Here’s a structured review for Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (PS Vita, PCSA00068 – NTSC).
I’ve tailored it to the Vita version specifically, noting performance, controls, and how it compares to the PS3 original.
No heist is perfect. The Vita version suffers from two notable issues:
The team travels to Ancient Arabia, during a “One Thousand and One Nights” era. The ancestor is Salim Al-Kupar, a master of stealth and misdirection, known as “The Ghost of the Sands.” The villain: Miss Decibel, a vain, deafeningly-loud peacock diva who uses sonic weapons to control the palace guards.
Sly must navigate a massive sultan’s palace, using new moves like the “Stealth Slide” down sand dunes. Miss Decibel has hypnotized Salim into being her servant. By breaking the hypnosis with a well-timed explosion, Sly frees him. Together, they crash her concert. Sly uses a giant bell to reflect her own sound waves back at her, shattering her microphone. The page is recovered, and Salim gifts Sly a golden scimitar (cosmetic only). Sly Cooper - Thieves in Time -PCSA00068- -NTSC-
Historically, the PS Vita was praised for its OLED screen (1000 model) and sub-pixel rendering. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is a cross-platform title (PS3 and Vita). Sanzaru Games utilized the same engine, scaling it down for the handheld. The result is stunning. Running at a native resolution of 960x544 (the Vita’s native res), the cel-shaded art style translates perfectly. Whereas other ports suffered from muddy textures, Thieves in Time remains crisp. The NTSC version runs at a locked 30 frames per second (with rare dips in heavy particle effects). The vibrant colors of feudal Japan, the Wild West, and prehistoric times pop on the handheld screen.
Platform: PlayStation Vita
Region: NTSC (North America)
Title ID: PCSA00068
Developer: Sanzaru Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: February 5, 2013 (Vita)
When Sucker Punch Productions moved on to create Infamous, the fate of the beloved thieving raccoon, Sly Cooper, hung in the balance. Enter Sanzaru Games, a studio that had already proven its respect for the franchise by remastering the original trilogy for PS3. Their biggest challenge? Delivering a true fourth entry on both the PlayStation 3 and the fledgling PlayStation Vita simultaneously. Here’s a structured review for Sly Cooper: Thieves
The result was Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and on the Vita—specifically in its North American NTSC release (PCSA00068)—it remains one of the most impressive cross-platform titles of its generation.
Before the era of PlayStation’s mandatory cross-buy policies, Thieves in Time arrived as a physical cartridge (PCSA00068) and a digital release that utilized Sony’s Cross-Save functionality. Players could start a heist on their PS3, upload the save to the cloud, and seamlessly continue on their Vita during a commute.
For collectors, the NTSC physical cartridge is a rarity. Unlike the PS3 disc, the Vita card contains the core campaign with no mandatory download patch required to play from start to finish, though a day-one patch did smooth out several bugs. Where It Stumbles No heist is perfect
The NTSC version of Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is one of the few whitelisted titles that works perfectly on the PS TV. Plug it into a 1080p screen via HDMI, use a DualShock 4, and the game upscales nicely. Note that the motion controls become trickier without gyro, but a DS4 has a functional gyroscope.
Thieves in Time picks up with Sly, Bentley, and Murray enjoying retirement. Using the "Thievius Raccoonus," Bentley has built a time machine. The core plot: Sly’s ancestors are being erased from history, and the Cooper Gang must travel to different eras to restore the family legacy.