Ape Escape
Webpages concerning "Ape Escape"
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Wikipedia-Article "Ape Escape"
| Ape Escape | |
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| Developer(s) | SCEI |
| Publisher(s) | SCEA |
| Designer(s) | |
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| Latest version | {{{version}}} |
| Release date(s) | May 31, 1999 |
| Genre | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone |
| Platform(s) | PS1 |
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| System requirements | |
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Ape Escape is a platform game for the PlayStation, which launched a video game series.
Ape Escape was first released in North America on May 31, 1999, and shortly after in Japan under the name Saru! Get You! (サルゲッチュ), on June 24, 1999. Ape Escape tells the story of a monkey by the name of Specter. This monkey came into ownership of a special hat, called a Peak Point Helmet, which raised his intelligence, but which also revealed that he was an evil monkey, bent on world domination. He, with his superior intelligence, gave the less intelligent monkeys helmets identical to his own to assist him in his plan for world domination by traveling through time, and it's up to a young boy named Spike, with the aid of the Professor who made the helmet, and his daughter Katie, to chase them through time and capture them all. He must also rescue his friend Buzz, who has been hypnotised into being Specter's slave.
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Characters
- Spike: The hero of the game. He is always eager to see what new gadgets the Professor has made, and is 10 years old. He and Buzz are best friends, and he is determined to find him.
- The Professor: An expert in the fields of science. He is especially determined to stop Specter's evil plan, having made the Helmet that boosted his intelligence and the machine that sent him and his army of monkeys back in time. He creates the gadgets that Spike aquires reguarly throughout the game.
- Katie: The Professor's daughter and a whiz with computers. She is constantly on her guard to stop her father, the Professor, from getting into trouble. She has a short temper, especially around Spike, and undertakes the task of monitoring the Time Station.
- Buzz: Spike's competitive friend. He is flung through time, along with Spike, yet lands in an unknown location. He is soon captured by Specter and brainwashed to do his bidding. Spike must help him come back to his senses and rescue him.
- Specter: The villain of the game. He used to perform in a circus show, but stumbled upon one of the Professor's Peak Point Helmets and became an evil genius. Rounding up a legion of monkeys, he travelled through time using the Professor's Time Station to rewrite history to his liking.
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, the original PlayStation controller would not work). The right stick is used in many different ways. One of the many ways the right stick is used to attack with the Stun Club, and to capture Monkeys with the Time Net. There are several different ways they use them as well, including driving an RC Car, rowing, spinning in a hula hoop, rotate a portable propeller, etc. 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.
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 by making Spike step on a large button.
- 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).
Levels/Plot Summary
Spike travels through various places in time, from the Dinosaur Ages to the Age of the Celestial Empire, in order to cath Specter's legion of apes. He also runs into Buzz during his adventures, and must defeat him in bonus levels that basically involve racing to complete an obstacle course before his opponent.
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 Katie. Spike finds Buzz 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 takes on Specter in his giant robot. After successfully beating him, the castle floats back down to Earth, where Spike is reunited with his friends and Specter is put in his rightful place: as a performer in the circus show, 'Ape Misbehavin.
But the battle is not over yet! Specter soon escapes yet again, into 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.
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 apes. 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 - Catches monkeys
- Stun Club - Used to hit monkeys and enemies with a regular melee 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.
- Monkey Radar - Locates monkeys in the level. When the signal makes a high-pitched noise and turns red, a monkey is nearby.
- Slingshot - Used to hit monkeys, enemies and buttons that are out of range. Spike can shoot normal, flash, or guided bullets.
- Dash Hoop - Spike must spin this around his waist to increase his speed. It can also be used to hit enemies and monkeys, especially those with blue pants.
- Sky Flyer - Enables Spike to rise up into the air and reach high-up places, or glide across large canyons.
- RC Car - Spike can direct this through small gaps to subdue monkeys and press buttons 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 apposed to the Stun Club, and can break down strong walls or boxes.
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 references to popular figures and culture. 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.
- Red - Strong attacker.
- Blue - Very fast runner.
- White - Expert balance.
- Green - Sharp vision; can spot Spike from a distance.
- Black - Very dangerous, wields a gun.
- Light Blue - Gentle.
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 is taking action.
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: 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: 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.
- Galaxy Monkey: 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.