Thieves In Time Rewrite - Blog Posts

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #3

Oblivious Guilt Slinging at its finest. With a massive splash of Becoming The Mask. And it keeps going until Le Paradox reveals her secret during All Rolled Up. In case you forgot, that's the tail end of Episode 5.

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #2

For context, this is one of Penelope's actions during Something's Fishy. Episode 1. It's during a newly added RC Car segment.

For more context, this "gate" is something she could have opened in seconds. It's something she designed herself.

And these "higher expectations" might make future snooping sessions a bit harder. Whoops. And even worse, she comes out of this one empty-handed.

But at least her boyfriend and honorary older brother like her better now?

Episode 1 Progress (Thieves In Time Redux)

And here's what I've been focusing on...

I don't know. You tell me how to write anything that goes on in that geisha house. And Rioichi's dialogue.

My solution is to find stuff for Penelope to do in the background so I don't have to worry about anything Rioichi does. And it's perfect because at this point in the story, Penelope's not exactly going to be a team player yet.

I don't dislike Rioichi. I just don't want to write for him.

Thieves In Time Redux Super Duper Abridged

In which our heroine, Penelope, gets roped into a time travelling journey.

Paris Tutorial: How did I wind up in this mess?

Episode 1: I'm not feeling up to this...

Episode 2: What's truly important to me?

Episode 3: I've been on the wrong side this whole time!

Episode 4: Time to start being a hero again!

Episode 5: Now comes the part where I pull my weight...

Episode 6: And now the part where I redeem myself!

Thieves In Time Redux: Paris Tutorial Progress

Here's how I've been dividing my time so far...

Intro Cutscene: %100 finished

Sly: %97 finished

Bentley: %47 finished

Penelope: %64 finished

Murray: %25 finished

Final (running into Carmelita): %35 finished

The hardest parts are overhauling Bentley's segment and writing an entirely new segment for Penelope.

I'm also pretty bad at writing action and fight scenes right now. Murray might have to wait a while.

And in hindsight, so will the part where our four heroes floor it into a time portal.

That means I'm roughly %61 done with the tutorial. Give or take a few points.

Thieves In Time Redux status

Here's how it's going in a nutshell...

I can't help it if the final mission of Episode 4 is so fun to imagine. My revenge against the vanilla game is going to go so hard.

Penelope is going to come out of this one as a total badass. Who's on the right side as she was always meant to.

By the way, none of these episodes are finished yet. Not even the Paris Tutorial. The only finished part is the intro cutscene, where our four heroes get their first lines.

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #2

For context, this is one of Penelope's actions during Something's Fishy. Episode 1. It's during a newly added RC Car segment.

For more context, this "gate" is something she could have opened in seconds. It's something she designed herself.

And these "higher expectations" might make future snooping sessions a bit harder. Whoops. And even worse, she comes out of this one empty-handed.

But at least her boyfriend and honorary older brother like her better now?

Thieves In Time Redux Mission Recaps

Here's what happens in each mission:

Paris Tutorial Intro: Our four heroes break into a museum to steal a dagger so they can travel through-- wait, hold up. Four?!

Sly Cooper, The Thief: A museum break-in goes almost according to plan.

Bentley, The Brains: A turtle and mouse run through a sewer system, then get separated.

Penelope, The Wild Card: A mouse feels overprotected and underestimated as she reunites with her other half.

Murray, The Brawn: A hippo cleans house with some weak rat guards.

Carmelita, The Ex-Girlfriend: One secret-keeper escapes suspicion by the skin of their teeth while another gets caught in the act.

Episode 1 Intro: The van goes on its maiden voyage as Penelope reconsiders her life choices.

Photo Op: Our heroes settle in while Sly does recon work.

Breakout: Sly breaks his first ancestor out of prison.

Sushi House Startup: Penelope does background research while Rioichi reclaims his sushi restauraunt.

Something's Fishy: A turtle, hippo, and mouse go fishing in a not-so-secret fishing hole.

Pretty In Pinker: Murray embraces his feminine side while Penelope does more background work.

Tiger Tail: Penelope convinces Bentley to take her place so she can go snooping around elsewhere.

