In Ape Escape, the player must use their wits, reflexes, and a variety of tools and strategies for corralling the rascally Apes. Before I can go into what makes the Apes work, I must establish some basic concepts.
Ape Characteristics
The Apes in AE have a few key characteristics that are common across all 204 monkeys in the game.
- Every Ape has a Pipo Helmet which is used to communicate to the player the level of awareness the Ape has with regard to them.
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| The color of the flashing light on top of the Pipo Helmet indicates awareness. Red signals an alerted state. Yellow signals a cautious state. Blue signals an unaware or "normal" state. |
- Apes actively avoid the player: running away from, fighting with, and making use of set pieces to evade capture.
- All Apes have pants of different color: Yellow, Cyan, Blue, Black, Green, Red, and White. These different colored pants communicate to the player the different characteristics unique to that specific class of Ape. The different classes have different stat values: Aggression, Alertness, and Speed.
Pants Colors
Yellow
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| Nati of Fossil Fields |
Yellow monkeys are the most common type. They have average stats which scale up as levels get gradually harder. They appear either unarmed or armed with a simple laser pistol in later levels. Yellow monkeys often appear in groups and in early-game set pieces. All monkeys have the same base characteristics as yellows. When confronted, yellow monkeys (as well as all other monkeys) flee from the player, dropping bananas that can trip the player, throw rocks or shoot pistols to deter the player, and occasionally counterattacking the player when they get too close. In very rare cases, a cornered ape will stand there and watch in horror as you catch them.
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| Iz of Coral Caves. Note the laser pistol. |
When unaware of the player, yellow monkeys often wander around, gather around set pieces, or lounge around. On odd occasions, they do choreographed actions such as going swimming or doing a handstand.
Cyan
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| Moggan of Molten Lava |
Cyan monkeys are considered the weakest of the monkeys. They have below average stats and will mostly run from the player if confronted. They are almost always unarmed and will only counterattack the player if they get too close. Despite these flaws, cyan monkeys are quite capable at running and hiding. They are often tucked away in secret areas or behind barriers that keep them away from the player. In later levels, cyan monkeys become more alert and run away from the player a lot further from their hiding spots. Some even find new hiding spots in set pieces. They first appear in an out of reach area of Fossil Fields that requires the Sky Flyer to catch.
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| Chunky of Sushi Temple |
Blue
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| Runt of Dark Ruins |
Blue monkeys are a close relative of cyan monkeys. Like cyans, blue monkeys mostly run away from the player. The main difference between cyans and blues, however, is that blue monkeys are extremely fast runners and often have higher alertness. They almost never attack the player excluding quick counterattacks. More often than not, they run along difficult pathways while pursued, letting hazards deter the player. They first appear in Dark Ruins.
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| Shimbo of Specter's Factory |
Black
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| George of Thick Jungle |
Black monkeys are the first aggressive monkey encountered in the game. They are always armed with a machine gun and are usually placed in areas where they have a vantage point to see the player from. They will shoot at the player and keep their distance in order to keep shooting at them. They are also more likely to counterattack when close. They are first encountered in Thick Jungle.
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| Naners of Crumbling Castle |
White
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| Frederic of Dexter's Island |
White monkeys are a close relative of yellow monkeys. They are mostly the same as yellow monkeys but with one major difference, they have extremely higher alertness. They are usually found in groups around setpieces and vehicles and will usually be aware of the player as soon as they are visible. White monkeys are the most alert monkey in the game followed by green monkeys.
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| Crib of Monkey Madness |
Green
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| Manic of TV Tower |
Green monkeys have the second highest alertness of the monkeys. They are always armed with a rocket pack which shoots homing missiles at the player. They usually run from the player, occasionally running to switches they can activate, and will stop to shoot a volley of rockets at the player. They are usually in isolated areas and are sparsely spread through the levels.
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| Chino of Dark Ruins |
Red
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| Bong-Bong of Coral Caves |
The alpha monkey. Reds are a combination of black and green, combining the aggressiveness of black monkeys with the alertness of green monkeys as well as combining their arsenals. Red monkeys are often armed with 3 different weapons: a machine gun, rocket pack, and bombs, though sometimes they will only be armed with a machine gun. They will shoot at the player from range, run away dropping bombs behind, and shooting homing missiles when further away from the player. They will often counterattack as well. They are the toughest monkey to fight in the game and become more common as the game gets progressively harder.
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| Flea of Monkey Madness. Note the lack of a rocket pack. |
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