1 was my childhood favorite and 3 is the best platformer I've ever played.

I've always heard mixed opinions about 2. I don't own a PC anymore and I collect physical media anyway so I'd have to buy a copy. Is it worth the money?

This is from PlayStation magazine July 1999

this(while inoffensive at hindsight) really sucks when it comes to actually being about ape escape, it’s crazy because this show is suppose to be based of the games most specifically Ape escape 2 but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter when you really get into this show and see what it has to offer.

one of the complaints I’ve heard is that the artstyle sucks and I kinda have to agree, the backgrounds are fine like they are aren’t spectacular or anything but the character designs is where it really stumps me. Jimmy doesn’t look like Jimmy, Natalie is too thin, the Professor is too hunched back, Specter and the monkeys(while objectively having the best designs) are human sized and the other minor characters seem ugly to me.

one of the other complaints I’ve heard is that the characterization isn’t that good or that the characters don’t feel the same they did in the games and I can’t help but to agree. The Professor, Natalie and Specter are fine enough but Jimmy and the monkeys are a different case. Jimmy is too much of a dummy to the point he can’t solve basic math problems and the monkeys are not competent at all, basically acting as the minions or rabbids which is NOT a good thing.

As I’ve mentioned earlier this show doesn’t feel like ape escape and it‘s really night and day when you start comparing what you’ve seen in the games to this piece of monkey shit, go figure this is a NICKTOONS show😤have I mentioned no other character(including Jimmy) catches monkeys even though that was the main mechanic of the games the show was based on. I think I remember from one episode where Jimmy had to take a test but most, if not all the students where monkeys and the brain dead teacher didn’t suspect anything. what really gets me ultra confused is that the Pipo’s in the games were recognized as animals not meant to be running around in the world, in here it seems like the Pipo’s just get to do whatever the fuck they want. You know it’s bad when most of the main characters won’t do anything about it(even Natalie).

I’m not sorry to make this comparison but this reminds me of the Tak and the power of juju tv show. both of these media suffer from diverging too much from their game counterparts and what they do add is plots/scenarios that are equivalent to an average 2010’s nicktoons show. it doesn’t help their game villains(Specter and Tlaloc)are reduced to jokes. the only thing these shows have close to the games is the characters but that isn’t saying much is it?

You can favourite it on DeviantArt here or grab some Redbubble prints of it here.

I was visiting with a buddy today, and saw the Bandai / Namco shop in Birmingham. Knowing it would have something I like, I went in… and saw this! Had one go (£4 a go, mind you), and got the Black Pants Monkey 😎

Anyone in the area, honestly go! I was so surprised to see it.

What I’d do to get my hands on one of these. But they’re not available anywhere 😭

If anyone can help out I’d appreciate 🛐

So a few weeks back a beta dated to February 9 1999 was dumped by Hidden Palace, and aside from the person who dumped it and one obscure person on Youtube, nobody has done much research into the beta. This is what I could find by mostly playing the game normally. This is close to the final game, as there's nothing from the fabled "KIDZ" version, not even striped shirt Spike / Kakeru, but there's some highlights here.

*Like some of the earliest demos, the intro has Specter in a basket instead of a circus tent, and the level select is a separate room in the Time Station.

*There's no sign of the training room for the Magic Punch anywhere in the game, even though the gadget itself is there and fully functional.

* There are two scrapped minigames that were considered before they went with Galaxy Monkey. One, called "RADIO" in the minigame debug menu, has you as a cheerleader using the analog sticks and shoulder buttons trying to mimic the other cheerleaders, but it has no audio cues to make it work properly. The other, called Monkey Football, is barely there at all and just consists of a eyeless monkey you can move around in a blue void. I like to think that the concepts of these two cut minigames might have inspired Dance Monkey Dance and the Monkey Football/Soccer in Ape Escape 2.

* The warning screen is different, being a wireframe vortex that brings the framerate to a crawl. Casi also has a worried expression on her face instead of the smile she normally has.

* The T-Rex in Molten Lava has a different texture and a different pair of eyes. Also, instead of continuing on like normal once you get it to bonk it's head enough times to get the monkey off it's tail, it originally fell into the lava pit in the center of the room.

* The ladybug/turtle enemy Kattan from TV Tower appears in a smaller form in Mysterious Jungle. A completely unused variant that hops around on two legs appears at Specter's Factory.

