History YMMV / SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus

* HilariousInHindsight: Panda King is a panda who practices kung-fu and uses fireworks before a movie about a [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda certain panda who practices kung-fu and uses fireworks came out.]]

** Mz. Ruby, for those who didn't find her to be ThatOneBoss. It's an UnexpectedGameplayChange to a rhythm game mixed with Simon Says. For those who were good with ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5'', it provides to be a fun challenge. On top of that, Mz. ruby also gives visual cues for those who are hard of hearing.
** The Panda King is basically a standard BossBattle... which is ''exactly'' why he's a fun boss. Every other boss has a gimmick of either outlasting their invulnerable mode, [[PuzzleBoss reflecting light to hit them]], or multiple UnexpectedGameplayChange segments. The Panda King doesn't have any of these gimmicks.

* BreatherLevel: Fire In The Sky, while still moderately challenging, is probably the easiest part of the game and a relieving change of pace before you're thrown into the brutality of Clockwerk's lair, and the Panda King is a refreshingly easy boss as the cherry on top. The only truly difficult part is the Murray race, and even thats more forgiving than the previous one.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Various minigames start replacing platforming levels the the longer the game goes on. This culminates in Clockwerk's lair, which has no hub world and consists mostly of [[GimmickLevel gimmick levels]] - out of 7 missions, only 2 are full platforming levels. Even the FinalBoss is a glorified turret section with minor platforming elements, [[Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad although it still manages to live up to the hype]].

** The ghost cats from the Vicious Voodoo stage.

** While we only learn of the villain’s main evil deeds in their stages introductory stages, we actually see the Panda King [[DoomedHometown destroy a mountain village]] because they wouldn't pay his protection racket… then, when you enter his compound, you hear an announcement from the Panda King telling his workers to ''murder any survivors'' in case they come to the compound looking for vengeance. This, and his part in killing Sly’s parents, is part of the reason why Sly refuses recruit him in the third game [[ThisIsUnforgivable or forgive him]].

** When Carmelita is temporarily defeated again in Fire in the Sky, when the rock shes falling on falls, [[SpecialEffectsFailure she stands stiff as a plank on it as it]] ''[[SpecialEffectsFailure slowly]]'' [[SpecialEffectsFailure sinks into the snow, creating an unintentionally comical sight in what should be a tense scene.]]
** The [[FinalBoss Clockwerk fight]] has as much tension as the rest of the level, with Sly maneuvering over mechanical parts in a volcano and avoiding lasers to get to Clockwerk while dramatic music blares. However, the final part of the fight has a few distracting details that somewhat detract from the atmosphere, namely that the malfunctioning Clockwerk starts spouting silly non sequiturs while repairing himself and the fact that him falling into the lava makes the sound effect for splashing into water.

** "Bentley Comes Through," because every broken piece of code hurts you AND you have OneHitKill security drones after you as well. It gets to ridiculous NintendoHard levels like most of the final level.
** Both of the Murray Races are among the most frustrating parts of the game, due in part to the loose physics of the car and the tight track design making it a huge pain to even pass up the other cars, much less hold the lead. At times, they can really feel like a LuckBasedMission. To add insult to injury, finishing them is mandatory to beat the game.
** Pirahna Lake isnt particularly hard compared to the rest of the game, but it can be a serious slog to beat for newcomers. You have to light up 25 torches while using pirahnas to fuel your swamp skiffs flamethrower. Catch is, youre given a very tight 2 minute time limit, and the pirahnas constantly flee from you and have tiny hitboxes, making it hard to stack up on fuel. Oh, and you can only hold five shots at any time.

** The Vita port removes the developer commentaries, probably to save space.

** The [=PS3=] remaster remixes some of the music - while this doesn't sound too bad on it's own, it causes the Mz. Ruby boss fight to be is off beat to the song, making the inputs trickier to pull off.

* DisappointingLastLevel: Various minigames start replacing platforming levels the the longer the game goes on. This culminates in Clockwerk's lair, which has no hub world and consists mostly of [[GimmickLevel gimmick levels]] - out of 7 missions, only 2 are full platforming levels. Even the FinalBoss is a glorified turret section with minor platforming elements, [[TropesAreNotBad although it still manages to live up to the hype]].

* DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound: "Press the Circle to enter the vault code." Yes, Bentley, we understood that instruction the first few times we opened a vault; we don't need it in the final level.

* PortingDisaster: The [=PS3=] remaster remixes some of the music, removes the developers commentaries as a bonus feature (though they were restored in the Vista port) and the Mz. Ruby boss fight is off beat to the song, making the inputs trickier to pull off.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Sure, all five members of the Fiendish Five are extremely colorful and memorable in their own unique ways, but it would have been ''really'' awesome to see them all being dastardly as a group. Sadly, aside from a single flashback to [[DeathByOriginStory the death of Sly’s father]] (where we just see their silhouettes), they spend the whole game in their separate lairs.
** Unlike in the later games, the villains don't appear in person until their boss fight; unfortunately this means they don't get too much characterization as a result. While you can piece some details together from their PA announcements and intro cutscenes, they don't feel as fleshed out as, say, Don Octavio or Contessa.

