Unfortunately, the apes have escaped. Capture them, now!
What Is It? Your friendly professor created a powerful helmet which turns a monkey into a super genius. This monkey, Specter, uses his newfound power to build an army of monkeys to do his evil bidding. As Spike, you are dispatched to return those monkeys and bring down Specter. That, kids, is how video game stories used to start.
Ape Escape is a 3D platformer. You travel through fairly small open area levels and platform your way across the terrain to capture a set amount of monkeys in order to unlock the next area. Groups of three levels comprise a world, after moving through a few worlds you find yourself at an amusement park for the final areas of the game.
The basic move and jump controls are expanded through gadgets which Professor will provide as you advance. A net is the first gadget, it will allow you to capture rogue monkeys when you are close enough. The controls are worth mentioning at this point. The face buttons are custom mapped to whichever four gadgets you choose. R1 and R2 both jump. As for using your selected gadget? Well, that’s the right analog stick. Ape Escape was the first PS1 game to require the DualShock controller, and it makes full use of those analog sticks. Back to your net, you swing it in a direction by pressing the direction on the right stick. You can also rotate the stick to sweep the net in a 360 circle.
This is a fascinating use of the right stick. It’s kind of bizarre to play this game today given how differently the right stick has been leveraged since its inception. I really like this use, but it does get a bit tiring at times. There is a jump-aiding propeller gadget which you will use frequently to jump higher or longer. Doing so requires you to move the right stick in a circular motion. Needing to use this frequently, or in a hurry, can cause you to miss which will set you back a bit, or even cost you a life depending on the situation. This is a minor complaint as it doesn’t happen very often, but it is definitely noticeable when it does.
Elsewhere, the game requires simultaneous uses of both sticks in some different ways then gamers are probably used to. You can steer an RC car with the right stick while moving Spike with the left. You can control a left and right boat paddle independently with each stick. You can also use it to pull back a slingshot and a few other things as you accumulate more gadgets throughout the game.
The controls feed into the platforming which is defined by the strong level design which requires use of fun gadgets which feed into the controls. The whole game is built around these gadgets and making fun use of them, and the game is a resounding success because of this tight design. The platforming is good, but not a standout compared to others of the era. The concept is fun, because catching rogue monkeys with guns is always a good time, but concept alone only gets you so far. The level design is mostly just okay, with a few standout exceptions, but does not shine compared to Click Clock Wood, Whomp’s Fortress, or the like. The reason Ape Escape is a great game even today is because all of the aspects work together to create an experience that is, above all else, fun. Fun can be an underrated trait in video games, but spend a few hours sneaking up on sly monkeys, shooting down enemies with a slingshot, fighting robots, and doing everything else Ape Escape offers and I’m sure you’ll appreciate how fun it is.
The Best Part: The control scheme. I already spent a lot of words explaining them, but I want to reiterate how fascinating the controls are compared to the direction the analog stick usage went in the 25+ years since Ape Escape’s release. Yes, the camera is a bit unruly at times since you can’t freely rotate it, but the “zoom behind Spike” button does pretty good! You can have finer control of the camera by rotating it with the d-pad, but I rarely found myself using that. Having the right analog stick used for gadget functionality is a weird bit of fun and makes me wonder about a world when camera controls didn’t come to dominate the right stick usage for the last 25 years.
The Worst Part: This is a 3D platformer from the ‘90s so you will be fighting the camera and controls on occasion. The camera was not that bad, but it did get stuck in the wrong direction of a tunnel a few times. This could lead to falling to a death which is annoying. The base controls are mostly good, but there are some spots that fall a little flat. Notably, tying rowing a left and right oar to the two analog sticks is an interesting idea that ends up being more annoying than fun.
The Verdict: Ape Escape is one of the best of the first wave of 3D platformers. The pure platforming aspects are really good even today. The controls are tight and the various gadgets, mainly the long/high jump propeller, work well and provide a fun experience. It isn’t perfect as you’ll find some annoyances in the combat, camera, and controls along the way. None of these downsides get in the way for more than a few seconds at a time and none of them hold the game back overall. Ape Escape does not have as big of a current day footprint as things like Spyro, Banjo-Kazooie, Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, etc… but it absolutely belongs in the same conversation as those classics.
How to Play: PlayStation 1*/4/5. Remake (On the Loose): PSP
*console played on for this review
Leave a Reply