Retro Review: Ape Escape
What ever happened to monkeying around?
What ever happened to monkeying around?
Ahh Ape Escape. I met you under weird circumstances on the PSP but ever since, I’ve been infatuated. Your premise alone left six-year-old me with no chance of putting you down lest my console explode in my very hands. Dramatic metaphor aside, I really like Ape Escape.
A quick rundown for you poor souls living under a simian-free rock; you play as Spike (named Kakeru in the original Japanese release), a young lad with a cheerful attitude and way too much hair gel. The opening cutscene introduces us to Jake (originally Hiroki), Natalie (Natsumi) and the Professor (no notes here, his Japanese name is a literal translation). The Professor is preparing to demonstrate his new time machine when a gang of monkeys break into the lab, activate the device and fling themselves across history. Spike is caught in the radius too and must work to catch all the monkeys and undo the chaos caused by Specter.
Oh dear; it appears I forgot to mention the albino antagonist of the Ape Escape series. Specter is an unwilling resident of Monkey Park, performing tricks until he finds a prototype helmet that super boosts his intelligence, as well as his evilness. Deciding to rise up against his human captors, Specter bestows helmets to his ape brethren and becomes their leader. Since this first instalment, Specter has been the iconic and pretty much exclusive villain of the Ape Escape series and it’s easy to see why. He’s snarky yet lovable and has a streak of Eggman in him - building machinal terrors, oh and let’s not forget the floating evil chair.
Eat Sleep Catch Repeat
Ape Escape was the first PlayStation game to require a dualshock controller. That means you couldn’t play it with the original PS1 controller - it was missing those twiddly, dog nose-textured analog sticks that have since become a staple of gaming hardware. This doesn't mean much to me, being born a week after the original game was released but I've absorbed an appreciation for technological advances like this over the years. I like imagining how it'd feel seeing the jump from Metal Gear Solid 1 to 2 or the birth of online gaming in real time. I’m not sad, you are! Anyway, the analog stick has always been there for me (it's a real one) but was originally adopted by Playstation due to Ape Escape’s complex 3D environments. You’d be hard pressed to navigate the ledges, underwater tunnels and dinosaur innards with just the D-pad.
The gameplay loop is a stark contrast to today’s world of digital abundance and bloated projects from corporations that label their upcoming video games as ‘emerging franchises’. Honestly, playing Ape Escape in 2025 pressure washes the mossy grit out of every little wrinkle in my brain. Enter the level, catch a few apes, then back to Time Station for a cuppa - that’s all I need, baby! Time Station is the comfy hub world that you’ll return to after each level. The music and 25-year-old textures of the rooms make me feel like I just walked through my front door, crashed on the sofa and exhaled deeply, ejecting all my worldly worries. It feels like home.
In here, the player can choose levels, play minigames and gear up with new gadgets which are yet another iconic feature of the series. With only a net and blueish baton to start with, you end the game with a fully stocked arsenal. For me, it’s forever fun and rewarding to whack an ape with a slingshot from afar, swoop in with the speedrun-assisting hula hoop and net that bugger like an unsuspecting lemon at my local Tesco.
Each level is an intentional joy to play. While trying to capture the minimum amount of apes to pass, you’ll naturally explore and see everything the game has to offer. There's an invisible ‘on rails’ design philosophy at work here, as the player can only catch specific apes on their first foray into any time period. After gearing up in the late game, you can return to collect those elusive primates that are perched on high cliffs or hiding under the floorboards, only to be thwarted by the Sky Flyer or R.C. Car gadgets.
My personal cherry on top of the replayability, aesthetics and revolutionary controller would be the Monkepedia. It’s a full breakdown of the apes you’ve captured, listing their name, description and stats. The book is full of references like the ape named ‘Arnie’ who’s description reads ‘He’ll be back’. The names change per region and in our UK release, there’s lots of Brit-specific puns that always make me chuckle. Like ‘Kipper’, whose description reads ‘Prefers sleeping’. I could go on with the good ones but I’ve got an article to write.
