The Thievius Raccoonus (Launch into Action)

Lore & Background

The Thievius Raccoonus is not merely a book; in the lore of the series it is a compendium of the greatest heists ever attempted, a grimoire of stolen secrets that every thief covets. In the opening of the game, the book has fallen into the hands of the villainous Clockwork, who has fortified a jungle compound to keep it safe. Sly Cooper, fresh out of his training, sees the theft as the perfect proving ground for his small but talented crew.

"Launch into Action" is where the player first feels the weight of the series' identity: a 3D platformer dressed in the language of a heist film. The jungle is alive with patrolling guards, tripwires, and sightlines to manage, yet the tone remains playful. Sly's signature move—throwing a small object to distract a guard—feels like a magic trick, and Murray's brute-force solutions to locked doors or stacked crates give the level a satisfying variety of verbs.

Narratively, the level establishes the stakes without over-explaining. The Thievius Raccoonus is presented as a MacGuffin of almost mythic importance, and its theft sets the larger conflict with Clockwork in motion. For players, it is the moment the franchise's voice—wry, self-aware, and endlessly charming—first takes hold.

In Their Own Story

The jungle hums with cicadas and the distant clank of a guard's boots on a metal walkway. Sly crouches behind a broad-leafed fern, his tail flicking once, twice. Above, Caracara circles in a lazy figure-eight, calling out the patrol route in a low, gravelly whisper. Below, Murray's massive paws rest on a crate he's about to shove into the path of a sleeping sentry.

Sly pulls a small pebble from his pocket. He doesn't need to look. He flicks it. It bounces off a tin can, rings like a bell, and two guards peel away from the vault door, boots crunching on gravel. For four seconds the corridor is empty.

Sly is through. The Thievius Raccoonus sits on a velvet cushion, its cover catching the green-filtered light. He lifts it, tucks it under his arm, and is already turning back toward the treeline. Behind him, the guards are turning back. The jungle swallows the sound of their shouts. By the time they reach the vault, there is only the faint impression of a raccoon's pawprints in the dust, and the distant caw of a condor banking toward the sunset.

Reader's Guide

TARGET: The Thievius Raccoonus, secured inside a vault at the centre of a jungle compound. The book is the level's primary objective; without it, the heist is not complete.

OBSTACLES: The compound is ringed by patrolling guards with fixed sightlines. Tripwires, stacked crates, and locked doors create a layered puzzle. Guards react to noise, so the player must time distractions (Sly's throwable objects) and use Murray to clear physical barriers. Caracara provides aerial recon and can reach elevated switch points that advance the route.

POSITION IN ARC: This is the very first heist. It introduces every core mechanic—sneaking, throwing, switching crew members, and the getaway sequence—before the game escalates in scope and difficulty.

WHAT MAKES IT MEMORABLE: The jungle palette, the playful guard AI, and the satisfying rhythm of a first heist. The vault room, with its single spotlight on the book, is a small theatrical moment that sets the tone for the entire series.

ALTERNATE / HIDDEN OBJECTIVES: The level contains optional secondary tasks, such as freeing captive animals hidden in side areas, which reward thorough exploration. Collecting all optional items in the chapter unlocks a bonus reward at the end of the level. Players can also attempt a no-detection run, which is achievable but requires careful pathing around every patrol loop.

TIP: Before entering the vault, take a moment with Caracara to memorise the guard rotation. The vault door only opens for a brief window, and rushing in without reading the pattern is the most common early frustration.

Did You Know?

• The Thievius Raccoonus is both the name of the book Sly must steal and the title of the entire game, making the first level a literal theft of the game's own namesake.
• Sucker Punch Productions, the developer, later created the inFamous and inFamous 2 franchises, but Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus was their first released title.
• The game's core mechanic of switching between Sly, Bennet, Murray, and Caracara mid-heist was a notable design choice for a 2002 3D platformer, blending stealth and platforming in a way that was uncommon at the time.
• The series' signature visual style—stylised, cel-shaded characters in a 3D world—was established in this first entry and carried through all subsequent Sly Cooper games.