Easter eggs are unexpected or undocumented features found within media that are included as a bonus or a reference. This is a list of known Easter eggs in the Sly Cooper series.
Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus[]
- Sign: When Sly opens the vault containing his police file, a bottle with "HOKYO" written on it can be seen on top of the vault. This is a reference to Hokyo Lim, one of the concept artists back at Sucker Punch Productions.
- Cooper Clan names: Many of the members of the Cooper Clan are named after employees at Sucker Punch.
- Huckleberry Finn: Sly's ancestor, Huckleberry Cooper, is named after the protagonist of this novel.
- The Godfather: The gangster film that Muggshot saw when he was younger is titled "The Dogfather".
- Hot Dog Guy: In the job "At the Dog Track", there is a hot dog stand in the center of the race track. If looked at carefully, it is seen that the hot dog on the sign has the face of one of the employees of Sucker Punch. At the end of the game, during the final cutscene, you can see the same face on Bentley's computer.
- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: When Mz. Ruby is arrested, the newspaper showcasing this has a headline that reads, "Latin Hottie Busts Big Bad Voodoo Mama!"
- H. P. Lovecraft: Raleigh's squid guards are named "H. P. Squidcraft". This name is a parody of the American writer H. P. Lovecraft, who is best known for writing horror fiction.
- Rocket: Robot on Wheels: During the closing cinematic of "Sunset Snake Eyes", Murray can be seen wearing a Whoopie World hat. Whoopie World is the hub location in Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
Sly 2: Band of Thieves[]
- American Gothic: During the end credits, the game states that the Contessa eventually became a successful real estate broker. The accompanying picture features the Contessa with a mind-controlled farmer couple with stern faces, the male carrying a pitchfork, and an old-fashioned house in the background. The overall picture is a spoof of Grant Wood's famous painting, American Gothic.
- Cairo Paintings: In the tutorial there are paintings on the walls. These paintings contain portraits of the Fiendish Five from the first game, early concept art for Sly Cooper, and the unwrapped skins of both Rocket and Jojo the Raccoon from Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
- Grave Stone: In the cemetery in "A Tangled Web", some of the gravestones say "R.I.P. Rocket", referring to the main character from Sucker Punch's first game, Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
- Crypt of the Evil Wolf Priestess: In "A Tangled Web", head down into the Crypt of the Evil Wolf Priestess as Sly after completing the corresponding mission. Stand on one of the two forward pillars in the back room of the crypt and face the wall. Open the binocucom, then rotate the view around to face the coffin in the center of the room. Wait a few seconds, and depending on which pillar Sly is standing on, either Rocket or Jojo will appear, floating and rotating above the coffin. These characters are from Sucker Punch's first game, Rocket: Robot on Wheels.
- Dimitri's Remix: In the nightclub where Bentley does the job "Disco Demolitions", hit a turntable. The background music will restart, with Dimitri talking over it.
- Giant Attack Robot sees you: In "Jailbreak", go towards the giant attack robot you disabled after completing the job. Stand around the corner on the ledge in front of it. Walk around the corner and keep your camera focused on the robot. If you are looking away from the robot, its red eyes will appear.
- The Shining: During the opening cutscene to "He Who Tames the Iron Horse", Jean Bison can be seen half-submerged in the snow, covered in frost. This is a parody of a similar scene from the Stanley Kubrick film The Shining.
- Doctor Who: The tanks from Prague bear a similar resemblance to Daleks, a race of creatures from the television series Doctor Who. This is more noticeable when compared to the new Doctor Who series (which came out the year after Sly 2) than the old one.
- Toonami: Pausing the game and entering the cheat code: will grant Sly a new power-up that functions similarly to Alarm Clock. Instead of an alarm clock, it will generate TOM, a character from this cartoon block.
- Jak and Daxter: The villainous organization in the game is called the Klaww Gang. Klaww is also the name of a boss in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
- Star Wars: At the end of "Operation: Hippo Drop", Murray gets the Clockwerk wings to the Cooper Van and shouts "Punch it!", a line commonly associated with Han Solo.
- Kiss of the Spider Woman: During the opening cinematic of "A Tangled Web", there's a shot of the Contessa standing in front of a spider's web that's a direct copy of the poster art of the 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves[]
- Alternate Biplane: In "Flight of Fancy", while flying the bi-plane, pause the game and enter the code: . If entered correctly, when the game resumes, the plane is now the Toonami bi-plane.
- Sucker Punch Crew: In "Dead Men Tell No Tales", there is a wedding poster on the "Pirate Grill" restaurant reading: "Dev & Karin's Wedding August the 5th". This is actually the same day when two members on the Sucker Punch team, Dev Madan and Karin Madan (née Yamagiwa), married each other.
- Star Wars: During the cutscene that introduces Ayers Rock, Murray explains that he has been being trained by the Guru. One of the background pictures shows the Guru holding onto Murray's back, which is a reference to the Star Wars scene where Yoda trains Luke. Murray is even wearing similar clothing to that of Luke.
