Ape Escape
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- This article is about the first game in the Ape Escape series. For other titles and spinoffs in the series, see Ape Escape series.
| Ape Escape | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | SCEI |
| Publisher(s) | SCEA |
| Release date(s) |  May 31, 1999 June 24, 1999 July 2, 1999 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone |
| Platform(s) | PS1, PSP |
Ape Escape is a platform game for the PlayStation, which launched a video game series of the same name.
Ape Escape was first released in North America on May 31, 1999, and shortly after Japan under the name Saru! Get You! (サルゲッチュ Saru Getchu?), on June 24, 1999. Ape Escape was created and found by Kenkichi Shimooko. The Pipo Monkeys are also mascots of Sony; Ape Escape was the first game on the PlayStation to require use of the DualShock controller.
Ape Escape tells the story of a monkey by the name of Specter that comes into ownership of a Peak Point Helmet (Pipo Helmet), which greatly increased his intelligence but also gave him evil intentions. He obtains helmets for the less intelligent monkeys identical to his own to assist him in his plan for world domination by travelling through time, and it's up to a young boy named Spike, with the aid of the Professor - the original inventor of the Peak Point Helmet - and his granddaughter (known as Natalie in the U.S. version, Katie in the UK version, and Natsumi in the Japanese version), to chase them through time and capture them all. He must also rescue his friend (known as Jake in the U.S. version, Buzz in the UK version, and Hiroki in the Japanese version), who has been brainwashed into being Specter's slave.
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[edit] Characters
The Japanese names come first. The English names are second.
- Kakeru / Spike
- Sex - Male
- Age - 10.
- Height: 135cm.
- Weight: 32kg.
| “ | Spike loves hanging around the Professor's laboratory to see what the old man might come up with next. When he learned that the professor had completed the construction of World's first Time machine, Spike couldn't wait to see it! | ” |
Spike is the older cousin of Jimmy/Hikari in the second. Spike goes in search of Jake/Buzz as both Jake/Buzz and Spike got separated in the Time machine, it's to him to bring him back. His hobby is spending time with his best friend Jake and his little cousin Jimmy.
- The Professor (ハカセ Hakase):
- Sex — Male
- Age — 60.
- Height — 170cm.
- Weight — 80kg.
| “ | Since he was a child, the Professor loved tinkering with gadgets. Now he's growing older and he tends to be a little careless, leaving his experiments lying around for anyone to stumble across. He relies on his granddaughter, Katie Natalie, to make sure he doesn't get himself — or anyone else — into trouble. Though he's worried about Spike, he's secretly thrilled that the Time Station works! | ” |
- Natsumi (ナツミ) / Natalie / Katie (UK):
- Sex — Female
- Age — 14.
- Height — 155cm.
- Weight — ?kg.
| “ | Katie [Natalie] lives with her grandfather and tries to keep him out of trouble. She's very impatient and her grandfather's untidiness annoys her, though not as much as Spike, who's always hanging around and getting in her way [but she is still friends with him]. She's brilliant with computers and both Spike and the Professor are relying on Katie [Natalie] to keep the Time Station working long enough for Spike to make it home safe. | ” |
She is in about every Ape Escape video game.
- Charu / Casi:
- Sex — Female
- Age — ?
- Height — ?cm
- Weight — ?kg.
Casi is a computer girl created by the professor. She appears briefly as the player's instructor and at the start of every level tells the player how many monkeys you need to capture. She also briefly takes over from the Professor's Lab when the Professor and Natalie/Katie are kidnapped by Specter. She is not as pushy as Natalie/Katie.
- Hiroki (ヒロキ) / Jake / Buzz (UK):
- Sex — Male
- Age — 10.
- Height — 138cm.
- Weight — 34kg.
| “ | Spike and Jake [Buzz] have always enjoyed a little good-natured rivalry, so it's not surprising that both of them wanted to be the first to use the Professor's Time Station. But while Spike tries to save the World from the monkeys, Jake is lost in the TimeVortex - where can he be? What has happened to him? | ” |
As it turns out he was hypnotized by the evil Specter, Buzz/Jake faces Spike as a boss character, and in many challenges through the game.
- Specter (スペクター):
- Sex — Male (presumably).
- Age — 4 (human years).
- Height — 125cm.
- Weight — 28kg.
| “ | Specter used to live at the Circus where he'd keep people entertained by performing tricks and getting up to mischief. But this all changed when he found the Professor's Peak Point Helmet [and placed it upon his head]. He became hyper-intelligent — and evil! Now all he wants is to rule the World, and Spike must do everything he can to stop him! | ” |
He is an albino monkey, and his primary means of attack (when you finally get to face him) are giant robotic bodies, and strange blue energy that he propagates by touching his head.
