Ape Escape (1999 Video Game) User Reviews

This is a great 3D platformer for PS1

[moodorf · 9/10 · 23 February 2022]

YOU NEED AN DUAL SHOCK PS1 CONTROLLER TO PLAY THIS GAME. IT WON'T WORK WITH THE ORIGINAL PS1 CONTROLLER.

Now that that's out of the way: this is a great 3D platformer for PS1. This game uses both analog sticks in unique way (Left stick moves, Right stick is used to control gadgets) that although weird at first, quickly feels intuitive when you consider how the game works. The camera, often a sore spot for early 3D platformers, is above average here. It usually works. The graphics are bright and colorful with an anime feel to the characters.

The levels are well thought out and only very rarely have annoying sections imho. Music is great in this game too. There's something to be said about the fact that whenever I spot an ape in this game, some part of my brain lights up with joy at the thought of snatching him.

If I had to point out some negatives I'd say...well, the camera isn't perfect. Also, some people might not like using the R1/R2 to jump. Oh, and every time I try to use a paddleboat in this game I can't quite get the motion of the sticks right and it becomes kind of a joke. But it's a joke I can laugh at because...this game is charming.

800 stars out of 5

[bailoutboy87 · 10 June 2003]

From the minute I popped this game into my ol' grey PlayStation, i fell in love. It's disturbingly bright and cheery colors, mixed with it's chipper and lovable cast of characters entices me and others who appreciate some originality and depth in a video game.

The graphics are great for it's time, with few signs of cutting corners on behalf of the programmers. The characters are uniquely designed, but the voice acting is deplorable and leaves much to be desired. The controls are amazing, and I'm surprised not as many people liked them. Sony had a great idea in implementing the Dual Shock-only feature that this game supports. The monkeys themselves are lovable, and downright impossible to resist.

All-in-all, this is my favorite game of all time. Sony has a beautiful masterpiece with this game, and I can't wait until Ape Escape 2! I give this game 800 stars out of 5, receiving my highest rating ever.

A barrel of monkeys.

[BlackJack_B · 7 August 2002]

Ape Escape is a great game for the PSOne. Released in 1999, it was the first game in which you needed Dual Shock Controllers to play. You are Spike, a early-teen who needs to capture monkeys. Seems that your professor friend has created a helmet that will allow monkeys to act like humans. One monkey, named Specter, got his hands on the helmet, and uses his new powers to create more helmets and give them to his friends. Then he goes out and uses the Professor's time machine to send his monkeys out with the goal to alter history so that primate and not man rule the world. Spike must go out in time and capture all the monkeys (and save his friend Jake, who has been brainwashed by Specter).

The graphics are a bit primitive, but the control is good, although a bit cumbersome. You'll travel to prehistoric lands, glacial areas, Feudal Japan, and others. You'll use various gadgets that you'll acquire over time. You can even collect coins that will allow you to play mini-games. Every monkey has a name and a quirk that is saved for your reading. The monkeys steal the show, they can be so cute and so cruel at times.

Bottom line: a good game and cheap in price, too. I hope the sequel (out in Japan) comes to North America. **** out of *****

APE ESCAPE is confusing and frustrating, but still worthwhile for the hard-core gamer.

[Cowman · 23 November 2002]

Uh oh... It looks as if a bunch of monkeys have somehow gotten ahold of some helmets that pump up their intellect to the level of superhuman intelligence. About 200 of these suckers escape from their pens and travel through different time periods, hoping to rewrite history so that apes and monkeys will have the upper hand in the future. And, for some reason, YOU (a scrawny preteen boy) have been chosen to cut their plans short by chasing after the primates, using a variety of bizarre gadgets to snatch them up and bring them back to captivity. Man, I hate it when this happens!

In general, APE ESCAPE is a fun, imaginative game. The graphics aren't anything special, but the scenery is pleasantly colored and the landscape-layouts are impressive. The plot is zany and inventive to say the least, but the dialogue and subplots associated with it tend to be overlong and uninteresting. However, what lacks in the story department is totally made up for with all those goofy gadgets you get to make use of throughout the game. I never get tired of pestering the monkeys with that RC car!

The biggest and most maddening drawback of APE ESCAPE has got to be its gameplay. The controls are illogical and needlessly complex, undoubtedly due to the game's requirement for the DualShock Analog Controller. You see, in order to boost sales for this rock-heavy joypad, Sony created a small line of games that required it in order for them to be played at all. APE ESCAPE was the first.

Overall, this is a fun game to play passively for a couple of hours, but only the really devoted gamers will be willing to learn the complicated control-scheme needed to make it to the ending. Try GEX or SPYRO instead.

Pretty average

[discoroux · 6 August 2001]

This game was pretty average. The plot was outrageously ridiculous and just plain stupid. Monkeys escape from an amusement park and try to take over the world by re-writing history, & only a nine-year-old boy can stop them? Give me a break! At least make the hero of the story older. What I don't understand is why the monkeys had to be sent to five different periods. If one is re-written, wouldn't all the ones after it be different? Although, there were some good parts to the game. The background graphics were pretty good. The game play was not so easy you would zip through it in an hour, but not too hard either. However, the last level is way too long, & if you intend to finish it, you need a LOT of time to kill. This one was pretty average, & I gave it a 6.

It's not that bad.

[i_d_e_4 · 6 February 2005]

It features unique gameplay that was new at the time. It's plot isn't as reasonable as,soap operas.{and soap operas are confusing to begin with}. But it's definitely...... Understanable. I give it a 9.5 out of 10

It's about a boy named Spike and his friend, Jake. They go to the Professor's lab to try out his new time traveler machine. But when they get there. The Professor and his apprentice, Natalie are tied up. By.... wait for it.... Monkeys with helmets that make them smart.{Peak-Point Helmet}. By the time Spike and Jake gets to the lab. The monkeys have already activated the time portal. They each jump in the portal. And Spike and Jake got Sucked in the portal too. Armed with a Stun Club and a Time Net. Spike must go through the Prehistoric, Ice Age, Medevil, and more to catch the monkeys and prevent them From taking over the worlds.

See what I mean?