Rioichi Cooper is one of the ancestors of Sly Cooper, and is first mentioned in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. He later on becomes a playable character in Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, where he is credited with inventing sushi. He was the inventor of the Ninja Spire Jump technique, which allows Sly to land on any pointed object, and is considered one of the most influential moves in the Thievius Raccoonus.
Rioichi runs a sushi shop, which is used to hide his Master Thief ways. One day, he is framed for poisoning the Shogun with his sushi, which lands him behind bars. He is eventually rescued by Sly, and also takes back his restaurant later on. While pursuing El Jefe, his cane is stolen and given to Le Paradox. During the end of the game, he retrieves his cane from Le Paradox's blimp and goes back to his timeline, where his sushi restaurant was considered one of the finest in Japan.
