I Will Never Not Have Immense Feels For This Ship, Even If I Don’t Necessarily Know What They Are.

Thieves In Time Redux: Rewriting the tutorial

You guys likely already know how Thieves In Time Redux begins. Penelope gets dragged into the events of the game against her will. Let's go over how she does during the story's opening...

We open near the museum, same as in canon. The only difference? There's four figures instead of three. The opening exchange now includes Penelope.

I'll just go ahead and show you the entire thing...

"Okay, you three remember the plan, right?"

"Of course! My mind is like a steel cap!"

"Uh, that's 'trap', Big Guy. And everybody relax! We've been over it a million times. What could possibly go wrong?''

"Famous last words! Look, we're only going to get one shot at this, so we can't mess up!"

"Alright, no messing up allowed. Now stop worrying! This is gonna be a piece of cake!"

"Question. Is it too late for me to back out?"

"I'm afraid so. You're coming with me, remember?"

"...Fine."

"We won't be out here forever, Sis! All we gotta do is take that dagger, do our thing, and clobber some fools into next week!"

"...Right. I'll keep that in mind."

"And with that, I'll see you all inside. Now let's get going!"

Penelope will be joining Bentley in the sewers. Before the opening, she had been targeted by kidnappers. She told Bentley about them in a panic, and... that's why she's here. She doesn't get enough time to vanish without a trace. Oh, and her blueprints for Le Paradox's blimp went missing.

Spoiler alert: They were stolen.

Sly's section is identical to canon, save for a few new lines. Same deal for Murray.

Bentley's section is changed up to accommodate Penelope. She'll only be following him for now... at least until her segment begins.

Just like in canon, Bentley falls deeper in the sewers... and gets separated from Penelope.

"How's that security system coming, Bentley?"

" Uh... Great! Perfect! I'll be done in a jiffy! *moves forward, only to realize he didn't land where he was supposed to* H--how did I...?"

"I thought you said 'no messing up allowed', old friend."

"I'm... taking the scenic route tonight!"

"Uh-huh... *short pause* You haven't forgotten Penelope, have you? Aren't you supposed to be watching her?"

This leads to a tutorial section for our favorite mouse girl. Her objective is finding Bentley. She's also given a title: The Wild Card.

"Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Nearly losing you to kidnappers does that."

"'A little', you say? You've been a nervous wreck ever since we left HQ."

Since this happens to be Penelope's very first solo outing, poor Bentley is freaking out. Penelope, meanwhile, isn't nearly as uneasy. She's just annoyed that she's been dragged into this adventure against her will. Not that she can tell Bentley why...

She instead tries to reassure him that yes, she can take care of herself... only to immediately follow that up by trying to run off. Bentley, of course, thinks she got lost and turns her around. She plays along and evades suspicion.

Since running off is no longer an option, Penelope goes off to find Bentley... When she does, he's in the process of almost getting jumped by a guard. She responds by knocking said guard out... because nobody touches that turtle except her.

Now reunited, they move onward to the same control room from canon.

Everything after that is nearly identical to vanilla. Yes, even Murray's segment. And yes, even Carmelita catching Sly in the act of thieving around.

The only difference is Penelope now being in the van with the boys as they all drive into a time portal.

Not a bad intro, huh? I've already talked about everyone's character arcs in previous posts, so here's a quick recap...

Sly learns that maybe ditching his friends on Kaine Island wasn't the best idea.

Bentley learns that he needs to not be overprotective of Penelope, but rather supportive.

Murray... doesn't go through much of a arc. He's focused on being a good older brother towards Penelope.

And Penelope? She's got a lot to learn about friendship. I bet you can't wait to see how she goes from distant and not wanting to be here to willing to take responsibility for what she's done. Because yes, she is still responsible for the Le Paradox incident in this rewrite.

I won't be writing Penelope as a sociopath, but rather as someone disconnected from her friends and what she actually needs.

I kind of neglected to mention that since Penelope is still behind the events of this game, she's going to be a bit confused about how Le Paradox's evil plan has gone ahead without her.

Lastly, I want to address how long it's been since the end of Sly 3. It's been roughly 19 months since Sly started faking amnesia.

At the beginning of this rewrite, Sly and Bentley are 22, Murray is 23, Penelope is 21, and Carmelita is 25. No clue about Dimitri or the villains.

