I did quite enjoy Ape Escape 1, but it was weird seeing how far the series had gone since then, as I had played 3 beforehand. With this game, I actually wasn't expecting them to get this many improvements down on just the second installment.
The framerate is buttery-smooth. The controls are much more free-flowing and snappy, as are the animations and beautiful graphics. The voice acting is actually quite good this time! There's draw distance this time. Every level felt memorable and breezy, with none of them overstaying their welcome even when they want you to collect so many monkeys later on. The hub world was so much better this time, laying the groundwork for the third game.
This is a miracle of a sequel. I am willing to believe that just Souichi Terada being present would magically make people like this game more, because I am stunned this game has the reputation it does when it's just THIS good. I did think it should've given more opportunities for lives and extra health than getting lucky with enemies or a gacha, and the final level did have some annoying bits... but it still wasn't as agonizing as the first game's elongated finale. I haven't been this happy with a game in god-knows-how-long. Whew boy.
(I'm counting Mastered as getting all the monkeys cuz I am not bothering with all the gacha and mini-games)