- Jak and Daxter: The bats that Sly had to defeat in "Danger in the Skies" look similar to swamp bats, a lurker seen in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
- Greek mythology: During the game, Murray dubs himself "Murcules". This is a subtle reference to the fact that Hercules from his eponymous Greek myth is a strong warrior, much like Murray.
- The Beatles: During Octavio's backstory, there is a cutscene where it shows "The Oscars" having a concert while Octavio is left negative about the change in music taste. The Oscars were referring to The Beatles.
The Sly Collection[]
- Credit Hacking: Select Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. Once the game has been beaten, go to the movies area and highlight the credits. Hold while selecting the Credits. The credits for the Sly Collection start playing, and after a moment, Bentley's hacking avatar appears. You will be able to use this to shoot and destroy the credits. Getting 100% completion in this Easter egg does nothing.
- Title Screen Hacking: You need the disc for this Easter egg. Start the game and hold down , , and when the Sanzaru Games logo comes up. Hacker code similar to the Sly 2 and Sly 3 hacking will pop up. Use the to move and the to shoot. You can tip over the monkey face by bumping into it.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time[]
- 2000 AD: The Ultimate Bentley costume, available for 20 Sly Masks, is a reference to a famous character from the 2000 AD comics, Judge Dredd. Not only does the outfit resemble Judge Dredd's outfit, but the description also alludes to Judge Dredd: "They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but in this outfit, you know Bentley will reign supreme... and execute some code!"
- 2001: A Space Odyssey: When you're doing the Alter Ego hacking jobs, you hear a voice saying “What are you doing, Bentley?". This could be an homage to HAL 9000 when he's being shut down and he says “Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"
- Back to the Future:
- The Cooper Van, with Bentley's time machine attached, functions similarly to the DeLorean time machine from the Back to the Future film series. As with the DeLorean, the van has to drive at a fast enough speed in order to time travel, although the van also needs an object from the same era the driver intends to travel to. The van also hovers during the time-traveling sequence, as the upgraded DeLorean does at the end of the first film.
- In the prologue, when the gang makes the jump to Feudal Japan, the van leaves a pair of fiery tire tracks and the gang's license plate remains, spinning, just like the DeLorean does during its first time travel.
- In the plans to the time machine, a "Flux Capacitor" can be seen.
- Batman: The Ultimate Sly costume, available for 15 Sly Masks, is a clear reference to Batman. Not only does the outfit resemble the Batsuit, with its utility belt and cowl, the description also alludes to Batman: "Sly owns the darkest night in this costume. Cloaked in shadow, he's a tireless force for justice... and picking pockets!" The Ultimate Carmelita costume might be a reference to Catwoman, who Grey DeLisle also voiced.
- God of War: In the job "Something's Fishy", you struggle to lift a gate as Murray by repeatedly tapping , similar to how Kratos opens gates in the God of War series.
- Green Lantern: In "40 Thieves", during the job "Copy Cats", the hole that Murray and Sly go through looks like the Green Lantern symbol.
- The Matrix: At the beginning scene in Paris, Murray gets jumped by several of Le Paradox's rat guards to the point where Murray seems almost overwhelmed. Just as Neo did in' The Matrix, Murray busts out and up through all of the guards.
- Hungry Hungry Hippos: There is a job in "Clan of the Cave Raccoon" called "Starving Starving Hippo".
- Indiana Jones:
- In "Go West Young Raccoon," one of the missions requires Murray to hold up a door for Tennessee to go through, so he slides under it but drops his hat, and quickly grabs it before Murray drops the door, like Indiana Jones does in Temple of Doom.
- In "40 Thieves", during the job where Salim must infiltrate the rug store, he will react to the cobras by saying "Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?" Indiana Jones says this at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Infamous: Finding 60 Sly Masks unlocks Cole's Amp to replace Sly's cane.
- Jak and Daxter: In "Clan of the Cave Raccoon", there is a treasure called Lutrela Nivadensis that looks like a statue of Daxter in a caveman outfit.
- Looney Tunes:
- In the Wild West level, when a coyote guard performs its falling animation, they hold a sign saying "Yikes!". This is a reference to Wile E. Coyote, who often holds signs like these when he's about to take a big fall.
- Right before the third boss fight, Murray comments that he "knew he should have made that left turn", referencing Bugs Bunny's "I knew I should've taken that left turn at Albuquerque" line.
- Le Paradox is loosely modeled off of Pepe Le Pew.
- The 101 Ways to Cook Scorpion treasure seems to be a parody of the books "101 Ways to Cook a Duck" and "101 Ways to Cook a Rabbit" featured in the 1951 cartoon Rabbit Fire.
- Portal: The cake Murray ignores in the ending cutscene looks like the cake seen in the ending of Valve's Portal, a Black Forest Cake, without the candle. Salim also eats a cake like this earlier in the game.
- Rambo: Bentley's Alter Ego minigame features him as a character that looks similar to Rambo.
- Ratchet & Clank:
- Finding 50 Sly Masks unlocks Ratchet's Wrench to replace Sly Cooper's cane. It also replaces coins with bolts, the currency of the Ratchet & Clank games, which are worth double coins in this game.
