sly 3 review as I bet it'll be good. :)
Nah dude, for me it isn't even the best chapter of the Sly saga, i loved the 3 way more. Also, if we want to talk about the greatest game to ever exist, we shall talk about the one with the biggest legacy, and unfortunately Sly hasn't that much of a legacy, even if the games are pretty good. It's been the pioneer of different games and mechanics that made the history, but we can't truly say it influenced the history of gaming much. The Sly saga is an extremely smart saga, but we don't see much in the world of gaming that we can say has been heavily changed by the existence of the Sly Cooper saga. Watch Ghost Of Tsushima for example, it would've been the perfect chance to see the parkour and climbing mechanics of Sly improved and put inside of a new generation of stealth games, but instead Sucker Punch decided to basically don't put any parkour at all and that's really sad.
Dude I’m so happy other people liked this game as much as I did, I fell in love with this game as a kid, definitely my favorite game of all time no question
After being hooked onto the series so much by Sly 1 to the point that I started Sly 2 a couple of hours after I finished the first game, Band Of Thieves quickly shot up as one of my new favourites from the PS2's library. Almost everything was done to perfection in this title, the expanded gameplay and its new structure, the addition of more thief-y elements like pickpocketing and finding treasures, the various hub worlds and how well their atmospheres were done, figuring out how to make the most of all the various abilities, such as using Murray's Fists Of Flame to give him the ability to stealth kill, and above all else, the story and character writing. I can't give enough praise to just how invested I was in what was going on despite knowing beforehand what went down, with an incredibly strong cast of characters and solid voice acting/direction, delivering many moments that were funny, hype as hell, or as seen with Bentley getting crippled, the emotional equivalent of getting a door slammed in your face. It is no exaggeration to say that I see why this is the prime contender for the best game in the series, and I wish it got more attention these days so that more people could recognise its greatness. Looking forward to the Sly 3 video.
Ok nobody ever said that it was the best game of all time. But it definitely is the best Sly Cooper game of all time. Personally I'm a mixed fan between Sly 2 and Sly 3.
Who's got the juice? I never realised you could pick up Rajan and throw him at the fence. The ending made me cry the first time I played it seeing everyone so broken after a long time with these characters and them getting what they wanted.
This is my favorite game I have ever played. I have played it so many times. Such a great game. Arkham City is the closest game I have had feel just as good.
For Sly's 20th anniversary, they could at least make the games playable on PS4 and PS5, even from their streaming platform (which they don't have it in...) Shows how much they actually care, can't even play the games...
Sly 2 is GOATed. Definitely my favorite game from childhood, rivaled only by RE4 and DMC3. Sly 2 will always be one of my top 5 games and one of the all-timers. It doesn't get enough appreciation as one of the most influential games ever made. Some of the best open-world designs ever are in Sly 2 and the introduction of 3 playable characters, something that was hailed as revolutionary when it was done in GTA V, was introduced here by Sly 2 a decade prior. The themes are so mature for a work directed toward kids that I learned concepts from Sly 2 that I wouldn't have found from anything else. That's a GOAT.
I love this game. The trilogy was my everything growing up in the early 2000's. Even if we'll never see the series return to it's former glory in a future title, we can always appreciate the passion and dedication that was put into the Sly trilogy. Alongside Ratchet and Clank, and the Jak series, these games and more helped define what video games are able to achieve.
The only time I have an issue with nostalgia being used in a critique is when it's used as an "objective crutch", when someone tries to use nostalgia to defend a game from its flaws. Everyone has nostalgia for their childhood, it's unavoidable. Hell, I'm nostalgic for "Mario is Missing", I played the hell out of that game when I was 3 years old, but will I ever try to defend it and call it decent? Hell no, that game's terrible, but I still smile every time I see it.
Out of the gaming series to come out for the PS2, Sly Cooper will always be my favorite Trilogy. Sly 2 was introduction to series to me too. I remember I used play it everyday after school.
It's appropriate to call Neyla "unfinished", or at the very least, think that part of her story was made at the last minute - as it can be easily pointed out, she's a British-Indian tigress, and apparently, as the fans suspected, one of the earlier drafts for the story saw her as the secret/illegitimate daughter of Rajan, so the intent to build more of a story for her was there, but rewrites and the focus the team needed to put on working on an entirely new style of gameplay must have gotten in the way, so all we got was a character that has interesting elements and is played well for the first half of the game, but becomes a bit corny by the end.
I still think Sly 3 is better than Sly 2 honestly. Bentley and Murray are more fun to play and I think Dr.M is a better main villain than Neyla and Dr.M is a better final boss than ClockLa
I think Sly 3 makes a lot of improvements over 2. I do think however in hindsight, chapter 2 and some of the inconsistencies let it down. Sly 2 can be formulaic but it does flesh out it's ideas relatively well. So in the end I'd rather play Sly 1 and 3. But 2 is the better and cleaner experience to me.
So when i play sly 2 i always do this thivef challenge basically you play the story but you can't let the enemies see you and you can't defeat the enemies unless the mission says you have 2 you can pick pokect steal all 3 treasures break all 30 bottles while not being seen because the made bad guy in the level will catch wind of you where you are and what your doing.
My siblings and I were huge fans of the first game before the second came out and words cannot describe how excited we were when we heard you could play as Bentley and Murray in this game. The game blew our expectations out of the water!
Sly 2 is incredible, but there's a couple of (relatively minor) things about it that really annoy me. The inability to go back and replay the missions you want the same way you could in the first game is a big one. Carmelita's new voice actress is just atrocious, especially after the first game nailed her so perfectly. Also, I can't be the only one who hated Neyla, can I? Looking back at it, I guess they were going for like a Chloe Frazer archetype (i.e. a roguish chaotic neutral partner-in-crime as a foil to the original "good girl" love interest), but something about her design and personality just reeks of fanfic, and having her heel-turn into an antagonist at the end kinda took away from the emotional impact of the final boss fight.