Soundtrack of the Apes
When the 20 year nostalgia cycle turned to its next phase toward the end of the 2010’s, I rediscovered the garage, house and DnB music that my parents used to listen to at the turn of the millennium. As gaming culture also began looking back for aesthetic inspiration, I noticed the music of the time had a heavy influence on games like Ridge Racer, Wipeout and of course, Ape Escape.
Soichi Terada (who composed the music for Ape Escapes 1 and 3) did a phenomenal job. Each track is injected with an element of mischief that compliments the gameplay excellently even if, a lot of the time, you’re getting exactly what you’d expect. The track Dark Ruins has a beautifully eerie piano hook played over a windy backing track that will send shivers straight to your tailbone; this is complemented by heavy synth waves which are now part of my bloodstream. Despite this, Soichi isn’t afraid to depart from the synthesizer and get down and dirty like with the explosive, almost industrial beats in Molten Lava (T-Rex).
There’s unbelievable variety in this DnB focused soundtrack. I was tearing up during Opening (Movie Version), though it’s probably just the nostalgia ninjas making onion stew again. Coming from a total amateur music critic (who only listened to Daft Punk during his formative years), if the music of Ape Escape is yet to take ahold of you, do give it a listen or at least click on the next ‘2000’s Y2K Video Game Liquid/Atmospheric DnB/Jungle Music Mix’ you see on YouTube. Trust me.
I even picked up the ‘Originape’ Soundtrack on CD. It’s a rundown of over 40 tracks from Ape Escape including some remixes and it is divine. There’s not a millisecond of silence between the tracks; one moment you’ll be jamming to a playful forest tune and the next, it’ll hard cut into the ethereal theme that accompanies Time Station. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Seriously folks, the CD is a personal 2-hour DJ set from Soichi Terada in your car, living room or whatever weird dungeon you might listen to CD’s in these days. The Originape Soundtrack is on all streaming services too so… go listen!
A quick rundown for you poor souls living under a simian-free rock; you play as Spike (named Kakeru in the original Japanese release), a young lad with a cheerful attitude and way too much hair gel. The opening cutscene introduces us to Jake (originally Hiroki), Natalie (Natsumi) and the Professor (no notes here, his Japanese name is a literal translation). The Professor is preparing to demonstrate his new time machine when a gang of monkeys break into the lab, activate the device and fling themselves across history. Spike is caught in the radius too and must work to catch all the monkeys and undo the chaos caused by Specter.
Oh dear; it appears I forgot to mention the albino antagonist of the Ape Escape series. Specter is an unwilling resident of Monkey Park, performing tricks until he finds a prototype helmet that super boosts his intelligence, as well as his evilness. Deciding to rise up against his human captors, Specter bestows helmets to his ape brethren and becomes their leader. Since this first instalment, Specter has been the iconic and pretty much exclusive villain of the Ape Escape series and it’s easy to see why. He’s snarky yet lovable and has a streak of Eggman in him - building machinal terrors, oh and let’s not forget the floating evil chair.
Eat Sleep Catch Repeat
Ape Escape was the first PlayStation game to require a dualshock controller. That means you couldn’t play it with the original PS1 controller - it was missing those twiddly, dog nose-textured analog sticks that have since become a staple of gaming hardware. This doesn't mean much to me, being born a week after the original game was released but I've absorbed an appreciation for technological advances like this over the years. I like imagining how it'd feel seeing the jump from Metal Gear Solid 1 to 2 or the birth of online gaming in real time. I’m not sad, you are! Anyway, the analog stick has always been there for me (it's a real one) but was originally adopted by Playstation due to Ape Escape’s complex 3D environments. You’d be hard pressed to navigate the ledges, underwater tunnels and dinosaur innards with just the D-pad.
The gameplay loop is a stark contrast to today’s world of digital abundance and bloated projects from corporations that label their upcoming video games as ‘emerging franchises’. Honestly, playing Ape Escape in 2025 pressure washes the mossy grit out of every little wrinkle in my brain. Enter the level, catch a few apes, then back to Time Station for a cuppa - that’s all I need, baby! Time Station is the comfy hub world that you’ll return to after each level. The music and 25-year-old textures of the rooms make me feel like I just walked through my front door, crashed on the sofa and exhaled deeply, ejecting all my worldly worries. It feels like home.
