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He's rumored to be perfecting some new firework technique high in the unstable Kunlun Mountains of western China.
― Sly Cooper, from the episode's introduction

"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 was the Panda King.

Synopsis[]

Background[]

Fire in the Sky 1

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 and the gang arrive in China, where the Panda King resides. After seeing the Panda King destroy a village with one of his fireworks, Sly has to find a way up to the statue the rocket came from.
"Inside the Stronghold"
Sly needs a couple of more treasure keys to open a ceiling hatch. Once done, he needs to collect more to unlock a set of rockets that will help him reach the Panda King's statue.
"Flaming Temple of Flame"
Sly ventures through a huge temple, which appear to be a training ground, therefore Sly was advised to stay on his toes.
"The Unseen Foe"
Sly explors an area that was perfect for his Invisibility move from Mz. Ruby's section of the Thievius Raccoonus. With this move, he can sneak past several guards and spotlights without being detected.
"The King of the Hill"
As Murray travels up the mountain to obtain a treasure key, Sly has to use a blasting station to protect him.
"Rapid Fire Assault"
Sly uses another hover blaster to navigate through a long path guarded by several groups of foes.
"A Desperate Race"
Once again, Murray has to win a three-lap race to obtain another treasure key.
"Duel by the Dragon"
Sly enters an area surrounding a huge dragon statue. He encounters Inspector Fox once more and has to escape custody while trying to find the key.
"Flame Fu!"
After collecting all the Panda King's keys, Sly battles him inside his giant statue. Once he is down, Sly recovers another page of the Thievius Raccoonus and discovers the location of the next and final Fiendish Five member.

Ending[]

After retrieving the Panda King's section of the Thievius Raccoonus, Sly is able to learn about his technically-minded ancestor, Otto van Cooper. While not known for Otto's physical dexterity, he relied on vehicles to aid in his criminal endeavors. Armed with the designs, Sly is sure that Murray would be able to make some cool modifications to the Cooper Van.

The Panda King on Ice 2

The Panda King in police custody

Inspector Fox places the Panda King behind bars after failing to capture Sly. This put an end to his avalanche protection services and ensured the safety of mountain villages throughout China. The gang take a little time off and shopped around in Hong Kong. Thoroughly relaxed, the gang went home to plan their next move.

Cinematics[]

Sly_Cooper_and_the_Thievius_Raccoonus_-_Fire_in_the_Sky_-_Introduction

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus - Fire in the Sky - Introduction

Sly_Cooper_and_the_Thievius_Raccoonus_-_Fire_in_the_Sky_-_The_Panda_King_on_Ice

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus - Fire in the Sky - The Panda King on Ice

Behind the scenes[]

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"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.[1]

References[]

  1. Zimmerman, Chris. Looking Back on Twenty Years of Sucker Punch. PlayStation.Blog. Published 2017-09-25. Retrieved 2017-09-25. (archive)
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