I think Neyla was always meant to be an antagonist because the original plan for Neyla was to be the daughter of Rajan but Sucker Punch obviously change that
Start with the first one. It doesn't suffer from 'first game syndrome' as much as some others I've played. I also think it's a great game but you may differ.
Listening to these videos is like getting a hug because this game blew my little kid mind and has been my fave ever since. I love the whole series of games, too, of course.❤
I can't decide on how much I like Sly 2. It is a really great game overall, but over the past few years, I've kind of started disliking quite a few missions in the game. I obviously don't hate them to the point where I stopped playing it, cause I still come back to it time to time. I do rather enjoy a lot of it, but some missions just keep me from playing it as much as some other games. I do like it more than 3 and 4, but not sure where I'd rank it with 1. The story is incredible though. Also fun fact: in the demo version (which I imagine was the beta version or something) had additional dialog where Murray got mad at Bentley for treating him "like a child" in the mission in Paris where Murray has to break those alarm boxes.
The game is nearly perfect except for Neyla killing Arpeggio and taking over Clockwerk. If they had to do it, they could have given us some time with Arpeggio first. I feel like the developers didn’t use Clockwerk to his fullest potential. Imagine if instead of the ending we got in this game, Clockwerk killed Neyla and crippled Bentley himself which stopped the gang from perusing him as he escaped.
I was first introduced to this game through my best friend at the time. He had a ps2 where I still had the ps1 so he had a plethora of games I was never able to play until I got my own. This game, to this day, is a staple as to why the PS2 gen of games were my personal favorite. This game absolutely blew me away at the time and revisiting it today, it’s so fun playing around with the controls doing cool tricks and combat tactics or stealth evasions. I’m even replaying it for the 20th anniversary as it was released through PS Plus and I’m literally reliving my childhood all over again. I’ll play this game along with my other favorites till the day I die.
The Virgin Clank: -Ratchet is equally capable without him. - original name is a number - made sentient by alien fairies. - Ratchet is always saving his butt. LITERALLY carried by Ratchet. -weak little punches Vs The Chad Bentley - kills mfers with grenades after sniping them with a crossbow - cloak and dagger fighting style - Sly and Murray both openly admit they're incompetent without Bentley. - the true hero of the series - says "bros before hoes" and dumps Penelope when she betrays the gang - busts his bros out of prison -master hacker and engineer who builds a tricked out wheelchair after getting his legs crushed by a cyborg owl.
These videos are making me consider buying the ps3 collection, to try out what I missed out on. I remember some games like this in the same era, like Beyond good and evil or Rachet and clank, But at the time I was in my early twenties so if it wasn't gta Vice city, halo 2, or the latest tekken... I didn't care. (Edgy 2000s adult lol)
What surprises and greatly pleases me is that I could repeat this video's thesis almost verbatim. Specifically, for Kingdom Hearts 1. It was my first game that resonated with me and showed what video games were capable of as a wee lad of 8 years. As a fellow Sly 2 fan as well, had I played Sly 2 first, I likely would've echoed your sentiments exactly. A fantastic game and a well-made video. Thank you kindly, sir :)
Its funny with Sly 2 me my Brother and a friend swapped the controller between us 3 When playing through this game! I played all the Bentley stuff my Brother played as Murray and my Friend as Sly! Maybe Im an outliar here but it was so fun to play this game in this way! We got so invested in these characters so it was like we were the characters. Real good times😁
Excellent video my guy, it's always great to hear someone gush about something they're passionate about. Sly 2 is a weird one for me. I think it does a lot of really interesting things for the platforming genre, but actually playing through the game is a bit of a drag for me. I just straight up don't enjoy playing as Betly and Murray most of the time. They have some standout missions that are pretty fun, but navigating them through the open hub levels is painful. The game is clearly built around Sly's movement abilities, but they didn't tailor the levels to have the same amount of navigation depth for Bently and Murray. They don't have their own unique ways of traversing the levels. The only way to really get around with them is to take the obvious boring path, and dispatch enemies when you inevitably get caught. It's way harder to be stealthy with those two, which I feel goes against what the game is trying to do. But in the interest of keeping this comment fr becoming an entire essay, I'll just list off some other issues I have. The hub levels are pretty hit and miss. Some are excellently designed (Paris), while some feel totally unintuitive and frustrating to navigate (Rajan's jungle level). The missions themselves vary so much in quality. There's a lot of great missions that involve platforming or stealth that are super fun. But there's an equal number of out of place missions that don't feel at home in a stealth platformer, and more mini games and turret missions than Jak 3, which got old fast. Like the first game, I didn't find a lot of the power ups very useful, I think they could have been implemented better. When it comes to the story however, this is something I do concede is pretty well done, but I have some gripes. For starters, I was never a fan of basing the story around Clockwork again. I get there's a lot of thematic potential there, but it would have been more interesting if it was something new imo. That said, how they handle most of it is great. The character writing between the 3 guys is superb, the conspiracy of the Klaww gang is great. My biggest gripes come down to Neyla and the ending. I think Neyla is a fine character, up until she betrays the Cooper gang. After that's all dealt with, the game didn't really know what to do with her. She just becomes an enemy, and gets annoying. Then there's the ending. The final chapter where Neyla betrays Arpeggio felt predictable, and a waste of Arpeggio's character, Clock-la is really dumb and given no justification, and where the hell did the "hate chip" come from? That felt like such a weird and contrived plot device that came out of nowhere. The final chapter felt sloppily written in comparison to the rest of the story. Though how the game leaves the gang was really well done. Sly 2 is a weird game for me, because the potential is definitely there, but it frustrates me too much for me to really enjoy it. And while Sly 3 definitely has it's issues, I feel a lot of my issues with 2 were fixed in 3, so I'm really excited to hear your thoughts on that game!