[edit] Gameplay
Ape Escape was the first PlayStation game to fully require the use of both control sticks to play (one needed to purchase a DualShock controller to play this game, as the original PlayStation controller would not work). The right stick is used in many different ways, such as aiming and swinging weapons. You can have four items equipped at once, on the X, Square, Circle and Triangle face buttons. Unlike some platformers, Ape Escape uses the R buttons to jump.
[edit] The Time Station
At the very beginning of the game, Spike is hurled into a level set in the dinosaur age. After completing this level, where Spike learns the basics of the two primary gadgets and catches a handful of monkeys, he is transported to the Time Station, the hub of the game. There are four sections in the station:
- The Warp Screen: Players choose the level to play from here.
- Load/Save Screen: Players can save their progress or load a separate game from here. They can also access the Monkey Book, which records all the monkeys that players have captured.
- Training Room: Here, players can access previously completed training levels for each specific gadget that they have obtained.
- Minigame Room: Players can play minigames they have unlocked by collecting Specter coins here (see Minigames section).
[edit] Plot
Spike travels through various places in time, from the Dinosaur Ages to the Age of the Celestial Empire, in order to catch Specter's legion of apes. He also runs into the hypnotised Jake during his adventures, and must defeat him in bonus levels that involve racing to complete an obstacle course.
Spike soon comes to the Present Day, where Specter and his monkey army have retreated due to their failed attempts to rewrite history. After defeating him at his factory, where he is trying to create more Peak Point Helmets, and the TV Tower, Specter creates a malevolent theme park, where he challenges Spike to find his imprisoned friends, the Professor and Natalie. Spike finds Jake along the way and defeats him in a final battle, then races to a large castle, which takes off into space. In a final effort, he traverses through the castle and Spike takes on Specter in his giant robot. Spike destroys the robot, but Specter escapes. The castle floats back down to Earth, where Spike is reunited with his friends...
...but the battle is not over yet. Specter is found again, hiding in a mysterious dimension called the Peak Point Matrix. After rounding up all the remaining monkeys, Spike travels there and engages Specter in a one-on-one final battle. Spike finishes the battle by catching the villain in the Time Net, ending his evil crusade.
[edit] Levels
These are the names of the levels and specific information about them. The first names are copied from the European release of the game (UK English) in Platinum release, the second names for the US release.
Please note that the amount of tokens recorded for the challenges with Buzz/Jake can only be awarded if the challenge is successfully completed (Spike wins).
| No. | Level name | Age/Era | Tokens (60) | Monkeys to Clear/Total (204) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Ancient Plain/Fossil Field | Prehistoric Era/The Lost Land | 1 | 3/4 |
| #2 | Raining Lake/Primordial Ooze | Prehistoric Era/The Lost Land | 1 | 4/6 |
| #3 | Dinosaur Valley/Molten Lava | Prehistoric Era/The Lost Land | 1 | 4/7 |
| #4 | Jungle River/Thick Jungle | Cenozoic Era/Mysterious Age | 4 | 6/14 |
| #5 | Dark Ruins | Cenozoic Era/Mysterious Age | 4 | 6/13 |
| #6 | Cryptic Relics | Cenozoic Era/Mysterious Age | 1 | 5/8 |
| #7 | Buzz Attack Part 1/Stadium Attack | Dimension/Dimension X | 5 | (None) |
| #8 | Primitive Beach/Crabby Beach | Primitive Age/Oceana | 1 | 5/8 |
| #9 | Primitive Ocean/Coral Cave | Primitive Age/Oceana | 1 | 5/8 |
| #10 | Dexter's Island | Primitive Age/Oceana | 3 | 6/11 |
| #11 | Frozen Ocean/Snowy Mammoth | Ice age/New Freezeland | 1 | 5/6 |
| #12 | Icicle Cave/Frosty Retreat | Ice age/New Freezeland | 3 | 6/9 |
| #13 | Monkey Hot Springs/Hot Springs | Ice age/New Freezeland | 2 | 6/9 |
| #14 | Buzz Attack Part 2/Gladiator Attack | Dimension/Dimension X | 5 | (None) |
| #15 | Tranquil Temple/Sushi Temple | Recent Past/Medieval Mayhem | 3 | 6/12 |
| #16 | The Great Wall/Wabi Sabi Wall | Recent Past/Medieval Mayhem | 3 | 8/10 |
| #17 | Trick Castle/Crumbling Castle | Recent Past/Medieval Mayhem | 4 | 5/20 |
| #18 | Urban City/City Park | Present-Day/Futurama | 3 | 8/13 |
| #19 | Specter's Factory | Present-Day/Futurama | 2 | 7/10 |
| #20 | TV Tower | Present-Day/Futurama | 2 | 7/12 |
| #21 | Specter Land/Monkey Madness | Present-Day 2/Specter Land | 10 | 2/24 |
| #22 | Final Get/Peak Point Matrix | Dimension/Dimension X | (None) | (None) |
[edit] Gadgets
Ape Escape has several gadgets, which each have their own unique function. Spike's primary gadgets are the Stun Club and the Time Net, which are often used to subdue and catch apes, respectively. Throughout the game, Spike will acquire more gadgets that will be useful to him in the next world, and are often needed to get some of the apes in earlier levels. When a new gadget is obtained, players are dropped into a training level, where the basics of controlling the gadget are learned and practised. These levels can be revisited in the Training Room (see above). A complete list of all the gadgets follows:
- Time Net — The most important gadget; used to catch monkeys.
