My ranking of the Sly Cooper trilogy episodes.
Sly Cooper is my favorite video game franchise, I've played it when I was 14-19. Now I'm 29 and revisited the games and it's just been such a blast. I have a feeling I'll come back to these games until I die. They just speak to me in a way no other games did. I will rank the episodes by how much I've been enjoying them (story, design, music, missions, enemies, final heists, gameplay, vibe, everything). Worth mentioning that there is no bad Sly Cooper episode for me, so the lowest ranked are still good in my opinion.
MASTERPIECE:
1. The Black Chateau (absolute class)
2. He Who Tames the Iron Horse (the stealthy train missions alone...)
3. A Tangled Web (Contessa might be the best Sly villain, and the castle's vertical design is so fun for platforming)
4. Flight Of Fancy (loved the character interactions and the map is extremely cozy)
5. A Starry-Eyed Encounter (just a wonderful vibe, the tuxedo mission, dancing, final heist...)
6. An Opera of Fear (Venice, the gondolas, masquerading as guards, Carmelita...)
7. Jailbreak (character arc, cool prison, eerie vibes, a prime example of how soulful these games are)
8. Sunset Snake Eyes (I like poker and this reminds me of poker, great colors in this one, the levels on rooftops...)
9. Honor Among Thieves (the Cooper vault... elite)
AMAZING:
10. A Cold Alliance (General Tsao is a hoot, epic boss fight, cool character development from Sly and Panda King)
11. Tide of Terror (just a great and classic showcase of platforming)
12. The Cold Heart of Hate (I LOVE this one, so grand and cinematic, I just wished it had a couple more of platforming parts since the ones we've got are so unbelievably awesome, still fantastic)
13. Menace from the North, eh? (the atmosphere, the Northern Lights, how sneaky you feel on some missions inside the houses... the Jean Bison episodes really do it for me regarding stealth, you just jump around in a room filled with guards, and no one notices, I love that... Sly 2 did that the best)
14. Anatomy for Disaster (the sinister vibe is second to none and I think that bleakness and hopelessness sells it for me, it really reflects the position they're in, if only the missions were just a bit better, more memorable... still, an amazing time)
GREAT:
15. Fire in the Sky (pretty design and cool platforming, easy boss fight but kinda memorable because of the camera angle and how huge of a threat Panda King seems to be... has every ingredient for it to be amazing, but for some reason it just doesn't reach it for now)
16. The Predator Awakes (fantastic missions and story line, considered putting it higher, I just don't think the hub looks that good, I appreciate the damp, hazy esthetic, but sometimes it feels too washed out and low contrast, this one I always change my mind on... on some days I think I would put it in amazing because of the fun missions and great plot progression, it's just not eye candy)
17. Dead Men Tell No Tales (love LeFwee and I like the ship missions and the pirate talk, even if they feel kinda gimmicky for Sly... I think that's the main reason it's not amazing, it's the most gimmicky, "out of character" episode in Sly trilogy)
GOOD:
18. Vicious Voodoo (it's good, the platforming is very good and I like the swelling music, I just never cared for the swampy esthetic, still fun to play)
19. Rumble Down Under (some parts are quite fun, good missions, but it's easily the least interesting looking (also most ugly looking) episode in the trilogy in my opinion)
What do you think? It's worth noting that I think Sly 2 is the best and an absolute masterpiece. I appreciate how they nailed the stealth aspect in that game, just absolutely nailed it.
Also, keep in mind that this list changes constantly for me, so don't take it too seriously, there is not bad Sly episode.