My ideal Sly game would have far more traversal. i loved the platforming, even if much of it was Press O and magnet to an obstacle. I wish the world was designed with that in mind. Climbing around, going where you probably shouldnt be is top tier movement, and Sly never quite got there. If it ever came back I'd hope for something where movement flow in the overworld and some real platforming gauntlets came back. I didn't care much for "Do this random job" design, but I'm sure it can be refined nowadays.
Just a Warning, I would suggest you change the Thumbnail since it might cause confusion, because while the render of Sly & Carmelita is from Sly 2, it was used on Sly 3 European box art, not as an small thing either it's the main focus of the box art, which caused me to believe this was the Sly 3 video and I somehow missed the Sly 2 video, that said. Great video I really liked it.
Could you say this game was the first Assassins Creed-like game ? It seems to have the climbing mechanics, pursuits & it just seems to have a lot of similarities I think.. sure I'm not the only person that got that idea when surveying ememies from roof tops
Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped used to be my favorite game of all time because it was the first game I've ever fully completed, and at the time it blew my mind that the ending was different after I collected all the gems and relics, but after I went through some difficult times in my life MediEvil and its story about redemption resonated with me and gave me hope to never give up.
What a game! It took forever to complete crash 3 and i gave up and rage quit multiple times but people at school telling me you get a rocket launcher at the end spurred me on to keep pushing through it. First crash I played and always be my fav. Medieval was zelda for cool kids lmao, I only rented it and never got far in the first game but completed the second game
Few games have ever made me genuinely fear for a character’s wellbeing better than Sly 2 when Bentley became paralyzed. I cried my eyes out after such a masterpiece of a game. I’m also so happy with the fact that just because Bentley was confined to a wheelchair it didn’t limit him. Made him a badass wheel jet pack turtle.
I played this game so many times as a kid. I remember the opening part of the game blowing me away when you and the gang are running from Carmelita shooting her shock gun. And I loved how great the story was they didn’t just get lazy since it’s cartoon animals. I hope one day we can get a ps5 remaster of the trilogy and a new game
Great review! I love your content, because while I don't game any more you always make the series you love relatable to me. You have really matured as a reviewer and I hope you keep it up!
It's my favorite in the series despite awesome moments in 3. I was talking to a friend the other day on this topic, and my feelings were that 2 never seemed to outstay its welcome in any one part. In 1 in particular, I got very sick of some sections immediately. 2 even its worst zones in my babby childhood memory felt more then acceptable. The horndog in me wants to say 3 though because of the Carmelita giantess section. Awakened some shit in me growing up. Goddammit.
It definitely isn't just nostalgia talking when people really like this game. I was already in my twenties when I played the game myself, with a decade of pretty constant gaming, and lots of different games from Spyro trilogy and Zeldas to Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasies behind me. Still, Sly 2 had great impact in me. There is something about this game I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it is the fact it really didn't *need* to go as hard as it did, but did it anyway. Maybe it is that it's just so well constructed as a whole, even if it trips occasionally. Whatever the case, it still is one of my favourite games, too.
Bentley is such a well written character in the OG trilogy. You can literally see the growth he goes through and by the third game, he’s become so confident that his plans have become more devious and brash.
Worry-wart Bentley in 1 vs “Levi from AOT”-Tier Tactician Bentley in 3, my god you’re not wrong
I wonder why youtube is asking me to rate this specific comment? Anyway, I checked all the checkmarks, it's uplifting, inspiring entertaining, and all that stuff. Anyway, back to drawing lewds.
Why do you call it OG trilogy if there's never been another?
@@slycther2.027 … to differentiate it from the PS3 game “Thieves in Time”
@@ohjeezriles no you don't ever bring up the cursed name of that game
I’ll never forget how the games tone completely shifted with the plot twist in episode 3-5. excellent story telling
Those and episode 1 are my favorite levels in the game, but there's something about episodes 4 and 5 that made them stand out the most, they still make me on the edge of my seat to this day
You know what stings about the ending where Bentley is permanently scarred? In the first game, provided you don't kill Clockwerk super fast like many would be compelled to do, has a chilling final line: "COOPER! You will never be rid of me! Clockwerk is superior!"
Clockwerk was right in the end. Because of his hate chip, Clockwerk's body was never destroyed, allowing his body to be excavated, allowing the Klaww Gang to steal them, and by the end of the game, Bentley loses the ability to walk. From here on out, seeing Bentley in that wheelchair? Sly, and by extension us the player, will forever be reminded that Clockwerk (or at least his body) did that to Bentley.
...Granted, despite being confined to a wheelchair, Bentley certainly makes the most of it, arguably making him better in both gameplay and character, but I still like to think that Clockwerk's final words in the first game rung true in future installments.
In any case, for me? Before Sly 4 was a thing, I had played Sly 1 and 3. It took me a while to play Sly 2 but I had fun with the game when I got to it. Heck, Bentley's fate at the end still shocked me even though I knew that Sly 3 had him in a wheelchair (but then again, Sly 3 didn't really go into HOW Bentley got injured, but I think that was a good idea since I was still surprised by Sly 2's ending... It's kinda like how Mega Man X2 doesn't go into HOW Zero died in X1)
Still though, the Sly games hold a special place in my heart. Everyone has their Jak & Daxters and Ratchet & Clanks, but I had Sly and the gang.
Haven’t been watching the sly videos cause I wanna go into the series blind but I wanted to leave a comment saying I’m definitely coming back once I finish them!