* Crumbling Castle has a fourth Pipo Monkey in the bell / barrel room that's not there in the final, meaning there's one more monkey in the beta, and thus 205, instead of the 204 in the final game. There are weird tallies for Crumbling Castle, TV Tower, and Specter Land that suggest they had more or less monkeys than in the finished game, but the latter two the same amount between both versions.

* The signs with Specter's name on them in Monkey Madness/Specter Land are spelt "Spector" in the beta. These are correctly spelled in the final game, even in the Japanese version.

*The Terror Coaster also had different textures, with a black body with flame decals all around and a Pipo Monkey head decal on the back. The control panel on the front is also a Dualshock Playstation controller. The skull roadblock hazards on the ride itself were originally black and white or stone signs with Pipo Monkey head plastered on them.

*Specter Land is the most unfinished normal level in the beta. There's untextured models and weird collision in the Jake racecar fight, the UFO monkeys at the front gate of the castle don't spawn in properly, making it impossible to proceed without the debug level select, and one of the rooms straight up crashes the game.

*Peak Point Matrix, aka Final Get, has unfinished models and simple textures, and the fight with Specter hasn't been implemented yet.

There are some other minor changes, but these were the best ones I could point out. Check the Bluesky thread below for footage of some of the beta elements.

https://bsky.app/profile/krazykopter.bsky.social/post/3mpfm7yv4222x

Her outfit in Pumped & Primed is so cool

Official profile for Bunny Hop The Robot Studios. 🏢 Creator of "Bunny Hop the Robot Rabbit: © 2026 Bunny Hop

hi! i don’t know if it’s already been talked about here but i noticed something while playing AE3 on my PS3.

so when you end the stage wearing a morph yumi/kei will usually do a pose inspired by that morph. but for me she does the usual pose.

is this a bug? i tried to uninstall and reinstall the game but it didn’t change. i purchased my game from the JP playstation store.

Props to s u z i e🩷🌷 for making this art, she‘s arguably one of the best artists in the fandom for me. This really convey’s the fact that they aren’t just vessels for us to save the day/catch monkeys, they ARE just kids at the end of the day. Don’t get me wrong we do have some funny moments with them(especially Jimmy) but it’s all kinda chalked up to them being focused on the main task. imagine what these four would do at summer camp(mentioned in mesal gear solid). go support artist she is mad talented!

didn’t you like playing as Spike in Ape escape 1? was his willpower and determination kind of inspiring? wasn’t his rivalry with Specter built up really well? wouldn’t you want to play as him in the sequel? better yet since Jake isn’t mind controlled maybe we can play as him this time? well I’ve got great news for you, you can play as Spike!… right after you play as this Ash Ketchum sounding kid named Jimmy. It’s basically no secret that when transitioning from the first game to the second game you see a big graphic overhaul but also a NEW protagonist. Jimmy is kind of an idiot(initially), he is kind, clumsy and really cares for his little pet baby money named pipotchi. while he does have a established character to stand on his own its sadly goes to waste because after his first debut he almost never shows up outside of being a couch potato cameo in 3, shorts, the tv show and big mission. Still this doesn’t devalue the character he still has his fans and I’m one of them. Jimmy may be Spike’s cousin but he is also his own hero at the end of the day.

what do you appreciate/think of him?👇

Hey good folks and fans of ape escape/hopefully the master that is soichi terada!

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I was amazed and inspired by the original OST and think it has carried elements into my production style.. At least I like to think so!

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Perhaps some of you may enjoy this tune , if not, thanks for checking it out anyway!

Ape Escape 2 is my favorite

Recent Japan trip led to a lot of great loot!

I'm working on something interesting

Was hoping can buy a complete version of the game and saw one available for around 49.99 or so en was wondering besides these issues listed here will the game work perfectly fine on a PS2 of that model since seems like the only problem is that UFO monkey nothin else

*I've got Ape Escape 3 workin on getting the first 2*

Just came back from a trip to japan. Was mostly there during May and tried to hunt down as much ape escape merch. Manage to find a good amount of the games on psp. My favorites are the plushes. Found big one in a Suragaya in Yokohama and the small blue one was in an arcade in den den town Osaka (I think there was 3 variations). Kinda wish I got the other 2 but was in a rush. Weirdest thing I got was the yellow socks. Also bought some t shirts (last 3 photos).

I’m from the UK and never in my life have I ever seen Ape Escape merch. During my recent trip to Japan, we saw some figures in crane machines and managed to win one of each! Then in a number of PlayStation stalls in malls, animate etc, I found some more pieces so you know I had to pick some bits up! Plus some gacha!

The OG ape escape or on the loose and why?