Thievius Raccoonus

Lore & Background

The Thievius Raccoonus is an ancient book that contains the Cooper family's secrets, intended to help Sly become a master thief. On his 8th birthday, Sly was to inherit it, but the Fiendish Five invaded his home, murdered his father, and stole pages from the book before spreading across the world. Sly was sent to an orphanage, where he formed a gang with Bentley and Murray. Two years later, the Cooper Gang infiltrates Interpol headquarters in Paris to steal a police file on the Fiendish Five.

They track the members to their hideouts: Sir Raleigh in Wales, Muggshot in Utah, Mz. Ruby in Haiti, and the Panda King in China. Sly defeats each member, takes back their pages, and leaves them for Inspector Carmelita Fox to arrest. Each member reveals the location of the next, up to their leader, Clockwerk.

In Clockwerk's lair in a Russian volcano, Sly rescues Carmelita, and they temporarily team up. Clockwerk reveals he converted himself into a machine to gain immortality out of jealousy of the Cooper Clan, and that he killed Sly's father. After Clockwerk is defeated, Carmelita attempts to arrest Sly, but he kisses her and handcuffs her to a rail before escaping. The gang returns to their hideout with the fully recovered Thievius Raccoonus. After the credits, one of Clockwerk's eyes flashes open.

Reader's Guide

The Thievius Raccoonus was developed as the central narrative and gameplay mechanic for Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, released by Sucker Punch Productions for the PlayStation 2 in 2002. The book serves as the in-game justification for Sly's expanding moveset: as players recover its pages, they unlock new moves such as creating a decoy or dropping an explosive hat.' This design elegantly ties character progression to story progression, encouraging exploration and completionism. Critically, the Thievius Raccoonus was praised for its clever integration into both plot and gameplay.