I agree with you on Bentley, I also like to add that Bentley goes on to one of the most important characters who held the team together and even gaining respect from some of Sly's enemies such as Dr M
And to add to your last paragraph I agree Sly Cooper is my favorite of the PS2 mascots
Uhm. Actually you watch Zero die in X1 you just don't know what happens to him afterwards
The ending is always a shock to me.
Sly giving up and get arrested, his friends kind of leave the gabg.
And Bently is bound to a wheelchair forever in a kids game.
Really well ending.
The part where you mentioned about Bentley telling you how to sprint as soon as your mum and you looked it up reminds me of a funny moment years ago when I was playing Jak & Daxter. Mum was watching me play and when I picked up red eco, mum asked "what does Red Eco do?" And as soon as she asked that and before I had a chance to answer, Daxter said his line "Red Eco makes your attacks stronger!". It was just perfect timing and we had a good laugh 😂
Sly trilogy *still* has the best storytelling in platformers, definitely can't be argued.
Jak and Daxter Trilogy? Psychonauts 1 and 2? Depends on what you mean I guess but I do love the Sly games story and how it's presented
Eh? You can't be serious when Jak 3's story has just many issues as NDs crunch hours. Hmm PN 1 and 2 have merit for sure but they lack the character development of sly's characters and plus they don't connect as well as a storyline compared to the sly trilogy.
Now if it was just as each individual game sure PN2 as a standalone story would best several aspects of sly's individual stories but considering 1-3 is an entire storyline with each game being an arc I can't do that. PN does tackle more mature subject matter more head on than sly for sure though.
@@TerrorOfTalos Psychonauts 1, Rhombus of Ruin and Psychonauts 2 all flow into each other very well narratively and all take place right after the previous game. Jak 3's story has issues but the storytelling was the key wording I was going off of. How the stories are told and presented. Psychonauts with it's masterful environmental story telling and Jak with it's superb animation, cinematic feel, and great voice acting.
Not to discredit the Sly series' Saturday morning cartoon/comic book presentation which is very stylish and stories are executed well. Tho I can't lie I'm not as big on 3 as the previous games personally. I'd mention Sly 4 which I do like well enough, but that would also mean bringing up J&D the Lost Frontier and the less said about that the better.
I'm actually more partial to Ratchet and Clank Going Commando, but Sly is definitely a strong contender.
really? Sonic games have some solid storytelling at times too.
The fact that Sly 3 makes Bentley arguably the most fun character to use and most OP despite his clear disability is really just the final highlight of the series and of his character arc. It all begins here and to see you touch on that is welcome indeed. Looking forward to you capping this off sir, well done.
Not to mention the fact that the main antagonist of Sly 3 (Dr M) respected Bentley to the point that he tried to reason with him but obviously Bentley remained loyal to Sly
@@elharvey5032 only bc Murray reassure him
I've never seen a sequel change so much before. Jak only had a tone shift, this had a complete revamp.
One thing that made the game especially accessible was the language options. Most games localized to European countries, including Sly 1, are just the typical 5 English, French, German, Italian and Spanish (Portuguese). But Sly 2 went above and beyond, making a fully voiced translation to Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish in addition to all the usual languages.
This was absolutely mind blowing for my young self. I played games like Ratchet and Clank, Pokemon, Zelda, Runescape, Crash, etc. not even being aware of what people were saying, so it was a pure gameplay experience start to finish, not being able understand a single bit of dialogue. So being introduced to Sly 2 and 3, not only being my first time fully understanding the dialogue, but also being able to see the potential video games has for story telling blew my mind out of the water. This game will always hold a special place in my heart for that reason.
Sly Cooper is actually pretty popular franchise in Northern Europe, especially in Finland, because of the reason you just mentioned
The Finnish dub was very well done and also super hilarious 😂
@@69Peopleshit for real tho, pretty much every line can be quoted in the finnish dub.
Great comment !
True and Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant actually got Finnish dubs too.
Playing through Sly is like walking through an animation and art history lecture in a video game it combines all the fluidity of the Tex Avery old school animation with the dark backgrounds of the old school noir/deco/expressionist media and art and is truly a love letter to the medium in so many ways.
The way you've improved your skills over the years J have honestly had an impact on me because before these definitive retrospectives of the Ratchet & Clank series and these new Sly videos, I never really considered myself to be interested in those two series, but now that I have watched these videos I am actively interested in playing them for myself because of the thought and detail you put into your videos. Watching your videos over the past couple years has really helped expand my interests in new stuff and help me understand other points of view even if I heavily disagree with them sometimes. I hope someday soon I'll be able to pick up my own copies of the first 4 Ratchet games and the Sly Trilogy for myself to experience them for myself.
Sly 2 is such a good game, and it's not just because it's so nostalgic. It improved a lot of things from Sly Cooper while still changing things up in a good way.
Absolutely
You speak the truth J. A game doesn't have to excel in everything to one of your favorites. Sly 2 isn't a perfect game nor is considered one of the greatest games of all time, but for what it does well, it is an amazing game. And for you to talk about why it's so amazing for nearly an hour speaks volumes to how much you hold it dear. Keep content like this coming J, and I'll keep watching.
2 was my first exposure to the Sly series, I remember finding a copy at Sam’s Club electronic sections and I really enjoyed it.
It oozes with style, charm and immersive gameplay I could never forget, unfortunately I never got past the water beetle mission and I don’t have the game anymore but it was still a great experience nonetheless.
I remember playing the demo on R&C: UYA. That's how I got into the series.
I was advertised because of Toonami. XD
@@MoonlightXYZ And they even added a cheat code that lets you throw a miniature TOM to distract enemies.