* PortingDisaster: The [=PS3=] remaster remixes some of the music, removes the developers commentaries as a bonus feature (though they were restored in the Visa port) and the Mz. Ruby boss fight is off beat to the song, making the inputs trickier to pull off.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rdOQzN2GUHk A Strange Reunion]], which plays during the final
fight with Clockwerk. It evokes the tense duel between two rivals while still managing to sound epic.

** Clockwerk definitely crossed it when he had the Fiendish Five kill Sly's father, [[spoiler: but it turns out that his whole reason for it? He hates the Cooper line and wants to surpass their reputation.]]

* ParanoiaFuel: [[spoiler: Mz. Ruby is the only one besides Clockwerk to know precisely who is messing around in her base of operations.]]
* PortingDisaster: The [=PS3=] remaster remixes some of the music, removes the developers commentaries as a bonus feature (though they were restored in the Vista port) and the Mz. Ruby boss fight is pff beat to the song, making button commands trickier to pull off.

* MostAnnoyingSound: "Press the Circle to enter the vault code." Yes, Bentley, we understood that instruction the first few times we opened a vault; we don't need it in the final level.

* WordOfGay: During development of the first game, Murray was initially going to be bisexual. This idea was dropped, however, after early tests confused players as to why Murray was talking the way he did.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The game may be set in a world of talking animals with a cartoony aesthetic, the fact that you play a career criminal and he is portrayed as cool and charming would certainly send a few mixed messages. Ignoring that, we have mobsters with guns, an entire village being buried in an avalanche in a protection, a foreboding owl monster that stalks an entire family for centuries and pretty much everything in "Vicious Voodoo."

* MostAnnoyingSound: Unlike Sly’s smooth, quiet voice, his teammates yell their lines. Bentley in particular is bad about this, given how often he speaks.

* EarWorm: Mz. Ruby's catchy boss theme ''will'' get stuck in your head, not merely because of how catchy it is but because you'll more than likely [[ThatOneBoss be hearing it over and over again.]]

* {{Narm}}: The [[FinalBoss Clockwerk fight]] has as much tension as the rest of the level, with Sly maneuvering over mechanical parts in a volcano and avoiding lasers to get to Clockwerk while dramatic music blares. However, the final part of the fight has a few distracting details that somewhat detract from the atmosphere, namely that the malfunctioning Clockwerk starts spouting silly non sequiturs while repairing himself and the fact that him falling into the lava makes the sound effect for splashing into water.

** Mz. Ruby, as the fight against her is an UnexpectedGameplayChange to a rhythm game, becoming strangely similar to ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5''.
*** Doesn't help that in the [=PS3=] Collection, the rhythm that you have to press the buttons in is off beat from the song. It can really annoy some of the more musically inclined players.

** ANY MURRAY RACE.

* HilariousInHindsight: Panda King is a panda who practices kung-fu before a movie about a [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda certain panda who practices kung-fu came out.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Muggshot, Mz. Ruby and Panda King of the Fiendish Five could qualify, [[FreudianExcuse all being rejected/bullied in their youth and becoming criminals to get revenge.]] Raleigh is a notable aversion, as [[AristocratsAreEvil he was well off]] and [[ForTheEvulz became a villain out of sheer boredom]].

** While we only learn of the villain's main evil deeds in their stages introductory stages, we actually see the Panda King [[DoomedHometown destroy a mountain village]] because they wouldn't pay his protection racket... then, when you enter his compound, you hear an announcement from the Panda King telling his workers to ''murder any survivors'' in case they come to the compound looking for vengeance. This, and his part in killing Sly's parents, is part of the reason why Sly refuses recruit him in the third game [[ThisIsUnforgivable or forgive him]].
* MostAnnoyingSound: Unlike Sly's smooth, quiet voice, his teammates yell their lines. Bentley in particular is bad about this, given how often he speaks.

** Mz. Ruby, as the fight against her is an UnexpectedGameplayChange to a Rhythm game, becoming strangely similar to ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5''.

** Muggshot as well, mostly because you have to have amazing dodging skills in order to dodge his bullets, and Muggshot is a pretty fast mover. To make matters worse, the second floor is oddly shaped with a few pitfalls and the last phase of the boss has you spire jumping to turn the mirrors around. Oh, and if you use a mirror as cover that's been turned to face him, it'll turn away when he goes to shoot you. There is one [[EasyLevelTrick saving grace]]; while using the roll move, Muggshot is completely unable to hurt you.

** "Sinking Peril". Remember that Daredevil Comet mission from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' where you have to rush through Melty Molten Galaxy without getting hit? Yeah, it's like that, but with a lot more climbing and precision jumping required. There are also portions of the level (electrified gates) that you can't rush through--you ''have'' to wait for the electricity to stop firing before you can pass.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Sure, all five members of the Fiendish Five are extremely colorful and memorable in their own unique ways, but it would have been ''really'' awesome to see them all being dastardly as a group. Sadly, aside from a single flashback to [[DeathByOriginStory the death of Sly's father]] (where we just see their silhouettes), they spend the whole game in their separate lairs.

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** Unlike in thr later games, the villains don't appear in person until their boss fight; unfortunately this means they don't get too much characterization as a result. While you can piece some details together from their PA announcements and intro cutscenes, they don't feel as fleshed out as, say, Don Octavio or Contessa.