Fire in the Sky is the fourth episode of Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. It is set in the Kunlun Mountains of China, and the main antagonist is the Panda King.
Plot[]
Introduction[]
The Panda King learning the art of fireworks.
As the Cooper Gang make the trip to the Kunlun Mountains, Sly learns that the Panda King was born a poor child but was always amazed at the fireworks rich noblemen set off every New Year. After spending ten years learning the art, the Panda King tried to offer his fireworks to the noblemen, but he was chased away because of his shabby clothes.
The humiliated Panda King decided to use his explosives to destroy several villages throughout China for revenge on those who shunned him. He was recruited by the Fiendish Five as their demolitions expert. From that point on, his explosive touch became feared worldwide. He created a giant panda statue of himself, which is in the Western mountains and where he would perfect his new firework technique: Flame-Fu.
Jobs[]
A Perilous Ascent[]
Sly proceeds through a snowy, mountainous region in search of the Panda King's compound. Along the way, he and Bentley witnessed a rocket fire from a giant panda statue, striking a nearby mountain and causing an avalanche that buries the village below in freezing snow. Knowing that the Panda King is responsible, Sly knows he has to make his way up there fast before another town gets the freeze burial.
Inside the Stronghold (Part 1)[]
Once Sly enters the compound, Bentley informs him that he finds a way for him to get up to the Panda King's giant statue. The only issue is Sly's path to the other side is blocked by a reinforced ceiling hatch on the rooftop from which he stands. However, Sly quickly thinks of a plan to use the fireworks to destroy the hatch, but he first needs to swipe 3 more treasure keys.
Meanwhile, as Sly continues searching for the keys, the Panda King respectfully addressed his guards via the loudspeaker, informing them that Hinkau Village choose not to pay for avalanche protection services, and therefore he will be forced to bury many others in the snow. He then tells them to keep a lookout for any intruders who will be looking for revenge.
Flaming Temple of Flame[]
Sly entered a temple-like area, crossing a broken bridge before sliding down a rope onto a cliffside. Bentley advised Sly to stay on his toes, as this temple appeared to be some sort of training ground,[note 1] despite its temple-like facade.
The Unseen Foe[]
Sly entered an area full of high temples. This served as an excellent location for Sly to utilize his invisibility move. By doing some serious climbing through several tall temples, Sly was able to reach the treasure key. It was stashed at the bottom of a pagoda, which happened to serve as some sort of gunpowder production plant. Bentley figured that the Panda King was probably producing a lot of explosives, given the scale of the structure.
The King of the Hill[]
Sly was to, once again, provide cover for Murray using a turret while the latter made a run for one of a treasure key. Along the way, Murray was confronted by monkeys and gorillas, all of which Sly had to take out. As Murray got closer to the key, an alarm triggered, alerting several gorillas to come out and attack Murray from the roof of the temple. Before Murray could grab the key, Sly had to quickly eliminate the guards until the alarm shut off.
A Desperate Race[]
Sly saw Murray down on an icy road, about to race against four monkeys to win a treasure key. Believing these primates had no chance of beating him, Murray took them on and claimed the reward.
Rapid Fire Assault[]
Sly maneuvered a hover blaster just like the one he had found in Mz. Ruby's lair. Using the vehicle's turret, he had to blast down doors and shoot down wave after wave of monkey guards as he rode along the long path to the treasure key.
Duel by the Dragon[]
Sly climbed to the top of a building where Carmelita confronted him. She believed Sly was up to no good, but he tried to reason with her that the person he was stealing from was the notorious Panda King, a pyromaniac bent on developing a new firework technique. She ignored his comments and chased him through a long passage of Chinese homes and training facilities, around a giant, magnificent gold dragon statue. When Sly reached the tail of the statue, he launched some fireworks at the dragon's head, sending Carmelita away yet again, allowing Sly to take the treasure key.
Flame Fu![]
Sly launches himself up to the Panda King's statue, where he engages in battle with the Panda King. The Panda King insists on making Sly pay for his disrespect by sending him to his doom, with the beauty of his new firework technique, Flame-Fu.
However, the panda is bested by Cooper, and before passing out, the Panda King tells Sly that his skill with his cane is unparalleled. Bentley informs Sly that he did a cross-analysis of the metal used in the "high tech blasting vehicle" that Sly used in a recent mission[1] and discovers that it can only be found in the Russian Krakarov Volcano. Bentley deduces that the volcano has to be where they could find the leader of the Fiendish Five and urges Sly to find the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus the Panda King stole before fleeing the statue.
The Panda King on Ice[]
Sly receives Otto van Cooper's pages from the Thievius Raccoonus and uses these pages to make technological advances to the van, which will come in handy for their next adventure. Carmelita misses her chance at busting Sly, but she manages to place the Panda King under arrest, thus putting an end to his destructive schemes and ensuring the villages' safety throughout the Kunlun Mountains. The gang takes a break and visits Hong Kong, where they do a bit of shopping. They soon return home to plan their next and final move.
Trophies[]
PS3/PS Vita[]
| Image | Name | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
|
Slytunkhamen Approves | Upgrade your shadow. |
|
Complete Darkness | Max out all shadow techniques. |
|
Spikes Suck | Learn Sir Augustine of Cooper's Briefly Defy Gravity technique. |
|
Snowy Blueprints | Collect some snowy blueprints. |
|
Pandas Aren’t Always Cute | Defeat Panda King. |
|
Meeting The Ancestors | Find all the blueprints. |
|
Greedy Raccoon | Open all vaults.[1] |
PS4/PS5[]
| Image | Name | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
|
Production Blocker | Complete all jobs in this episode. |
|
Safecracker | Open all vaults in this episode. |
|
Seen and Wanted | Alert every flashlight guard and set off every alarm in "The Unseen Foe". |
|
This Session's Over | Defeat all the training Moo Goo monkeys in "Flaming Temple of Flame". |
|
Setting the Mood | Launch 2 pink fireworks in "Duel by the Dragon". |
|
Super Cooper | Discover the Briefly Defy Gravity technique. |
|
Panda Pummeler | Defeat Panda King. |
Behind the scenes[]
Advertisement for Sly Raccoon.
"Fire in the Sky" was intended to be the first episode of the game, instead of "Tide of Terror." Sucker Punch Productions developed "Fire in the Sky" after all of the other episodes because they assumed their experience in building the other episodes would help make the game's first episode "exceptionally good," but this plan backfired.
In focus tests a few months before the game's release, players found "Fire in the Sky" to be too difficult and could not even make it past the first job "A Perilous Ascent." Sucker Punch decided to push "Fire in the Sky" to the fourth episode and created a new move to learn for the episode, namely Invisibility. Instead of earning the blueprints for the machine gun and battering ram for the Cooper Van, Sly was originally going to obtain the climb move to use in "Tide of Terror" after defeating the Panda King.[2]
References[]
- ↑ Unavailable until after defeating Clockwerk in "The Cold Heart of Hate".
- ↑ Zimmerman, Chris. Looking Back on Twenty Years of Sucker Punch. PlayStation.Blog. Published 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2017-09-25. (archive)
Notes[]
- ↑ Deep within the temple itself, multiple monkey guards can be seen training on top of pillars that can be knocked around with attacks, but ultimately cannot be fully toppled over nor will the guards ever be fazed. The guards also have an active hitbox via their nunchucks that can inflict damge to Sly should he ever get in range of their swings. Even then, they will pay him no mind and be immersed in their training regardless as they are also seemingly invincible to damage.