In here, the player can choose levels, play minigames and gear up with new gadgets which are yet another iconic feature of the series. With only a net and blueish baton to start with, you end the game with a fully stocked arsenal. For me, it’s forever fun and rewarding to whack an ape with a slingshot from afar, swoop in with the speedrun-assisting hula hoop and net that bugger like an unsuspecting lemon at my local Tesco.
Each level is an intentional joy to play. While trying to capture the minimum amount of apes to pass, you’ll naturally explore and see everything the game has to offer. There's an invisible ‘on rails’ design philosophy at work here, as the player can only catch specific apes on their first foray into any time period. After gearing up in the late game, you can return to collect those elusive primates that are perched on high cliffs or hiding under the floorboards, only to be thwarted by the Sky Flyer or R.C. Car gadgets.
My personal cherry on top of the replayability, aesthetics and revolutionary controller would be the Monkepedia. It’s a full breakdown of the apes you’ve captured, listing their name, description and stats. The book is full of references like the ape named ‘Arnie’ who’s description reads ‘He’ll be back’. The names change per region and in our UK release, there’s lots of Brit-specific puns that always make me chuckle. Like ‘Kipper’, whose description reads ‘Prefers sleeping’. I could go on with the good ones but I’ve got an article to write.
Soundtrack of the Apes
When the 20 year nostalgia cycle turned to its next phase toward the end of the 2010’s, I rediscovered the garage, house and DnB music that my parents used to listen to at the turn of the millennium. As gaming culture also began looking back for aesthetic inspiration, I noticed the music of the time had a heavy influence on games like Ridge Racer, Wipeout and of course, Ape Escape.
Soichi Terada (who composed the music for Ape Escapes 1 and 3) did a phenomenal job. Each track is injected with an element of mischief that compliments the gameplay excellently even if, a lot of the time, you’re getting exactly what you’d expect. The track Dark Ruins has a beautifully eerie piano hook played over a windy backing track that will send shivers straight to your tailbone; this is complemented by heavy synth waves which are now part of my bloodstream. Despite this, Soichi isn’t afraid to depart from the synthesizer and get down and dirty like with the explosive, almost industrial beats in Molten Lava (T-Rex).
There’s unbelievable variety in this DnB focused soundtrack. I was tearing up during Opening (Movie Version), though it’s probably just the nostalgia ninjas making onion stew again. Coming from a total amateur music critic (who only listened to Daft Punk during his formative years), if the music of Ape Escape is yet to take ahold of you, do give it a listen or at least click on the next ‘2000’s Y2K Video Game Liquid/Atmospheric DnB/Jungle Music Mix’ you see on YouTube. Trust me.
I even picked up the ‘Originape’ Soundtrack on CD. It’s a rundown of over 40 tracks from Ape Escape including some remixes and it is divine. There’s not a millisecond of silence between the tracks; one moment you’ll be jamming to a playful forest tune and the next, it’ll hard cut into the ethereal theme that accompanies Time Station. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Seriously folks, the CD is a personal 2-hour DJ set from Soichi Terada in your car, living room or whatever weird dungeon you might listen to CD’s in these days. The Originape Soundtrack is on all streaming services too so… go listen!
The past, the future
Consider Astro Bot. A plucky, colourful 3D platformer and collectathon (ring any bells?) that won game of the year 2024. It’s proof we just want polished, heartfelt games that - wait a minute, the same thing happened with game of the year 2021 as well! It Takes Two is another 3D platformer earning the title of GOTY because it’s a hardcore labour of love. Gaming culture is moving in a certain direction and we can all feel it. Technology has plateaued a little; it’s not about how many polygons you can squeeze into your main character’s beard or how far you can stretch the open world map. When you release a genuine, feature-complete game, people resonate with that.