- Stun Club — Used to hit monkeys and enemies with a regular mêlée attack.
- Water Net — Used to catch monkeys swimming in water. It is automatically switched to when Spike dives into water, and does not need to be assigned to a button; no other gadget can be used underwater.
- Monkey Radar — Locates monkeys in the level. When the signal makes a high-pitched noise and turns red, a monkey is nearby. You can use this to see its name and other statistics (see Monkeys section).
- Sling Back Shooter (Sling Shot) — Used to hit monkeys, enemies and buttons that are out of range. Spike can shoot normal, explosive, or guided bullets.
- Super Hoop (Dash Hoop) — Spike must spin this around his waist to achieve a supercharged burst of speed. It is used to hit particularly fast enemies and monkeys, and to solve puzzles.
- Sky Flyer (Propeller) — Enables Spike to rise up into the air and reach high-up places, or glide across large canyons. Continuously rotating it will keep Spike up longer, but he will eventually float back down to the ground.
- RC Car — Spike can direct this through small gaps to subdue monkeys and press buttons in a location out of accessibility. It constantly regenerates if it is accidentally destroyed.
- Magic Punch — Only found after defeating Specter, this can be used as a much stronger melee attack, as opposed to the Stun Club. It can break strong boxes and walls that the Stun Club cannot.
[edit] Monkeys
Each monkey in Ape Escape has a unique personality, with a name and description, seen as a "Data File". Players can view this on "Monkey Cam", a feature of the Monkey Radar gadget that is used in-game by pressing the L2 button when pointing the radar towards a monkey. After the monkey is caught, its Data File can be read in a log book, called the Monkey Book, accessed from the main hub of the game. These names often hold many humorous jokes and pop culture references. For example, a monkey named Kubrick is described as one who "enjoys thrillers". Each monkey also has three fields of skill: Speed, Attack and Alertness, all of which are ranked out of five. This combines to a level of difficulty, which is also denoted on the File.
An amusing yet useful feature of the monkeys is that their pants can tell the player the main traits of their personality by use of a color code. For example, a monkey with red pants would be a strong attacker. Players can use this to employ the best strategy to use in order to catch the monkey. The complete code is shown here:
- Yellow — Average monkey. It usually attacks with its fist, but sometimes fiddles around with a laser gun.
- Red — Strong attacker, so avoid close combat. Besides using its fists, it carries weapons and is an excellent shot.
- Blue — Incredibly fast runner.
- White — Same as yellow, but is very attentive and difficult to sneak up on.
- Green — Sharp vision; Can spot Spike from a long distance and shoot homing missiles.
- Black — Extremely dangerous; wields a gun and is very hostile.
- Light Blue — Gentle and very sensitive. It can stalk and attack Spike if it is hurt too much.
In accordance with the storyline, each monkey wears a Peak Point Helmet that boosts its intelligence. The flashing light on top of the headgear actually tells the player the current mood of the monkey. A blue light means that it is calm, a yellow light means that it has heard something and is on alert, and red means that it has spotted Spike and has become aggressive.
[edit] Bosses
Most bosses within levels can be attacked using a vulnerability point. For robots and machines, this is usually symbolized as a visible green hexagon on the front of the boss. This light can only be attacked after a cycle of attacks from the boss and is only functional for a few seconds each time. Other enemies (e.g. Knights) can only be attacked when they are recharging, or they must be struck from behind.