Spiked Sushi: Rioichi spikes his sushi while Penelope does even more background work.

Altitude Sickness: Our heroes deal with El Jefe. Also, Penelope tries to go rogue.

Episode 2 Intro: A mouse gets parented as the team ventures off west.

Under Arrest: Sly gets himself arrested to save another of his ancestors.

Jailhouse Blues: Sly tries to break Tennessee out of prison. Meanwhile, Penelope re-examines her priorities.

Cooper For Hire: Scorpions attack a turtle. Tennessee reclaims his cane from Toothpick.

Saloon Bug: Lots of guards see double while Penelope snoops around in a saloon's air vents.

Blind Date: Penelope stays behind while everyone else tries to save a captured Carmelita.

Jail Break: Penelope, Carmelita, and Tennessee try to break the boys out of Toothpick's jail. At the same time, Penelope sees a dark future.

Grand Key Larceny: Murray, Sly, Carmelita, and Penelope compete to win keys to free the Cooper Van from its prison.

OP: Gold Digger: Our heroes reclaim their van, steal some gold, then take Toothpick down.

Episode 3 Intro: Our heroes get stranded in prehistory. A hot-headed fox storms off on her own.

Stone Age Reconnaissance: Sly scours a prehistoric ice age for missing time machine parts.

Unexpected Ties: Sly finds an ancestor in a cave wolf.

Getting Stronger: Bob gets training in, then someone else falls ill. Spoiler alert: It's Penelope who gets sick.

Going Up: A benched Murray searches for healing herbs while Bob scales a mountain.

Starving Starving Hippo: Murray searches for more healing herbs while reclaiming time machine parts from penguins.

Ice Ice Bentley: Bentley goes searching for healing herbs while tagging The Grizz.

Duty Calls: Sly chases The Grizz, then runs into a familiar fox… Meanwhile, Penelope sees the error of her ways.

OP: Jurassic Thievery: The Grizz gets his tail handed to him by a hippo and a newly reformed mouse.

Episode 4 Intro: Penelope treads familiar ground while evading suspicion.

Shopping Spree: Sly goes material hunting.

Juggling Act: Sly releases another ancestor from his prison.

Cane Swipe: Sly reclaims Sir Galleth's cane.

Eye In The Sky: Sir Galleth strikes down some evil-eyed blimps.

Mechanical Menace: A lady slays a mechanical dragon for a knight. Meanwhile, Sly gets relationship advice.

Short Supply: Our heroes systematically shut down some systems of the Black Knight.

Untitled SSH: Penelope's kidnappers are identified at last.

Hard Target: Sly engages in target practice, but trouble arises afterwards…

Princess Out Of Distress, Part 1: A somewhat distressed princess escapes from a tower.

Princess Out Of Distress, Part 2: A princess and her knight in a shining wheelchair defeat a robotic impostor. Confessions are made.

OP: Frog Trap: Sir Raleigh gets royally clapped by a reformed traitor and her blissfully ignorant friends.

Episode 5 Intro: A scorching hot desert does nothing to douse a mouse's rising spirits.

Lost And Found: Sly searches around for yet another ancestor.

Open Sesame: Sly pays a price with some priceless gems.

Rug Rats: Salim finds and frees the first of his friends.

Up In Smoke: A turtle and mouse double team some air defenses.

Copy Cats: A raccoon, a hippo, and a mouse get trapped in a cave.

Heavy Metal Meltdown: Miss Decibel gets a taste of modern music… and hates it.

???????????: Penelope finally starts to feel like she belongs in a real family.

All Rolled Up: A terrible secret is exposed. An elephant is also trounced by a mouse and her friends.

Episode 6 Intro: The boys make a deal with the traitor in their ranks.

The Final Plan: Penelope nearly cracks under the pressure while preparing for what may be her final mission.

Deja Vu All Over Again, Part 1: Penelope works to redeem herself for real.

Deja Vu All Over Again, Part 2: Le Paradox's plot finally meets its end.

Epilogue: Everything is wrapped up. Our heroes prepare for a new adventure in the present day.

Here's what it should have looked like...