I do believe Ape Escape, as a series, still has legs. I’m beyond biased from nostalgia overdose and a deep affinity for primates but all the signs are there. Having not seen any entries since the PlayStation Move Ape Escape game in 2010, they’re clearly not pumping games out to capitalize on fan loyalty when they easily could. The iconic Pipo Monkey is still used for branding and merchandise today; there was even an Ape Escape gacha line released to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary last year. The series has a prominent legacy that any self-proclaimed PlayStation fanboy is familiar with and I’d love to see the first game get the modern remake treatment like Spyro or Crash (even if it’ll be horribly oversaturated and lose some of its soul in the process). Of course, the best case scenario would be a revitalised new entry into the series and I won’t lie, the stars have aligned for it.
Japan Studio, the geniuses behind Ape Escape and gems like Shadow of the Colossus, Gravity Rush and Siren, merged into Team Asobi in 2021. That’s the studio behind our beloved Astro Bot. If they feel inclined, I’m confident they’ll be able to make a splendid new Ape Escape game and I’d say there’s a chance they will too. The industry has unfortunately been riddled with layoffs following the gaming boom during lockdown so studios are likely to take less risks in today's climate. If you ask me, Ape Escape looks like a safe road to go down. Two 3D platformers recently won game of the year and there’s demand from the fans - a hashtag was even founded on Twitter in anticipation of a new game; #apeswillescape.
So here’s to you, Ape Escape. I’ve played your PSP port, your original PS1 version and both your PS4 and PS5 versions on PS Plus (picking up two cheeky platinum trophies in the process). All the fans and I are manifesting a new game and I truly believe it’s just a matter of time until we meet again. If you’ve never had the pleasure of monkeying around, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Like I said, the game is completely free in the classics collection on PS Plus so put your phone on silent, leave it in the kitchen and pretend it’s 1999 while you hunt down those cheeky monkeys. Someone’s got to.
Consider Astro Bot. A plucky, colourful 3D platformer and collectathon (ring any bells?) that won game of the year 2024. It’s proof we just want polished, heartfelt games that - wait a minute, the same thing happened with game of the year 2021 as well! It Takes Two is another 3D platformer earning the title of GOTY because it’s a hardcore labour of love. Gaming culture is moving in a certain direction and we can all feel it. Technology has plateaued a little; it’s not about how many polygons you can squeeze into your main character’s beard or how far you can stretch the open world map. When you release a genuine, feature-complete game, people resonate with that.
I do believe Ape Escape, as a series, still has legs. I’m beyond biased from nostalgia overdose and a deep affinity for primates but all the signs are there. Having not seen any entries since the PlayStation Move Ape Escape game in 2010, they’re clearly not pumping games out to capitalize on fan loyalty when they easily could. The iconic Pipo Monkey is still used for branding and merchandise today; there was even an Ape Escape gacha line released to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th anniversary last year. The series has a prominent legacy that any self-proclaimed PlayStation fanboy is familiar with and I’d love to see the first game get the modern remake treatment like Spyro or Crash (even if it’ll be horribly oversaturated and lose some of its soul in the process). Of course, the best case scenario would be a revitalised new entry into the series and I won’t lie, the stars have aligned for it.
Japan Studio, the geniuses behind Ape Escape and gems like Shadow of the Colossus, Gravity Rush and Siren, merged into Team Asobi in 2021. That’s the studio behind our beloved Astro Bot. If they feel inclined, I’m confident they’ll be able to make a splendid new Ape Escape game and I’d say there’s a chance they will too. The industry has unfortunately been riddled with layoffs following the gaming boom during lockdown so studios are likely to take less risks in today's climate. If you ask me, Ape Escape looks like a safe road to go down. Two 3D platformers recently won game of the year and there’s demand from the fans - a hashtag was even founded on Twitter in anticipation of a new game; #apeswillescape.
So here’s to you, Ape Escape. I’ve played your PSP port, your original PS1 version and both your PS4 and PS5 versions on PS Plus (picking up two cheeky platinum trophies in the process). All the fans and I are manifesting a new game and I truly believe it’s just a matter of time until we meet again. If you’ve never had the pleasure of monkeying around, I couldn’t recommend it enough. Like I said, the game is completely free in the classics collection on PS Plus so put your phone on silent, leave it in the kitchen and pretend it’s 1999 while you hunt down those cheeky monkeys. Someone’s got to.
Ahh, to be a low-poly ape
relaxing at the hot spring.
relaxing at the hot spring.