Search pcsx2 for pc
The water beetle mission sucks honestly, but it's all about finding the water pools on the the way to the end. If any enemies pop up you can leave the beetle for as long as needed in the water. You missed out on so much though, my favourite levels were the dark prison one and the cathedral one. The snow/trail levels and the clockwerk levels are honestly great too though.
About the opening conversation with Bentley and Sly: in Finnish dub, Bentley refers to himself as 'Tiikeri' (Tiger) and Sly playfully rewords this name as 'Viineri' (Danish pastry) and 'Siideri.' (Cider)
It was funny to realize the alcohol reference as a kid :D
"Asia selvä siideri"
Sly Cooper increased my vocabulary single-handedly, as well influence what type of humor delivery I like
Yes I learned the word ransacking from that mission where you have to get all the suit pieces
Sly is my absolute childhood hero and 2 was my first introduction to the series. I replayed it over and over again because there is just something magical to it. My love for this game is really endless and it fulfilled me in a way no other game could ever do again. The soundtrack tho is still stuck in my head. I was probably 8 years old as I played it now Im 24 and the so many themes still randomly pop up in my head. It's so bittersweet to think about this game... I wish I could go back in time and relive this as if it was my first time being exposed to this beautiful piece of art..
The Sly trilogy is, and always will be, my favorite games of all god damn time. And I love how much attention and care you’ve given this review.
Sly 2 still has one of my favourite endings in videogames and I didn't play trough these games when they launched. Playing trough Sly games in 2016 were one of favourite gaming memories from that year.
Sly 2 is a perfect example of building what worked worked from the pervious game. Major props for giving Bentley so cool development.
Sly 2 is a masterclass for it's time, good action, great story and characters and damn... Carmelita is 😍😍
Sly 2 is officially the first Sly game I played back in 2005. I remember that I asked my mom if I could rent Sly 2 from Blockbusters. She warned me that I can only play this game for one day. I played it until the first heist in episode 1 on the part where I had to toss the hook to Sly.
Two years later I owned a copy of Sly 2. I used to play this game with my ex frequently until it got scratched up. Throughout the next couple years, I frequently look up gameplay and skit videos about Sly 2. I never actually played this game again until The Sly Collection came out on the Vita. Now I own another PS2 copy that I can play on my PlayStation 2 Fat/PS3 Slim, PCSX2 now that I have a computer that’s fast enough and I now have a digital copy of the physical card for the vita.(pirated)
Furthermore, I played the prototypes of all three games that released to the public and use a trainer made by Gou.
Cool man
This game truly is a gem. 20 years later and I'm still cracking up at Bentley being terrified of trying to drive a stick shift car hahaha. Gotta love this series
Your feelings on Sly 2 are similar to my feelings on Ocarina of Time, my favorite game of all time. It wasn’t the first game I played, that was Wii Sports. But, it was the game that showed me that games could be more than kart racers or sports games. It, quite literally, made me the person I am today.
I will never forget the first time I was introduced to the sly franchise. I love the damn series!
"Is Sly 2 the best game of all time?" Short answer: yes.
I remember playing this game so much I actually broke it and couldn't play specific levels cause it would crash I used to smack the bears and try to survive as long as I could
I actually got this game by complete accident. I asked a family member over the phone for "Ty 2", as in, the sequel to Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, for Christmas. Either they misheard, or just saw Sly 2 and thought "yeah that's probably what he meant", but I ended up getting Sly 2 instead. I remember being a little disappointed at first, since I had rented Sly 1 but got stuck early on, soiling my my memories of it, but fast forward to today, and Sly 2's one of my favs and I've still never played Ty 2, lol.
as a canadian, you not knowing what canada was when you were a kid is so hilarious to me. because back when i was young, i used to think the USA was only really just ... hollywood LOL
amazing video btw! sly 2 was certainly the one out of them all thats stuck in my head for all this time. i miss sly cooper so much, definitely my favourite series of all time.
It's definitely one of my fav games of all time. And, it's ranked 23rd all time of the best PS2 games in history! Imo Sly 2 could've done more with the Neyla storyline and what not but, nevertheless a great game.
This game masters minimalism, and the game's tutorial level is the perfect example with its use of composition and use of level design.
Its weird we gloss over how someone scooped up the corpse of a known master criminal and put it on display
Probably because of the fact that said master criminal managed to build himself a robotic body and lived for thousands of years so yeah you bet you would make a lot of money
@@elharvey5032 yeah reverse engineering him not puting his ass on display
Sly 2 is my personal favorite from the franchise
Same here, actually most of the Sly fans would actually agree
I have to say the thumbnail was confusing, cos that art was used for sly 3 in europe, I'm looking forward to hearing ur 3rd take on sly 2 lmao
It was used first in a sly 2 cutscene though.
You did a great job with the review and how far you came. I agree Sly 2 is quite an impactful game and also in my Top 5 fav PS2 games as it is quite an awesome game overall. It is quite a crown jewel of the franchise/trilogy and we will never forget the great gameplay, shocking twists, great characters and villains and legendary music. ^^
Look forward to your Sly 3 review as I bet it'll be good. :)
Sony needs to hurry TF up and get this to PC lol I wanna buy it for my SD
Nah dude, for me it isn't even the best chapter of the Sly saga, i loved the 3 way more. Also, if we want to talk about the greatest game to ever exist, we shall talk about the one with the biggest legacy, and unfortunately Sly hasn't that much of a legacy, even if the games are pretty good. It's been the pioneer of different games and mechanics that made the history, but we can't truly say it influenced the history of gaming much. The Sly saga is an extremely smart saga, but we don't see much in the world of gaming that we can say has been heavily changed by the existence of the Sly Cooper saga. Watch Ghost Of Tsushima for example, it would've been the perfect chance to see the parkour and climbing mechanics of Sly improved and put inside of a new generation of stealth games, but instead Sucker Punch decided to basically don't put any parkour at all and that's really sad.
