Games Beaten in 2025: Ape Escape 2 (2002)

In 1999, Ape Escape swung onto the PlayStation. A 3D Platformer with a twist.

The Ape Escape difference is twofold. The first is the stealth-action gameplay. Your collectibles are monkeys who move around the stage awaiting capture in the Time Net. Each ape has a different personality, like speed, aggression or cowardice. Sneak up on these foes and you may catch them on the first swipe. Mess up your approach, and an aggressive ape may turn hostile and hurl bombs at you to avoid capture. Players are expected to adapt a strategy based on environments and available gadgets.

The second aspect is the toyetic gadgets. If I asked most gamers today the function of dual analog sticks, most would say the left moves your character, and the right controls the camera. Ape Escape uses the right hand stick to operate an array of gadgets, from swinging the Stun Club to using the Slingback Shooter to snipe switches or enemies from afar, piloting an RC Car, or using a propeller to jump higher or bridge gaps. If the Nintendo 64 controller was designed for the fine tuned aerobatic controls of Super Mario 64, then the DualShock was designed with Ape Escapes gadgets in mind.

There’s a fun, inventive gameplay style here that is followed up elsewhere… even in the Mario series.

When writing this, I did investigate other 1999 platformers and found parallels in Rare’s Donkey Kong 64. It took Super Mario 64 (for better or worse) to a dizzying, complex form of collectathon perfect for those attaining 102% by switching between a cast of characters in massive levels. And, you could say Super Mario Sunshine is the marrying of these two concepts: it has F.L.U.D.D, a skill-based toy as well as an absurd level of collectathon that may be giving too much. Ratchet and Clank, along with Jak and Daxter, also build upon these control schemes to some effect.

What sets Ape Escape apart for me is its tone. The story works with some Sci-Fi ideas; what if a helmet could improve the intelligence of the simian race? And could time travel rewrite history to a future where apes conquered humanity? This amounts to a light-hearted time travel adventure allowing stages to be set on prehistoric landscapes, medieval villages and futuristic cities rendered in crunchy PS1 polygonal graphics. The soundtrack is worth a listen too. Soichi Terada’s drum and bass compositions are integral to the personality of Ape Escape.

All in all, I recommend Ape Escape if you are a die-hard platforming nerd. It was a great stress reliever for me and scratches that Super Mario 64 itch, ties into Astro Bot’s release and fulfils a long-set goal for me - I’d bought the game 15 years ago when I first got a PSX and wanted to revisit my cousin’s best PS2 game… or something similar to Ape Escape 2 anyways.

But hey, wait a second; Isn’t this blog about Ape Escape 2?

Well yeah, but it’s simply more fun to talk about Ape Escape.

Ape Escape 2 is a fine game, hell I even gave it a 4 out of 5.

On paper Ape Escape 2 is a better game, visually the series received an upgrade - it looks super polished for a PS2 game. But, I prefer the kitschy crunch of PSX visuals, seeing a polygonal wireframe try to keep up with an ape dance with 360 camera control is incredible to watch.

There’s more variety to the personalities of each ape and how they respond to environments and load-outs. I found their names funny to read off, seeing a monkey named after Boba Fett next to an ape frozen in carbonite just like Han Solo is funny. And fans of the series seem to love The Freaky Monkey Five, they offer up some boss fights and humour that I’m sure is replicated in the TV series and side-games (I did play an hour of Ape Academy and… The Freaky Monkey Five and Spectre could be the only reason to play those games - but save yourself the effort and don’t!).

There’s new gadgets, but I feel as though neither add too much to the game. The Bananarang (great name) can be used to lure out of reach monkeys and collect coins in the air - I only recall the airborne coins in the level that introduces the Bananarang. The Water Cannon (lame name) douses fires, which are boring obstacles placed in your way, it stops progression needing to swap out a gadget for a water cannon to douse a flame arbitrarily put in your way.

The soundtrack misses, it’s generic fare and sorta dull. You simply can not replace Soichi Terada! It makes you wonder why Sony didn’t involve more recording artists in their soundtracks, Terada’s inclusion created a hell of a lot of character that could not be replaced!

Ape Escape 2 is a good game, but unfortunately it felt like much of the same.

Earlier, I name dropped Super Mario Sunshine because it took cues from Ape Escape’s gadgets and did something different with the formula - in 2002 fans really did just want Super Mario 64 2 and even when Super Mario Sunshine was re-released in the Super Mario 3D All Stars collection; Super Mario Sunshine did not receive any re-evaluation or positive recognition. For a set of games released literally within a day of each other in Japan, it’s interesting to see where each franchise moved. “much of the same” and “deviating too far from the formula”.

I’ve secured a copy of Ape Escape 3, it’ll happen sooner rather than later. I can’t wait!