get me a net, its monkey catching time.
The bad:the graphics (not judged for age.)bad voice acting. some vehicles are tough to control . mini games are passable at best. music starts to sound the same and repetitive and later levels. some naggning issues
The thought of a game about catching monkeys sounds crazy. But if you remember the term (dont judge a book by its cover.) you might be encouraged to play this.
but dont let the sentence above fool you. The game has aged but its still a blast to play. Ape escape is one of the first psone games to actually make some use to the analog sticks (where the controller was required or you were screwed)
Your spike, a kid who was sent through time with a stun club (light saber like thing) a time net( a net to catch monkeys ) and many more to stop monkeys from changing the courses of time.
honestly the story doesnt matter but its the gameplay that really shines through. you use the left analog stick for mvement and the right to use your gadgets (in a cool way) you use both sticks to control vehicles . the analog system is great and exciting but there is one hitch. when you control vehicles (like the row boat.) ,it can be hard to steer the thing sometimes and rotating the stick makes it faster but confusing when rotating the sticks in a direction your uncomfortable with. other then this hitch, the game is a blast.
another cool thing about this is that despite the games shortness, there is some places where you need certain gadgets to reach (just look at that cliff in the first level)this ultimately leads to getting the true ending to try to catch specter again (with more successful results)
The music is one of my favorite parts of ape escape. the first level (to me) delivers one of the most catcheist game music that was stuck in my head through the test of time (think 6 years)but as much as i love the music. i wanted to just ignore it later because aparently the music dudes ran out of ideas and started making tracks that sound the same.
so if the game is so sweet, then why did you add it to just a basic 8.0
well there are some other issues other than the vehicles. jumping is alittle tricky. its 9 outa 10 youll grab a ledge but stuff like not being able to move in the air. its minor but there will be times where it will hit you when you got your last live and need alittle movement to get on 1 particular platform. another is the voice acting which is pretty bad (well atleast spike sounds ok and i did have that hi ya voice stuck in my head for years). another is the graphics. while not judging by todays standards. i know the Playstation had better tech in 1999.
Ape escape has aged well but that doesnt mean it blows. ape escape is a treasure worth scavaging for. so get your net, its gonna be one long hunt.