Man these Sly Cooper reviews makes me want to replay the games again, hopefully one day they make a new Sly game
Dude I’m so happy other people liked this game as much as I did, I fell in love with this game as a kid, definitely my favorite game of all time no question
"bentelys arc of confidence is complete...for now" absolutely roasted my mans
After being hooked onto the series so much by Sly 1 to the point that I started Sly 2 a couple of hours after I finished the first game, Band Of Thieves quickly shot up as one of my new favourites from the PS2's library. Almost everything was done to perfection in this title, the expanded gameplay and its new structure, the addition of more thief-y elements like pickpocketing and finding treasures, the various hub worlds and how well their atmospheres were done, figuring out how to make the most of all the various abilities, such as using Murray's Fists Of Flame to give him the ability to stealth kill, and above all else, the story and character writing.
I can't give enough praise to just how invested I was in what was going on despite knowing beforehand what went down, with an incredibly strong cast of characters and solid voice acting/direction, delivering many moments that were funny, hype as hell, or as seen with Bentley getting crippled, the emotional equivalent of getting a door slammed in your face.
It is no exaggeration to say that I see why this is the prime contender for the best game in the series, and I wish it got more attention these days so that more people could recognise its greatness. Looking forward to the Sly 3 video.
Sly 2 is peak sly content. Literally. One of the best I ever played in the series.
Sonic Adventure 2 is my favorite game, but Pokémon Platinum comes close. Sly 2 is definitely on my list too.
Ok nobody ever said that it was the best game of all time. But it definitely is the best Sly Cooper game of all time.
Personally I'm a mixed fan between Sly 2 and Sly 3.
Who's got the juice?
I never realised you could pick up Rajan and throw him at the fence.
The ending made me cry the first time I played it seeing everyone so broken after a long time with these characters and them getting what they wanted.
The more I watch of this, the more my desire to play Sly trilogy grows.
Won't be long before it becomes uncontrollable.
This is my favorite game I have ever played. I have played it so many times. Such a great game.
Arkham City is the closest game I have had feel just as good.
I always thought John Bison had the coolest areas in the game. I remember loving the snowy environment so much as a kid.
For Sly's 20th anniversary, they could at least make the games playable on PS4 and PS5, even from their streaming platform (which they don't have it in...)
Shows how much they actually care, can't even play the games...
Sucker Punch cares a lot more than you think but the truth is that they are very busy at the moment to give it more attention
Sly 2 is GOATed. Definitely my favorite game from childhood, rivaled only by RE4 and DMC3. Sly 2 will always be one of my top 5 games and one of the all-timers. It doesn't get enough appreciation as one of the most influential games ever made. Some of the best open-world designs ever are in Sly 2 and the introduction of 3 playable characters, something that was hailed as revolutionary when it was done in GTA V, was introduced here by Sly 2 a decade prior. The themes are so mature for a work directed toward kids that I learned concepts from Sly 2 that I wouldn't have found from anything else. That's a GOAT.
Its a crime against humanity that this series died.
Was that a pun?
It's not that it died that's the crime, it's that Sly 4 was the game it went out on.
I love this game. The trilogy was my everything growing up in the early 2000's. Even if we'll never see the series return to it's former glory in a future title, we can always appreciate the passion and dedication that was put into the Sly trilogy. Alongside Ratchet and Clank, and the Jak series, these games and more helped define what video games are able to achieve.
Loved the video. Great job ♥
You can THROW REJAN!?
You know, today happens to be the 20th anniversary of the launch of "Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus"!
38:05 Don't you mean a Dragon Ball Z fusion name? 😏
Sly 2 is one of those games that just gets better the older you get.
The only time I have an issue with nostalgia being used in a critique is when it's used as an "objective crutch", when someone tries to use nostalgia to defend a game from its flaws. Everyone has nostalgia for their childhood, it's unavoidable. Hell, I'm nostalgic for "Mario is Missing", I played the hell out of that game when I was 3 years old, but will I ever try to defend it and call it decent? Hell no, that game's terrible, but I still smile every time I see it.
Out of the gaming series to come out for the PS2, Sly Cooper will always be my favorite Trilogy. Sly 2 was introduction to series to me too. I remember I used play it everyday after school.
Similar scenario here
(- Reads The Video Title -)
I haven't played it, and I'm not sure I'll agree after the fact, but you have me intrigued.
It's appropriate to call Neyla "unfinished", or at the very least, think that part of her story was made at the last minute - as it can be easily pointed out, she's a British-Indian tigress, and apparently, as the fans suspected, one of the earlier drafts for the story saw her as the secret/illegitimate daughter of Rajan, so the intent to build more of a story for her was there, but rewrites and the focus the team needed to put on working on an entirely new style of gameplay must have gotten in the way, so all we got was a character that has interesting elements and is played well for the first half of the game, but becomes a bit corny by the end.
I think the team also had a deadline for the game as well
I literal finished sly 2 again the other day on my steam deck and it's definitely better than 3
Greatest ps2 game ever made, just something about sly cooper mate...
My favorite game of all time ♥️ I remember playing this in Swedish back in the day 🇸🇪
Sly really is iconic. On a side note, I can't be the only one who had a crush on Carmelita as a kid, right?
I still think Sly 3 is better than Sly 2 honestly.
Bentley and Murray are more fun to play and I think Dr.M is a better main villain than Neyla and Dr.M is a better final boss than ClockLa
Only thing holding back 3 was how short it was
@@schemar17 Yeah but 3 is longer than 1.
I think Sly 3 makes a lot of improvements over 2. I do think however in hindsight, chapter 2 and some of the inconsistencies let it down. Sly 2 can be formulaic but it does flesh out it's ideas relatively well. So in the end I'd rather play Sly 1 and 3. But 2 is the better and cleaner experience to me.