It's the prologue in a nutshell.

On top of this, her blueprints for said blimp also get stolen.

Just a meme I made for my Thieves In Time rewrite. It's on DeviantArt.

Just a meme I made for my Thieves In Time rewrite. It's on DeviantArt.

Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Redux

Here's a super abridged recap of my rewrite of Thieves In Time...

Prologue: Penelope is revealed to still be behind the events of the game. She nearly gets kidnapped, foolishly tells Bentley about it in a panic, then gets roped into joining Sly, Bentley, and Murray for the whole game. She enters the game keeping a dark secret of betrayal.

Paris Tutorial: Joins Bentley in the sewers. They get separated, she gets her own segment. She saves his skin as they reunite.

Turning Japanese: Does her tasks to avoid looking sus. Tries to go rogue during Altitude Sickness. Runs into Sly and El Jefe's duel, then decides to help Sly. Also gets scolded for running off. Her secret is safe.

Go West, Young Raccoon: Manages to save Bentley's skin twice; once during Cooper For Hire, and again during Jail Break. Also gets to see Carmelita tearing Sly a new one, making her see a dark future for her and Bentley. Secret is still safe.

Clan Of The Cave Raccoon: Gets very sick, sees the error of her ways. Sees Sly and Carmelita not getting along, doesn't want the same thing for her and Bentley. Resolves to become a team player. Secret is still safe.

Of Frogs And Mechs: Sir Raleigh is revealed to be behind Penelope's botched kidnapping. She also has a robotic impostor. His men kidnap her. She mostly frees herself, and she gets to fight her impostor and Raleigh. She also gets closer to Bentley. Secret is still safe.

40 Thieves: Spends the whole episode pulling her weight and then some. Le Paradox reveals her secret of betrayal during All Rolled Up just when she's starting to feel like a true member of the team again. She refuses to rejoin the skunk. Her secret is out.

Paris Epilogue: Leads the raid on Le Paradox's blimp, then starts the final boss fight. Nearly loses before the rest of the playable cast comes in to help. Gives a speech on what she learned about friendship and takes Le Paradox down.

Aftermath: Tries to leave the Cooper Gang out of guilt, only to be forgiven. The game ends with her still on their roster. She and Bentley are also engaged.

Let's all just pretend this is what actually happened instead of the hot mess that was vanilla Thieves In Time.

Feel free to make as much fanart for this project as you want. I'm no artist; just a writer with big ideas.

Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Redux by nikkikins

What a storytelling trainwreck Thieves In Time was... Here. I fixed it for ya. This a Thieves In Time rewrite.

Let’s keep the “Penelope betrays the gang” angle, but rope her into the adventure and have her learn a lesson or two about friendship. She’ll start off wanting no part of the journey, then grow to like Sly, Bentley, and Murray all over again, eventually seeing the error of her ways.

And also have her narrate. Yes, I know that’s a bold move, but ask yourself this. Would this story work if Sly narrated? Didn’t think so. 

Now, this story doesn’t include her motive. Nor any dialogue. That part is left up to the reader.

Penelope will spend most of this story keeping quiet about her treachery, only for everything to be revealed at the end of Episode 5. By then, she will have returned to being on the right side for real. 

She only gets as far as designing the blimp in this story.

One last thing... Toad Town from Paper Mario: The Origami King not only slaps, but its musical progression works perfectly with this story. Start with Musée Champignon, then Toad Town Ghost Town, and work your way up to Toad Town’s final form. 

Spoiler alert: As the music progresses to its final form, Penelope will become more heroic.

Here’s your order: 

Musée Champignon (Prologue & Paris Tutorial)

Toad Town Ghost Town (Turning Japanese) 

Toad Town Red Streamer Removal (Go West, Young Raccoon)

Toad Town Blue Streamer Removal (Clan Of The Cave Raccoon)

Toad Town Yellow Streamer Removal (Of Frogs And Mechs)

Toad Town Purple Streamer Removal (40 Thieves)

Toad Town Green Streamer Removal (Paris Epilogue)

Yes, you read that correctly. Episode 4 has a new villain. I’ll give you one good guess who they might be.