Sly4 AU where Penelope is revealed to be a robot.

Time for Act 2. This covers several missions. Oh, and Penelope is now fully playable. She's seated between Sly and Bentley. I'm giving her those Morph Wrenches I previously talked about. She also has a title: The Wild Card.

With the threat of the Robo-Cooper Gang looming, our heroes agree that solo missions are temporarily off-limits. They will now only go out in pairs or as a group of four... at least until those robots bite the dust.

Most of the gang's missions revolve around shutting down charging stations for the Robo-Cooper Gang.

Penelope is put to work very soon after her reinstatement. While she does pull more than her fair share of weight, it's clear there's something seriously wrong with her. She refuses to elaborate whenever the boys try to ask her.

Bentley is especially concerned, but incredibly proud of his girlfriend for her enduring loyalty. He's fallen in love all over again, doting on her every chance he gets.

Robo-Penelope becomes quite the thorn in our heroes' side, especially Penelope's. The latter sees the former as a very personal enemy, jumping at any chance to take her impostor down. She even manages to save Bentley from the robot's wrath at least once.

As for Sly and Murray...

Sly now feels bad about ditching everyone back at Kaine Island, and has even apologized to Penelope for doing so.

Murray is happy to have his younger sister back. He now refuses to call her anything other than "Sis".

With the Robo-Cooper Gang now severely weakened, our heroes are ready to scrap their impostors.

Final act coming soon.

I want to believe Penelope was kidnapped and impersonated. She still designed the blimp. Her impostor (an evil robot) did everything else. Even her motive was fabricated.

Here's something that could happen in Sly 5.

When the boys (Sly, Bentley, and Murray) eventually find out and take her back, she's going to be a guilt-ridden mess hell-bent on destroying her impostor and her creator for breaking Bentley's heart and making everyone hate her, with several measures of self-loathing for nearly doing the same thing herself.

The reunion scene would need to happen early in the episode in which this story takes place, during the second mission, and no later. That way, the player can get used to her being fully playable for the first time ever before the boss fight.

All three boys, while elated to have Penelope back, will quickly notice that something is seriously wrong with her. They think her impostor did everything, including designing the blimp. When they ask her what's wrong, she refuses to elaborate.

Bentley is especially concerned, but incredibly proud of his reinstated girlfriend for her enduring loyalty.

Cue Penelope pulling her weight several times over during her return episode and defeating her impostor, only to be consumed by all the guilt and confess to none other than Bentley about her treachery by the end. The only thing she doesn't reveal is her motive, saying it doesn't matter because what she did was wrong.

And because I love a good, happy ending, she will be forgiven. She's already spent the entire episode proving herself in spades. As for Sly and Murray's reactions? I'll leave that for you to decide. Would Sly drive himself crazy over not knowing her motive? I think he might.

I realize she will need a very sympathetic motive for this idea to work.

Showing 'Determination' in Writing

Jaw set firmly, lips pressed into a thin line.

Eyes focused intensely, not wavering.

Shoulders squared, standing tall and firm.

Fists clenched tightly.

Taking deep, steady breaths to maintain calm.

Saying, “I will do this” with conviction.

Pushing back sleeves as if preparing for action.

Marching forward with purposeful steps.

Ignoring distractions or interruptions.

Voice steady and unwavering.

Nodding to oneself as if reaffirming resolve.

Gritting teeth in concentration.

Placing hands on hips confidently.

Writing or speaking with clarity and precision.

Pounding a fist into an open palm.

Looking straight ahead, not letting gaze drift.

Tightening grip on tools or objects they’re working with.

Breaking tasks into manageable steps and tackling them one by one.

Keeping eyes on the goal, not looking back.

Saying, “Nothing will stop me” with steely determination.

*epic latin chorus*

until we get a sequel sly 4 isn’t canon

The Armory: Bentley’s Wheelchair

Bentley’s Wheelchair is a rolling weapons platform that made its first appearance in Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. Due to an accident that occurred in Sly 2, Bentley found himself paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Rather than let the fact that he can’t walk any more get him down, Bentley put together a specialized wheelchair that would allow him to do everything he was able to do on his feet and then some. For our purposes today we will be looking at how Bentley uses it….I mean…we don’t have a choice, he’s the only one who uses it.

