20 Years On: Ape Escape

Ape Escape released way back in 1999 and spawned a successful, quirky series about saving the world from the evil ape Specter. It became one of Sony’s most prominent and identifiable properties before disappearing from view.

Ape Escape is a third-person platform game that sees you control a spiky red-haired boy named… Spike, as he visits multiple time periods attempting to recover a vast number of apes let loose by the evil white-haired ape, Specter. Specter gained super-intelligence after wearing an experimental helmet and disperses his fellow apes throughout time to change the timeline.

Developed by SCE Japan Studio, the game was the first to mandate the use of the original DualShock controller to play it at all. Every gadget in the game used the right analogue stick in some way, whether that was having fine control in the direction you swung the Time Net or aiming the Slingback Shooter. The developers tried to find unique ways to use the analogue sticks, invariably ending up with uses for directional flicks for precision or spinning the stick to do a spin attack, or keeping you in motion with the Dash Loop for example.

Playing it today it feels a little odd not using the right stick for camera control, but using it for weapon and gadget control was and still is a pretty unique experience. It’s also quite remarkable how well it holds up twenty years later. As a late PlayStation title, it’s visually very accomplished with a slick presentation to back it all up. There is very little in the way of texture warping like earlier games in the generation, and it all feels very solid.

As you explored the various worlds within, which were presented more or less in a linear fashion, you couldn’t help but be entranced by the bright colourful visuals and the charm given to the apes and other characters. Sneaking around trying to catch the escaped simians, you’d catch a glimpse of the comical police siren helmets they wore that clued you in on whether they’d spotted you or not. Combine that with an almost Mega Man Legends-esque visual aesthetic and it’s easy to have a fondness for the series.

Ape Escape would eventually be remade for the PlayStation Portable in 2005 which required an alternative control scheme thanks to the PSP lacking a second analogue stick. This made it feel very odd when coming from the original game and definitely less unique. The franchise gained a few sequels on the PlayStation 2 and a handful of Japanese-only exclusive spin-off titles but it has laid dormant since those sequels, outside of making cameo appearances in other series’ like Metal Gear Solid and Everybody’s Golf.

It’s a shame Spike and the gang are seemingly unlikely to get a new game as there really isn’t much else like it on Sony’s systems but who knows, the simians might reappear to cause havoc next generation!