Samurai Costume

"Roger that, just call me "Samurai Sly.""

- Sly to Bentley

The Samurai Costume is a costume in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time that is acquired in Feudal Japan. It is obtained by pickpocketing three different pieces of the suit of armor from three different guards, namely the Helmet, Leggings, and Chestplate. It is required to enter the Imperial Prison, where Rioichi Cooper is being held captive.

Description
"Forged long ago for a great general, this heavy armor was made to "battle even demon enemies." Its unique construction withstands the fiercest flames, while its shield can reflect fireballs!"

- In-game description

The Samurai Costume consists of many different parts. Sly wears a kabuto (a traditional samurai helmet) on his head with decorations called fukikaeshi attached to the side. On the front of the helmet is a headpiece (consisting of a maedate and mabizashi), which obstructs most of Sly's face. He wears vambraces and large spaulders on his arms; his standard gloves can be seen under the vambraces. Worn on his torso is the standard breastplate worn by samurais, with faulds hanging from the bottom along with a white sash wrapped around his waist. An unusable katana is sheathed on his left hip. Sly does not receive any greaves with this costume, he still wears his blue boots instead. Due to the armor being designed for users of a larger build, the costume looks oversized and bulky, causing Sly to walk awkwardly while wearing it.

Abilities

 * Shield: The Samurai Costume comes with a large shield that Sly wields in place of his cane. By holding, he will hold his shield behind him, activating it's rotating blades. Releasing will have him slash the shield towards his front side. This is used to deflect fireballs shot at him back towards the target. Sly would use the shield to disable the final defenses blocking him from rescuing Rioichi Cooper and to deflect El Jefe's attacks back at him, leaving him vulnerable for a counterattack. The shield can be used to fight guards, instantly defeating rooftop guards in one hit and defeating flashlight guards in three hits.
 * Fire resistance: A major trait that the costume possess is the immunity against flames, allowing Sly walk through them, which would otherwise be fatal. He would use this to bypass flamethrowers within the Imperial Prison and once again to defend himself from one of El Jefe's unavoidable attacks. The costume's armor also displays immunity to the ranged attacks of flashlight guards and the explosion of TNT barrels. Sly's feet are unprotected however, meaning he will get burned by walking on lava or scorching rocks.
 * Disguise: While wearing the Samurai Costume, all guards will mistake Sly as one of their own, showing respect to him whenever he passes by. Attacking them however, will provoke them to retaliate. Sly would use this to his advantage to enter and traverse the Imperial Prison. He would later dismiss the guards guarding Rioichi's sushi house so that Rioichi may enter. The Samurai Costume will not fool guards from any other time periods aside from Feudal Japan.

Weaknesses and limitations
Due to the weight and large size of the armor, Sly cannot run, jump, or perform any acrobatic moves while wearing this costume. While the shield can be used to attack, it has poor range, making it ineffective in close combat despite its decent attack power.

Trivia

 * This costume, along with the Sabertooth Costume, are the only costumes that Sly is shown wearing his standard outfit underneath the costume. In this case his boots and gloves are visible.
 * When confronting the samurai guarding the door, Sly addresses himself as "Major Muggshot", a reference to Muggshot, a recurring villain in the series.
 * Some of Sly's idle animation while wearing the costume has him nod or performing a salute.
 * The shield that is used with the Samurai Costume is similar to the shield used by General Tsao, as both possess retractable blades that can be used to slash at opponents.
 * It is possible Sanzaru got the concept for the Samurai Costume from Rioichi Cooper's section of the Cooper Vault, as a suit of samurai armor is seen there in "The Ancestors' Gauntlet."
 * In concept art, Sly is seen holding a giant bamboo bow, a sheathed katana, and a quiver of arrows. In gameplay, he only wields a shield while the katana sheathed at his side is only for aesthetics.
 * The katana sheathed on Sly's hip while wearing the costume shares the same model with the one worn on Rioichi's back.
 * The Samurai Costume is one of the two costumes in the game that will actually fool guards, but only in its respective episode. The other is the Sabertooth Costume, which will fool guards in every episode if Sly is lying flat on the ground (impersonating a rug), regardless of whether or not he is moving.