Strengths

Bentley’s chair is equipped with all kinds of neat gizmos and gadgets. The thing is tricked out with spring loaded wheels and rockets that allow it to jump to a similar degree as Sly & Murray. Extra rockets can even be fired to allow Bentley to reach even greater heights. The chair is also equipped with telescopic arms that allow Bentley to do things such as pickpocketing and deploying bombs hands free. An important feature as the chair is not self powered, requiring Bentley to turn the wheels to make it move. And of course, the chair has a sleep dart launcher. To put it bluntly, everything Bentley was able to do before his accident can be done in this chair.

Weaknesses

Though the chair is equipped with all the gizmos Bentley could ever need in the field, I’m not exactly sure as to why he doesn’t have a motor to drive this thing. I mean, Bentley isn’t in terrible shape but he had only been handicapped for about a year so it must have been tiring having to roll this thing around by hand. Especially with all the tech packed into this thing. It must be heavy. It’s also important to note that Bentley isn’t a bloodthirsty character so apart from the bombs, there isn’t much on this chair that is going to take someone’s life.

Bentley's use of the Weapon

Given that Bentley crafted the chair for his own personal use, it has basically become an extension of his body. Like I said, he was able to do everything he could in Sly 2 in Sly 3 despite the lack of working legs. Yeah it did keep him from taking on any bosses as all they had to do was knock the chair over to take him out but Bentley but I’d still refer to this old turtle as handicapable rather than handicaped.

Conclusion

Bentaly’s chair is pretty impressive though I have to say, I’d only really recommend this thing to people who would really need. In otherwords, someone who is paralyzed. Though I’m sure anyone could use the chair, it would simply be more efficient to use your own legs. There is a reason Bentley didn’t develop something like this back when he could walk. Still, if you find yourself in the kinds of situations Bentley does on a regular basis, then this is a must have weapon. I’m certainly going to keep it handy in case my career as a Fire Fighter takes a dark turn.

Join me tomorrow as we revisit Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves.

attempting to copy sly cooper's art style lmao

Let's now go over all the change Bentley goes through in Thieves In Time Redux... I don't think I need to say who he's referring to...

Bentley during the prologue: Please tell me you're still in one piece! (During Penelope's segment)

Bentley during the prologue (again): I'm glad you made it back. And thank you for saving me from that guard's wrath. Am I worrying too much? (After Penelope's segment)

Bentley during Episode 1: Stay behind me and Murray. This place is dangerous. Did those guards back there hurt you? (During Something's Fishy)

Bentley during Episode 1 (again): I hope you learned your lesson. You nearly gave me a heart attack when you ran off! Then again, we might have lost Sly if you hadn't done that... (After Altitude Sickness)

Bentley during Episode 2: You really didn't have to jump in there and take those stings for me… but thank you. Let's get your injuries patched up. (After Cooper For Hire)

Bentley during Episode 2 (again): The way you broke me out of that prison was incredible! I was wrong to underestimate you! (After Jail Break)

Bentley during Episode 3: If only you'd told me sooner… Why didn't you say you were sick? (After Getting Stronger)

Bentley during Episode 3 (again): I'm positively speechless. You and Murray worked so well together against The Grizz! Feel free to go back hom-- Wait, you're staying? (After OP: Jurassic Thievery)

Bentley during Episode 4: You want to help Murray tear that tavern apart? The one that's loaded with those massive guards? You know what? Go for it! (During Short Supply)

Bentley during Episode 4 (again): Breaking yourself out of a tower and striking down the Black Knight?! Is there nothing you can't do?! (After OP: Frog Trap)

Bentley during Episode 5: Your services will definitely be required in this perilous structure. I'll have tea and cheesecake ready for you when you get back. (During Copy Cats)

Bentley during Episode 5 (again) This whole mess was your doing?! Young lady, you are in big trouble! (After All Rolled Up)

Bentley during Episode 6: I'm willing to wipe your slate clean if you put an end to what you started and-- You want to lead us to victory? I hope you don't let us down. (Before the final mission)

Bentley during Episode 6 (again): When I said "put an end to what you started", I didn't mean "fight Le Paradox all by yourself"! Please come back safely... (During the final mission)

Bentley during the epilogue: I knew you wouldn't let us down! Of course you can stay with us! Just never betray us again! (After the final mission)

So yeah. Thieves In Time Redux through the eyes of Bentley.