Thanks to my local video game store for cleaning out the scratches from my copy, I could finish the final portion of the game and give my thoughts on Sly Cooper. Like Ratchet & Clank, this was a series I never grew up with when the PS2 was still king. Being a fan of funky 3D platformers with collect-a-thon mechanics, the first game of the series brings a wonderful impression to what Sly Cooper is about. Cooper himself is an incredibly cool and suave character that is also not insufferable. The game does everything it can to immerse you as a stealthy trickster and "thief" who is trying to salvage his ancestor's legacy that was taken away from him. For a story that builds on this comic-book like, Saturday morning cartoon approach, it creates an effective call-to-action. The game itself is also paced very well. Levels are linear and short, and collectables can be found within one or two runs. I appreciate a game that can build great environments within small spaces like this. The bosses carry the right amount of challenge, and while I don't want to spoil too much, they all have unique gimmicks that I hadn't seen done in many games. If there's anything to fault this game for, it's for the mini-games disguised as afterthoughts to pad a good game. Other things like the camera controls and positioning could have been handled better. The hitbox detection is also inconsistent at times and resulted in more deaths than I care to admit. By today's standards, the Thievius Raccoonus holds up well enough with the limitations presented.