- Knight — A small knight who guards one of the doors in Specter's Crumbling Castle. When you defeat him the door is opened. Appears in: Crumbling Castle (Trick Castle)
- Giant Knight — This giant knight attacks Spike with its sword. Appears In: Crumbling Castle (Trick Castle)
- Specter's Ship — This time-travelling ship arms Specter with various heavy weapons including lasers, missiles and heat cannons. Appears In: TV Tower
- Clown — A clown employed by Specter to keep the Professor hostage. Appears In: Specter Land
- Jake (RC Car) — Jake uses an over-sized RC car to take on Spike. It attacks with missiles and launches mini RC cars. Appears in: Specter Land
- Specter's Robot — A giant mech operated by Specter. Appears in: Specter Land
- Specter — When you've captured all of the monkeys you have one last battle with Specter here. Appears in: Peak Point Matrix
[edit] Minor bosses
Some monkeys can avoid being captured by either using their environments or by protecting themselves within objects. However, through the game, there are some other "creatures" that can be found wandering around, requiring a couple of attacks to reveal energy chips, cookies, bullets or sometimes a life. There are also some of these creatures that are stronger than others and can be categorised as minor bosses.
Monkeys
- Dali — A monkey hiding inside a huge pod guarded by three tentacles. Once defeated, Spike can capture Dali. Appears In: Dexter's Island
- Sade - A monkey hiding in a fire-breathing statue. Appears In: Dark Ruins
- Robot suits - Found in Specter's Factory and Specter Land (in the castle), these robots can only be attacked from behind. They attack by speeding towards Spike, bashing through any boxes in the way. They contain a monkey which is temporarily stunned after the robot is destroyed.
- In Specter's Factory, there is a monkey which can only be reached after travelling through many passages requiring the use of the RC car. This monkey is very sensitive and has flying bombs as a form of attack, and hence it is very difficult to catch.
- In Raining Lake, there is a monkey that has concealed itself inside a tree that has large bushes to use as a form of attack.
- Some other monkeys conceal themselves in UFOs, in Mega-Punch breakable boxes, inside cages, inside animals or plants, or in traps such as igloos.
- Also in Specter's Factory there is a monkey that hides in a cannon.
Other
- Yellow robot - First found in Urban City (outside), this robot attacks with bombs and by spinning around on its axis. It can only be attacked when idle.
- Purple robot - First found in Specter Land (inside castle), this robot attacks with twin laser cannons from its fists. It appears multiple times inside Specter's castle.
- Green robot - First found in Specter Land (castle), this robot attacks using rocket launchers, a machine gun and flamethrower. This robot only appears once.
[edit] Minigames
Throughout the game Spike collects Specter coins, large treasures with the antagonist's likeness printed on them. When he collects a certain number of these, he can unlock minigames to play in the Minigame Room. They are:
- Ski-Kidz Racing: (Requires 10 tokens) Players use a unique control scheme to compete in skiing races, either against AI or another player. They are able to choose from main characters of the story to play as. The left and right analog sticks are designated to corresponding skis.
- Specter Boxing: (Requires 20 tokens) Players compete in tournament, training or 2-player modes using a similar control scheme to Ski-Kidz Racing, using both sticks to control the fists of a monkey-boxer.
- Ping-Pong: Players choose a monkey, and then can chose to either compete in tournament mode or use practice mode where you choose your monkey and then you choose your opponent. In this Minigame after you hit the ball 3 times you will be able to to a speacal move, which is different depending on the monkey you choose. you can save up to a maximum of 4 speacal moves. This Minigame is only available on the Sony Playstation Portable System.
- Galaxy Monkey: (Requires 50 tokens) An arcade game very similar to the hit arcade game Asteroids, players control a UFO (with a monkey in the cockpit) to destroy enemies. The left analog stick controls movement and the right stick directs and shoots lasers.
- PocketStation Minigame: Ape Escape was one of the few games for the Sony PlayStation that was compatible with the PocketStation (available only in Japan). You could access this minigame by inserting a PocketStation into the PlayStation's memory card slot. This only worked in the Japanese version of the game (Saru! Gettchu!).
[edit] Voice actors
[edit] American
- Spike - Scott MacGregor
- Jake - Peter Bayhem
- Professor - Michael Sousa
- Natalie - Christiane Crawford
- Specter - Pete Burrows
[edit] Japanese
- Kakeru — Fujiko Takimoto
- Natsumi — Tomoko Kawakami
- Professor — Jouji Yanami
- Hiroki — Kazue Ikura
- Specter — Chika Sakamoto
[edit] See also
- Ape Escape series
- Ape Escape (TV series), an animated series
[edit] External links
- Official Website http://www.ape-escape.com/
- Ape Escape at MobyGames
