I was about to write out a long ass review for this game, but then I realized I can sum it up in a sentence: "Ape Escape 2 is a game that tries to ape Ape Escape 1, but manages to do it worse in almost every way." That isn't to say the game is bad. The game is still amazing and one of the best 3D platformers out there (speaks to how great this series has been so far).
However, Ape Escape 2 did some things better. Stuff like the gachapon prizes cranked the game's charm up to 11 (the monkey fables are honestly goated). The minigames are much more playable this time around, with Monkey Soccer probably being one of the best things to ever exist. I also noticed that some of the monkey colors were made more distinct (with Red becoming a close range brawler instead of being a better Black for example), though Light Blue and White became a lot more in line with Yellow. The addition of non-colored gimmick monkeys was also really cool.
However, Ape Escape 2 does some things worse than the original that I feel outweigh the benefits. Levels are fun, but there isn't really any cohesive theming between levels or sets of levels like in Ape Escape 1. This combined with a somewhat duller palette and less setpieces (I'd like to mention the christmas tree in one level that made my emulator drop from 60fps to 40) makes the levels overall more forgettable. In addition, the levels felt a lot more linear on average. Sure, this isn't a unique thing to Ape Escape 2. 1 had linear levels, and the first two present day levels were easily my least favorite in part due to this. However, 2 has longer linear levels, and yes, they do loop around, usually at the end of the level though past the monkey threshold needed to beat the level, meaning the shortcuts don't really matter until you are going through the stage for the remaining monkeys (I will give the game credit for that, otherwise 100% is a bitch lol). Also, the three new gadgets are hyper-situational, and would go unused by me if the game didn't force me to use them in such a contrived way.
The game's still good, but not as good as Ape Escape 1
However, Ape Escape 2 did some things better. Stuff like the gachapon prizes cranked the game's charm up to 11 (the monkey fables are honestly goated). The minigames are much more playable this time around, with Monkey Soccer probably being one of the best things to ever exist. I also noticed that some of the monkey colors were made more distinct (with Red becoming a close range brawler instead of being a better Black for example), though Light Blue and White became a lot more in line with Yellow. The addition of non-colored gimmick monkeys was also really cool.
However, Ape Escape 2 does some things worse than the original that I feel outweigh the benefits. Levels are fun, but there isn't really any cohesive theming between levels or sets of levels like in Ape Escape 1. This combined with a somewhat duller palette and less setpieces (I'd like to mention the christmas tree in one level that made my emulator drop from 60fps to 40) makes the levels overall more forgettable. In addition, the levels felt a lot more linear on average. Sure, this isn't a unique thing to Ape Escape 2. 1 had linear levels, and the first two present day levels were easily my least favorite in part due to this. However, 2 has longer linear levels, and yes, they do loop around, usually at the end of the level though past the monkey threshold needed to beat the level, meaning the shortcuts don't really matter until you are going through the stage for the remaining monkeys (I will give the game credit for that, otherwise 100% is a bitch lol). Also, the three new gadgets are hyper-situational, and would go unused by me if the game didn't force me to use them in such a contrived way.
The game's still good, but not as good as Ape Escape 1