So when i play sly 2 i always do this thivef challenge basically you play the story but you can't let the enemies see you and you can't defeat the enemies unless the mission says you have 2 you can pick pokect steal all 3 treasures break all 30 bottles while not being seen because the made bad guy in the level will catch wind of you where you are and what your doing.
So gta 5 was inspired by sly with the heists n use of 3 characters 🤯
My siblings and I were huge fans of the first game before the second came out and words cannot describe how excited we were when we heard you could play as Bentley and Murray in this game. The game blew our expectations out of the water!
16:06
"gentleman, i'm dropping the soap. come at me. THE MURRAY!"
Sly 2 is incredible, but there's a couple of (relatively minor) things about it that really annoy me.
The inability to go back and replay the missions you want the same way you could in the first game is a big one.
Carmelita's new voice actress is just atrocious, especially after the first game nailed her so perfectly.
Also, I can't be the only one who hated Neyla, can I? Looking back at it, I guess they were going for like a Chloe Frazer archetype (i.e. a roguish chaotic neutral partner-in-crime as a foil to the original "good girl" love interest), but something about her design and personality just reeks of fanfic, and having her heel-turn into an antagonist at the end kinda took away from the emotional impact of the final boss fight.
I think Neyla was always meant to be an antagonist because the original plan for Neyla was to be the daughter of Rajan but Sucker Punch obviously change that
I never played the first sly Cooper. I played sly 2 soon after playing the demo via ratchet and clank up your arsenal.
This review makes me want to play a Sly game but I don't know which game to start with
There’s a collection on the PS Now. I hate that you can’t just buy it outright and keep it but it is there if you want it.
@@schemar17 what’s wrong with one
@@schemar17 That doesn't sound like a good reason
@@hattoripool1533 Sly 1 is great but gameplay wise it is different from 2 and 3.
Start with the first one. It doesn't suffer from 'first game syndrome' as much as some others I've played. I also think it's a great game but you may differ.
Listening to these videos is like getting a hug because this game blew my little kid mind and has been my fave ever since. I love the whole series of games, too, of course.❤
I can't decide on how much I like Sly 2. It is a really great game overall, but over the past few years, I've kind of started disliking quite a few missions in the game. I obviously don't hate them to the point where I stopped playing it, cause I still come back to it time to time. I do rather enjoy a lot of it, but some missions just keep me from playing it as much as some other games. I do like it more than 3 and 4, but not sure where I'd rank it with 1. The story is incredible though.
Also fun fact: in the demo version (which I imagine was the beta version or something) had additional dialog where Murray got mad at Bentley for treating him "like a child" in the mission in Paris where Murray has to break those alarm boxes.
The game is nearly perfect except for Neyla killing Arpeggio and taking over Clockwerk. If they had to do it, they could have given us some time with Arpeggio first. I feel like the developers didn’t use Clockwerk to his fullest potential. Imagine if instead of the ending we got in this game, Clockwerk killed Neyla and crippled Bentley himself which stopped the gang from perusing him as he escaped.
I was first introduced to this game through my best friend at the time. He had a ps2 where I still had the ps1 so he had a plethora of games I was never able to play until I got my own. This game, to this day, is a staple as to why the PS2 gen of games were my personal favorite. This game absolutely blew me away at the time and revisiting it today, it’s so fun playing around with the controls doing cool tricks and combat tactics or stealth evasions. I’m even replaying it for the 20th anniversary as it was released through PS Plus and I’m literally reliving my childhood all over again. I’ll play this game along with my other favorites till the day I die.
Happy 20th Anniversary 😭😭
Boy, I sure do wish that Sly Cooper movie didn't get cancelled -.-
Same here
The Virgin Clank:
-Ratchet is equally capable without him.
- original name is a number
- made sentient by alien fairies.
- Ratchet is always saving his butt.
LITERALLY carried by Ratchet.
-weak little punches
Vs
The Chad Bentley
- kills mfers with grenades after sniping them with a crossbow
- cloak and dagger fighting style
- Sly and Murray both openly admit they're incompetent without Bentley.
- the true hero of the series
- says "bros before hoes" and dumps Penelope when she betrays the gang
- busts his bros out of prison
-master hacker and engineer who builds a tricked out wheelchair after getting his legs crushed by a cyborg owl.
These videos are making me consider buying the ps3 collection, to try out what I missed out on.
I remember some games like this in the same era, like Beyond good and evil or Rachet and clank, But at the time I was in my early twenties so if it wasn't gta Vice city, halo 2, or the latest tekken... I didn't care. (Edgy 2000s adult lol)
What surprises and greatly pleases me is that I could repeat this video's thesis almost verbatim. Specifically, for Kingdom Hearts 1. It was my first game that resonated with me and showed what video games were capable of as a wee lad of 8 years. As a fellow Sly 2 fan as well, had I played Sly 2 first, I likely would've echoed your sentiments exactly. A fantastic game and a well-made video. Thank you kindly, sir :)
Its funny with Sly 2 me my Brother and a friend swapped the controller between us 3 When playing through this game! I played all the Bentley stuff my Brother played as Murray and my Friend as Sly! Maybe Im an outliar here but it was so fun to play this game in this way! We got so invested in these characters so it was like we were the characters. Real good times😁
bro really wrote a thesis on a two line poem with this one
Although I'm in the minority that prefers Sly 3, I still love Sly 2.
