It was this past year that I finally got around to playing all four games of the Sly Cooper series, a series I fell in love with, in fact, within the first hour.  The whole stealth gameplay was very new to me, and I also greatly enjoyed the characters.  One other area where this game really shines is its locations.  You see, the Sly Cooper universe takes place in a world very similar to Earth, except it is populated by anthropomorphic animals rather than people, a fact I found quite entertaining indeed.  And so, to celebrate a new favorite series of mine, this list is dedicated to my six favorite locations in the Sly Cooper series.

6: Blood Bath Bay (Sly 3): All throughout the Sly series, I had been hoping for a pirate-themed level, and I finally got it with Blood Bath Bay (sounds like a nice place, doesn’t it?).  Exploring a pirate village was pretty cool, but what I think I liked the most was pickpocketing from pirates.  Now that was just too good an opportunity to pass up.  You even get such lovely past times as a mini game where you insult someone, pirate-style, and the ability to sail around on a pirate ship.  Further proof that you can’t go wrong with anything pirate-themed.

5: Haitian Swamp (Sly 1): My favorite location from the original game, this sinister swamp was home to the voodoo-practicing crocodile, Mz. Ruby.  I love all creepy locations, so this was just the place for me, as Sly got to sneak and slink through the undergrowth beneath the cover of nightfall, all the while facing ghosts and other foul creatures.  The music around Mz. Ruby’s lair is also sufficiently ominous, which really helps to set the mood.  Oh, and there’s even a giant snake hiding beneath the water.  Just a heads-up.

Video from Youtube User: Ryan Stushnoff

4: Wild West (Sly 4): To be honest, I was rather surprised that I enjoyed this location as much as I did.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the desert or Westerns or any of that kind of stuff, and yet this place ended up being one of my top locations in Sly 4.  I just loved exploring this rambling and rickety, old Western town and gazing out at those rock formations in the distance.  I also particularly enjoyed the enemy choices here, which includes coyotes and jackalopes.

3: Arabian Oasis (Sly 4): Again, not being a particular fan of desert scenery made it all the more shocking that I loved Sly 4’s second desert level even more than the first.  This Arabian oasis was a truly beautiful place, a fact that was clearly apparent from the moment I saw that sunset over emerald waters.  Not only was this place a joy to behold, but it even had a magic carpet.  I recall spending a good amount of time trying to figure out how I could ride it, and once I did, I just sat back and enjoyed my own personal tour.

2: Gothic Prague (Sly 2): Since I love creepy locations, it was only natural that I fell in love with Prague immediately.  Huge, shambling vultures, bats, werewolves.  Red skies and Gothic architecture.  What’s not to love?  As soon as I arrived on the streets of Prague, I was pretty intimidated by this place, I must admit, but once I forced my hesitant self onwards, I found slinking about its rooftops to be a truly atmospheric experience.

Video from Youtube User: Ryan Stushnoff

  1: Canadian Wilderness (Sly 2): I was not expecting myself to love this level as much as I did, but Canada was easily my favorite location in the entire series.  This place was just so different, so huge and open and wild, and I felt so isolated from the world when there was nothing about me but miles of snow in one direction and an endless icy ocean in the other.  Plus, there were trains you could ride, snowy mountains to climb, and bears to avoid.  Those bears were seriously terrifying!  Nothing in Prague or Haiti combined could prepare me for being chased down by an enraged bear!

Video from Youtube User: Ryan Stushnoff

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