- A treasure in Medieval England called the Medieval Metal Man looks similar to Clank, but with knight armor.
- Robin Hood: Sly's Archer Costume is much like Robin Hood's famous outfit, which also has a bow, and he also steals from villains rather than the innocent.
- Rocky: In "Clan of the Cave Raccoon", during the mission where Murray trains Bob, there is a montage of numerous activities with music playing in the background. All Rocky movies have this training montage.
- Star Wars:
- In "Turning Japanese", when Sly must impersonate a guard during the job "Breakout!", a guard comments that Sly "is a little short to be a commander", a reference to Leia asking Luke "Aren't you a little short to be a Stormtrooper?"
- During "Getting Stronger" in "Clan of the Cave Raccoon", Murray tells Bob: "Great shooting, kid, but don't get cocky." A similar line is said by Han Solo to Luke in A New Hope when he destroys the first TIE Fighter.
- Sucker Punch Productions: When Murray delivers his finishing blow during the battle against Wildman Weezner, he says, "Nobody sucker punches the Murray!"
- Tapper: The first part of the mission "Saloon Bug" is a minigame where Bentley has to throw sarsaparilla at thirsty guards before they get impatient. This is exactly how the arcade game Tapper works.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:
- In the prologue, when Bentley enters the sewers, he says "Interesting... the last time I was in these sewers, I was just a teenager!"
- There is a job in Medieval England called "Shell Shocked Heart", which is possibly a reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games. Whenever the turtles are knocked out by an enemy, they say "shell shock!"
- Vanilla Ice: The mission "Ice Ice Bentley" is a reference to the Vanilla Ice song "Ice Ice Baby".
- Rugrats: There is a job in 40 Thieves called "Rug Rats".
- Folktales:
- Arabian folklore:
- Salim's gang is called the Forty Thieves, and so is episode 5. This is a reference to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights.
- The 40 Thieves episode is set in 1001 AD, which also references One Thousand and One Arabian Nights.
- In "Rug Rats", Salim says that if he had a magic lamp, he would wish for the job to be over. This is a reference to the magic lamp from Aladdin.
- Greek mythology:
- The Moat Monster is similar in appearance to the Hydra from Disney's Hercules.
- Arabian folklore:
- Godzilla: The Black Knight's Moat Monster is similar to King Ghidorah.
- Crash Bandicoot: During "Ice Ice Bentley", three paintbrushes can be seen with paint of their tips. The paint on these paintbrushes is in the same color scheme as Aku Aku's feathers.
Clockwerk Sightings[]
Clockwerk is the mortal enemy of the Cooper family and has stalked them for centuries, if not millennia. He can be spotted from a distance during very specific moments in the game.
Turning Japanese[]
- Photo Op: When taking the picture of the imperial prison, Clockwerk can be seen perching on top of it.
- Pretty in Pinker: Clockwerk can be found if you look south from the geisha building after Rioichi talks to Bentley.
Go West Young Raccoon[]
- Blind Date: Once you reach a section where the enemies are throwing dynamite at you from a place with a windmill and a water tower, you can look slightly above the windmill and see Clockwerk on top of a house.
Clan of the Cave Raccoon[]
- Stone Age Reconnaissance: After talking with Bentley, look on the top of the waterfall and you can see Clockwerk.
- Starving Starving Hippo: Before you start to go after the penguins, look up high and Clockwerk is perched on top of a large dinosaur tail bone.
Of Mice and Mechs[]
- Shopping Spree: After the conversation with Bentley in the beginning, you can find Clockwerk on top of the clock tower. This could also be a namesake Easter egg.
- Hard Target: Clockwerk is perched on a tower of the Black Knight's castle, up and to the left of the draw bridge when facing it.
40 Thieves[]
- Copy Cats: When Sly gets to the room filled with treasure, jump onto the crate and look ahead at the path you should be on. With your binocucom, you can see Clockwerk in the distance.
Other[]
- There is a trophy called "Ancient Warfare 3", a spoof of the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
- There is a trophy called "Navigate Like Drake", a reference to Nathan Drake, the protagonist of the Uncharted video game series.
- During the job "Heavy Metal Meltdown", there are some green books that Bentley needs to jump on. Those books have Bentley's face on them.
- In the "40 Thieves" episode's safe house, there's a green elephant statue behind Sly. If you move the camera away and then go back, you'll notice that it will change the way it poses.
- Sly's backpack has Sanzaru Games' logo on it.
Previous Sly Cooper games[]
- A treasure called the Dragon Claw Statue says that some believe it is the claw of a gigantic owl, referencing Clockwerk. The bottom of the statue has the words "Clockwerk was Here" etched into it.
- There are five rewards that reference past games that are unlocked when you find the 30 clue bottles and open the vault in each area: Coopergiwa's Gold Magnet (Feudal Japan), Muggshot's Coin (Wild West), Clockwerk's Eye (Ice Age), Sir Raleigh's Frog Hat (Medieval England), and The Guru's Staff Piece (Ancient Arabia).
General[]
- Crash Bandicoot: The Cooper Van has the same paint job as the cars from the racing levels in Crash Bandicoot: Warped.