''Ape Escape 2'' is a

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developed and published by

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for the

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. It is the second game in the ''Ape Escape'' series, and is also used as the basis for the

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

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Gameplay

''Ape Escape 2'', like its predecessor, is a platform game in which players control Hikaru as he catches monkeys spread across each level. Like the previous game, players control Hikaru using the left analog stick and shoulder buttons while using the right analog stick to control various Gotcha Gadgets that are unlocked as the player progresses through the game. Along with returning gadgets such as the Stun Club, Monkey Net, Super Hoop, Water Net, Slingback Shooter, RC Car, and Sky Flyer, ''Ape Escape 2'' introduces three new gadgets; the Bananarang, which attracts monkeys with its scent, the Water Cannon, which puts out fires, and the Electro Magnet, which can be used on magnetic surfaces. The Magic Punch, a gadget from the first game unlocked in the post-game, also makes a return. New to the game is the monkey sidekick, Pipotchi, who accompanies Hikaru through most of the game. While with Hikaru, Pipotchi can give the player hints, help Hikaru reach ledges, and revive him once per life when he gets knocked out. Throughout the game, players can collect golden Gotcha Coins, which become more valuable when collected in quick succession. These coins can be spent on the Gotcha Box

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machine to unlock bonus material. Along with various collectibles such as concept art, music,

comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

, and fables, players can unlock three brand new minigames; Monkey Football, Dance Monkey Dance, and Monkey Climber, which can be played with up to two players. Monkey Soccer (known as Monkey Football outside of North America) is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

game, Dance Monkey Dance is a

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requiring players to match dance moves to the rhythm, and Monkey Climber is a challenging game requiring players to navigate a monkey across vines. Completing the game unlocks a

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mode in which players can play as the previous game's hero, Kakeru (Spike outside of North America).

Story

The game takes place after the events in ''Ape Escape'', where Kakeru (Spike in the English versions) stopped Specter from taking over the world. It is a few years later, and the Professor left for a vacation leaving his granddaughter, Natsumi (Natalie in the U.S. version), and Spike's cousin, Hikaru (Jimmy in the U.S. version), to watch over the laboratory. The Professor has left them with one task: deliver a load of monkey pants to the monkeys in Monkey Park. Hikaru accidentally sends not only the monkey pants, but some Monkey Helmets as well, wrecking the laboratory in the process. Specter gets a hold of one, and yet again makes an army of monkeys bent on ruling the world. Under Natsumi's orders, Hikaru aims to capture all the monkeys and stop Specter. However, Specter has supplied five monkeys, the Freaky Monkey Five, with Vita-Z bananas, making them stronger and more intelligent than the average monkeys. Hikaru manages to capture all of the Freaky Monkey Five, except Yellow Monkey. Before his fight with White Monkey, Pipotchi, a baby monkey accompanying Hikaru, is kidnapped, in order to transfer the data in his Monkey Helmet (a re-engineered model which makes Pipotchi friendly) into a device called the Lethargy Laser. Rescuing Pipotchi, Hikaru makes his way through a monkey controlled military base, and confronts Specter, who is waiting for him with a redesigned version of his battle cruiser from the first game. Before the two can battle, Yellow Monkey, now a giant monster thanks to an overdose of Vita-Z bananas attacks the facility. Specter flees, and Hikaru manages to downsize and capture Yellow. Hikaru, the Professor and Natsumi then discover the purpose of the Lethargy Laser. By firing it at the globe, all humans worldwide will lose the will to fight back, making it easier for Specter and the monkeys to take over the world. Hikaru confronts Specter at his moonbase, who attacks him with a giant robot. Once defeated, Specter attempts to fire the laser, but Hikaru states that humans will never give up, and captures him. Hikaru and Pipotchi then flee the exploding moonbase. Shortly afterwards, Specter escapes and goes into hiding. Hikaru then proceeds to capture all the remaining monkeys before the Professor discovers Specter's hiding place. Hikaru warps there, encountering Specter, and the two of them battle again. Specter loses and is once again captured. The game ends with Kakeru visiting the laboratory, which is again destroyed when Hikaru accidentally crashes a spaceship into it.

Development

The game was directed and produced by Naoto Ohta, formerly of

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

. The music of the game was composed by Koji Hayama, managed by Don Makkou and Bungo Fujiwara of Two Five and data programmed by Masaaki Kaneko of Procyon Studio. The game's sound effects were created by Takashi Kanai and Junko Sano. The voice acting of the American version was recorded by Dan Rich and Jeremy Blaustein. The American voice cast features

Rachael Lillis Rachael Lillis (born July 8) is an American voice actress and scriptwriter. She studied acting in Boston and New York City and has appeared in various theater productions, animated series and independent films. She was formerly based in New Yor ...

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, Gary Littman, Carter Cathcart,

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and Kathleen McInerney. The voice acting of the European version was recorded at Side UK on

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, with Andy Emery serving as the voice director. The European voice cast consists of Jonathan Keeble as the Professor and Red Monkey,

Mark Silk Mark Silk is an American academic. He is Professor of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College, where he also serves as the Director the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life. In addition, Silk is a Contributing ...

as Specter and White Monkey, David Holt as Hikaru, Yellow Monkey and Pipotchi, Rachel Preece as Natsumi and Pink Monkey (the latter of the two was reused for the American version) and Richard Pearce as Blue Monkey and Kakeru. The PAL version of ''Ape Escape 2'' was re-released as a PSN title in 2016, featuring trophies and upscaled graphics. There's also remote play and second screen options available.

Reception

On release, ''

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'' magazine scored the game a 32 out of 40. ''

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'' praised the game citing the

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port which was released on PSN in August 2016.

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

gave the game a 9/10: "More than anything, the inescapable level of addiction in COLLECTING monkeys is the overriding reason to not just rent, but to buy and cherish this game".

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

gave it an 8.4/10: "The game's relative ease is offset by the sheer number of weird unlockable items, and the end result is a platform game that is, above all, great fun".

References

External links

* * ''Ape Escape 2'' pdf manual at

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