Excellent video my guy, it's always great to hear someone gush about something they're passionate about. Sly 2 is a weird one for me. I think it does a lot of really interesting things for the platforming genre, but actually playing through the game is a bit of a drag for me. I just straight up don't enjoy playing as Betly and Murray most of the time. They have some standout missions that are pretty fun, but navigating them through the open hub levels is painful. The game is clearly built around Sly's movement abilities, but they didn't tailor the levels to have the same amount of navigation depth for Bently and Murray. They don't have their own unique ways of traversing the levels. The only way to really get around with them is to take the obvious boring path, and dispatch enemies when you inevitably get caught. It's way harder to be stealthy with those two, which I feel goes against what the game is trying to do. But in the interest of keeping this comment fr becoming an entire essay, I'll just list off some other issues I have.
The hub levels are pretty hit and miss. Some are excellently designed (Paris), while some feel totally unintuitive and frustrating to navigate (Rajan's jungle level).
The missions themselves vary so much in quality. There's a lot of great missions that involve platforming or stealth that are super fun. But there's an equal number of out of place missions that don't feel at home in a stealth platformer, and more mini games and turret missions than Jak 3, which got old fast.
Like the first game, I didn't find a lot of the power ups very useful, I think they could have been implemented better.
When it comes to the story however, this is something I do concede is pretty well done, but I have some gripes. For starters, I was never a fan of basing the story around Clockwork again. I get there's a lot of thematic potential there, but it would have been more interesting if it was something new imo. That said, how they handle most of it is great. The character writing between the 3 guys is superb, the conspiracy of the Klaww gang is great. My biggest gripes come down to Neyla and the ending. I think Neyla is a fine character, up until she betrays the Cooper gang. After that's all dealt with, the game didn't really know what to do with her. She just becomes an enemy, and gets annoying. Then there's the ending. The final chapter where Neyla betrays Arpeggio felt predictable, and a waste of Arpeggio's character, Clock-la is really dumb and given no justification, and where the hell did the "hate chip" come from? That felt like such a weird and contrived plot device that came out of nowhere. The final chapter felt sloppily written in comparison to the rest of the story. Though how the game leaves the gang was really well done.
Sly 2 is a weird game for me, because the potential is definitely there, but it frustrates me too much for me to really enjoy it. And while Sly 3 definitely has it's issues, I feel a lot of my issues with 2 were fixed in 3, so I'm really excited to hear your thoughts on that game!
Is Sly 3 the one that allows you to replay missions you've already played in the menu?
@@fictionalmediabully9830 I'm pretty sure, yeah
Sly 2 is the best game ever 🤍🦝
It's also my favorite of all time
My ideal Sly game would have far more traversal. i loved the platforming, even if much of it was Press O and magnet to an obstacle. I wish the world was designed with that in mind. Climbing around, going where you probably shouldnt be is top tier movement, and Sly never quite got there. If it ever came back I'd hope for something where movement flow in the overworld and some real platforming gauntlets came back. I didn't care much for "Do this random job" design, but I'm sure it can be refined nowadays.
Just a Warning, I would suggest you change the Thumbnail since it might cause confusion, because while the render of Sly & Carmelita is from Sly 2, it was used on Sly 3 European box art, not as an small thing either it's the main focus of the box art, which caused me to believe this was the Sly 3 video and I somehow missed the Sly 2 video, that said.
Great video I really liked it.
Could you say this game was the first Assassins Creed-like game ? It seems to have the climbing mechanics, pursuits & it just seems to have a lot of similarities I think.. sure I'm not the only person that got that idea when surveying ememies from roof tops
Crash Bandicoot 3 Warped used to be my favorite game of all time because it was the first game I've ever fully completed, and at the time it blew my mind that the ending was different after I collected all the gems and relics, but after I went through some difficult times in my life MediEvil and its story about redemption resonated with me and gave me hope to never give up.
What a game! It took forever to complete crash 3 and i gave up and rage quit multiple times but people at school telling me you get a rocket launcher at the end spurred me on to keep pushing through it. First crash I played and always be my fav. Medieval was zelda for cool kids lmao, I only rented it and never got far in the first game but completed the second game
Honestly as cool sly 3 is 2 is my fav
Few games have ever made me genuinely fear for a character’s wellbeing better than Sly 2 when Bentley became paralyzed. I cried my eyes out after such a masterpiece of a game.
I’m also so happy with the fact that just because Bentley was confined to a wheelchair it didn’t limit him. Made him a badass wheel jet pack turtle.
I played this game so many times as a kid. I remember the opening part of the game blowing me away when you and the gang are running from Carmelita shooting her shock gun. And I loved how great the story was they didn’t just get lazy since it’s cartoon animals. I hope one day we can get a ps5 remaster of the trilogy and a new game
Carmelita had the best VA in this game, no idea why they didn’t stick with this one
Weird question I know but is there a reason you're J's let's play's channel is empty?
Great review!
I love your content, because while I don't game any more you always make the series you love relatable to me.
You have really matured as a reviewer and I hope you keep it up!
It's my favorite in the series despite awesome moments in 3. I was talking to a friend the other day on this topic, and my feelings were that 2 never seemed to outstay its welcome in any one part. In 1 in particular, I got very sick of some sections immediately. 2 even its worst zones in my babby childhood memory felt more then acceptable.
The horndog in me wants to say 3 though because of the Carmelita giantess section. Awakened some shit in me growing up. Goddammit.
J is the George Lucas of RUclips. Sly 2 Review Special Edition 2022.
Great job though!
It definitely isn't just nostalgia talking when people really like this game. I was already in my twenties when I played the game myself, with a decade of pretty constant gaming, and lots of different games from Spyro trilogy and Zeldas to Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasies behind me. Still, Sly 2 had great impact in me. There is something about this game I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it is the fact it really didn't *need* to go as hard as it did, but did it anyway. Maybe it is that it's just so well constructed as a whole, even if it trips occasionally. Whatever the case, it still is one of my favourite games, too.